The Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild have completed a three-team, blockbuster trade.
In the deal, Toronto has acquired St. Louis’ captain, Ryan O’Reilly, veteran forward Noel Acciari, and prospect Josh Pillar. St. Louis has received Mikhail Abramov, Adam Gaudette, Toronto’s 2023 first-round pick, Ottawa’s 2023 third-round pick, and Toronto’s 2024 second-round pick. Minnesota received Toronto’s fourth-round pick in 2025.
As part of the deal, St. Louis will retain 50% of O’Reilly’s salary, while Minnesota will retain 25% of the cap hit. Both O’Reilly and Acciari are set to hit unrestricted free agency at year’s end.
It goes without saying that this is an extremely significant trade, and one that represents a major push from Toronto to try to finally get the franchise past the first round of the NHL playoffs. The Maple Leafs will, in all likelihood, once again be playing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, assuming there are no major changes in the standings.
The Lightning have won the Eastern Conference for three straight seasons, so for Toronto to really gear itself up for that expected first-round matchup, they would need to increase their firepower from their already talent-rich position.
Now, after this trade, Toronto boasts Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and O’Reilly as the team’s top-three centers. Most would be hard-pressed to find another team in the NHL that can boast such a strong trio of pivots.
It’s true that O’Reilly’s offense is down from the rate he normally scores at.
He’s got just 12 goals and 19 points in 40 games this season, which is just two points more than current Maple Leafs third-line center David Kampf.
But O’Reilly isn’t being acquired for what he’ll bring to Toronto’s scoring attack, they already score goals in bunches.
He’s been acquired by the Maple Leafs because he brings exactly what many have felt Toronto has lacked in recent years in their biggest moments: competitive fire, the ability to rise to the occasion, and a willingness to rally in the face of challenges in order to get a job done.
O’Reilly’s exploits in the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship run cemented his status as a beloved St. Louis Blue. O’Reilly captured the Conn Smythe Trophy scoring 23 points in 26 games, as well as playing absolutely stellar defense that often left the line he was matched up against suffocated and unable to build offensive momentum. Overall, he has 56 points in his 64-game playoff career, a higher career playoff point-per-game scoring rate than Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, despite the fact that those players are normally considered to be in a different stratosphere of offensive talent.
With O’Reilly in tow, head coach Sheldon Keefe will be able to build a shutdown line that he can match with the deadliest scoring lines he faces in the playoffs. While the Maple Leafs have had competent defensive centers in the past, none boast the type of resume O’Reilly has built, especially in the unique environment of the playoffs. With forwards who are strong in their own end such as Kampf, Acciari, or even Zach Aston-Reese, Keefe could be able to complement his two deadly scoring lines with a premier shutdown line as well, boasting the kind of three-line mix that could handle any in-game situation.
O’Reilly is also a highly-regarded leader and someone whose locker room presence has played a major role in a Stanley Cup victory and in last season’s playoffs, where O’Reilly’s Blues were one of the few teams who truly gave the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche, a run for their money.
There are some who would rather the Maple Leafs spent these assets on a forward with some more points than O’Reilly has scored this season. But when looking at the problems that have plagued Toronto in prior years, it’s hard to say there is anyone available on the trade market who would be better fit than O’Reilly.
Beyond just O’Reilly, Toronto has also acquired Acciari, a well-respected, versatile bottom-six forward. The 31-year-old has scored 10 goals and 18 points this season, and can play both center and on the wings. While he doesn’t bring the scoring pedigree or star value that comes with O’Reilly, Acciari has 54 games of playoff experience and has been to a Stanley Cup final. He’ll undoubtedly be an upgrade for Toronto’s bottom six and helps with their overall goal of adding character players with playoff experience.
They also acquire prospect Josh Pillar, who currently plays for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He’s a 21-year-old winger who was a fourth-rounder of the Wild at the 2021 draft. He’s scored decently well in the WHL and just returned from injury. He plays a polished game but his ultimate professional upside remains unclear. Per CapFriendly, the Maple Leafs will have exclusive rights to sign Pillar to his entry-level deal until June 1st.
From St. Louis’ point-of-view, this deal might be a tough pill to swallow but it’s ultimately a positive move for the team. It’s never ideal for any team to lose its captain and especially so if that player was a crucial part of the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship. But looking at this trade with the emotion of losing O’Reilly aside, this is a deal that should leave Blues fans satisfied.
Firstly, they landed another top draft pick for this upcoming NHL draft, adding another premier selection in a class that has drawn rave reviews from scouts. In addition, the reality of the Blues’ season and O’Reilly’s contract status makes this a trade that the Blues simply had to make. The team has spent significant dollars locking up Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas recently, and sinking significant cap space into O’Reilly for the rest of what is shaping up to be a lost season (and a few years beyond) simply wouldn’t make sense, especially at the opportunity cost of adding the sort of draft pick haul they received.
