The Maple Leafs held a media availability at RattleSnake Point Golf Club in Milton, Ont. on Monday.
It’s not going to be easy to turn the page on the Mitch Marner era in Toronto.
“Well, I’m sure it’ll be an adjustment for the current guys,” acknowledged former Leafs captain Darryl Sittler, who is now a community representative with the franchise. “I mean, Mitch was such a [big] part of our team.”
Marner racked up a career high 102 points last season while leading the team’s forward group in ice time.
“He’s such a great player,” Sittler continued. “Like, you talk about his goals and assists and his creativeness which is awesome to watch, but he was very good defensively. He was an all-around player. Sometimes these things happen. He’s moving on. He’ll do very well I think in Las Vegas and we’ll miss him here.”
Sittler recalled how the Leafs traded away some important and popular players during the Punch Imlach and Harold Ballard era, including his close friend Lanny McDonald.
“It’s not the nicest thing in the game, obviously,” he said. “You learn to adjust. It’s your job and that’s what you have to do, and you have to pick it up and blend in with the new guys. You’re a team. The logo on your crest is the most important thing for all of us and I think players realize that.”
Players and team staff gathered at RattleSnake Point Golf Club in Milton, Ont. on Monday for the annual Leafs & Legends Charity Golf Classic to raise funds for the MLSE Foundation.
Three time zones away, Marner was taking part in his first such event with the Vegas Golden Knights.
When it became clear that Marner was planning to head to market, the Leafs negotiated a sign-and-trade deal with Vegas. Marner leaves his hometown team as the fifth-leading scorer in franchise history. The winger also leaves a big hole behind in the lineup.
General manager Brad Treliving aimed to fill the void by creating a deeper team. Right-shot centre Nicolas Roy came over in the trade with Vegas while wingers Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli were acquired in buy-low deals with the Vancouver Canucks and Utah Mammoth.
And while the Leafs will surely miss Marner’s production, there is also hope that a new approach may spark a different result in the playoffs. The Leafs won just two series during Marner’s nine seasons with the team.
“Maybe this is the year finally those hockey Gods will be with us and we can win a few rounds and challenge for the Cup,” Sittler said.
“I look forward to it.”
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Maccelli is enjoying life in Toronto so far with one exception: the traffic.
“Awful,” the 24-year-old said with a grin and a grimace. “That’s something I got to get used to. I can’t just go to the rink five minutes before. I got to think before leaving the house.”
The Leafs depth chart is a little less congested.
Marner, a top-line staple, isn’t the only winger who departed. Restricted free agent Pontus Holmberg was not qualified by the Leafs before landing a new deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Max Pacioretty also left town. In the playoffs, both Holmberg and Pacioretty saw shifts on the left side of John Tavares and William Nylander.
So, the Leafs have spots open and Maccelli produced 40 assists and 57 points as recently as the 2023-24 season with the Arizona Coyotes. Can he recapture that form while playing under the microscope in a hockey-mad market?
“I hope so, right?” he said. “I’m not a huge thinker usually, or overthink stuff, so I think that will help me.”
Maccelli describes his motivation for the new season as being “probably the highest it has ever been.”
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound lefty was shipped by Utah to Toronto in the summer in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in the 2027 draft. It upgrades to a 2029 second-round pick, if Toronto makes the playoffs this season and Maccelli records at least 51 points.
Maccelli picked up just 18 points in 55 games with Utah last season and found himself as a healthy scratch down the stretch.
Now, the native of Turku, Finland will get a chance to reboot his career in the centre of the hockey universe.
“Coming here, I mean, what’s a better place to play?” he said.
Maccelli, who carries a $3.425-million cap hit and is due to be a restricted free agent after this season, is hungry for team success.
“First of all, it would be nice to play playoffs for [the] first time in my career,” he said. “I haven’t had that before.”
The Leafs own the longest active playoff streak in the NHL at nine years.
Despite ‘awful’ traffic, motivated Maccelli sees Leafs as perfect vehicle for reignition After a disappointing season with the Utah Mammoth, Maple Leafs newcomer Matias Maccelli’s motivation coming into the new campaign is “the highest it’s ever been” and is looking forward to hopefully playing in the post-season for the first time in his career.
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The Leafs acquired Joshua for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 draft. The 29-year-old admitted to being surprised by the trade.
“I’m very highly motivated,” Joshua said in his first general availability with the Toronto media since the July 17 deal. “It was a rough year last year for me, so I know the things I need to do to put that in the past and make this a good one. So it’s right there for the taking.”
In 2023-24, Joshua posted a career-high 32 points in 63 games, which earned him a four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 million average annual value) with the Canucks.
Joshua missed training camp and the start of last season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer during the summer.
“It was a difficult time and tough to go through,” he said. “But, in the end, I’m very lucky and thankful that I got it taken care of early on and [I had] no real major side effects after recovering.”
Joshua returned to the Canucks lineup in mid-November, but never reclaimed the form from his breakout campaign. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound native of Michigan finished with 14 points in 57 games.
Joshua vows to bring a complete game to the Leafs lineup this season.
“I like to really bring it all,” he said. “I can bring physicality. I also think I have a good scoring touch and just, you know, [can be] a good team guy that can play anywhere in the lineup and on the PK.”
A fifth-round pick of the Leafs in 2014, Joshua actually started his NHL career in St. Louis where he played a couple seasons for current Toronto bench boss Craig Berube.
