- Maple Leafs won’t qualify Matias Maccelli, sending him to free agency on July 1
- His qualifying offer would have run about $4.1 million after a 39-point season
- Read below for the five RFAs Toronto kept and why Maccelli walked
The Maple Leafs are letting Matias Maccelli walk for nothing.
Toronto passed on a qualifying offer to the winger before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline, which makes him an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Here’s Chris Johnston with the report:
Maccelli’s qualifying offer would have landed around $4.1 million. That’s a lot for a player who managed 39 points last season, his only one in Toronto.
The Leafs brought him in last summer expecting more. He scored 14 goals and added 25 assists in 71 games, fine depth numbers that didn’t justify a $4.1 million tag.
He came up as a slick passer and posted solid offensive seasons in Arizona before the production dipped after the move north.
Getting younger and cheaper up front matters too, especially after Toronto landed No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna. Paying a bottom-six winger top-six money didn’t fit that plan.
Maccelli wasn’t the only call. Toronto did tender qualifying offers to five other restricted free agents:
Defenseman Henry Thrun is the other RFA the Leafs let go.
It’s been a busy stretch for Toronto, which also re-signed defenseman Troy Stecher to a two-year deal this week. Clearing Maccelli’s cap number gives the front office a little more room to work with before the market opens.
Maccelli reaches the open market Wednesday at 25 years old. A bigger role somewhere new could be what gets his scoring touch back.
