Michael Pezzetta is living his childhood dream. Several hours after signing a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs carrying a $812,500 annual average value, the 27-year-old Toronto, Ontario native sat in his childhood room at his parents' house thinking, "How crazy is this?"

A couple of years ago, Pezzetta led the Canadiens in hits and was 10th in the NHL as well as chipping in points. But while Montreal made strides as a team in 2024-25, and Pezzetta did well defensively, he found it hard to get noticed.

Pezzetta, six-foot-one and 219 pounds, is known more for his fists than his scoring touch. He had no points in 25 games for Montreal last season.