GM says trade has Maple Leafs in position to win Stanley Cup

The Toronto Maple Leafs are all-in on winning. Now.

That's the message general manager Kyle Dubas sent Friday night when he acquired forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues for prospect Mikhail Abramov, forward Adam Gaudette, the Leafs' 2023 first-round pick, the Ottawa Senators' 2023 third-round pick and Toronto's 2024 second-round pick. The Blues also retained 50% of O'Reilly's $7.5 million cap hit.

It was a significant swap that brings O'Reilly's Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe-winning background — from the Blues' 2019 championship run — to Toronto's dressing room. Dubas hopes the Leafs, who are second in the Atlantic Division and fourth overall with 74 points, can be inspired toward similar success.

«The team has been in the top five in the standings [before]; we're there again this year,» Dubas said Saturday. «When you're there, your goal I think has to be that you're trying to win. And if you're trying to win, you're trying to win the Stanley Cup. We're trying to win, and that's the message. Anything short of that, we'll all be disappointed.»

To get the O'Reilly deal done, Dubas enlisted the help of a third team — Minnesota — to take on 25% of the veteran's cap hit. The Wild tossed forward Josh Pillar, a 2019 fourth-round pick, into the deal and received the Leafs' 2025 fourth-round pick. Pillar has 12 points in 12 games this season with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades.

O'Reilly, 32, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He was the big fish in the trade, while Acciari projects to play a middle-six role. Dubas was pleased not to part with any of the Leafs' coveted top prospects, including forward Matthew Knies, but did admit that losing more substantial draft capital does weigh on him.

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