In the last season of the Arizona Coyotes\u2019 existence, Matias Maccelli was knocking on the door of 60 points. It was his second consecutive season surpassing expectations, and being 23 years old at the time, there was no ceiling on what he could become.<\/p>\n
But that success didn\u2019t follow him to Utah.<\/p>\n
He ended the 2024-25 season with just eight goals and 18 points over the course of 55 games. He\u2019d been a lock for Team Finland\u2019s 4 Nations Face-Off team, but by the time the roster announcement was made, he was hardly on anyone\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong story short, there (was) growth from within,\u201d said Mammoth head coach Andr\u00e9 Tourigny. \u201cThe role he was in, (which) was uncontested, became contested because there (was) growth from underneath.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tourigny explained that in a situation where nobody is in place to take your spot, you get plenty of mulligans. But when there\u2019s competition, your leash is shorter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s something I can answer in two minutes,\u201d Tourigny added. \u201cHe has responsibility, I have responsibility, the role has a factor and the makeup of the roster, the opportunity we wanted to provide to the young players.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of a frustrating season, the Mammoth granted Maccelli a fresh start with a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Leafs had just lost superstar playmaker Mitch Marner in free agency, and while it was never realistic to expect Maccelli to fully make up for Marner\u2019s absence, they hoped he\u2019d be a budget version of him.<\/p>\n While it hasn\u2019t been perfect \u2014 he watched from the healthy scratches\u2019 spot in the press box a bunch of times earlier in the season \u2014 Maccelli is already one point shy of last year\u2019s total, and he\u2019s played 22 fewer games.<\/p>\n He\u2019s on the Leafs\u2019 first power play unit and plays on a line with future Hall of Famers John Tavares and William Nylander, who are both on pace to match last year\u2019s point production. The Leafs are one point back of a playoff spot at the time of writing, but having secured points in nine consecutive games, they\u2019re back on the right track.<\/p>\n Maccelli returns to Utah on Tuesday for the first time since the trade, which sent a conditional 2027 third-round pick back to the Mammoth. When the two teams met in Toronto in November<\/a>, he tallied two points \u2014 including the game-winning goal.<\/p>\n