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

The Factor is on his way to Toronto.

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues in a three-team trade including the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

In exchange, the Blues receive forward Adam Gaudette, prospect Mikhail Abramov, a first-round pick, a second-round pick and third-round pick. The Wild receive a fourth-round pick from Toronto and prospect Josh Pillar from St. Louis.

St. Louis will retain 50 percent of O'Reilly's $7.5-million cap hit in the deal, while Minnesota will retain 25 percent.

The Maple Leafs swung a blockbuster trade late Friday night, acquiring St. Louis captain Ryan O'Reilly. (Getty Images)
The Maple Leafs swung a blockbuster trade late Friday night, acquiring St. Louis captain Ryan O'Reilly. (Getty Images)

Noel Acciari, 31, is a depth forward who has 18 points in 54 games this season. He'll bring some experience to the bottom-six, with 361 games in the regular season, and 54 career playoff games.

Josh Pillar, 21, has generated 12 points in 13 WHL games so far in 2022-23. The Wild selected Pillar in the fourth round (127th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Adam Gaudette, 26, boasts 218 games of NHL experience, though he’s been limited to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies this season (34 points in 40 AHL games). Last season, Gaudette generated 14 points in 58 games split between the Blackhawks and Senators.

Through 34 games with the Marlies, Mikhail Abramov has registered 16 points. The Maple Leafs selected the 21-year-old with a fourth-rounder (115th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.

With all due respect to Acciari and Pillar, this trade revolves around the Maple Leafs paying a huge rental fee to add O’Reilly, a player with a tremendous resume. Ultimately, the success of this trade may hinge on how healthy the 32-year-old is, and how much he has left in the tank.

O’Reilly recently returned from a foot injury that sidelined him for more than a month. As a player whose strengths never really revolved around footspeed, losing another step could be concerning.

On the bright side, ROR returned to action and immediately produced. In what would be his final three games with the Blues, O’Reilly scored two goals and one assist for a point per game.

In 40 games this season, O'Reilly has 12 goals and seven assists. The Clinton, ON. native is in the final year of a seven-year, $52-million contract.