Ryan O'Reilly's father reveals one of the first things Ryan said to him after being traded to the Leafs; it should excite Leaf fans

Before even getting on the plane yesterday morning to be able to play against the Montreal Canadiens, newly minted Leaf Ryan O'Reilly was full of the passion. Not only did he manage to get keys to the Blues' locker room to pick up he and Noel Acciari's gear himself, but his parents revealed that he was very excited to be coming to Toronto, headed home with Stanley Cup aspirations.

Bonnie & Brian O'Reilly were able to attend last night's game and shared the interesting tidbit that before Ryan even left St. Louis he had texted his dad saying, "What if I help bring a Stanley Cup back to Toronto?" His dad responded, "That's the right attitude to have!"

Naturally, at this time of the year, everyone's minds are on the playoffs. In Leafs Nation, this year has largely been looked at as a formality, with much less excitement surrounding regular season performance. To have someone like O'Reilly coming in - someone who has been in the deep water, won a Playoff MVP award and a Stanley Cup - it's great to know that his mind is in the right place for this opportunity.

The Clinton, ON native became the ninth southern Ontario player to play for the Leafs this season, which is something John Tavares noted yesterday morning saying that it shows the amount of passion the team has. O'Reilly played just over 16 minutes in his Leafs debut between Tavares and Mitch Marner. We're likely to see some lineup juggling over the next couple of weeks while Keefe tinkers to find his optimal lineup, but adding a pair of feisty, smart playoff performers like O'Reilly and Acciari can only do well to help the Leafs snap their 1st round losing skid.

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