Maple Leafs & Blues Pull Off Blockbuster Trade

The Toronto Maple Leafs are going all in as general manager Kyle Dubas pulled off a blockbuster trade on Friday night. The Maple Leafs acquired Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St Louis Blues in exchange for a massive package.

We have acquired Ryan O’Reilly & Noel Acciari in a three-team trade with St. Louis & Minnesota.

STL receives Mikhail Abramov & Adam Gaudette, TOR's 1st round pick in '23, OTT's 3rd round pick in '23 & TOR's 2nd round pick in '24. MIN receives TOR's 4th round pick in '25. pic.twitter.com/QAOUZvUZfH
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 18, 2023

Toronto shipped out a first and third-round pick in 2023, a second-round pick in 2024, a fourth-round pick in 2025 and AHL forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette. A huge haul however when you land a Conn Smythe trophy winner and a shut-down center, this is the type of price you have to pay.

O'Reilly got off to a slow start this season and has recently returned from a broken foot. He wanted to stay in St Louis and even mentioned he'd take less money to do so, but it was obvious Blues management wanted to cash in on their rentals this season.

Accairi on the other hand is great in the faceoff dot and loves to throw his body around. He'll likely get a look on the Leafs third-line, meanwhile where O'Reilly plays will be interesting to watch. While he could slide into the #3 center role, some feel he may see some looks at left-wing on the team's second line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner. O'Reilly is in the final season of a seven-year contract that pays him $7.5-million annually, but his cap hit with Toronto will be $1.875 million thanks to the Minnesota Wild also retaining 25% of his salary.

TRADE

To #LeafsForever
F Ryan O’Reilly-50% retained from MIN - 75% total
F Noel Acciari
F Josh Pillar

To #stlblues
F Mikhail Abramov
F Adam Gaudette
2023 1st RD pick TOR
2023 3rd RD pick OTT
2024 2nd RD pick TOR

To #mnwild
2025 4th RD pick TOR
Ryan O'Rielly-50% retained-part 1
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 18, 2023