The feud between Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse and Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves has gotten a bit spicier.
It all started with a game between the Oilers and Leafs last month that saw Reaves lay a vicious headshot on Nurse, which resulted in the enforcer getting a lengthy five-game suspension from the NHL.
The hit forced Nurse to miss three games with an injury, and when he first met with the media following the incident, he had some harsh words to say about Reaves’s style of play.
“Even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there was lots of body on a six-foot-four hockey player to hit, and not one piece was touched other than my head,” Nurse said at the time.
“You can argue about the intent, but there are certain guys in this league that, each shift, they go out there and try and go inflict pain. I think it was pretty obvious what was going on there.”
“With these things, the timeline’s up to multiple people. What I feel sometimes isn’t indicative of what’s gonna happen.”
Darnell Nurse on his timetable to return to the #Oilers lineup.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/EQHTcJAQlY
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 21, 2024
This caused a bit of pushback from Toronto, with Jay Rosehill and Reaves’ brother pointing fingers back at Nurse.
Now that Reaves has finally served that suspension, he decided to get in a few words himself regarding the situation.
“When you get caught by somebody, you’re entitled to your opinion, and that’s fine,” Reaves told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “I think my 900 games and however many thousands of hits I have speaks for itself.
“I play physical every game, and I’ve been doing it for 15 years, and I’ve only had a couple of suspensions. The only truth that he spoke was I go out there to inflict pain; that’s a fact, and that’s not gonna stop. I’m gonna continue to do it legally. I’m gonna keep playing hard, if not harder now, and I’m gonna keep burying guys.”
“The only truth that he spoke was I go out there to inflict pain. That’s a fact & that’s not going to stop, but I’m going to continue to do it legally.”
Ryan Reaves speaks on Darnell Nurse’s comment. pic.twitter.com/fIiWDvh5mj
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 3, 2024
It was reported after the incident that Reaves attempted to apologize to Nurse about the hit. When the Oilers blueliner was asked if that mattered all that much to him, he gave a short and sweet answer.
“Not really,” Nurse said.
It doesn’t appear Reaves is all too shaken from Nurse, implying that Reaves targeted his head or that there may have been malicious intent. Instead, he seemed to double down, saying he wouldn’t shy away from being physical and still intends to lay big hits on opposing players.
The Oilers have one more game on tap with the Maple Leafs with a matchup set at Rogers Place on February 1. If Reaves suits up for the Leafs in that game, there is potential for some fireworks to erupt on the ice.
As if the Oilers and Leafs needed another reason to hate one another.