Reaves 'honored, humbled' to be acquired by Penguins

To the surprise of many, Ryan Reaves was at the center of one of the most talked about trades at the 2017 NHL Draft.

The 30-year-old tough guy was traded by the St. Louis Blues - along with a 2017 second-round pick - for a 2017 first-round pick (No. 31, used to select forward Klim Kostin) and forward Oskar Sundqvist on June 23.

Reaves initially didn't believe reports suggesting he was being traded for a first-round pick, thinking "obviously that's a bunch of garbage." But now that reality has set it, he's obviously a proud Penguin.

"I'm obviously very honored and humbled that a team that good and that's won the last two years wanted me on their team and traded for me," Reaves told Lou Korac of NHL.com. "I'm excited to do whatever they need me to do to help them win a third one.

"Sometimes you look at trades and sometimes it's dumping salary, sometimes it's just getting rid of a player. I think the feeling was however I can go in there and help, they wanted me that they traded for me. I don't think this is a getting-rid-of-me kind of move. It's something they thought they needed in their lineup and I'm excited to bring it."

Reaves had been with St. Louis since being selected in the fifth round of the 2005 draft. He racked up 695 penalty minutes in 419 games with the Blues, along with 27 goals and 24 assists.