One of the biggest names remaining on the trade block officially has a new home.
In a three team deal between the Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues, Stanley Cup Champion Ryan O’Reilly is headed to Toronto and is expected to make his debut vs. Montreal this evening.
The full trade will see Toronto send their 2023 1st round pick, a 2024 2nd rounder, Ottawa’s 2023 3rd round selection (acquired in a previous deal), F Adam Gaudette, and prospect Mikhail Abramov to St. Louis. In return they’ll receive O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari from the Blues.
Where Minnesota gets involved is on the financial side of things. The Blues already agreed to retain 50% of O’Reilly’s salary, however Toronto will send Minnesota their 4th round pick in 2025 to retain an additional 50% of O’Reilly’s remaining salary. When all is said and done, the 32 year old centre will only account for $1.875M against the cap for the Leafs.
O’Reilly is in the final year of his contract and is a pending UFA at season’s end. The Clinton, ON native is widely considered one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL and took home the Selke Award in 2019. He’s also been a top 5 finalist for the award for 5 years running as well.
Currently in the midst of a down year offensively, the 6 ‘1” forward has recorded only 19pts (12G, 7A) across 40 contests thus far in 2022-23. Nevertheless, Toronto, along with a slew of other clubs across the league, were interested in O’Reilly more for his versatility and leadership than his ability to fill the net on a nightly basis.
Meanwhile Acciari, 31, is a 5’10” centre that will be a depth addition to the Leafs lineup. His 18pts (10G, 8A) already represent the 2nd highest total of his career since his debut with Boston in 2015.
The American born forward is known for his physicality and shot blocking ability, two things teams covet in the playoffs. Prior to the deal, he led the Blues with 168 hits on the year. His ability to play either up the middle or on the wing is a welcome bonus as well.
The Maple Leafs currently sit 2nd in the Atlantic Division with 74pts, 13pts shy of division leading Boston. However the Tampa Bay Lightning are hot on their heels with 73pts and a game in hand as the league enters the home stretch towards the postseason.
Toronto plays host to the Montreal Canadiens tonight at 7pm ET where their two new acquisitions are expected to make their Maple Leaf debuts.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Fanny Scherzer. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.