Ryan Reaves has had a rough season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but showed his true physical side tonight with a ruthless hit on Darnell Nurse.

Here is the video of the chilling scene:

Reaves was ejected from the game with a match penalty for the illegal hit, and will thus most likely face a suspension hearing.

Reaves has been underwhelming for the Toronto Maple Leafs since Brad Treliving signed him to a three-year $4.05 million deal last year, and often looks too slow and unengaged for the NHL.

There was hope that his play style could be revitalized under the leadership of Craig Berube, a more physical coach than former Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened.

Now he is back in the focus of attention, but not for the right reasons, as he could be watching from the press box for the next few games, and not because of being a healthy scratch.

SDPN analyst Jesse Blake, who works with other Maple Leafs voices such as Steve Dangle and Adam Wylde, believes that Reaves will get a well-deserved suspension.

We will see what the NHL Department of Player Safety decides tomorrow.

UPDATE

The Edmonton Oilers have confirmed that Darnell Nurse will not return tonight following this dirty hit from Ryan Reaves:

While Darnell Nurse’s contract is extremely controversial, on the books for $9.25 million annually for the rest of the decade, he is still a player the Edmonton Oilers would rather have in the lineup than injured (most of the time).

Hopefully this injury will not be too serious, but the direct contact with the head did not look good.

We will keep this story updated as more details emerge.