- At the end of 2023-24, it looked as though Matias Maccelli was inching his way to star status as an NHL scorer. The Finnish winger had scored 57 points in his second full season in the NHL, but things went badly wrong in 2024-25. Maccelli’s offense cratered, and he found himself in-and-out of the Utah lineup en route to a final total of just 18 points. Now with the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to an offseason trade, Maccelli is a candidate to have a real bounce-back year in 2025-26. He told The Hockey News’ Nick Barden today that his level of motivation is “probably the highest it has ever been,” and expressed some hope that he’ll get to play with and learn from some of the Leafs’ “top names.” Toronto has a major scoring void to fill after the departure of Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights, so Maccelli will have a massive opportunity to get his career back on the right track. If he can show chemistry with one of Toronto’s two star centers, he could quickly find himself back in the strong statistical company he once held.