Confirmed with Link: Kings Acquire Olli Maatta from Blackhawks In Exchange for Forward Brad Morrison

[Blackhawkswincup]

What a coup for Blake

Your GM abused simple Stanley today and there is no defending our embarrassment of a GM who probably will use cap savings on trash like Matt Murray

You guys will enjoy Maatta as he really turned it around this past year in Chicago and was the best D for Hawks in playoffs

 

[HookKing]

You mention a DD pairing guy. Who are the names? That's the question I am asking. You obviously have players and deals in mind. I am curious as to who they are? You make it sound like it's such a fail with Maata so I am assuming that you have better deals that shouldn't be too difficult to pull off.

He would be a 3rd pairing on a good team. He most likely will be a 2nd pairing guy on this team.

Have you not looked at the cap situation out there? There will be deals to be made. The Kings have plenty of cap space and picks/prospects to get much better than Maata. Hell, we haven't even hit FA yet. I'd rather have Hutton back and save the cap space. The move is really premature unless...AEG has put the kibosh on anything bigger. For all those crowing about how good he was in Chicago -- I don't remember seeing the Hawks playing any defense at all.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Have you not looked at the cap situation out there? There will be deals to be made. The Kings have plenty of cap space and picks/prospects to get much better than Maata. Hell, we haven't even hit FA yet. I'd rather have Hutton back and save the cap space. The move is really premature unless...AEG has put the kibosh on anything bigger. For all those crowing about how good he was in Chicago -- I don't remember seeing the Hawks playing any defense at all.

And which ones are you willing to give up to get a legit top pairing defenseman?

 

[HookKing]

And which ones are you willing to give up to get a legit top pairing defenseman?

"Legit" top pairing D men are virtually impossible to get (other than maybe FA). But, of course I never said that, just someone to play with DD. A legit top 4 shutdown LH is what the Kings need and OM ain't it.

 

[bland]

"Legit" top pairing D men are virtually impossible to get (other than maybe FA). But, of course I never said that, just someone to play with DD. A legit top 4 shutdown LH is what the Kings need and OM ain't it.

Sure he is. You are picking an odd one to Waterloo on here. Maatta is exactly what's needed, both on ice and on the books. Couldn't think of a better fit on the cost/benefit scale. Its shrewd business.

 

[Legionnaire]

Have you not looked at the cap situation out there? There will be deals to be made. The Kings have plenty of cap space and picks/prospects to get much better than Maata. Hell, we haven't even hit FA yet. I'd rather have Hutton back and save the cap space. The move is really premature unless...AEG has put the kibosh on anything bigger. For all those crowing about how good he was in Chicago -- I don't remember seeing the Hawks playing any defense at all.

Just because you have the money for a Ferrari doesn't mean 1. You shouldn't wait for the best deal. 2. It's a wise investment short or long-term.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Have you not looked at the cap situation out there? There will be deals to be made. The Kings have plenty of cap space and picks/prospects to get much better than Maata. Hell, we haven't even hit FA yet. I'd rather have Hutton back and save the cap space. The move is really premature unless...AEG has put the kibosh on anything bigger. For all those crowing about how good he was in Chicago -- I don't remember seeing the Hawks playing any defense at all.

I mean, you answered yourself, no?

There WILL be deals to be made AND we have the assets to do it AND we haven't hit FA yet. So what's the problem? you're mad that we did anything at all before then? None of the big fish have started moving yet. I personally don't expect Blake to do MUCH more so you may right and may be disappointed in the end, but this is really premature anger over what's a saavy little move.

And I'm gonna take the word of many Chicago fans on this one.

 

[Legionnaire]

Sure he is. You are picking an odd one to Waterloo on here. Maatta is exactly what's needed, both on ice and on the books. Couldn't think of a better fit on the cost/benefit scale. Its shrewd business.

Totally agree. Vet. Stanley Cup vet. Has met and played though adversity from injuries, and cancer. He should be the type of role model player to help mentor the youth while shoring up a pairing.

Maybe Blake did learn from Lombardi. This move is Lombardiesque. Or should that be Lombardian? Hmm.

