The Toronto Maple Leafs traded for Matias Maccelli, hoping he could inject some much-needed punch into the team’s post-Marner lineup.
No one realistically believes that Maccelli could be a replacement for Marner. Unless Maccelli were a proven 100-point scorer, there’s no comparison there.
The idea behind landing someone like Maccelli was that he could do the job Zach Hyman and Michael Bunting once did. Hyman and Bunting acted as puck hounds, retrieving and digging along the boards, to serve Marner and Matthews.
Since Bunting left, there hasn’t been anyone to truly fill that void. Matthew Knies has stuck around on that top line, but he’s a goal-scoring power forward, not a puck hound.
That’s where Maccelli can earn a spot on Auston Matthews’ wing. Maccelli can become that worker bee that digs pucks in and out of battles, setting up either Matthews or Knies. But earning that spot will take a lot of convincing.
Daily Faceoff believes that Maccelli could fill that void. Maccelli is slated to start the season on the top line. That’s a fair assessment. After all, there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t do it. Despite being relatively undersized at 5’11” and 185 pounds, Maccelli can make up for his lack of size with tenacity.
But PuckPedia believes the best fit for Matthews’ wing is William Nylander. Yes, that would make an uber-talented top line. But it would force Knies to become that puck retriever and take Matthews away from scoring and playing a two-way game.
In short, Maccellin has a legitimate chance to land on the top line. But he’ll need to stay healthy. Then, he’ll need to prove he’s a tough enough customer to dig out the puck that Matthews and Knies will need to generate offense.
And, if possible, drop the gloves a couple of times here and there.
Maccelli somewhat of reclamation project for Maple Leafs
Fans should kid themselves. Maccelli is not the sort of player who can jump off the bus and hit the ice. He’s a type of reclamation project the team will hope works out.
The then-Arizona Coyotes picked Maccelli in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He appeared in 23 games in his first season, showing very little.
But then, he scored 11 goals and 49 points in his second season. He then notched 17 goals and 57 points in 82 games in his third season. The expectation was that Maccelli could turn the corner and become a 20-goal scorer.
But then last season, splat. Maccelli scored eight goals and 18 points in 55 games with the now-Utah Mammoth. His lack of scoring earned him press box duty for most of the second half of the season. He was a healthy scratch for 17 of 20 games down the stretch.
His $3.4 ¿25 million cap hit was one the Mammoth were eager to get off the books. That’s why the club was willing to let him go for just a third-round pick. Even so, we could argue the Maple Leafs overpaid for Maccelli.
In Toronto, Maccelli will get a fresh start. He’ll have a chance to prove he’s a solid NHLer. But that won’t come easy. While he’ll have an opportunity, he’ll have to be good. He can’t afford to let his drive and compete level go down.
If he can turn up the intensity from day 1 of camp, he’ll get his chance on Opening Night. Otherwise, he may find himself hitting the waiver wire.