“He’s a very straightforward coach,” Joshua recalled. “You know what he expects out of you and is easy to play for [because] there’s no grey area. He likes it north and south, get up and down, and just, you know, compete is the main thing. So as long as you can compete then he’s a great coach to play for.”
Joshua landed 193 hits last season, which was second on the Canucks. Only one Leafs forward, Steven Lorentz, had as many hits last season.
‘It’s right there for the taking’: Ex-Canuck Joshua embraces chance with Berube’s Leafs Former Canuck Dakota Joshua is looking for a bounce back season and hopes to take full advantage of a new opportunity playing with the Maple Leafs and reminisces on what he remembers about playing for head coach Craig Berube in the past.
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Has Roy been recognized at all since landing in Toronto as part of the Marner trade?
“Not really,” the 28-year-old said with a smile. “Not so far, but maybe in the future. But I really like the city so far. Living downtown and getting to different restaurants and stuff, it’s been good.”
And if Roy starts getting stopped in the streets a little more that’s OK by him.
“It’ll be different for sure,” the native of Amos, Que. said. “Big market, Canada, I mean, it’s always nice to have a little pressure. That’s what you play for. So, it’ll be different, but I’ll enjoy it for sure.”
Roy showed he can handle pressure by helping the Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023. He plans to bring that playoff pedigree to the Leafs room.
“You don’t want to be too high, too low,” said Roy, who projects to start the season as Toronto’s third-line pivot. “I’ve been there. So, I mean, this team’s been there too [in the playoffs]. But I know what I can bring in the playoffs to help this team win so, yeah, I’m excited for that.”
‘Always nice to have a little pressure’: New Leaf Roy ready for the spotlight After being acquired by the Maple Leafs on July 1st in the move involving Mitch Marner, Nicolas Roy is excited to join a team wanting to ‘win right now’ and spoke on playing under a brighter spotlight than he is used to and the new roles he’s expecting to be slotted into after conversing with head coach Craig Berube.
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Roy has been skating with other Leafs players in Toronto for three weeks already. Who’s impressing him?
“Morgan Rielly‘s been buzzing in those skates, I feel like,” Roy said. “He’s been in really good shape. But a lot of guys have been looking really good.”
Rielly is among the Leafs players looking for a bounce-back season. He posted 41 points last year, which was a decline of 17 from the previous season.
Pezzetta, meanwhile, listed Matthews as someone who caught his eye during the informal workouts.
“When you see him just do things with the puck you realize, like, how good he actually is,” Pezzetta said with a smile. “Just crisp on every rep, and you really see his skill shine through, and it’s fun to watch guys like that practice.”
Hampered by injury during last season, Matthews scored 33 goals in 67 games, which was a drop-off from the 69 goals he tallied the previous year.
Leafs Ice Chips: Rielly buzzing at informal skates as vets adjust to Marner’s absence The Maple Leafs had a chance to trot out a few of their newest players during the Leafs & Legends Charity Golf Classic. TSN’s Mark Masters has more on who stood out to the newcomers and got some insight from Darryl Sittler on what it’s like when a team has to adjust when a key player leaves the team.
Among the new arrivals, no one knows the market like Pezzetta, who is a Toronto native.
“I’m just, like, so excited to put that jersey on for the first time,” the 27-year-old said. “I can’t even explain it.”
Pezzetta spent the previous four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens so he knows exactly what it takes to manage life in the spotlight of a Canadian market.
“I mean, for me, it’s just always work hard,” he said. “I think if you work as hard as you can and you show that to the fans and to your teammates, a lot of people usually just respect that and (smile) they’ll lay off you.”
Back in July, the Leafs signed Pezzetta to a two-year contract with an AAV of $812,500.
Hab-turned-Leaf Pezzetta knows how to earn respect from a passionate fan base Leafs newcomer and former Hab Michael Pezzetta spoke about what he brings to the table in fighting for a spot in the bottom six, moving to another original six team under the bright lights and the pride he feels when playing in front of such a passionate fanbase.
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The Leafs split a pair of games at the Prospect Showdown in Montreal over the weekend. Toronto’s rookies lost to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday before beating the host Habs on Sunday afternoon.
Luke Haymes was among the stand-out performers scoring in both games and finishing with four points overall. The 22-year-old from Ottawa, who signed with the Leafs out of Dartmouth College in March, is determined to make the jump to the NHL this season.
“My goal is to make the team,” the 6-foot-1 centre said last week before heading to Montreal. “I’m going to do everything in my power to do so.”
Haymes gained eight pounds in the summer while maintaining the same body fat level. He spent the entire offseason in Toronto and learned from seeing the current Leafs up close.
“I was watching a lot of [Bobby] McMann just because he had a lot of success last year (20 goals in 74 games) and he was a college guy as well from the ECAC [Colgate University]. I was watching his speed, but also his cutbacks and turns and how he gets out of out of those turns. He’s really good and he’s strong on his feet, so picking up stuff like that will help me.”
Haymes found faceoffs to be a challenge when he joined the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League at the end of last season. Working with Tavares this summer provided a boost in that department.
“He’s super strong on his stick, but he doesn’t get as low so it’s a tougher one to match up against,” Haymes observed. “But that’s why he’s one of the best at it.”
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The Leafs will officially open training camp on Wednesday. Treliving and Berube will hold a joint news conference before Matthews, Rielly and Tavares take the podium.
The first on-ice sessions of training camp are scheduled for Thursday. The team’s first pre-season game is on Sunday in Ottawa.