Matias Maccelli made his Toronto Maple Leafs debut on the club’s first line alongside star center Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, and the results were mixed. Although the Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Wednesday, the line only had an expected goals share of 36 percent at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Before Friday's practice, ahead of the club’s road opener in Detroit, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube summoned Maccelli for a discussion.
“I just talked to him about his game a little bit, discussed some things that I saw as good, and there are other things that I want him to feel more confident,” Berube said of the talk. “He's a good player, he's got abilities, so just play with that confidence. Use your skills, use your skill set”.
Maccelli began camp on the first line but moved to the third line after a lower-body injury to Max Domi necessitated a move. Days after Domi returned, Maccelli was moved to the third line with Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy. A lower-body injury to Scott Laughton in the final home pre-season game forced an adjustment of Domi from wing to center, putting Maccelli back in the spot. Perhaps the constant shifting has stalled Maccelli’s chemistry with his linemates, but it certainly wasn’t a great first game together.
“We got the job done and got the points and that's all that matters,” Maccelli said following practice on Friday. “I think we had a couple of good shifts, a couple of good looks. Still early, first game, so we're working on it today. We'll talk about it more and maybe watch some video and get better”.
The Maple Leafs acquired Maccelli in a trade this summer with the Utah Mammoth. The forward underperformed last season with eight goals and 10 assists in 55 games. Now he’s being asked to fill the spot vacated by star player Mitch Marner, who completed a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on June 30. In Maccelli, the Leafs are hoping he can replicate the offense he showed with the Arizona Coyotes, where he received Calder Trophy votes.
Most of the success of Toronto’s first line will come down to Matthews, who likes the “give-and-go” style from a winger in that spot.
“It's just going to continue to get better," Matthews said. "The more repetitions we get together, getting those game-like situations or game-situations, the better and more comfortable we’re going to be together”.
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