Brad Treliving and the Leafs continue to try to add a top-six forward, and are now reportedly taking calls on one of their off-season acquisitions, Matias Maccelli.
They were hopeful that he would be able to recapture the play that saw him score 17 times and tally 57 points during the 2023-2024 season and replace some of the offense lost when they traded Mitch Marner the following day.
Struggling to find a fit, Maccelli remains in the press-box
Maccelli has found himself scratched three separate times in his first season with the Leafs. The 25-year-old has not played since November 29th, with head coach Craig Berube looking for more out of the young forward.
Thursday marked his fifth straight game Maccelli watched from above as the Leafs fell in overtime to the San Jose Sharks.
Handful of teams expected to call the Leafs about Maccelli
“Maccelli, unfortunately, hasn’t been a fit for the Maple Leafs. I don’t believe they were the only team who looked at him in the summer, so some of those clubs may circle back.”
It was a conditional third-round pick the Leafs sent to the Utah Mammoth back in June for Maccelli, so it is likely that is the return they would expect if they were to trade him.
In 22 games for the Leafs, the 2019 fourth-round pick has registered a measly nine points, which is nowhere near what the Leafs expected for someone carrying a $3.425M cap hit and may make it difficult to see a similar return if they were to trade him.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily