Matias Maccelli says he wants to remain with Maple Leafs beyond this season

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2025-26 regular season didn’t go as many around the organization had planned. A season ago, the Maple Leafs took the eventual Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers, to Game 7 of the second round, before falling 6-1 on home ice, and having to watch the Panthers go on to claim their second straight title.

The offseason then brought change, with the Maple Leafs trying to build a roster capable of dethroning the Panthers. The Maple Leafs added Matias Maccelli, among others, to try and create a team better equipped to get over the hump of playoff hockey.

Maccelli was acquired from the Utah Mammoth in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick in 2027. The draft pick had the chance to become a 2029 second-round pick if he recorded at least 51 points and the Maple Leafs qualified for the 2025-26 playoffs. Neither of these two things happened this year, as the Maple Leafs find themselves with a record of 32-35-14, good for second last in the Eastern Conference, and Maccelli has recorded 39 points through 70 games.

The Maple Leafs have a decision to make this off-season with Maccelli, who has posted 14 goals and 25 assists this season. The 24-year-old is set to be a restricted free agent at season’s end, due for a raise from the $3.425 million he made this year. The next general manager of the Maple Leafs can either negotiate a long-term extension with the forward prior to June 30 or sign the forward to a qualifying offer set at a value of $4.11 million.

Speaking to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, Maccelli touched on what this summer could hold for him and where he wants to be when the puck drops on the 2026-27 campaign.

“I want to stay in Toronto. I love the city, and I love the guys and everything about it. So, I would love to stay,” Maccelli said. “I mean, it’s like the biggest hockey city there is in the world, and the most recognizable team, and the fans and the city and everything about it – it’s just great.”

Maccelli took some time to get acclimated to his new surroundings, finding himself healthy scratched for nine straight games from late November into mid-December. He struggled at times in his defensive zone, as highlighted by his minus-22 rating on the season, which forced head coach Craig Berube to try and look for other answers to try and find success in his lineup.

Maccelli’s best stretch of the season came following the Olympic break in the month of March. Across 15 games in March, he recorded four goals and eight assists, providing glimpses of the player who recorded 57 points in 82 games with the Arizona Coyotes back in the 2023-24 season.

As for next season, the Maple Leafs are hoping to prove that 2025-26 was just an aberration from the teams that many fans have been accustomed to over the past decade. During Maccelli’s interview with Fox, he spoke about why the Maple Leafs have the ability to bounce back and put themselves in a position to get a shot at claiming hockey’s ultimate prize.

“You still see the guys in this room. Honestly, there weren’t many changes from last year, and they were first in the division,” Maccelli said. “So I’m confident that with this group and all these guys, and how many good players we’ve got in this locker room, we’ll be right back next year.”

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