NHL News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

A Maple Leafs & Predators Trade That Makes Sense?

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | By Old Prof | Last updated Dec 16, 2025 10:53 AM ET

Matias Maccelli’s situation in Toronto has slowly gone sideways. Healthy scratched seven straight games; he is now sidelined with illness. Even when he’s been in the lineup, there hasn’t been much runway. Four goals and five assists in 22 games isn’t nothing, but it’s also not enough to anchor a spot when trust seems to be slipping.

Once a creative, middle-six playmaker with Arizona (and later Utah), Maccelli now looks like a player caught between systems, expectations, and opportunity. He’s the wrong DNA for Toronto, but that doesn’t mean he won’t work somewhere else.

That’s where an interesting idea starts to form. Why not offer Maccelli to the Predators for former Maple Leafs Michael Bunting?

Why Nashville Might Look at Maccelli

Nashville feels stuck in neutral right now. This isn’t a roster that screams playoff push, which usually means it’s time to think younger instead of tougher. Maccelli checks that box. He’s still an RFA, still in his mid-20s, and not that far removed from two seasons where the offence was real. This year’s miss with the Maple Leafs looks more like a case of circumstance than a decline.

For Nashville, he would be a bet on upside and timeline. Maccelli won’t change the Predators’ identity, and he’s never going to play a heavy game. He can move the puck and create transition offense. In that, he’s a different kettle of fish from what Michael Bunting brings.

In Toronto, he (and everyone else) is playing with so much pressure that it makes things tense on the ice, but if you can take away the feeling that one mistake puts him in the press box, and there’s room for Maccelli’s confidence to come back. If it did, he could be a valuable player in Nashville.

Why Toronto Keeps Coming Back to Michael Bunting

On the other side, Michael Bunting is a known quantity in Toronto — and that’s precisely the point. He’d fit nicely in the middle-six, but could step onto the top line, too. He showed he could do that as a rookie alongside Matthews and Marner—kind of a pint-sized version of Matthew Knies without the upside. But not having Knies’ upside doesn’t mean Bunting didn’t make it work.

Bunting didn’t just ride shotgun with Matthews. He played right into the mess of playoff hockey — chirping, getting under skin, going to greasy areas. He knew exactly what the Maple Leafs were asking from him. The penalties came with it. And the playoffs got messy then, but he’s older and wiser.

But he never floated, never disappeared, and never looked overwhelmed by the market. He loved Toronto, and a ton of fans loved him back. Since leaving, his numbers have been okay but unspectacular.

He’s still useful on the power play, still willing to play inside the dots, still producing in spurts. On a team like Nashville, that value is somewhat muted. On a Maple Leafs roster that continues to search for edge and emotional bite, it’s amplified.

How the Trade Might Actually Work

Straight up, this deal probably doesn’t quite balance. Maccelli is younger, cheaper, and under team control. Bunting is 30, more expensive, and a pending UFA. If I were general manager Brad Treliving, I’d ask for Bunting and a mid-round pick coming back to Toronto. And, Nashville could retain a bit of salary to make the salary cap cleaner for Toronto.

Really, the deal is nothing flashy. Just enough to account for age, control, and contract status. In the short term, Toronto wins because Bunting helps right away. He stabilizes a line, adds playoff credibility, and doesn’t need a learning curve. You know exactly what you’re getting — warts and all.

In the long term, Nashville might seem to win. But Maccelli was always the wrong fit in Toronto from the get-go. There was never a space where he made sense with the Maple Leafs. If he finds his game again, the Predators could end up with a younger offensive piece who still has room to grow. That’s a gamble rebuilding or retooling teams should be willing to take.

Maccelli Leaving Toronto and Bunting Returning Could Be Good Timing

In the end, this is less about “winning” a trade and more about timing. Toronto is still trying to open a window and move a player who clearly doesn’t fit this management’s call for a different DNA.

Nashville is figuring out which direction it’s even facing. Sometimes the cleanest deals come when two teams need very different things — and both players need a reset. Maccelli represented the hope for a home run in Toronto, but it was a swing and a miss. He has a better chance in Nashville to grow into a role that fits him.

Why not?

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: