For many Toronto Maple Leafs players, they’ve long been the subject of jokes about hitting the golf course as soon as their season ends.
For Matias Maccelli, one of the newest members of the Leafs, that’s actually where his time in Toronto started.
Maccelli, who was traded from the Utah Mammoth on June 30, was in the midst of an afternoon round when the Leafs decided to make a move for him.
“I was at the golf course, just trying to make a putt, and then my friend started yelling that I just got traded to Toronto,” Maccelli told the media today. “It was a pretty exciting golf round, the rest of that. I was obviously super, super pumped and excited to be part of the Leafs. It was just a super exciting moment.”
Maccelli, a 24-year-old native of Turku, Finland, is entering his fifth NHL campaign.
“I’ve been working a lot this summer on my game, more than maybe the previous years,” Maccelli added. ” Just have to be comfortable again with the puck and make plays and all that kind of stuff. I’ve been definitely putting the work in this summer and am ready to go.”
In 55 games last season with Utah, Maccelli put up eight goals and 10 assists for a total of 18 points. A year prior, however, he put up a career-high 17 goals and 40 assists while playing for the Arizona Coyotes before the franchise’s dissolution and relocation to Utah.
“It comes down to ice time and opportunity, kind of, with the points. It wasn’t obviously the best year for myself [in Utah]. But I still know I’m a better player than I was,” Maccelli said. “I’ve got it still in me. Now, I’ve just got to show people that again.”
But as for his golf game? Well, Maccelli has some work to do there, as well.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t make that putt, but still played a decent round,” Maccelli laughed when asked if the trade threw him off at all.
Lead photo by
 Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images