Boston Bruins trade chatter just latched onto Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matias Maccelli, and it has rival nerves buzzing.
A proposed Toronto-Boston swap has been making the rounds online, and Leafs fans are already fuming at the idea of helping the Bruins. It's all speculation right now, but the name being floated is real.
Toronto didn't draft Maccelli, they bought low. The Leafs acquired him from the Utah Mammoth for a conditional 2027 third-round pick that can upgrade if Toronto makes the playoffs and he hits a points threshold.
Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs trade tension
As a Bruins fan, I won't lie, stealing a skilled winger from Toronto would feel incredible.
On the ice, the fit is easy to picture. Boston still needs more pace and creativity on controlled entries, and Maccelli is the kind of puck connector who can turn broken plays into slot looks on the next touch.
The issue is role and value. In Toronto he's been stuck fighting for minutes, and reports have noted he's spent time buried in the lineup, which is exactly why the «change of scenery» chatter won't die.
Even in a smaller role, the production is respectable. Maccelli has 15 points in 29 games this season, and he's signed at a $3.425 million cap hit with RFA status coming when the deal ends, so you're not renting him for two months.
That's where it gets tricky for Boston. If the Leafs are willing to move him inside the division, they'll want a real sweetener, and the Bruins have to decide if that price beats chasing a different winger elsewhere.
Should the Boston Bruins push hard for Matias Maccelli?