The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues received a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and the Ottawa Senators’ 2023 third-round draft pick, plus Toronto Marlies forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette, in exchange for O’Rielly (with 50% retained) and Acciari.
Additionally, the Minnesota Wild received a 2025 fourth-round draft pick from the Maple Leafs in exchange for retaining a further 25% of O’Reilly’s cap hit for the 2022–23 season. The Wild also sent forward prospect Josh Pillar to Toronto in the deal.
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
O’Reilly, 32, is a pending unrestricted free agent signed for this year at a $7.5 million cap hit — a pro-rated $1.875 million of which the Maple Leafs will carry on their books for the rest of the season.
The 2019 Selke Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner has 12 goals and 19 points in 40 games with the Blues this season. Daily Faceoff‘s Frank Seravalli published a profile of O’Reilly earlier on Friday; Mike McKenna will have his Instant Reaction later tonight.
Acciari, 31, has 10 goals and 18 points in 54 games with the Blues this season. He’s also a pending UFA signed for this season at a $1.25 million cap hit.
The Maple Leafs are now the fifth team to trade their 2023 first-round draft pick, joining the Florida Panthers (who moved it for Ben Chiarot last winter), Dallas Stars (Nils Lundkvist), Tampa Bay Lightning (Brandon Hagel), and New York Islanders (Bo Horvat). All except the Maple Leafs and Panthers moved the picks with lottery protections.
Abramov, 21, has six goals and 16 points in 34 AHL games with the Marlies this season. The Maple Leafs originally selected the 5’11” forward in the fourth round (No. 115 overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Gaudette, 26, has 20 goals and 34 points in 40 games with the Marlies. He’s appeared in 218 NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Ottawa Senators in his career.
With O’Reilly and Acciari now in the fold, the Maple Leafs will return to action on Saturday night to play host to the Montreal Canadiens at 7:00 p.m. ET.