Ryan Reaves makes his thoughts clear about Leafs captain Auston Matthews following Sharks trade

Ryan Reaves showered praise on Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews after being traded to the San Jose Sharks in the second week of July.

On the Leafs Nation's "Leafs Morning Take" podcast on Monday, Reaves hailed Matthews' work ethic and leadership, pointing out how he leads by example and never takes days off.

"I think a lot of his leadership is led by example," Reaves said about Matthews. "He works incredibly hard in practice. And on the ice, I think you see how hard he works in all three zones. Obviously, grinding through some issues this year, and, you know, really trying to grind through it for the team."

"I think maybe not the most vocal captain I've ever had, but everybody leads differently, right?" Reaves said. "You can't be the most vocal and the most leading by example, you can't, you can't do it all. It's just, it's hard to find those guys."

Matthews got injured in training camp, and it affected his play all season. He missed 15 games and went to Germany for treatment, impacting his first year as captain.

Nevertheless, Reaves said Matthews was still a great influence on younger players in the team.

"It really teaches those young guys how to, how to be, you know, the best in the world."

Auston Matthews talked about his injury in May

After the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff exit in May, Auston Matthews admitted he was hurt during the season. However, he hopes to be fully healthy next season and return stronger.

"A tough year physically (for me)," Matthews said, via NHL.com. "But I'm confident with some time off and just going through my own process and treatment and everything, I'm really confident I'll be back 100 percent next season,"

The Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators in six games in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. In the second round, they won the first two games against Florida but lost four of the next five and crashed out.