NHL Insider reveals why the Leafs elected to trade for Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari over some of the other top options
During the second intermission of tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens, Elliotte Friedman went into detail on why the Leafs went after the Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari trade. The Toronto Maple Leafs were linked to so many big names ahead of the trade deadline - including Timo Meier - but ended up fixating more on the duo from the St. Louis Blues.
The bottom line was that Kyle Dubas liked the value he was getting from the Blues since he was acquiring two players with very different skill-sets but intangibles that this team was either lacking in or simply missing entirely. Not to mention the fact that he was able to broker a deal with a third party to retain even more salary than most anticipated.
The asking price from the San Jose Sharks for Meier was simply too high, so Dubas had to change paths and went after the veterans with playoff experience. Acquiring O'Reilly at 75% salary retention ($1.875M) and Acciari ($1.25M) is just good bang for your buck.
Friedman also mentioned how the Leafs were interested in Detroit Red Wings' forward, Tyler Bertuzzi, but with the Wings pulling him off the market, it thinned the herd a little more than Toronto was comfortable with. With Bo Horvat and Vladimir Tarasenko already off the market, adding in Meier at an astronomical asking price didn't seem like the way to go, and with Bertuzzi being pulled from the trading block due to the Red Wings being in contention for a playoff spot, the Leafs felt they had to act quickly before someone else jumped in.
O'Reilly has had a rough season down in St. Louis production-wise. He comes to Toronto with 12 goals and 19 points in 40 games but, most importantly, gives the Leafs a dynamic trio of centers if they were to go that route. Let's also not forget the Conn Smythe Trophy he won as playoff MVP, leading the Blues to their first and only Stanley Cup back in 2019.
Acciari being a center is also an important piece for the Maple Leafs, who are now flooded with capable pivots up and down the lineup. He is a quality faceoff man, likes to lay the body, and can chip in on the score sheet from down the lineup as well.
Earlier on Saturday, we heard Leafs GM Kyle Dubas speak about how important it was for the organization to use picks rather than prospects and roster players. That's also a factor here. If he had gone after Timo Meier, Dubas would likely have had to trade at least one top prospect or multiple good prospects along with some of his top picks. With this deal, he was able to add without subtracting anything of consequence from the roster and from the prospect pool.
| POLL | ||
19 FEVRIER | 359 ANSWERS NHL Insider reveals why the Leafs elected to trade for Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari over some of the other top options Did the Leafs make the right move bringing in O'Reilly and Acciari over Meier? | ||
| Yes | 330 | 91.9 % |
| No | 29 | 8.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
