Much has been made about the Toronto Maple Leafs parting ways with Mitch Marner this offseason. After nine seasons together, they made the decision to trade the then-pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Though the trade came as no surprise, it certainly stung that the Maple Leafs were forced to give up a 100-point player for a rather minimal return. The question suddenly turned to how they would possibly replace his offence, and many still believe they’ve failed to do so.
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While you’re never going to flat out replace a player with the skill level of Marner, you can bring in solid, and much cheaper, options to try and work together to help make up for some of that lost offence. The Maple Leafs have certainly done that, led by one addition in particular that isn’t getting a ton of talk right now, but could wind up being viewed as the pick-up of the offseason.
Maccelli a Very Underrated Addition
The Utah Mammoth were clearly not very high on Matias Maccelli after a disappointing 2024-25 season. The 24-year-old was healthy scratched on numerous occasions by head coach Andre Tourigny, and wound up scoring just eight goals while adding 10 helpers in 55 games.
Based on those stats, it would make sense as to why Maccelli was acquired by the Maple Leafs for nothing more than a conditional third-round pick in 2027. After all, those numbers suggest that he’s a borderline NHLer at best, and that, paired with his $3.425 million cap hit, may have even convinced some that the Maple Leafs were the team that lost this trade. Thankfully for Maple Leafs fans, that is very far from the case.
It’s rather puzzling that Maccelli fell out of favour so quickly with the Mammoth, as he was viewed as a focal piece of the franchise just a year ago. The Finnish winger was one of several impressive young pieces the Mammoth had, and he certainly appeared to be a part of the core group. It made plenty of sense, given that he was coming off a 17-goal, 57-point season. As a rookie in 2022-23, he had 11 goals and 49 points in just 64 games.
Those numbers through his first two NHL seasons show just how much skill Maccelli has. Despite being undersized at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, he has already proven that he can be offensively productive at the NHL level. This past season was nothing more than losing the trust of his head coach, though the change in scenery should help him get his confidence back and return to the promising upward trajectory he was showing.
It’s important to note that prior to the 2024-25 season, Maccelli was viewed as one of the most underrated young talents in the game. That title has seemingly gone to the wayside following his rough season, though joining the Maple Leafs gives him a great opportunity to get back to being the player he was. After all, there is a very strong chance he winds up playing alongside one of Auston Matthews or John Tavares, while also seeing time on the power play. That alone should allow for Maccelli to have a huge season, perhaps surpassing the 60-point barrier for the first time in his young career.
Wise Move by the Maple Leafs
Given the amount of cap space the Maple Leafs obtained after trading Marner, taking a bit of a gamble on a player like Maccelli makes all the sense in the world. He has just one season remaining on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent (RFA), meaning that if he really struggles, the Maple Leafs can cut bait.
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In all likelihood, however, he will excel. Not only does he get a fresh start with a new coach, but he’s playing on a team with far more offensive weapons than he had in Utah. Don’t be surprised to see this addition considered one of the best of the summer by the time the 2025-26 season has come to an end.
