Coronavirus fears limit Ryan Reaves contact with fans

CALGARY, Alberta — One of Ryan Reaves’ favorite things about being an NHL player is interacting with fans, especially kids, during pregame warmups.

The affable Golden Knights forward goes out of his way to high-five or hug youngsters, pose for pictures or play games in exchange for a puck.

But with concerns about the coronavirus escalating quickly across North America, Reaves and other NHL players are limiting their contact with fans during warmups for the time being.

“Right now, I think we’re going to try to be a little safer,” Reaves said. “It’s obviously a pretty serious thing that’s spreading pretty quick, and you don’t want it to be spreading throughout the community and throughout the team. We’re going to take all the precautions we can. When we pass it, we’ll get back to regular business.”

The NHL sent a memo to teams last week asking players to limit contact with fans. The NBA and Major League Baseball issued a similar notice, urging players to stop high-fiving and shaking hands with fans or taking items to autograph.

The Knights were one of several teams across the league to close their locker room to the media Saturday. It was incorrectly reported that the NHL mandated teams close their locker rooms. Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters at the Panthers-Canadiens game in Sunrise, Florida, that the decision is being left to each organization.

“When I was younger, just going to a signing and seeing these guys and listening to them talk to me for a minute, I would talk about that for days,” Reaves said. “I took that with me growing up, and I think I try and interact with, especially kids, as much as I can. It’s going to be tough not to be able to do that, but it’s for our safety as much as it is theirs.”

While Reaves is restricting his contact with fans, he said requests to play a game usually are what catch his eye during warmups.

A video of Reaves playing tic-tac-toe with a fan during warmups prior to a home game in January gained attention in recent days after it was picked up by the NHL’s social media accounts.

“The tic-tac-toe, the rock-paper-scissors. I had one dance-off. I like all that stuff,” Reaves said. “Anybody that wants to play something for a puck is always fun.”

Pump him up

Alec Martinez loves to sing the praises of defense partner Shea Theodore while simultaneously giving him as much grief as possible due to Theodore’s immense talent.

Since being placed together Feb. 26 for the game against Edmonton, the pairing has a 55.5 percent shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5 and generated a 59.2 expected goals share.

Theodore had two goals and a plus-1 rating in five games with Martinez entering Sunday.

“He’s a pretty good hype man for me,” Theodore said with a laugh. “I like to dish it back here and there, and I think he’s a great player.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.