Leafs felt asking price for Timo Meier trade was "too rich": report

While there was much hubbub this weekend around the Toronto Maple Leafs for a big trade they made, there’s also been some rumblings about the other transaction it seems the team chose to waive off.

Less than 24 hours after Toronto made a trade with St. Louis for forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Leafs were initially interested, but ultimately weren’t all that enthused with trading for San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier.

On the Saturday night “32 Thoughts” segment of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Friedman discussed why Toronto opted for the O’Reilly/Acciari deal over getting in the bidding mix for Meier.

“They were worried that if they didn’t strike soon, the top-end forwards who were available would be gone,” Friedman said. “And that’s why they made the move when they did.”

Friedman also discussed the Leafs’ reported interested in Meier, though it seems that the team decided the acquisition cost wasn’t worth the return.

“I also think the Maple Leafs were in on Timo Meier, they were at least looking at it. But they decided the price was too rich, and it made more sense to do these two players for a lesser price than it would to get one Timo Meier.”

Due to the three-team nature of the trade that sees St. Louis retain 50 percent of O’Reilly’s cap hit and Minnesota retain 25% of it, Toronto has just $1.875 million on the books for the 2019 Selke and Conn Smythe winner. Meanwhile, Acciari has a cap hit of $1.25 million, with both him and O’Reilly set to be unrestricted free agents this summer.

Meier has 31 goals, 21 assists in 57 games this season with San Jose. He’s in the final year of a four-year, $24 million deal worth an annual average value of $6 million per season.

The NHL trade deadline is set for March 3.

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