*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page. *******
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has acquired forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari in a three-team trade with the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.
St. Louis will receive forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette, Toronto’s first round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, Ottawa’s third round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft and Toronto’s second round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft while Minnesota receives Toronto’s fourth round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.
St. Louis will retain 50% and Minnesota will retain 25% of O’Reilly’s salary as part of the trade.
With exactly two weeks remaining until the NHL Trade Deadline, rumors of what the Toronto Maple Leafs may do are picking up. The most interesting speculation emanates from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest “32 Thoughts” podcast involving the St. Louis Blues.
After the trade last week that involved two pieces in Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola from the Blues to the New York Rangers, Friedman pondered whether GM Doug Armstrong would be willing to move multiple pieces; including forwards Ryan O’Reilly, Ivan Barbashev, and Noel Acciari in the same deal, as opposed to dealing them in separate trades.
The Leafs appear to need more than just one player to provide missing elements to match up with Atlantic Division foes Tampa Bay and Boston. O’Reilly would provide lineup flexibility and depth up the middle, allowing David Kampf to be moved down to fourth-line center, while Barbashev and Acciari have playoff experience and play a physical game that is virtually nonexistent from Toronto’s current roster.
If the Leafs go this direction, they would need the Blues to retain 50% of O’Reilly’s $7.5 million cap hit and likely need St. Louis to take salary back in the trade, which would necessitate Toronto offering up multiple draft picks, including a conditional first-round pick and a prospect not named Matthew Knies.
The Leafs practiced on Friday at the Ford Performance Centre and goalie Ilya Samsonov was not on the ice, due to illness. The club faces the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday in the first of back-to-back games. It is possible that rookie Joseph Woll plays against the Habs, allowing Samsonov an extra day to get back healthy and play in Chicago on Sunday.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»