Maple Leafs acquire Ryan O’Reilly in trade with St. Louis
Posted February 17, 2023 11:03 pm.
Last Updated February 17, 2023 11:37 pm.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly and forward Noel Acciari in a blockbuster three-team trade Friday night also involving the Minnesota Wild.
The Blues will receive forward prospect Mikhail Abramov, forward Adam Gaudete, Toronto’s first-round pick in 2023, Ottawa’s third-round pick in 2023 and Toronto’s second-round pick in 2024. The Blues will retain 50 per cent of O’Reilly’s remaining salary. He is in the final year of a deal that will pay him $7.5 million.
The Wild will also be retaining 25 per cent of O’Reilly’s total salary as an intermediary in the trade. In exchange, the Maple Leafs will send Minnesota their own fourth-round pick in 2025. Right-wing prospect Josh Pillar will go from Minnesota to Toronto to complete the trade.
According to CapFriendly.com, O’Reilly’s $7.5-million cap hit for the remainder of the season will be divided as follows.
- St. Louis – $3.75 million
- Minnesota – $1.875 million
- Toronto – $1.875 million
O’Reilly will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
With this move, the Maple Leafs now have one of the more formidable centre units in the NHL and are clearly going all-in on competing for the Stanley Cup. In O’Reilly, Toronto is slotting in a former Conn Smythe and Selke Trophy winner who can play in all situations.
Now 32, O’Reilly is in the midst of a down season that’s seen him only score 19 points in 40 games with a minus-24 rating on a Blues team that has disappointed this season. He missed the entire month of January with a broken foot but returned to play three games after the all-star break.
Acciari, 31, is an eight-year veteran who was in his first season with the Blues who will add depth and can kill penalties. In 54 games he has 10 goals and 18 points.
The move is the second major trade in a week for the Blues, who sent sniper Vladimir Tarasenko to the Rangers in a blockbuster trade on Feb. 9. Tarasenko, O’Reilly and Acciari are all on expiring contracts and with the two trades, the Blues are waiving the white flag on the season. St. Louis now owns three first-round picks in the upcoming 2023 NHL Draft, widely considered to be deep with talent, meaning they will have plenty of opportunities to add more young talent or swing other trades this summer.
