Maple Leafs Recall Michael Pezzetta From Marlies Ahead of Ducks Game

The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled forward Michael Pezzetta from the AHL's Toronto Marlies on March 20, adding a physical presence to the bottom-six ahead of the road game against the Anaheim Ducks.

The move was not about offense. Coach Craig Berube made that clear. "He's one of the guys we wanted to see for a little while," Berube said. "He'll bring on lots of energy and he's a strong skater." Pezzetta has collected 52 penalty minutes in 38 AHL games this season, placing him second on the Marlies in that category, alongside a modest 4-6-10 scoring line and a minus-7 rating.

This was Pezzetta's second recall from the Marlies in roughly a week. He appeared in NHL games on March 12 and 14 against the Ducks and Sabres, logging nine penalty minutes while averaging just 5:06 of ice time per game. He was then sent back to the AHL on a Tuesday to get additional playing time after serving as a healthy scratch the previous weekend.

The 28-year-old grew up in Toronto and signed a two-year deal with the Maple Leafs on July 1, 2025, at an average annual value of $812,500 US, joining his hometown team as an unrestricted free agent after four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. He couldn't crack Toronto's opening-night roster amid a forward logjam, cleared waivers, and spent virtually the entire 2025-26 campaign with the Marlies before the recalls began. In 200 career NHL games with Montreal, he posted 15 goals, 23 assists, and 710 hits while accumulating 241 penalty minutes.

Pezzetta's first Leafs appearance made an immediate physical statement: he dropped the gloves with Jeffrey Viel on the opening faceoff of his debut, with his parents watching from the stands. He skated on a line with Jacob Quillan and Calle Jarnkrok and was reportedly scrambling for tickets for friends and family the morning of the game.

The recall came in a broader context of roster upheaval. Toronto traded Bobby McMann, Nicolas Roy, and Scott Laughton at the deadline, and had also summoned Marlies leading scorer Bo Groulx earlier in the week as an offensive option. Pezzetta represented the other side of that equation: a sixth-round pick from 2016, now filling the role of enforcer and energy player on a team with 17 games left and little to play for beyond a high draft position.

A drafted pick by Montreal 160th overall a decade ago, Pezzetta has spent his professional career building a reputation with his fists and his forecheck. With the Leafs leaning into the end of a difficult season, that reputation is precisely what Berube called him up to provide.