Will the Maple Leafs let pending RFA walk in July?
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a storied franchise that is in the throes of chaos at the moment. Without Captain Auston Matthews and the burden of general manager Brad Treliving's failures coming to light, fans in Toronto aren't happy.
The team has begun to sell, as the inclination of the team is to remake itself, but what will they look like after Treliving is done tearing down the Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan consensus?
Mitch Marner was the first casualty, being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in the summer after suffering through vitriol from the fanbase, and after disappointing runs in the playoffs.
A perennial first-round exit was the status quo for this Maple Leafs team (other than 2023 and 2025, where they won a round). Now, with a teardown imminent, the team has to find players who could be subtracted from the team without harm.
According to JFresh there's speculation that the Maple Leafs could let Finnish forward Mattias Maccelli, acquired in trade, walk as a restricted free agent (RFA) in the summer.
Speculation that the Leafs might let Maccelli walk as an RFA this summer. pic.twitter.com/8V8HBIU5Ia
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 16, 2026
Brad Treliving to Let Mattias Maccelli Walk For Nothing?
Maccelli has scored 33 points (14-19) in 57 games as a Maple Leaf this season. The 98th overall pick in 2019 has found his utilization increasing with Matthews being out injured. He was a healthy-scratch in December, and these rumors surrounding the forward give weight that he may not be a fit for the organization long-term.
Last game he played in the top-six per DailyFaceOff with John Tavares centering, and William Nylander on the left wing.
It seems a foolish choice to let Macelli walk into free agency in July, but with the current Maple Leafs situation, we wouldn't put it past GM Brad Treliving to do something extraordinary.
Macelli has played 281 games in the NHL and is known as a playmaker, scoring 163 points (51-112). He was acquired in trade from the Utah Mammoth for a conditional third-round pick in 2027.
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
