Leafs Make Huge Trade For Ryan O’Reilly – But Will It Finally Be Enough To Get Over The First Round Hump?

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be all in on a big cup run by trading for Ryan O’Reilly – but it won’t matter if it can’t at least get out of the first round again.

To make the trade work for the 32-year-old veteran, the organization had to get creative by involving a third party.

Because of the nature of the Leafs’ salary cap situation, the St. Louis Blues retain 50 percent, while the Minnesota Wild retain 25 percent of O’Reilly’s contract.

But the cost wasn’t cheap, as the Leafs sent a first-round and third-round pick in 2023, a 2024 second-round pick, along with forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette to the Blues.

And the Wild will get a 4th round pick in 2025.

The Leafs will only pay a little under $1.88 million for the contract of O’Reilly, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

O’Reilly’s main position is center but the trade will likely result in him moving to the wing, with John Tavares and Auston Matthews serving as the team’s top two players down the middle.

In the past several years, O’Reilly has been one of the best two-way players in the NHL.

In 2019, he won the Selke Trophy, which is awarded every year to the NHL’s best defensive forward.

However, offensively his play has slipped.

This year, O’Reilly has just 19 points in 40 games and is only on pace for 32 points this year.

In 2021-2022, O’Reilly posted 58 points in 78 games.

But the Leafs are hoping that putting him on a line with either William Nylander and Matthews or Tavares and Mitch Marner will help provide an offensive spark.

That could be huge to the Leafs’ playoff chances in the first round this year which will likely be facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, having been in three straight Stanley Cup Finals in a row.

The Leafs lost in seven games to the Lightning last year in the first round.

To make matters worse, the Leafs have qualified for the playoffs for six straight seasons but have not won a playoff series since 2004.

So the team will have to prove it but O’Reilly, who can play just about anywhere throughout the lineup including power play and penalty kill, could be a difference-maker for the Leafs.

But there are no excuses for the Leafs should they get knocked out once again in the first round.

Article by Anthony Russo