The 25-year-old winger is still looking to get back to his old self, though he has shown improvement overall
In the last season of the Arizona Coyotes’ 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.
But that success didn’t follow him to Utah.
He ended the 2024-25 season with just eight goals and 18 points over the course of 55 games. He’d been a lock for Team Finland’s 4 Nations Face-Off team, but by the time the roster announcement was made, he was hardly on anyone’s radar.
“Long story short, there (was) growth from within,” said Mammoth head coach André Tourigny. “The role he was in, (which) was uncontested, became contested because there (was) growth from underneath.”
Tourigny explained that in a situation where nobody is in place to take your spot, you get plenty of mulligans. But when there’s competition, your leash is shorter.
“I don’t think it’s something I can answer in two minutes,” Tourigny added. “He 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.”
At the conclusion of a frustrating season, the Mammoth granted Maccelli a fresh start with a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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’s absence, they hoped he’d be a budget version of him.
While it hasn’t been perfect — he watched from the healthy scratches’ spot in the press box a bunch of times earlier in the season — Maccelli is already one point shy of last year’s total, and he’s played 22 fewer games.
He’s on the Leafs’ 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’s 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’re back on the right track.
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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, he tallied two points — including the game-winning goal.
“It’ll be fun,” Maccelli told the Toronto media on Saturday in anticipation of his return. “You know, I played with most of the guys for four years, so it’s going to be fun to see the guys there and go back there, but obviously, no friends out there. We’re there to do our job and win the game.”
When asked whether he’d “go all Scott Laughton versus Philadelphia” (Laughton scored a short-handed goal and went 19-1 in the face-off circle in his first game back in Philly on Thursday), he shrugged it off with a smile.
“We’ll see. I hope so,” he said.
As much as it would sting Mammoth fans to see Maccelli burn them again, the trade stipulated that the third-round pick upgrades to a second if he reaches 51 points and the Leafs make the playoffs — so while they don’t want to lose, they should certainly still be cheering him on.
His last road goal was more than a year ago: Jan. 4, 2025 in Dallas. He’d be thrilled to break that skid in his former home arena.
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