Leafs dodge a bullet at the trade deadline
Timo Meier was one of the biggest names available ahead of the trade deadline - if not the biggest. For a good amount of time, Meier was linked to the Leafs in trade rumours as well. Trade discussions were reportedly taking place between the Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks but the asking price was far too lofty for Kyle Dubas in the end. Instead, the Leafs went after Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari, also adding Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn, Sam Lafferty and Erik Gustafsson, while the New Jersey Devils swooped in and paid a hefty price to pry Meier out of San Jose.
The Maple Leafs sent Mikhail Abramov, Adam Gaudette, their own 2023 1st round pick, Ottawa's 2023 3rd round pick, and their own 2nd round pick in 2024 to the St. Louis Blues, while also sending a 4th round pick in 2025 to Minnesota Wild. In return they received O'Reilly at 50% salary retention, as well as Acciari.
Meanwhile the Devils traded Fabian Zetterlund, Andreas Johnsson, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Nikita Okhotiuk, a 2023 1st round pick, a 2024 2nd round pick, and a 2024 7th round pick in exchange for Timo Meier, Timur Ibragimov, Scott Harrington, Santeri Hatakka, Zachary Emond, and a 2024 5th round pick.
The deal immediately received praise as the Devils didn't have to part ways with highly regarded prospects like Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, or Alexander Holtz. Meier scored in his Devils debut and finished with 9 goals and 14 points in his final 21 games - a far cry from his 31 goals and 52 points in 57 games with the lowly Sharks. Things haven't gotten any easier in the post-season for the 26-year-old as he is pointless in 6 games, is a -3, and is about to undertake a Game 7 against the New York Rangers tonight.
As for the Maple Leafs? Ryan O'Reilly broke his finger, which kept him out of the lineup for over a month but he still recorded 4 goals and 11 points in 13 games as a Leaf, won 62% of his face-offs, and gave the Leafs the versatility of being either a winger or a centre. He stepped it up a notch in the playoffs as he finished the 6-game series with 2 goals and 7 points, averaged 19:40 TOI, and was always going to be the x-factor for the Leafs to finally win a series.
They also received Noel Acciari who has done everything that was required for a player of his ilk. He scored 4 goals and 5 points in 23 regular season games, won 55.4% on the draws, and delivered 76 hits and 26 blocks. In the first round of the playoffs he scored twice - two more than Meier - averaged 16:11 TOI, and leads the league with 42 playoff hits thus far, while also blocking 11 shots. His sandpaper-type game has brought a whole new element to the Maple Leafs and it already paid off in the first round.
As things stand right now, the Maple Leafs might've dodged a bullet as they diverted their attention to the more complete players in O'Reilly and Acciari. The more offensive-minded Timo Meier has yet to make his imprint on the young Devils team who are on the brink of elimination.
| POLL | ||
1 MAI | 787 ANSWERS Leafs dodge a bullet at the trade deadline Who would you rather have on the Leafs - Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari or Timo Meier? | ||
| O'Reilly and Acciari | 743 | 94.4 % |
| Meier | 44 | 5.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
