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The New York Islanders entered the offseason with minimal roster changes, the most notable being the loss of 14-year veteran and eight-year captain Anders Lee. Lee departed for the Utah Mammoth on a three-year free-agent contract, leaving a void in the team's offensive output.
To help fill that gap, the Islanders brought back veteran Kyle Palmieri and added free agent Matias Maccelli on a one-year deal. At the time of the signing, some observers viewed Maccelli as a potential top-six forward, given his previous offensive production.
So far, Maccelli has delivered exactly what the team hoped for. "He's brought exactly what we wanted him to bring, which is speed and skill, the ability to make a play, create offense," head coach Peter DeBoer said, via Tyler Millen of NHL.com. "What I've liked the most about him is he's done it in the depth of our lineup which has given us a four-line attack and four lines that have the ability to create offense which was something that was a goal we talked about in the summer that we needed to get some offense from the depth of our lineup."
Maccelli's NHL resume includes an All-Rookie First Team selection in 2022-23 with the Arizona Coyotes, when he tallied 11 goals and 38 assists for 49 points. The following season, he set career highs with 17 goals and 40 assists for 57 points. However, his production dipped over the next two seasons, recording 18 points in 2024-25 and 39 points last season, with plus/minus ratings of -13 and -23, respectively.
Despite those recent struggles, Maccelli is making a positive impact in his early days with the Islanders. Through four games, he has two assists and a +1 plus/minus rating. He has been deployed on the fourth line alongside Casey Cizikas and Ondrej Palat, but that hasn't diminished his effort. DeBoer does not adhere to traditional line deployment, often giving players opportunities to move up, and Maccelli remains on the top power-play unit.
"Having a guy like that in the depth of our lineup, have him handle the fact that he's playing on a depth line as opposed to a top line and still coming out and playing as hard as he is and producing how he is has been really critical for any success we've had here early," DeBoer added.
The Islanders need Maccelli's contributions, especially with Mathew Barzal sidelined due to a knee injury. The absence of both Barzal and Lee leaves a significant amount of offense missing from the lineup. The team hopes Maccelli can maintain his current level of play.