Maple Leafs acquire Ryan O'Reilly from Blues in 3-team deal

The St. Louis Blues have traded captain Ryan O'Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Minnesota Wild, the teams announced Friday night.

O'Reilly, a center, heads to Toronto along with forward Noel Acciari. In exchange, the Blues receive 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 Wild send forward Josh Pillar, a 2019 fourth-round pick by Minnesota, to Toronto, and receive the Leafs' 2025 fourth-round pick in return. Pillar has 12 points in 12 games with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades.

O'Reilly, who will be a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, carries a $7.5 million cap hit. St. Louis will retain 50% of O'Reilly's salary, while Minnesota will retain an additional 25%. The 32-year-old O'Reilly, who has 12 goals and 19 points in 40 games, returned to the lineup Feb. 11 after sustaining a broken foot Dec. 31 in a game against the Wild.

Adding O'Reilly gives the Maple Leafs one of the most prominent names ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Above all, this means they now have a two-way veteran who in 2019 won a Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Selke Trophy as the league's best offensive forward. His arrival further strengthens what the Leafs already have down the middle with Auston Mathews and John Tavares in what they expect will be a move that heightens the Stanley Cup aspirations for a franchise that has not won a title since 1967, and has not made it out of the first round of the playoffs since the 2003-04 season.

Getting Acciari in the deal gives the Leafs another middle-to-bottom six forward who can provide a bit of a scoring