If adding Acciari helped GM Doug Armstrong coax the best possible package of picks from the Maple Leafs in this deal, then that’s fine. Acciari likely could have been traded on his own, but adding him into this deal is a reasonable choice if it helped the Blues add that 2024 second-rounder.
In addition to the bounty of draft choices they received, the Blues also got Abramov, who is a 21-year-old 2019 fourth-rounder. He has scored 16 points in 34 AHL games this year and is someone for the team to plug into their AHL affiliate in Springfield to see what their development staff can do with his offensive skill.
They also received the 2017-18 Hobey Baker award winner, Gaudette, who has been a top scorer for the Toronto Marlies this season. With 34 points in 40 AHL games, he could either serve as an experienced depth NHLer to help fill a spot on St. Louis’ roster (he does have experience playing center) or could help Springfield.
For Minnesota, this is a tidy, if a relatively insignificant bit of business for the team. Their trade of Pillar indicates that they likely were going to let his rights lapse in the summer anyway, so for their relatively minor retention on O’Reilly, they net a mid-round draft pick. While much as been made of the Wild’s precarious cap position, they do actually have some room to maneuver this year. Turning some of that vacant space into a mid-round draft pick is nothing to complain about.
Overall, this is a trade that has the potential to serve as a significant moment for both the Maple Leafs and Blues franchises. For Toronto, they add a player whose resume seems almost perfectly tailored to address the problems that have ailed them in the playoff runs of the past. For St. Louis, they turn an expiring asset into a multitude of draft picks that could allow them to quickly move on from this disappointing campaign.
If the Maple Leafs don’t end up winning the Stanley Cup or even getting out of the first round, it will be easy to look back at this deal and criticize their management for paying so many draft picks for rental players.
But ultimately, this trade is simply a team hungry for some playoff success adding one of the most accomplished playoff performers on the market. Even if it doesn’t end up working out as the involved teams hope, this is a difficult deal to criticize.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
As a Blues fan, I hate to see the loss of both O’Reilly and Acciari but I wish both players the best. They will play their hearts out for Toronto. I hope they both get to raise the Cup this year.
So do leafs fans lol
Same here.
It’s tough to see Tank and ROR go but they’re the right moves. Here’s hoping for a quick rebuild/reload.
Can confirm
Blues loading Ionian draft picks! Loving this “retool”. Let the boys do their thing and add to it!
When what you have isn’t working then you get something else. What was happening in STL was not working so welcome to the rebuild.
Why in the hell did Minnesota help St. Louis complete this deal???
Because they wanted a free pick.
That’s what I’m wondering too. Why is Minnesota retaining a 25 percent cap hit and whose it for? How can 1 team retain 50 % of his salary while another team takes a 25% cap hit.? I’m confused.
only 50% max can be retained by any team.
50% to St Louis.
50% of the remaining 50% to Minnesota (25% overall).
It’s not a free pick. They basically paid $75K and gave up Pillar for a 4th round pick and helped a divison rival out. Weird.
Maybe they will trade us jimmy snipes?
For the Wild it is about getting back a pick that they can use especially with the buyout hits starting to hurt going forward.
$600,000 I believe.
So does Toronto getting both forwards mean that maybe they’re gonna try and recoup something by getting rid of say kerfoot and Holl for a proper top six d who is physical
they aren’t moving Holl. as much as many would like, they need Depth on D come playoff time.
plus not sure how much they will get for an expiring contract.
at best Dubas moves a salary and a 2nd for a cheap D man but not sure they have the pieces to compete in any trade considering they need money in money out.
They should have asked for bertuzzo too and threw in another 3rd rounder or sent someone back on expiring with a second rounder for bertuzzo
Why on Earth is Minnesota buying picks with cap space with their own cap issues going on?
Around $11.5 million in current cap space as of today, projected to have around $15 million by the TDL. And it’s only for this year, not when the buyout spikes happen.
Ok we would now like Mathew knies from Toronto and jimmy snuggerud(aka jimmy snipes) from st Louis for dumba and greenway.
Is it just me or is this piece unusually long for a PHR news release? It feels like there’s more about Toronto’s theoretical intentions behind the trade over the trade itself or its components.
I thought the same thing lol!
Seemed really long and nothing to do about anything really lol
Am I off or is that not an extremely steep price for Toronto to pay for a player that looks to be in decline?
Leafs want the cup no matter the cost. They couldn’t care less how steep the price is.
it’s more a big price for two expiring contracts than a player in decline.
