Utah Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong is hopeful that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matias Maccelli can find his game again because he feels the forward is a good person.
The two teams connected on a trade on June 30th that sent the forward to Toronto and a conditional third-round pick going the other way. The conditions on the pick are that it improves to a second if Maccelli reaches 51 points and the Leafs reach the playoffs in the 2025-26 season.
While Armstrong may want to see Maccelli rebound to get that future second-round pick, he is also rooting for Maccelli the person to succeed because he feels the 24-year-old is a good man. He appeared on Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on Monday to discuss how the trade came together.
“I’ve always viewed being at GM with your players as a partnership. I’ve always had pretty good relationships with the players,” he said. “ When there’s not a fit for us in our club, we’re gonna do what’s best for our club. But at the same time, if we can help the player out and move him to a good place for him, too, and that’s what happened in this particular deal. It’s a good deal for Utah, it’s a great deal for the Leafs, and it’s gonna be good for the player. He is gonna go in and he’s gonna play around some high-end skilled players and it’s gonna benefit the Leafs and it’s gonna benefit him.”
“If he hits for the Leafs, he can do wonders, & he’s a great kid. We wish him the best. He really is a good person.”
– @utahmammoth GM Bill Armstrong on Matias Maccelli @thegoldenmuzzy | @Jay_D_Rosehill
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Armstrong said that part of why Maccelli fell out of favour with the Mammoth was due to a combination of factors. Utah’s young crop of players which includes Logan Cooley, Dylan Gunther, and Barrett Hayton, were eating up more ice time while Maccelli was never able to find his footing after a slow start to the season. The growing internal competition is a sign that the Mammoth are on the rise and looking to take the next step, hence why they had to sacrifice a promising young player in Maccelli to clear room for others. But that doesn’t mean Armstrong isn’t going to miss what the forward brought to the fold.
“ He’s a high-end playmaker. That’s what he is. He’s an opportunist, he creates a lot of odd-man rushes you’re gonna love,” he said. “ He’s got some sweet play makings, and he is getting a lot of no-look stuff going on. When he is on, he can light it up. He’s certainly a dynamic player at times. I think he’ll have to find his synergy with the players around him, but I think he’ll do that. I think he’ll be a good fit for Toronto.”
GM Brad Treliving have been busy making some moves throughout the offseason beyond the Maccelli trade, including the sign-and-trade of Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights and Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks for Henry Thrun. There is still some business to attend to, with the big one being the acquisition of a top-six forward.
At the time of filing, that trade has yet to materialize, and it’s unclear if it will by the time training camp rolls around in about two months from now. While it seems that nothing of note is going on in the hockey world, Armstrong said that GMs like himself and Treliving still have a lot to do over the summer.
“ It is pretty busy. It’s not like people would think that you’re at the cottage in the Muskoka somewhere with your feet up on the dock and when your dog’s sitting beside you,” he said. “The phone’s ringing, you’re hiring people. Staffs nowadays, they’re huge in the National Hockey League, so you’re rehiring. You’re constantly having strategy to make sure you get the best staff known to mankind around you. And people are leaving and coming. The world of NHL analytics are getting fine-tuned, everything’s getting better. You better be vested in the summer to get better as an organization; the NHL doesn’t sleep, it’s 24/7.”
You can watch the full interview with Armstrong down below:
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