The Maple Leafs held an optional skate at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
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Matias Maccelli finished last season as a healthy scratch in Utah. He starts this season on Toronto’s top line.
“I mean, it sounds pretty good to me, right?” the 24-year-old Finn said with a smile.
Maccelli is getting the first chance to fill the spot vacated by Mitch Marner beside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
“Obviously, it’s a great opportunity for me to play with both those guys,” said Maccelli, who produced eight goals and 10 assists in 55 games with Utah last season. “Just play my own game [and] do little things well like win battles, check a little bit, and just work hard and make plays. That’s what it comes down to.”
The initial plan was for Max Domi to start on the top line, but an injury to centre Scott Laughton led coach Craig Berube to change course. Domi, who skated alongside Matthews in the final pre-season game for the team’s regulars, has moved to centre on the third line.
Berube was asked how much runway he’ll give Maccelli to show he can hang with Matthews and Knies.
“That’s always the question, right?” the coach said. “I think he had some good practice time with that line. I’ve liked what I’ve seen in practice.”
Maccelli, a lefty being asked to play on the right for the first time in the NHL, did assist on a Matthews goal in the one pre-season game that he played on the top line.
“Definitely still learning,” the 5-foot-11, 187-pounder said. “But it’s getting better and better.”
Maccelli is a gifted playmaker, who racked up 40 assists in 82 games during the 2023-34 season before falling out of favour in Utah.
“Fantastic player,” defenceman Brandon Carlo said. “He can turn around in a phone booth. He’s very hard to defend. His playmaking ability, he’ll be in a great spot with those two players.”
Berube was reluctant to start Maccelli with Matthews because he didn’t want to put too much on his plate early on. After all, Maccelli is adjusting to a new team while rebuilding his confidence following a trying season.
“He doesn’t need to complicate the game and think he’s always got a pass,” Berube stressed. “He just needs to play the game. He’s got a good shot, and he’s shown us that he can fire a puck. He needs to shoot pucks. He needs to just play the game. He doesn’t have to overanalyze it. He doesn’t have to overpass. He just has to go and play. He’s got to be responsible defensively. He’s got to work. He’s got to compete. All those things are going to determine if he can stick there and make that work or not.”
Maccelli is dealing with some nervous energy ahead of his debut in the centre of the hockey universe.
“I feel like you always have a little bit of nerves, especially first game of the year,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re playing at. So, I think it’s just normal to have a little bit of nerves, but not, like, bad.”
‘Sounds pretty good to me’: Maccelli to make Leafs debut alongside Matthews Toronto acquired Matias Maccelli from Utah in the offseason, as the Leafs were hoping to obtain another creative winger. Tonight, Maccelli will make his season debut on the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Happy for the opportunity, Maccelli knows he has to focus on both sides of the ice, and do the little things away from the puck.
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In a rare move, Matthews decided to take part in the team’s optional morning skate. The 28-year-old centre, who dealt with an upper-body injury all of last season, usually opts for rest on the morning of a game day.
“I feel good,” Matthews said after Tuesday’s practice. “I thought camp was really solid and physically felt better and better each day. So, I’m really happy with where I’m at and just want to continue that momentum going into the game.”
Matthews scored in both pre-season games he played in.
“He looks really good for me,” said Berube. “Right from the beginning of the camp, I think he’s been highly competitive, strong. You know, looks like he’s got another gear right now for me.”
After sustaining an upper-body injury in training camp, Matthews was held off the scoresheet in last year’s season opener in Montreal.
The Arizona native is usually a fast starter, though. Matthews has piled up 12 goals and three assists in eight season-opening games. He missed one season opener due to injury.
Leafs Ice Chips: Matthews raring to go, but Cowan has to wait The Maple Leafs open the season tonight against the Canadiens, and during the morning skate was a rare sight as Toronto captain Autson Matthews took part. TSN’s Mark Masters has more on his status, the reasons Easton Cowan’s season debut will have to wait and more.
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The last time the Leafs and Canadiens played in April, Marner scored the only goal in a 1-0 win. How Toronto adapts to life without the 102-point winger will be a storyline throughout the coming campaign.
