Confirmed Trade: [LAK/CHI] Olli Maatta (18.37% retained) for Brad Morrison

[Pia8988]

Brad Morrison is an ECHL level player

\

And they need cap space to sign players better than Maatta

 

[DearDiary]

Wow he really fell off

He was already slow but...

 

[Telos]

Wow, didn't expect Blake to get his veteran LHD for nothing, he was offering a 2nd just the other day. Good deal. They even got retention!

 

[Maurice of Orange]

Chicago is in the f***ing weeds when it comes to their cap space.

Wonder why Bowman hasn’t bought out Zack Smith yet.

 

[Web In Front]

Maatta is a better and younger defenseman than Joel Edmundson who Bergevin gave up more just to talk to then signed to a longer and more expensive deal. Maatta even has more rings than Edmundson.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Olli was a rock last season. Extremely smart player with overblown skating issues. Loved him as a Hawk. HATE this trade. Kings fans will love him. Very responsible defensively and a very cerebral player. Ugh.

 

[Foppberg]

Had no idea he no longer played for Pittsburgh.

 

[Pia8988]

Maatta is a better and younger defenseman than Joel Edmundson who Bergevin gave up more just to talk to then signed to a longer and more expensive deal. Maatta even has more rings than Edmundson.

Edmundson makes 3.5. Maatta was making over 4 before retention.

 

[CupInSIX]

How's Maata's skating these days? Would you consider him slow?

I thought he looked good in the playoffs. I wouldn't say he looked slow.

Keith, on the other hand...

 

[DRAGO 18]

He was already slow but...

Hey Mike Johnston had a pulse!

That injury looked like it hurt so bad

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Wow, didn't expect Blake to get his veteran LHD for nothing, he was offering a 2nd just the other day. Good deal. They even got retention!

Stan Bowman gift basket for the Kubalik trade.

 

[Lempo]

Maatta even has more rings than Edmundson.

No, Edmundson has one more ring. He's 27, Maatta is 26.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

How much more capspace does Chicago need to free up? Are there any concerns that Kubalik might elect for arbitration?

 

[Web In Front]

No, Edmundson has one more ring. He's 27, Maatta is 26.

Maatta has two (2016, 2017) Edmundson has one (2019).

 

[IranCondraAffair]

Chicago is in the f***ing weeds when it comes to their cap space.

Wonder why Bowman hasn’t bought out Zack Smith yet.

I don't blame them for not doing a buyout.

Buying out Smith only saves like 1.25M once you replace him on the roster with an 800K player. It also costs you 1.1M in space next year. You're essentially sacrificing next season's cap space for some additional space this year. Barely worth it. Also, you don't save any real money either.

That is IF you can find someone better than Smith for 800K to make the whole thing worthwhile.

Personally, I wouldn't do it.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Maatta must've been horrible for Chicago if he at 3.3 Million can only get back an ECHLer.

So mad that the Penguins got Kahun for Maatta and then traded Kahun for 12 games of Conor Sheary

As a Sabres fan, thank you for taking Sheary away from us for Kahun.

 

[funky]

Kings need a Veteran presence that allows them to possibly rotate Mikey Anderson, Tobias Bjornfot and Kyle Clague, all pups threw the lineup. We also have a weaponized Kurtis MacDermid that plays in and out of the lineup if his skill set is needed.

At this point Mikey Anderson showed very well last year and may have earned a Full time spot

Clague can play both sides but needs minutes to see what he can bring. Bjornfot is very young but is mature beyond his years.

Grabbing a game like Matta is a good deal. Still young but a veteran of the game. Provides a bit of stability should the youth not be ready but can also sit a game or two if the youth are clicking.

It also allows us to maybe trade one of those youth if Blake has a trade lined up for a higher end player

 

[go4hockey]

Kings get just what they were looking for a vet on the backend to help with all the kids coming up, signed for 2 years which is perfect will be left open for expansion draft and we clear his cap hit right as we should be ready to be competitive. The Hawks get cap space. And LA gave up nothing. It’s a win-win to me.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Furious. Kings did very well here. Second pairing rock all day. He’s a very quiet player that makes so many little plays that people who have played will appreciate. He’s great at nothing but rock solid no matter the situation. HATE.

 

[CraigsList]

As I’ve said before, cap space is and will be the new currency.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

So basically they traded a decent/serviceable player for cap space.

never heard of the guy coming back, assume it’s just a contract limit thing.

 

[Mats26]

We gave pratically no assets of value for a decent LD 26 and only 2 years at a decent cap hit. Perfect bridge contract.
I think this was a small thank you for Kubalik. Hawks have some space, let's see how they use it.

 

[JaegerDice]

No surprise.

It was this or a buyout.

 

[Tetsuo]

Huge win by the Kings. They get their perfect bridge top 4 guy, at the price they wanted, and didn't give up anything of consequence.

Time will tell if the Hawks are able to make this a win/win. Will depend on what Bowman does with the cap, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I was a Hawks fan.

 

[LeafChief]

Seems like a good move for the Kings.

Maatta is an NHL defenceman. He's fallen off a bit but I don't think LA has expectations of being a powerhouse next season. If they can build up his value and flip him while also having him fill a hole for a while, seems like a good move for seemingly giving up absolutely nothing.