The Toronto Maple Leafs added forward depth on Friday, acquiring Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues in a three-team trade that also involved the Minnesota Wild.
Forward Adam Gaudette and forward prospect Mikhail Abramov are headed from the Maple Leafs to the Blues along with 2023 first- and third-round draft choices and a 2024 second-round draft choice. Forward prospect Josh Pillar also is moving from Minnesota to St. Louis.
The Blues will pay 50 percent of O’Reilly’s salary and the Wild will pay 25 percent, with Minnesota getting a 2025 fourth-round pick as compensation.
O’Reilly is in the 14th year of an NHL career that has seen him win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (sportsmanship) in 2013-14 and the Frank J. Selke Trophy (top defensive forward) and Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) in 2018-19. The latter two honors came as he helped the Blues win the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
The 32-year-old veteran has played for the Colorado Avalanche (2009-10 to 2014-15), the Buffalo Sabres (2015-16 to 2017-18) and St. Louis (2018-19 to 2022-23).
O’Reilly has 12 goals and seven assists in 40 games this season, raising his career totals to 252 goals and 439 assists in 978 games.
Acciari, 31, has 10 goals this season, tied for the second-best total in his eight-season career. He also has matched his career high with eight assists in 54 games during his lone season in St. Louis.
Acciari previously was with the Boston Bruins (2015-16 to 2018-19) and the Florida Panthers (2019-20 to 2021-22). He has 55 goals and 40 assists in 361 career games.
Gaudette, 26, signed as a free agent with Toronto last summer but never appeared in a game for the Maple Leafs. He played 40 games for the AHL Toronto Marlies and produced 20 goals and 14 assists.
Abramov, 21, also has spent the season with the Marlies, amassing six goals and 10 assists in 34 games.
Pillar, 21, has four goals and eight assists in 13 games for WHL Saskatoon this season.
The Maple Leafs sit in second place in the Atlantic Division, 13 points back of the Boston Bruins and one point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Blues are eight points behind the final Western Conference playoff position.
The NHL trade deadline is March 3.
–Field Level Media
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