Former Maple Leafs Forward Emerges As Ideal Trade Target To Improve Bottom Six
The Toronto Maple Leafs could look to Pittsburgh and reunite with an old friend Noel Acciari, as the forward is rumored to be available on the trade block.
While it's not exactly written on the wall, the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to instill some fresh faces into their lineup now, and in the future. Shipping Lars Eller back to Washington was just the beginning, and unless your name is Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin; your days are just as numbered.
So with former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas frantically trying to figure out how he will construct his team, maybe the current front office boss should give him a call. Brad Treliving might want to see what it would take for the Penguins to part with forward Noel Acciari:
Noel Acciari
Acciari, 32, is a beefy, grinding centerman who doesn't score too often but what he lacks in scoring he makes up for in throwing hits, throwing bombs, and playing stout defense.
Only 5'10 but 209 pounds, Acciari is a steady presence down the middle who can win faceoffs, kill penalties, and provide Toronto the stability they need. Originally undrafted, Acciari has spent time with Boston, Florida, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh in addition to Toronto two years ago.
He played with the Maple Leafs from 2022-2023 after he came over in the Ryan O'Reilly trade. He scored four goals in the regular season and added two in the playoffs while playing incredible defense. For his career, he has 65 goals and 47 assists in 457 games, with a career 50.7% from the faceoff dot. It's all the ingredients to make the Maple Leafs bottom six palatable.
How Would The Trade Work?
His manning the middle in between Max Domi and Nick Robertson would allow Acciari to handle defensive duties and give both men the ability to try to get their offensive spark going.
Though, it may be tough. Not that Toronto doesn't have the pieces to give Pittsburgh, it's whether or not Kyle Dubas wants to make a deal with his former club. He has no problem stealing players and personnel from his old club, but would be unlike his replacement in wanting to make a deal; Dubas undoubtedly holds a grudge.
Toronto could entice Dubas with a former player he was so high on. Toronto is slowly losing a spot and patience for Pontus Holmberg to break out, and with a bevy of forwards in their system who could take his spot.
Toronto is in win-now mode and needs a desperate change. Holmberg could find new life in Pittsburgh and get more chances to prove he belongs. Plus Holmberg is younger and offers more future upside to Pittsburgh than Acciari, and fits their hybrid rebuilding plan.
He's fairly cheap too at $2M and with Holmberg the other way, Toronto basically swaps identical contracts and players and brings in a successful veteran who can contribute in multiple ways while also helping out Dubas (as much as they might not want to) and give him an asset to work with for the future.
Time is ticking for both Brad Treliving and Kyle Dubas, so maybe they should check their egos at the door and work out a deal that benefits both teams now and in the future.
| POLL | ||
Should Brad Treliving trade for Noel Acciari? | ||
