Last week, the New York Rangers traded enforcer Ryan Reaves to the Minnesota Wild for a 5th round pick the day after he asked for a trade.

On Saturday, it looked as if the Reaves-less Rangers were already feeling his absence as per Missing Curfew, take a look:


The Oilers mounted a huge 3rd period comeback to win the game yesterday and after star Leon Draisaitl netted the game winner, he skated by Rangers captain Jacob Trouba, tossing his stick away in the process, with no response from the Rangers at all


I'm not saying Reaves is the reason for the non-response, but I'm not, not saying it. When you trade a presence like that away, the effects are felt soon after.

Maybe this was just a dejected team, but there has to be a response after an action like that, at least in my opinion. If I'm teams from around the league, it's open season to assert yourself physically on this New York team now. That can't be the message they want to send.