The Toronto Maple Leafs gave up four draft picks in a huge deal that saw the organization land two rentals and pending UFAs in Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues. The deal was complex and included the Minnesota Wild, but when the smoke cleared, the Maple Leafs had acquired Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari and going to St. Louis will be Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette, the Maple Leafs’ 1st-round pick in 2023, the Ottawa Senators’ 3rd-round pick in 2023, and the Maple Leafs’ 2nd-round pick in 2024. The Wild will receive Toronto’s 4th-round pick in 2025.
GM Kyle Dubas said he wasn’t keen to give up more draft picks and noted he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t concerned about his lack of draft capital heading into the summer, but he believed this was the right deal with the right player and his team deserved it. Dubas said he’d rather know what he’s got than go with the “mystery box” that is often what draft picks bring. He didn’t want to remove any players from his roster or prospects the team likes and this was the cost of doing business.
When asked about O’Reilly’s injury history, Dubas wasn’t worried. Saying O’Reilly has looked good thus far and that his injury was a broken bone and not a muscle tear, there is less concern that he’ll be troubled heading into the stretch run of the season and the playoffs. He was asked if there had been conversations about a contract extension and he responded no. He wants the team to mesh well with the new faces before he considers he considers making either permanent fixtures in this lineup.
Darren Dreger of TSN writes, “Leafland is buzzing, as it should be. Sense is, Dubas isn’t done, which emphasizes an all-in approach. Kerfoot? Engvall? Holl? Kampf? What collateral does Toronto use for another move? Very curious to see if ROR is a 3c or if there’s big league experimenting on the wing.”
What Will The Blues Do Now?
As for the Blues, it is believed they have the plan to go younger and while there were extension talks with O’Reilly, GM Doug Armstrong ultimately decided to make the deal. He’s now moved three key pieces in Vladimir Tarasenko, O’Reilly, and Acciari and he might not be done. Ivan Barbashev could be on the move and names like Colton Parayko are out there in the rumor mill.
O’Reilly has 12 goals and 19 points in 40 games so far for the Blues this season, while Acciari was a steady depth forward who posted 10 goals and 18 points in 54 games.
Next: Tarasenko Talks Trade to Rangers: Blues and Forward Moving On