 

[HookKing]

No point at all in wasting 3.25M (especially before the market panic sets in) in cap space on at best a placeholder. Dumb asset management.

 

[bland]

Totally agree. Vet. Stanley Cup vet. Has met and played though adversity from injuries, and cancer. He should be the type of role model player to help mentor the youth while shoring up a pairing.

Maybe Blake did learn from Lombardi. This move is Lombardiesque. Or should that be Lombardian? Hmm.

Lombardicious!

 

[kilowatt]

If Maatta turns into Willie Mitchell or Rob Scuderi, I’ll lose my shit.

You’ve got to think that Maatta becomes our most desireable player for Seattle as well, no?

 

[Legionnaire]

No point at all in wasting 3.25M (especially before the market panic sets in) in cap space on at best a placeholder. Dumb asset management.

Drew Doughty
Sean Walker
Matt Roy
Ben Hutton - likely gone
Kurtis MacDermid
Joakim Ryan
Mikey Anderson
Kyle Clague
Tobias Bjornfoot

So add no one to that D? Or are you saying the Kings should have waited for a better deal?

 

[HookKing]

Drew Doughty
Sean Walker
Matt Roy
Ben Hutton - likely gone
Kurtis MacDermid
Joakim Ryan
Mikey Anderson
Kyle Clague
Tobias Bjornfoot

So add no one to that D? Or are you saying the Kings should have waited for a better deal?

When your clean-up hitter is at the plate with the bases loaded and a 3-0 pitch coming, you don't have him lay down a bunt.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

This is exactly what I'm talking about. At the very least he is a trade pieces.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

When your clean-up hitter is at the plate with the bases loaded and a 3-0 pitch coming, you don't have him lay down a bunt.

How can there possibly be a better example of asset management. The team can't be filled with cleanup hitters. They traded nothing for a good player.

 

[Bandit]

How can there possibly be a better example of asset management. The team can't be filled with cleanup hitters. They traded nothing for a good player.

Because the Kings now only have 13 million in cap space and can no longer take on a 14 million dollar generational cap dump from another team. Obviously.

 

[HookKing]

How can there possibly be a better example of asset management. The team can't be filled with cleanup hitters. They traded nothing for a good player.

Yeah.

 

[funky]

When your clean-up hitter is at the plate with the bases loaded and a 3-0 pitch coming, you don't have him lay down a bunt.

Who do you recommend we get? What do you give up? If it’s a UFA who and what term and money? Curious to see what you are thinking.

I was bummed about Edmundson, bummed when Hjalmarsson didn’t want to move and I believe we were 1 of 10 on Goligoski’s no trade list. This deal seems very good as we get a young bottom 3 vet for 3.25 a year that is eligible for the expansion draft. We are also up against the contract limit and we removed a contract that we would never use and replaced it with one that we will.

In a perfect world I advocate giving up a ton for Sergachev as I see him morphing into a number 1 as Doughty declines, but saying that a trade like this doesn’t do anything to detract from a trade for a Sergachev type.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Who do you recommend we get? What do you give up? If it’s a UFA who and what term and money? Curious to see what you are thinking.

I was bummed about Edmundson, bummed when Hjalmarsson didn’t want to move and I believe we were 1 of 10 on Goligoski’s no trade list. This deal seems very good as we get a young bottom 3 vet for 3.25 a year that is eligible for the expansion draft. We are also up against the contract limit and we removed a contract that we would never use and replaced it with one that we will.

In a perfect world I advocate giving up a ton for Sergachev as I see him morphing into a number 1 as Doughty declines, but saying that a trade like this doesn’t do anything to detract from a trade for a Sergachev type.

Yeah that's all I'm really saying. I get where @HookKing is coming from but I don't see this trade as a detriment to what he may to accomplish OR a signal that we can't/won't do anything else.

We're in arguably the best position of any team in the league when it comes to assets vs. cap vs. potential trajectory (ottawa too but ownership).

 

[KingsFan7824]

"Legit" top pairing D men are virtually impossible to get (other than maybe FA). But, of course I never said that, just someone to play with DD. A legit top 4 shutdown LH is what the Kings need and OM ain't it.

