Unless the Leafs circle back in free agency – which is unlikely – and sign him, it looks like Matias Maccelli’s time in Toronto is up after one season.

That’s where the conversation started on the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take as we offered up a free agency preview. Needless to say, there were more downs and ups with Maccelli, and ultimately, that’s why the Leafs have no interest in qualifying him at $4.1 million. Honestly, it’s pretty crazy to think how much his stock fell from last summer, when Toronto traded a third round pick to Utah to get him.

Meantime, Troy Stecher re-signed for two years, worth $1.35 million per season. We both like the move to bring him back. All in all, Stecher, who was a waiver claim from Edmonton in November, proved to be one of the few bright spots for the Leafs in their disappointing season. The cap hit works, too. Tidy business. As soon as Brandon Carlo was dealt, that opened up the pathway for the Leafs to circle back on Stecher.

At any rate, Rosie and I wanted to get in on the action, so we each put together a list of players we would target if we were John Chayka.

Rosie’s list: Patrick Kane, Mason Marchment, Kasperi Kapanen, Boone Jenner, and Jack Roslovic.

My list: Michael Bunting, Patrick Kane, Mario Ferraro, Paul Cotter, and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

Either way, the Maple Leafs could look very different over the next few days.

After that, NHL insider David Pagnotta joined the show to preview free agency from the Maple Leafs’ perspective. He discussed why Toronto has been one of the league’s busiest teams behind the scenes, provided updates on the Sergei Bobrovsky and Zach Werenski speculation, touched on the latest Morgan Rielly trade chatter, and identified Boone Jenner, Mason Marchment, and Eeli Tolvanen as potential free-agent fits. Pagnotta also weighed in on the possibility of Patrick Kane landing in Toronto and what to expect from the Leafs as free agency gets underway.

Looking forward to our Free Agency Special on Wednesday! We’ll be live at a special start time of 2:00 PM ET to break down everything Toronto does on the opening day of free agency. Tune in!

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