The Boston Bruins are purportedly looking to add this season. There’s good reason for that approach. The club is in the thick of the playoff race and could be looking to make a deep run with its current core.
However, the consensus is that the Bruins need to add across the board. One of the key areas the Bruins must shore up is their depth scoring. While David Pastrnak is money and the bank, and Morgan Geekie has emerged as a sniper, the drop-off is a bit concerning after that.
That’s why Bruins insider Fluto Shinzawa has a potential solution in mind. In a December 27 piece in The Athletic, the notable Boston NHL writer has this idea:
“The left-shot winger would give the Bruins some offensive help in their top nine. He is also 25 years old, which fits the Bruins’ cycle in terms of building for the future while going for a playoff spot.”
Before fans get up in arms about precisely targeting Maccelli, there’s good reason to think he could be a good fit for the Bruins. First of all, virtually everyone can agree that the Maple Leafs are a mess this season. That’s why there’s reason to believe Maccelli could perform better on a different club.
The Bruins could offer that opportunity. Maccelli is a solid playmaker and can score. Maccelli scored a career-high 17 goals and 57 points for the defunct Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24. So, there’s definite potential there.
This season, his five goals in 25 games are more of an indictment of the Maple Leafs’ overall disarray than Maccelli’s lack of success. Maccelli could turn things around under the tutelage of Marco Sturm.
How Maccelli Fits into Bruins’ Lineup
Maccelli is a winger. That means he’ll need to lineup somewhere in the top nine. He could bump someone like Casey Mittelstadt down the lineup. Potentially, lining up Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson with Maccelli could make sense.
Alternatively, moving Maccelli into the third line with Tanner Jeannot and Fraser Minten could add some scoring punch to that line. That could allow Sturm to likely move Alex Steeves out of the lineup.
It’s unlikely to envision Maccelli playing on the fourth line. That may be a possibility, though an unlikely one. The bet would be to see Maccelli lineup on the second line, adding some much-needed depth scoring.
How Maccelli Fits into Boston’s Long-Term Plans
As Shinzawa noted, Maccelli could be a decent long-term fit for the Bruins. There is also a clear roster churn going on at the moment. As such, having still young and talented pieces could give Don Sweeney plenty of runway moving forward.
Since Maccelli would cost naught more than a late-round draft pick, the Bruins wouldn’t be subtracting from their current roster. As a result, the Bruins’ depth could significantly expand moving forward.
If Maccelli washes out, the move wouldn’t really cost the Bruins much at all. It’s the type of low-risk, high-reward move that GMs love to find.
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