While there was a lot of buzz surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs this weekend for a big deal they made, there was also some rumor surrounding the other transaction the team appears to have waived.
Less than 24 hours after Toronto traded with St. Louis for forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Leafs were initially interested but ultimately not too enthusiastic about the trade for San Jose forward Timo Sharks were Meier.
On the Saturday night segment of the “32 Thoughts”. Ice hockey night in Canada On the show, Friedman discussed why Toronto chose the O’Reilly/Acciari deal rather than getting into the bid mix for Meier.
“They were concerned that if they didn’t strike soon, the available top forwards would be gone,” Friedman said. “And that’s why they made the move when they did it.”
Friedman also discussed the Leafs’ interest in Meier, though the team apparently decided the acquisition cost wasn’t worth the return.
“I’m also thinking about the Maple Leafs was at Timo Meier, they at least looked at it. But they decided the price was too high and it made more sense to do so two Players at a lower price than you could get one Timo Meier.”
Due to the three-team nature of the trade, with St. Louis retaining 50 percent of O’Reilly’s cap hit and Minnesota retaining 25% of it, Toronto has just $1.875 million for Selke and Conn Smythe’s 2019 winner in the books. Meanwhile, Acciari has a $1.25 million cap hit, with both he and O’Reilly set to be unrestricted free agents this summer.
Meier has 31 goals, 21 assists in 57 games with San Jose this season. He is in the final year of a four-year, $24 million contract averaging $6 million per season per year.
The NHL trade deadline is set for March 3rd.
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Source: dailyhive.com
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