Asking price for Ryan O'Reilly has been leaked

The St. Louis Blues certainly appear to be on the verge of a transitional period in their franchise, just a few short years after achieving hockey's ultimate glory of raising the Stanley Cup after a hard-fought seven game series against the Boston Bruins in 2019. 

Franchise anchors Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly are both set to become unrestricted free agents at season's end, and could be dangled at the NHL Trade Deadline for considerable returns. Tarasenko has already requested to be moved out of town once before rescinding it, and it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see the two sides part ways before too long. Meanwhile, O'Reilly has already lambasted his own personal performance this season that saw him get off to the worst statistical start of his career to a campaign. 

With the NHL Trade Deadline on the horizon, the chatter has continued to build that the Blues captain will in fact be moved to a team looking to make an extended run. And the team that he's been mostly connected with is the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have plenty of playoff demons to exercise of their own. 

But what would it cost Leafs general manager to acquire the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner? It certainly wouldn't come cheap, according to one recently released report. Per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, the price for O'Reilly would include a 1st round Draft selection along with a highly touted prospect: 

"When I asked an NHL scout what the Blues might ask for, the response on the condition of anonymity because he's not permitted to discuss other teams' rosters was: 'First-round pick plus Knies or Minten.'"

Matthew Knies was drafted 57th overall by the Leafs in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, and is currently suiting up for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Meanwhile, Fraser Minten was selected by Toronto in the second round (38th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft and was recently signed to a three year entry level contract.