Which Prospect Should Leafs Fans Be Most Excited About? Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk1OTczNTAzNjc2MDY0Nzk0/usatsi_19976481.jpg] John Tavares didn't learn about the trade until Saturday morning. "It was a pretty good wake-up," said the Leafs captain, as a smile crept ever so slightly over his typically solemn face. Most fans will likely share his sentiment, frankly. The Maple Leafs picked roughly 11 p.m. ET on a Friday to pull off arguably the club's biggest and most meaningful mid-season move in a decade, acquiring Stanley Cup champion center Ryan O'Reilly from the St. Louis Blues along with forward Noel Acciari and Minnesota Wild prospect Josh Pillar in exchange for a 2023 first- and third-round pick, a 2024 second, and minor leaguers Adam Gaudette and Mikhail Abramov. It's the type of blockbuster that once only resided in the depths of HF Boards, a multi-team pipe dream involving precisely the type of top-line skill and middle-lineup depth that fans have been clamoring for all season long – without the price tag of an active roster player or a top prospect. The Maple Leafs, on paper, woke up on Friday as a good team and went to bed that same night a contender. When it comes to a GM's overall performance, especially in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, it's hard to ask for much more than that. "He's a great player," explained Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, who learned of the trade late Friday evening while driving his son back from a hockey game, of his new star center. "He'll fit very well with anyone on our team in any spot in our lineup." That's some lofty praise that, quite frankly, seems to fit the bill. On the ice, O'Reilly embodies seemingly everything these Maple Leafs need: a versatile, Selke-winning center whose offensive track record tops out in the point-per-game range and whose overall resumé includes a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe. O'Reilly is great at putting the puck in the opposing net and even better at keeping it out of his own. The 32-year-old has the experience that this Maple Leafs core lacks, having already encountered the hurdles that have tripped this club up for five years and counting, and lept over them to reach the top of hockey's highest mountain. Adding Acciari, a former 20-goal scorer who can play any forward position and produces strong possession numbers in a middle-to-bottom-six role, is just gravy. Case in point, it's hard not to see this move as a win across the board for the Maple Leafs. And that sentiment is echoed even more so by the players. "It's a move that, as players, we look at it and it kind of tells us where we're at," said Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly on Saturday morning. "It puts everything in perspective of what we're trying to accomplish and the belief in this team that the organization has. With where we're trying to go, adding players that can help is a way of telling players that we're in it." The Maple Leafs are certainly "in it," alright. Friday's trade is arguably the most "win-now" move of the entire Kyle Dubas era, one that leaves Toronto with just two non-conditional picks in what many call the deepest draft in recent memory. O'Reilly and Acciari, not to mention, are both rental players at this point in time. And with both set to hit unrestricted free agency in six months, there's a good chance neither will don the blue and white beyond this season. But that's the name of the game, baby. Lofty expectations require even loftier risks. That sentiment is one Dubas isn't exactly blind to. "I'd be lying if I stood up here and said it's not a concern," said Dubas of the Leafs' newly-gutted draft capital for this year. "I don't think it's sustainable for the long run. But I think with where we're at right now, we have to do what we have to do." It makes sense, really. The reality of modern professional sports is that teams must decide, at one point or another, whether they are in or they are out. Some take longer to do so than others, but that fork comes for every organization and must be faced before true progress can begin. The Maple Leafs, who sit fifth in the NHL's overall standings as of Saturday morning, were never in danger of travelling down the path labelled "out." But they weren't shoo-ins for "in," either, especially with the circumstances at hand – the Atlantic Division, the NHL's playoff format, the flaws in their roster – presenting an uphill battle that risked keeping them trapped in first-round purgatory. Now, not so much. And, from an asset standpoint, the club remains in a good place. "I just felt the team had earned it," said Dubas matter-of-factly. "We have to put our team in the best position. And I would've much rather dealt the picks than deal from our reserve of prospects, mostly because we know the prospects and what they're about. We're with them every day" "The picks are a little bit like the mystery box. You can have the mystery box or you can have the prospects. So, we kept our guys and we'll roll from there." This trade isn't possible without growth from within. In explaining his rationale, Dubas mentioned the likes of Fraser Minten, Matthew Knies, Roni Hirvonen, Nikita Grebyonkin and Topi Niemela as prospects whose respective development curves this season have been impressive enough to convince him to part with the "mystery box" instead. Keeping the roster intact is also quite the feat from an acquisition cost, too – if not only for the on-ice product but for the chemistry that permeates throughout this particular room. "When you hear about trades, the first thing that goes through your mind is 'who did we lose?' " said Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano, a former big-ticket deadline acquisition as well. "And to find out that it was just picks, for us, it's nice not to have to lose any guys in this locker room because I think everyone in here has been a big part of our success so far this season. Just to add two more guys without losing any is nice." Being "all-in" doesn't just exist on paper, though. Now, the onus turns to the players. Dubas and the front office have done everything they can to insulate Toronto's elite core with the type of versatile talent required to win in this league. The pieces are there. More might come as the deadline approaches, something which Dubas himself hinted at later on. But, for the most part, the stage is set. Friday's news only solidified what was already apparent from Day 1: For better or worse, the final four-to-five months of the season will come to define an entire era of Maple Leafs hockey. Buckle up.
