Dubas does what he has to do; addition of O'Reilly 'vital' for Cup push
Published
The Maple Leafs (optional) and Montreal Canadiens skated at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
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A week after declaring he didn't want to trade a first round pick for rental players, Kyle Dubas did just that. In a blockbuster move pulled off late Friday night, the Leafs general manager actually gave up four picks, including Toronto's first rounder this year, to acquire centres Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues.
"We have been a top-five team in the standings," Dubas said. "We are there again this year. When you are there, your goal has to be to try to win. If you are trying to win, you are trying to win the Stanley Cup. There's points along the way and people will laugh at that and scoff at that and that is fine, but we are trying to win. Anything short of that, we will all be disappointed."
In addition to the first rounder, the Leafs also sent a second round pick in 2024 and Ottawa's third round pick this year, which was acquired in the Matt Murray trade, to the Blues, who retained 50 per cent of O'Reilly's cap hit. Toronto also shipped a fourth round pick in 2025 to the Minnesota Wild, who retained 25 per cent of O'Reilly's salary.
In rounds one through three in the next three drafts, the Leafs now have just four of their nine selections.
"I don't think it is sustainable for the very long run, but for where we are at right now, we have to do what we have to do," said Dubas. "I'd be lying if I stood up here and said it wasn't a concern of mine ... I just felt that the team had earned it and we have to put our team in the best position."
The message was received loud and clear inside the dressing room.
"It's a big move for us," said defenceman Morgan Rielly, who is the longest-serving Leaf. "It's a move that, as players, we look at it and it tells us where we're at and kind of puts everything into perspective in terms of what we're trying to accomplish."
And Dubas may not be done.
"It is hard to say right now," he said. "You get through these things and everything goes quiet. People start to ask you, 'What do you have left to do? What are you looking to do?' If there is a way we can continue to improve the team, we will continue to look at that."
The Leafs sent forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette, who had been with the Marlies in the American Hockey League, to St. Louis, but didn't part with any of their top prospects in the deal.
"My view of it is that I would much rather keep the guys and the young players that are here and are signed," Dubas said. "We know them and we know what they are about. We have our projection of what their potential is without overdoing it ... The picks are a little bit like the mystery box. You can have the mystery box or you can have the prospects. We kept our guys. We will roll from there."
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O'Reilly was the MVP of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs when the Blues won it all.
"His defensive prowess, his playoff performance, what he brings to our centre position, and what he brings to our team — on and off the ice — we thought was vital for trying to accomplish what we are trying to accomplish, especially with the level of competition we are going to face," Dubas said.
The Leafs are almost certain to face the Tampa Bay Lightning again in the first round of the playoffs. If they win a series for the first time since 2004, then a date with the NHL-best Boston Bruins is their likely reward.
O'Reilly reminds Toronto's captain of Boston's captain.
"He has a very similar style to [Patrice] Bergeron," John Tavares said. "Just the awareness, the hockey sense, the two-way ability, so strong on faceoffs. Just an unbelievable competitor."
O'Reilly, 32, has hit the scoresheet in three straight games since returning from a broken foot. He has 12 goals and seven assists in 40 games this season.
With defenceman Jake Muzzin sidelined with a spine injury and unlikely to return, O'Reilly becomes the only skater in Toronto's lineup to own a Stanley Cup ring.
"He's one of the rare guys that actually has a higher points per game in the playoffs than the regular season," noted coach Sheldon Keefe.
O'Reilly has 691 points in 978 regular season games (0.71 per game). He's produced 56 points in 64 playoff games (0.88 per game).
"To have a guy that's not only won a Stanley Cup, not only been a captain, not only won the Selke Trophy, but won what is, at least for me, the most prestigious and most difficult individual trophy to win, the Conn Smythe, is pretty special," Keefe said.
Keefe admitted it was tough getting to sleep on Friday night as he contemplated the different lineup possibilities. He'll get his first chance to experiment on Saturday. Per Keefe, O'Reilly and Acciari were "adamant" about playing against the Canadiens despite travelling from St. Louis in the morning.
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Toronto's depth down the middle is now an area of strength with Auston Matthews, Tavares, O'Reilly, Acciari and David Kampf in the mix. In the past, when the Leafs sustained an injury to a centre it was Alex Kerfoot, who was forced to move over.
"You have so many options now with such an abundance of depth at centre," said Keefe. "We can do lots of different things. There are people we can move and can play centre or wing, including the guys we have acquired."
The coach didn't tip his hand on Saturday's lineup.
Acciari isn't the headliner in the deal, but the 31-year-old is expected to make a big impact in the bottom six.
"In talking to our players today, they are excited about O'Reilly for obvious reasons," Keefe said, "but Acciari is a guy, when you hear the excitement for them, it speaks to the respect for his game and how hard he is to play against and the experience that he has in the playoffs as well — going deep, being a part of battles, and playing on good teams."
"Oh man," said defenceman Mark Giordano. "He's a hard guy to play against as well. Really finishes every check. On the body a lot. He's one guy, for sure, when he's out there you know he's out there. Extremely hard to play against."
Acciari has suited up in 54 Stanley Cup playoff games, including seven against the Leafs in 2019 when he was with the Bruins.
"Acciari is a player we have talked about internally for a long time," Dubas said. "Obviously, he has been in our division every year that we have all been here except for this season when he signed with St. Louis. He is right-handed and can play centre and can play wing. He is a high-end competitor. He is physical, but he can also chip in and score with strong finish around the net and off the rush."
Acciari can also boost Toronto's penalty kill, which ranks 13th overall entering Saturday's games.
"I've never seen a guy so willing and so able to block shots the way he does," said Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson, who played with Acciari in Florida. "He's a really effective player to have in your lineup."
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With this trade, Dubas feels his team has "accomplished what we were looking to do up front."
The general manager is also willing to stand pat in net even with Murray (ankle) being placed on long term injured reserve.
"Matt will be back healthy and ready to roll," Dubas promised. "I think this may be a blessing. It lets him recharge and be ready to roll while getting 100 per cent healthy for the stretch."
Murray is eligible to play again on March 1 in Edmonton. He hasn't played since Jan. 17.
Ilya Samsonov is sidelined due to an illness, but has played well. Joseph Woll will start Saturday.
"With Ilya playing the way he has, with Woll playing the way he has with the Marlies [and] we have Erik Kallgren there as depth as well," Dubas noted. "I think those guys have earned the right to roll. If things change in the next few weeks, we can always revisit it, but right now, I am very comfortable with them."
After missing Friday's practice, Samsonov skated on Saturday morning and the hope is he will be ready to play Sunday in Chicago. Kallgren has been called up on an emergency basis and will dress as the back-up on Saturday.
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There have not been talks about an extension for O'Reilly, who is a native of Clinton, Ont.
"You want to see how a player fits in with where you are at, whether they like it, and whether it is the right fit," Dubas said. "I like people to live together before they get married rather than take that step without it. That is just my view. It doesn't mean it is right. I know other teams have different views on it."
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Canadiens centre Sean Monahan, who hasn't played since Dec. 5, skated on Saturday as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury.
"He's kinda plateaued," said coach Martin St. Louis. "We'll see what next week brings."
Kirby Dach was briefly on the ice on Saturday morning, but will miss a second straight game due to a non-COVID illness.
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Lines at Canadiens skate on Saturday:
Harvey-Pinard - Suzuki - Anderson
Armia - Dvorak - Drouin
Dadonov - Belzile -Hoffman
Pezzetta - Pitlick - Ylönen
Matheson - Barron
Harris - Savard
Schueneman - Kovacevic
Allen starts
Montembeault