NHL Trade: Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari
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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced here on Friday Night they have acquired Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild as part of a three-team deal.

The Blues will receive Mikhail Abramov & Adam Gaudette along with Toronto’s first-round pick in 2023, a third-round pick in 2023, which the Leafs acquired from Ottawa along with a 2nd round pick in 2024 from the Leafs. The Wild will receive a fourth-round pick in 2025 from Toronto.

The extra drafts were sent in the deal because the Blues are going to retain 50 percent of O’Reilly’s salary while the Wild retain 25 percent of O’Reilly’s salary.

In addition, Toronto will receive Josh Pillar from Minnesota as part of the trade.

The Maple Leafs have been rumoured for a long time to be connected to Ryan O’Reilly. General manager Kyle Dubas was looking to add at the deadline. He did not want to give up a first-round pick this year, but in order to acquire O’Reilly it had to be done.

Though O’Reilly is having a down year, for his standards with 19 points (12 goals and seven assists), he is still one of the best two-way centers in the game and adds size and physicality along with a pedigree of winning.

O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2019 when the Blues won the Stanley Cup with 23 points (eight goals and 15 assists). This is exactly what the Maple Leafs needed for their bottom-six forward group.

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Kyle Dubas had to be creative when it came to making a trade, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Jake Muzzin on the backend. O’Reilly is the type of player the Maple Leafs need if they want to get out of the first round.

One of the biggest areas of need for the Maple Leafs was in the bottom six, especially at center. O’Reilly knows what it takes to get it done in the playoffs, especially when facing adversity. He can generate offence in front of the net as well he is very responsible defensively.

Noel Acciari is another excellent addition to the bottom six for the Maple Leafs. This season, Acciari has 18 points (10 goals and eight assists). He also has playoff experience as he was part of the Bruins Stanley Cup run in 2019 where they lost to the Blues.