Maatta can easily play with Doughty. Mr. Leadership might not like it, Maata might not be a top pair guy, but you can put him there. That might mean that the Kings aren't expecting to do anything next year, but I think we've all been assuming that anyway. Some improvement, the guys from the 2017-2020 drafts get another year, get through the expansion draft, and then start forming an actual team.

 

[HookKing]

Who do you recommend we get? What do you give up? If it’s a UFA who and what term and money? Curious to see what you are thinking.

I was bummed about Edmundson, bummed when Hjalmarsson didn’t want to move and I believe we were 1 of 10 on Goligoski’s no trade list. This deal seems very good as we get a young bottom 3 vet for 3.25 a year that is eligible for the expansion draft. We are also up against the contract limit and we removed a contract that we would never use and replaced it with one that we will.

In a perfect world I advocate giving up a ton for Sergachev as I see him morphing into a number 1 as Doughty declines, but saying that a trade like this doesn’t do anything to detract from a trade for a Sergachev type.

Well, back in May I stated a preference for Brendan Dillon. If you look at the blueline it is really lacking in size and toughness. Worse, there is nothing currently in the pipeline (Moverare perhaps? KM doesn't really count) and even if you find some in this draft it may take years for them to bear fruit. Sure, Maatta has good size but he's a china doll and has only played for run and gun teams.

Of course getting a FA to sign with a rebuilding team isn't so easy but Blake has the cap space to add an extra year or overpay a bit to get something done. Moreover, the team is soon to be overwhelmed with picks and prospects that can be lost for nothing. Why not go for a hockey trade and get a D that can make a difference? At least wait for the FA arena to clear.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Matta is a marginal upgrade over Ryan and Forbort.

Hopefully he is also better than Hutton. They’re similar in age, size, games played per season and production. Hutton is less expensive and was willing to do a 1 year deal last year.

It’s an ok deal for a depth signing. Matta’s recent bump in play during the playoffs must have made this an easier contract for the Hawks to dump. You would have hoped that the Kings got some additional futures back for helping out the Hawks with their cap crunch situation.

 

[kingsboy11]

This was clearly a cap dump for Chicago and we were in a prime position to take on some cap. I actually think this deal is probably better than what we would've gotten in an Edmondson deal. Give up a nothing prospect for a player on retained salary who can play 18 minutes a night to have our prospects simmer until they're ready.

Now its not going to be a straight line. We could have a Jack Johnson situation where a defenseman gets hurt and Anderson/Clague/Bjornfot come up and make Maata expendable and we could flip him at the trade deadline. Or Maata gets hurt/sucks and worse case scenario he gets bought out or picked up in the expansion draft. Best case scenario is that him and Doughty become an excellent pairing and we keep him around. I don't envision that happening, but I honestly don't see a downside to this deal.

 

[funky]

Well, back in May I stated a preference for Brendan Dillon. If you look at the blueline it is really lacking in size and toughness. Worse, there is nothing currently in the pipeline (Moverare perhaps? KM doesn't really count) and even if you find some in this draft it may take years for them to bear fruit. Sure, Maatta has good size but he's a china doll and has only played for run and gun teams.

Of course getting a FA to sign with a rebuilding team isn't so easy but Blake has the cap space to add an extra year or overpay a bit to get something done. Moreover, the team is soon to be overwhelmed with picks and prospects that can be lost for nothing. Why not go for a hockey trade and get a D that can make a difference? At least wait for the FA arena to clear.

I agree Dillon would be a great pickup. Still could happen.

 

[Docgonzo]

Dillion is rumored to sign back in Washington or possibly Vancouver isn’t he? I admit the radio interview about always wanting to play for hometown Canucks could just be playing to the crowd.

And Sergachev is an absolute pipe dream. He’s the last player Tampa would deal for cap space, unless he didn’t want to be there (very very doubtful). We’d have to throw so much at Tampa to convince them to trade him. And it wouldn’t be worth it, of all of our best prospects the one with the most NHL experience has 10 games....