Ryan Reaves signs 2-year extension with Golden Knights

Ryan Reaves, left to his own musings during his time away from hockey, realized there are two things he has yet to accomplish in his career.

The Golden Knights right wing has never won a Stanley Cup in his 10 years in the NHL. And he never has won the league’s scoring title. Or come close — the bruising forward was off by 95 points this season.

But Reaves has a good feeling about the next two years now that he knows where he’ll be playing. The pending unrestricted free agent signed a two-year contract extension Monday with an average annual value of $1.75 million.

“Now, I can win a Stanley Cup this year,” Reaves said in a tweet announcing the signing. “I can do it. Can’t win the scoring title. Can’t do it. Just missed it by a couple points. And I also can’t do it next year if I don’t have a contract. So I am happy to announce that I just signed a two year extension with your Golden Knights. I’m back baby!”

Reaves, 33, is taking a pay cut to stay with the Knights. The fan favorite’s previous two-year contract was worth $2.775 million annually. Then-general manager George McPhee gave Reaves what he would have made in a three-year deal over two years to retain him after the team’s run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.

Since then, Reaves has continued to serve as the Knights’ chief agitator and deliverer of bone-crunching checks. He’s led the NHL in hits each of the past two seasons.

Reaves doesn’t throw his body around recklessly, either. His 47 penalty minutes are tied for the 59th-most in the league, and he’s only taken two more penalties than he’s drawn.

“He’s not cheap,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He’s honest, he’s tough, he’s hard. He’s a really intelligent player. The coaching staff really appreciates what he does for our team.”

Reaves has added more offense to his game, too. He had a career-high nine goals and 20 points last season. He had eight goals and 15 points this year in his second-best offensive season.

Reaves also has become one of the most recognizable Knights in the community. He opened a brewing company, which in April and May donated its profits to local groups fighting the coronavirus, married one local couple and taught street hockey to kids.

His extension gives him a chance to further those aims, as he has said he wants to retire in Las Vegas. It also gives him a platform to continue to pursue causes he believes in. Reaves, who is biracial, said last week he hopes to get involved in the newly formed Hockey Diversity Alliance.

Reaves is the third pending free agent the Knights have extended since COVID-19 paused the NHL season and the fifth since the trade deadline. The team currently has $75.125 million in salary cap commitments for next season. This season’s upper limit was $81.5 million, but it’s unclear how the league’s shutdown will affect that figure.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of unknowns,” McCrimmon said. “We’re comfortable with where we’re at with the signings that we have made through the pause.”

The Knights still have four pending unrestricted free agents — forward Tomas Nosek, goaltender Robin Lehner and defensemen Jon Merrill and Deryk Engelland — and two pending restricted free agents — forwards Chandler Stephenson and Nick Cousins.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.