The Leafs attempted to construct a deeper group up front to fill the void left behind by Marner. Left winger Dakota Joshua and centre Nicolas Roy will join Maccelli in making their Toronto debuts on Wednesday.
“The pieces we added are good pieces,” Berube said. “I mean, a guy like Dakota Joshua has got size. He plays that heavy style of hockey that you need. And he has the ability to score goals, which he did in Vancouver.”
Joshua scored a career-high 18 goals and added 14 assists in 63 games in the 2023-24 season with the Canucks.
The Michigan native missed the start of the season last year after being diagnosed with, and successfully treated for, testicular cancer. After returning to the lineup in mid-November, Joshua ended up producing just seven goals and seven assists in 57 games.
“I’m really excited to start on time this year,” said Joshua, who played for Berube earlier in his career in St. Louis. “Last year it was tough, but it makes me all the more grateful to get the year going in game one. It’s just a fun time.”
The 29-year-old forward was actually drafted by the Leafs in the fifth-round way back in 2014, but never signed with the team. So, this debut is 11 years in the making.
“Very surreal, full circle,” he said. “Filled with excitement and just happy to be here and happy it worked out the way it did that I get the chance to play for the Leafs all the years later.”
‘We should wear teams down’: Joshua, Leafs look to throw their weight around Drafted back in 2014 by Toronto, Dakota Joshua is set to make his Maple Leafs debut tonight against Montreal. Joshua spent time in St. Louis and Vancouver before finding his way back to the Maple Leafs. Standing at 6’3” and 218 pounds, the physical winger hopes to contribute to Toronto’s new style.
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Joshua, who stands 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, is one of the reasons why the Leafs weighed in as the heaviest team in the NHL this season.
“I think if everyone’s playing to their capability, we should wear teams down and grind the other teams down in a full 60-minute game,” Joshua said. “You’ve got to use it to your advantage and make sure you’re using it the right way.”
Toronto’s average weight is 210 pounds.
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Defenceman Morgan Rielly is determined to bounce back after a disappointing season last year. How did he feel in training camp?
“I felt really good in practice,” the longest-serving Leaf said. “I didn’t really love the games, to be honest with you. But you try not to read into it too much. I believe that I’m ready just the way that everyone else in here believes that they’re ready. And, as a group, the puck drops tonight and I think we’ll all be ready.”
Rielly picked up one assist in three pre-season games. He finished the exhibition outings minus-four with one minor penalty. The Leafs lost all three games (0-2-1).
Rielly got off to a slow start last season after Berube urged him to eliminate some of the risk from his game. Now that there’s more familiarity with the coach and his system, Rielly is feeling more comfortable entering this season.
“It’s a little bit easier for everyone and that was a focus in training camp,” he said. “Just making sure that you’re dialled and you know what’s going on.”
Setting the stage for Leafs season opener What’s the outlook for a healthy Auston Matthews this season with the Maple Leafs? What’s the buzz like in Montreal for Ivan Demidov? What’s the plan for Easton Cowan? TSN’s Mark Masters is joined by TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston to weigh in on this and more ahead of the season opener for the Leafs and Habs.
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After sending Easton Cowan down to the AHL in a cap-related move, the Leafs recalled their top prospect on Wednesday morning. But Cowan’s NHL debut will have to wait.
“We don’t want him sitting out,” Berube said of the 20-year-old winger. “We want him playing. But we chose tonight that he will not play.”
The Leafs next game is on Saturday in Detroit.
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Projected Leafs lineup for Wednesday’s game:
Knies – Matthews – Maccelli
McMann – Tavares – Nylander
Joshua – Domi – Robertson
Lorentz – Roy – Jarnkrok
McCabe – Tanev
Rielly – Carlo
Benoit – Ekman-Larsson
Stolarz starts
Primeau
Scratches: Blais, Cowan, Myers
Leafs lineup in the season opener last year:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Domi – Tavares – Nylander
Pacioretty – Holmberg – Robertson
Lorentz – Kampf – Reaves
Rielly – Tanev
Ekman-Larsson – McCabe
Benoit – Timmins
Stolarz starts
Hildeby
Scratches: McMann, Liljegren, Myers
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