Alright, I’m almost certainly the only person on the forum concerned with how this affects *Springfield* — certainly guys will have to be recalled to replace O’Reilly and Acciari in the Blues’ lineup. Got to figure that with dealing two centers, Gaudette goes up.
Blues have more trades coming. Barbashev, and greiss for sure. Heard they were shopping or getting calls on Krug or parayko. Hopefully scandella can get up to speed enough to be shopped.Shoot, even binnington maybe traded with hofer playing well in the ahl. The blues always make a couple ahl trades too every year. I imagine springfields roster will both be way different and full in 2 weeks.
Binnington?
To who? Are the Blues willing to retain 30%? 40%? 50%?
With his antics and the young guys down in the ahl playing well, I could see them eating 30 percent. Or maybe a swap for someone like Peterson of the kings who is making similar, less years I believe, but is down in the ahl. A playoff team would definately take a flier on binnington as a back up or injury replacement starter if the blues eat 30 to 40 percent. He hasn’t been great this year but the defense in front of him has also been terrible.
Yeah, Hofer’s been pretty lights out the last two years, and Zherenko’s played well himself; it would suck for us in Springfield, but I can certainly see moving Binnington if I were the St Louis GM, and seeing what Hofer could do in the bigs. Especially with the serious dearth of available goalies at the deadline, they’d get a better return for Binnington.
Is there a site to go to that provides an updated list of St. Louis‘s 2023 draft picks? Do they now have three first rounders to play with?
If this is a three team trade (Stl, Toronto and Minny) how is it that StL is receiving a third round pick from Ottawa too in this deal?
go to cap friendly for the team and it shows the roster and draft picks for the next 3 years.
also Toronto owned Ottawa’s 3rd round pick from the Matt Murray trade I Believe
Why did you write this like a really long poem? Lol this felt weird to read.
Eeesh, I’m not Ethan’s biggest fan, but he wrote what he wrote, and if all you were interested in was reading two-sentence transaction columns, there are plenty of places the “OMG I can’t handle reading more than a few dozen words in a row TLDR!TLDR!” gang can do that. Ethan had a bunch of things he wanted to say about this, the site pays him to say those things, and no one forces anyone to read them.
I thought it was an excellent write-up!
He will certainly help but will it be enough…Probably NOT…..
ROR was not good so far this season and the price is very steep.
Could he turn it around? Maybe…
Could this end up as another Nick Foligno trade? Good chance.
How much actual salary is Minny paying here? What does a 4th cost?
I see this as kind of a “meh” trade. O’Reilly is underperforming this year and is one of the reasons the Blues are where they are. The Leafs are running out of time with Matthews, they need to make a bigger splash than this. They need to focus on beating Tampa Bay, until they can figure that out, worrying about a deep playoff run is pointless.
what is the bigger splash you wanted?
this teams Achilles heal for the last 4 seasons has been they don’t have people who know what it’s like to win in the playoffs. don’t have toughness and how to handle adversity. I’d say O’Reilly fills that role. I think they still need to add one more depth Dman and probably they wish they had a better goalie tandem but they are stuck there
Yeah, I’m not sure what bigger splash they could have made. They are in cap hell already, and getting minny to do something this stupid doesn’t happen everyday. This move fills a ton of holes for toronto, doesn’t it?
More face-off wins = more possession, every team wants that.
ROR can play all 3 phases, giving them a ton more options. Every team can use that.
There was never a chance they were going to go out and get a top tier goaltender or a guy like EK65, so who could you possibly have been banging the table for?
Don’t let him drive near a Tim Hortons
Shame they didn’t get a goalie
the one thing I’m wondering is about the retaining. for mini to retain 25% wouldn’t they technically have had to trade for O’Reilly first with STL retaining 50%. if so, shouldn’t they have traded something to the blues?
was it basically accari for O’Reilly retained and then the Leafs made essentially two trades, one with each?
I get this is nitpicking but feels like there should be some order if a team like mini is retaining salary
Well, sure. No doubt the technical terms of the transaction had Minnesota trading Pillar to St Louis for O’Reilly, and then moving O’Reilly to Toronto for that 4th rounder.
As a Sens fan, I love this deal. Leafs give up a whack of draft picks for a quick fix that will probably not turn out.
Probably not — and as a Bruins fan, hopefully not — but they have to do SOMEthing. The GTO fanbase is going to be raging if the Leafs don’t make it at least to the Conference Finals this time out, and if the Lightning are intemperate enough to beat Toronto in the first round, the screaming you hear will be the Leafs’ front office personnel being torn apart by angry mobs in blue and white, with it being the toss of a puck whether the severed pieces are just thrown directly into Lake Ontario or set on fire *first*.