Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer gives cringe-worthy quote on Ryan Reaves’ dirty hit

A coach will defend his players in a lot of circumstances, but Vegas Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer has stretched reality to defend Ryan Reaves.

The end of the Colorado Avalanche’s 7-1 undressing of the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday night turned ugly, with Golden Knights’ “enforcer” Ryan Reaves cross-checking a goalie and proceeding to attack Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves in a bout of retribution.

As a result of Reaves’ actions, and brawl that followed, Colorado ended the game on a nine-minute power play. Reaves received a match penalty for attempting to injure Graves, and a suspension is coming. He was also suspended last postseason for a bad hit, costing him Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. That history may inform a suspension from the league office this time around.

A dirty hit on Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter in Game 7 of the Golden Knights’ previous playoff series should also be noted. On further review, note Reaves’ arms-out motion at the end of the hit on Suter, as if to say “I didn’t do anything, he fell face-first into the goal post.” Reaves got off easy there, with a two-minute minor for interference (was that not a cross-check?).

Peter DeBoer gives regrettable quote to defend Ryan Reaves

Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer has, somehow, found a way to defend Reaves for his actions Sunday night.

DeBoer went on to point out how Reaves’ gloves never came off, while continuing on a tangent pointing to the NHL’s player safety department’s assessment of the incident. The “one of the cleanest tough guys” line is the one that’ll stick though.

Since entering the NHL in 2010, according to The Score, Reaves has the eighth-most penalty minutes among all players (regular season). The reason he’s not higher than that is because he barely plays. If someone wanted to defend him they could say the upcoming suspension will only be the third of his career, despite all those penalties.

In many situations, DeBoer defending one of his players would be fine. But what he said to defend Reaves stretches credibility, to anyone that heard it or read it. DeBoer can’t totally buy what he said either, but if he didn’t defend Reaves he might risk losing “the room” after a 7-1 loss.