Leafs acquire Ryan O'Reilly in three-team trade

Feb 18 2023, 4:00 am

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made their first blockbuster trade of the season.

On Friday evening, Toronto announced that they’d traded for St. Louis forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, as part of a three-team trade that also included the Minnesota Wild.

Per the Leafs, St. Louis will receive forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette, Toronto’s first round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, Ottawa’s third round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft and Toronto’s second round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft while Minnesota receives Toronto’s fourth round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.

O’Reilly is in the final year of a seven-year deal originally signed with the Buffalo Sabres, worth $7.5 million per season, and is headed to hit free agency this summer.

St. Louis will retain 50% and Minnesota will retain 25% of O’Reilly’s salary as part of the trade. In other words, O’Reilly’s cap hit will be $1.875 million with Toronto for the remainder of the season.

O’Reilly has 12 goals and seven assists in 40 games this season.

In 2019, he won the Conn Smythe Award as the playoff MVP for the Blues in their first Stanley Cup winning season in franchise history. He has long been valued as one of the game’s most dynamic two-way forwards, having won the 2018-19 Selke award for being the league’s top defensive forward, finishing no worse than fourth in Selke voting over the past four seasons.

Meanwhile, Acciari has 10 goals, and eight assists in 54 games this season. He’s on a one-year deal worth $1.25 million this season, and is slated to hit free agency this summer.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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