Edmonton Oilers lost out on steal of a trade to Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs ended up acquire the young forward from the Utah Mammoth on July 1st for only a conditional third round draft pick, which could be a steal of a deal for Toronto.

On today's edition of the 32 Thoights Podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that Edmonton was among the interested teams in acquiring Maccelli.

The 24 year old Finnish winger is under contract for one more season at $3.425M and is coming off a down season as the Arizona Coyotes became the Utah Mammoth.

In the 2023-24 season, Maccelli scored 57 points in 82 games with the Coyotes' weak offence, showing incredible skill as a playmaker.

Then Maccelli saw his ice time crater from 16:14 to 13:43 the next season, and his production crashed to just 18 points. Playing just 55 games, he became a healthy scratch for Utah as younger prospects emerged and passed him in the depth chart.

Maccelli was having a promising ascension in the NHL until one down season, and the Leafs were able to acquire him for an asset that won't help them win now.

With more ice time and more skilled teammates, which he could've got in Edmonton or Toronto, Maccelli should be a lock to improve from his 18 point season.

Toronto's conditional pick could increase to a second round draft pick if Maccelli scores at least 51 points, which may have been the part of the deal that pushed the offer towards the Leafs instead of the Oilers. Still, if the Lesfs get a 50 point controllable player for a 2nd round pick, that's a great move.

It makes sense the Oilers were interested in Maccelli as a top six winger addition, but they also have Matthew Savoie coming up in the system. Expected to make the team next season and playing a similar role of a smaller playmaking forward, having both players may not be a good mix. Hopefully, Savoie can be better for longer than Maccelli.