After having Matias Maccelli on the Toronto Maple Leafs for almost a full season, and the 25-year-old winger becoming an RFA this summer, it’s time to wonder if he’ll still be here next season, and if he’ll want to be. However, is his cap hit worth it, especially considering the over $4M qualifying offer he’s owed?
Maccelli was traded from Utah for next year’s conditional third-round draft pick. Was Maccelli worth Treliving trading away another yet another asset? Of course, back in June, we had yet to find out what a disaster this season would be. Looking back on this season, I wish we still had that pick, but at least it won’t be upgraded. If we had made the playoffs and Maccelli had recorded 51 points this season, that third-rounder would have become a 2029 second-round pick. He has logged 12 points in 14 games so far this month, but with only eight games left in the Leafs’ season, 14 points in eight games is not going to be possible.
Current numbers
After being scratched earlier in the season, Maccelli is almost tripling his scoring output since the Olympic break. He’s been on a bit of a tear.
For example, in both October and November of this season, Maccelli played 11 games each month. He logged 4 points in October and 5 in November. At the time of writing, Maccelli has played 14 games this month, but has logged 12 points.
In January, he was getting a couple more minutes of ice-time on average, but his shot percentage is way higher this month (22%) when compared to January’s (7%). Someone forgot to tell him about the tank.
This last stretch
This last stretch, he’s been a zero or 100 kind of guy, logging two assists in the Leafs’ win against the Rangers on Wednesday, and another two assists in their overtime loss against the Hurricanes last Friday. But, in between those two games, he was kind of invisible in Boston and struggled in Ottawa. He had a couple of great shots in Ottawa after taking a penalty that Stüzle capitalized on. He only had one shot attempt in Boston. Macelli also struggled, just like everyone else, in St. Louis
We’ve seen Maccelli on the power-play consistently this season, but he hasn’t logged points during a power-play in his last eight games. Not that that really means much in this Leafs’ season….
Cap-hit comparisons & moving forward
Will Matais Maccelli still be here next season, and will he want to be?
Comparing Maccelli to Nick Robertson, whose cap hit is just over half of Maccelli’s, and who also is an RFA come summer, I’d rather the team focus on keeping Robertson. Maccelli does have five more points in eight fewer games than Nicky Bobby, but again, we’re paying Maccelli almost double; I would hope he’s logged maybe more than just 5 more points.
Maccelli has had pretty similar ice time this season as he had in Utah last year. I think whether or not he stays a Leaf will come down to whether we can afford him or if we can get some 2027 or 2028 draft picks back for him. If the Maple Leafs decide to rebuild over the off-season, I think we could get some future hope for Maccelli. If the organization decides to try to push for a Cup while we still have Matthews, then we should try to keep Maccelli on board.
Cowan, Maccelli and Robertson are similar type players and they don’t need all 3, especially because they’re all small. Cowan has more potential so he’s staying. Maccelli has been mostly poor for 2/3 of the season and picked it up for this last part in his RFA year. He’s too expensive for his first 2/3 play and needs to go. Robertson should be traded if he causes too much of a problem for a third year in a row.