The Department of Player Safety has made their decision regarding Leafs' Ryan Reaves after he landed a vicious hit on Oilers' Darnell Nurse last night. Here's one lesson that Ryan Reaves has learned the hard way: you can't get away with dirty hits in the NHL. The league has suspended the <a href='https://www.nhl.com/mapleleafs/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Toronto Maple Leafs</a> enforcer for his illegal hit against <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Edmonton Oilers</a> defenseman Darnell Nurse. It was during Saturday's game between the Maple Leafs and Oilers that Reaves surged up to Nurse and planted a dangerous hit to the head. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1857956894414885353'> </a></blockquote></div> The brutal play pulled Reaves in w<a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/toronto-maple-leafs-forward-ryan-reaves-ejected-against-the-edmonton-oilers-for-a-dirty-hit-on-darnell-nurse' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>a five-minute major penalty plus a game misconduct</a>. Nurse, shaken from the collision, would not return to the game as his condition remains uncertain for now. Later, in a sign of atonement, <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/leafs-ryan-reaves-shockingly-enters-the-oilers-locker-room-during-the-third-period-after-ejection' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Reaves went to Nurse afterward inside the Oilers dressing room and apologized</a> for the hit. For a moment, anyway, fans were pleased to hear that Nurse was conscious and joking with the training staff, but the gravity of the incident can't be minimized: It was stunning to see such a steady defender as Nurse crumple to the ice so suddenly, and while an apology is nice, it does not take away the egregiousness of the play. To that effect, the Department of Player Safety with the NHL waded in with a suspension 5 game suspension to Reaves. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/nhlplayersafety/status/1858254667408351296'> </a></blockquote></div> It is now the fourth disciplinary action taken against Reaves, who has been suspended three times. His last suspension came in 2021 for a despicable incident with Colorado's Ryan Graves. A very disturbing pattern now starts to emerge in Reaves' play. With Reaves on the shelf, the Leafs will likely call up either Alex Steeves or Connor Dewar to take his roster spot. Addition by subtraction for Toronto, who needs all the offense they can get. Reaves has scored just a single point this season, adding 23 penalty minutes but zero fights. More importantly, though, attention turns to the health of Darnell Nurse; all anybody can hope is that he is truly healed from this and doesn't have lasting repercussions of the hit. However, in absolutely callous fashion, Reaves now casts a dark cloud over the Maple Leafs, with questions on how such dangerous plays truly affect the integrity of the game.