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

[PettersonHughes]

From an outside perspective it looked like there's an arrest warrant out for GM Blake for the robbery.

 

[jrs]

There goes LA stocking up on Finns, wonder who else they could use

 

[IranCondraAffair]

RE: Skating issues. These get overblown. Mark Stone has skating issues, doesn't stop him from being an amazing hockey player. You just have to play a little smarter.

Didn't see a lot of Maatta in Chicago, but I did see a lot of him on Pittsburgh You wouldn't play him 3 V 3 or on the PP.

On the PK though he's fine, and generally he can turn fine and deal with guys in the defensive zone. He doesn't carry the puck up ice, but a pass is faster than any skater anyway.

 

[kabidjan18]

Finally the big trade we've all been promised relentlessly now 2 days from the draft...

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

I knew that cap space was going to be a weapon this offseason, but I was expecting it to be a tank rather than the death star.

Jesus.

I thought that the Hawks could have gotten a 3rd or 4th for Maatta with retention.

This proves there's a super high premium on cap space this offseason.

Maatta is a good #4D. Wow.

Players are just being given away.

 

[funky]

I would say LA will still be in the lookout for a top pairing guy. This trade doesn’t address that but it brings clarity to the bottom 4.

TBD. Doughty
Anderson Roy
Maatta. Wagner
MacDermid

we also have Bjornfot and Clague in the mix and fighting for spots.

Not an all-star cast by any means but better than we had to start last season plus another guy that we can expose to Seattle.

 

[Belfour20]

Surprised he was able to be traded. Was expecting a buyout for his contract (since it was pretty buyout friendly).

He's still a serviceable lower pairing dman. Looked decent in the playoffs, just his contract was a hinderance with the Hawks needing cap space this off-season it was obvious he was going to be an odd-man out.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Not surprised at all to see the Hawks have to retain to dump Maata. Good trade for both teams.

 

[absolute garbage]

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.

Yeah, I agree with this. Montreal would've been much better off making this deal than sign Edmundson. Should've waited a little bit to see what's out there instead of just fixating on a guy like Edmundson for no reason when other teams are looking to get rid of similar caliber players for nothing because of cap issues.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Surprised he was able to be traded. Was expecting a buyout for his contract (since it was pretty buyout friendly).

He's still a serviceable lower pairing dman. Looked decent in the playoffs, just his contract was a hinderance with the Hawks needing cap space this off-season it was obvious he was going to be an odd-man out.

It wasn't. His buyout doubled when he turned 26 in August. The pandemic cap stagnation plus delay really screwed the Hawks.

Retaining 750k for 2 years is a much better option than 1.36M of dead space for 4 years.

 

[CapSpace]

His name is actually Cap Space.

Yes it's me again.

 

[SoCalFan]

If it makes Hawks fans feel any better, the Pens wasted Kahun on a week and a half long Conor Sheary comeback tour.

I can't speak for other Hawks fans, but I don't feel bad at all. Chicago needs the cap space. To me, that's valuable when you currently have Kubalik unsigned and a goaltender issue. The kids on D need to start playing too. I'm good with this.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Wow, a Finn on the Kings? Neat, it’s been a while.

 

[kevsh]

The other thread said they wanted a top 4 D...he ain’t that.

He also didn't cost a 2nd round pick+

I'll take this any day as the Kings aren't ready to compete yet and have the cap space.

 

[Guitpik]

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

This is my thought on this deal. He's also signed for another year, if he finds his form and has a good season, he'll be a decent player to expose in the ED.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

I would say LA will still be in the lookout for a top pairing guy. This trade doesn’t address that but it brings clarity to the bottom 4.

TBD. Doughty
Anderson Roy
Maatta. Wagner
MacDermid

we also have Bjornfot and Clague in the mix and fighting for spots.

Not an all-star cast by any means but better than we had to start last season plus another guy that we can expose to Seattle.

When did Wagner get moved to Dman? I know his offense isn't very good but his defense isn't that much better lol

Jk (I know you ment Walker)

UFA/Trade--Doughty
Anderson--Roy
Maatta--Walker

Only thing we are missing is Sergachev

 

[kilowatt]

When did Wagner get moved to Dman? I know his offense isn't very good but his defense isn't that much better lol

Jk (I know you ment Walker)

UFA/Trade--Doughty
Anderson--Roy
Maatta--Walker

Only thing we are missing is Sergachev

Sign me the f*** up. 2021 first + Kempe + Clague? How can we make it happen?

Sergachev - Doughty
Anderson - Roy
Maatta - Walker

 

[Djp]

He also didn't cost a 2nd round pick+

I'll take this any day as the Kings aren't ready to compete yet and have the cap space.

Chicago needed to unload salary..you could have gotten an additional pick/prospect instead of retaining.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Wow, a Finn on the Kings? Neat, it’s been a while.

Been drafting Europeans like crazy lately. Don't forget Kupari and Nousiainen!

Some serious change behind the scenes in LA, with nearly 1-to-1 drafting of NA to Europeans, and most top prospects around 6'0 with blazing speed.

 

[PensPlz]

I thought Maatta played pretty good for Chicago in the post season. Couple of big goals against the Oilers...

Oh well.

 

[YYCLetangStan]

Still a fan of Olli. I hate that he’s getting passed around like a journeyman D when he can still be a serviceable top-4

 

[Frolov 6'3]

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.

To be honest, I have not seen much of him since his Pittsburgh days.

I always felt he got too much ice time but serviceable.

Looking at the responses here, he is crap.

 

[YYCLetangStan]

I thought Maatta played pretty good for Chicago in the post season. Couple of big goals against the Oilers...

Oh well.

He did. I don’t get this move much. He was more impactful for the Hawks in their play-in series than any Pens defenseman this year against Montreal.

 

[Mats26]

Chicago needed to unload salary..you could have gotten an additional pick/prospect instead of retaining.

Who said they didn't ask? Maybe they settled for the retention.
So you would of nicked a deal like this becasue you didn't get a 5th RD pick with Maatta?

If he survives the expansion draft and finds his game, Kings can flip him for a pick as a pending UFA. Don't see any negative value in this deal for eithier team, fills a need for both teams.

 

[Icarium]

He did. I don’t get this move much. He was more impactful for the Hawks in their play-in series than any Pens defenseman this year against Montreal.

That's not much of an achievement in itself, though.