Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray joined the club for an optional skate for the first time since suffering an ankle injury. EDMONTON — It didn’t take very long for Ryan O’Reilly to no longer feel like the new kid on the block. Despite being acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs along with forward Noel Acciari on Feb. 18, the club has continued to overhaul and add to its forward and defensive depth with four trades over the last two days. For O'Reilly, the additions are just another message from team GM Kyle Dubas that they are going for it. “We're all in. That’s the group and consensus around, O'Reilly said following Toronto's optional skate ahead of their game against the Edmonton Oilers. "That’s an exciting thing. We’ve got a great team here and a lot of good pieces and it’s time to put in the work and start building it." On Monday, the Leafs acquired defenseman Jake McCabe and forward Sam Lafferty from the Chicago Blackhawks. O'Reilly played with McCabe when the two were teammates together while with the Buffalo Sabres for three seasons. The Leafs then made three trades on Tuesday. First they shipped defenseman Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals for Erik Gustafsson and the Boston Bruins' first-round pick in 2023. They moved forward Pierre Engvall to New York Islanders for a third-round pick in 2024 and acquired defenseman Luke Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks for a third-round pick in 2023. "It’s nice to have the human eraser here," O'Reilly said of Schenn. "A great depth guy for us for the playoffs and playing hard I think there’s so little that does it better than him. He gives everything he has and so tough to play against. It’s a big piece." The Maple Leafs were aggresive in changing the look of their team, despite being one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. But as teams around the Maple Leafs began to load up on assets, it became clear that Toronto had to match it but finding players who play a different way. Especially with a likely first-round rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning on the horizon. "The guys that we have brought in (minus Lafferty) are veteran players the league a lot and have great personality," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "The energy of the group has been excellent, away from the rink, too." Keefe also noted that he's noticed more team bonding than he has seen in past editions of Maple Leafs teams he has coached. A team bonding on an off day on Monday that saw the team take in a Bruce Springsteen trip in Seattle may have helped in brining people together. But the real work will begin on the ice as the Leafs usher in another new look "This is what it comes down to, it’s playoffs and we got to get past that first round," William Nylander said. "So that’s where everybody’s mind’s at."
