Olli Määttä will stay with Pens (it's 40 roster games, not him playing 40.)

[Shrimper]

Huge season for Maatta. 40 NHL games. World Junior Championships then I presume back to the OHL and then the Olympics before the Memorial Cup.

That's a lot of ice time.

 

[Shady Machine]

Huge season for Maatta. 40 NHL games. World Junior Championships then I presume back to the OHL and then the Olympics before the Memorial Cup.

That's a lot of ice time.

You say some weird things

The Penguins aren't keeping him up right now so they can give him 40 games and send him back. They are keeping him up because he's one of their 6 best dmen and can help them win hockey games.

 

[themethod7]

Would he be eligible to play in both the World Jrs and the Olympics?

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Good for Määttä, and yay for progress and youth.

 

[IcedCapp]

I think this is the right move because he's one of their 6-best Dmen.

It could be the even righter move if they take advantage of his play, his salary, and the fungible-nature of having some of the other people they have on the back-end and move someone for some help up front.

(*Note: I didn't say depth because I didn't want to get yelled at by people who think the Penguins are deep when in reality they have like the 2 best players in the world and then a bunch of guys although Neal is nice and I'm sure he's successful with the ladies and I really like that Beauner guy but after Neal and Beauner and Crosby and Malkin I feel like every other Penguins forward is basically just the same guy cloned over and over again who gets less and less skilled the more times he's cloned and no I'm not sure who the original was either Kunitz or Dupuis or maybe Craig Adams both because of his goal scoring prowess and age all of this is just a really short way of me saying okay good move now go and make it better by trading someone not just because i love trades but because it's the right thing to do ya know what i mean?)

 

[Fire Shero*]

Good for Maatta. Maybe now that young dmen are working out, the pens might actually start drafting forwards????

 

[Shrimper]

You say some weird things

The Penguins aren't keeping him up right now so they can give him 40 games and send him back. They are keeping him up because he's one of their 6 best dmen and can help them win hockey games.

What was all that about 40 games? Or did I read it wrong and that's just so he doesn't become a UFA. A year early?

A whole season of the NHL instead then.

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

Yes, people seem to forget that Martin and Orpik play against the best players on the other team every night, Friday they will be playing against Tavares, Saturday against Kessel, Monday against Eric Staal, those guys are going to make plays and make Martin and Orpik look bad every now and then.

Once Letang gets back, he should be playing against the other team's top line. He'll finally have a consistent partner in Scuderi, one who compliments him very well and can insulate Letang's short comings. Plus, while those skilled forwards can make any defenceman look foolish from time to time, Letang can make them look foolish too. The transition game is so much better with him in the lineup.

Martin and Orpik can then play against the 2nd line more often than not which is for the best, while Maatta can be better protected and not be relied upon as much. I'm not sure I want Niskanen traded. Letang is often injured and he's a good stop gap in the top 4.

 

[Shady Machine]

What was all that about 40 games? Or did I read it wrong and that's just so he doesn't become a UFA. A year early?

A whole season of the NHL instead then.

It's just people saying technically he can be sent back before 40 games so the season doesn't count as a year towards UFA eligibility. That doesn't mean those are the Pens plans. As of now, he is here the rest of the season. Who knows, he could struggle really bad over the next 2 months and they send him back.

 

[brewski420]

Does anyone think that this says a lot about Despres and the view management has about him? Not sure what I think other than obviously some move/trade is going to happen sooner rather than later.

 

[Shady Machine]

Once Letang gets back, he should be playing against the other team's top line. He'll finally have a consistent partner in Scuderi, one who compliments him very well and can insulate Letang's short comings. Plus, while those skilled forwards can make any defenceman look foolish from time to time, Letang can make them look foolish too. The transition game is so much better with him in the lineup.

Martin and Orpik can then play against the 2nd line more often than not which is for the best, while Maatta can be better protected and not be relied upon as much. I'm not sure I want Niskanen traded. Letang is often injured and he's a good stop gap in the top 4.

Then Nisky needs to be in the press box but that won't happen.

 

[Shady Machine]

Does anyone think that this says a lot about Despres and the view management has about him? Not sure what I think other than obviously some move/trade is going to happen sooner rather than later.

No I don't think it says much about Despres. The majority of posters seem to think so though.

 

[Shockmaster]

Does anyone think that this says a lot about Despres and the view management has about him? Not sure what I think other than obviously some move/trade is going to happen sooner rather than later.

Possibly, but management and the coaching staff also share blame in his lack of development. Instead of getting quality playing time last year, Despres was sent to the press box because Bylsma loves try-hard guys like Engelland.

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

So happy for Olli

 

[billybudd]

This came up with Grover on a post game call in (maybe last weekend?). The way he explained was the 10+ games to start the clock on his ELC was games played, but the 40 games was on the roster. Trusting Grover, he seems to know his crap.

Yeah, if I want to know how many home wins the franchise has against the Devils on a Tuesday, Grover would definitely be my guy.

 

[brewski420]

No I don't think it says much about Despres. The majority of posters seem to think so though.

I don't see how Despres can be called up now with cap hit comparable (Maata and him around 900k) to Engelland and Bort. It looks more and more that Nisky has to be moved. Unless I am missing something in this tight cap year.

 

[Shockmaster]

I don't see how Despres can be called up now with cap hit comparable (Maata and him around 900k) to Engelland and Bort. It looks more and more that Nisky has to be moved. Unless I am missing something in this tight cap year.

Common sense says Niskanen must be moved and that cap space be used elsewhere. However, sometimes the coaching staff and management fall in love with certain players and it prevents them from making the right move.

 

[Pick87your71Poison]

To really mix things up and get aggressive:
Tang - Scuds
Martin - Elmer
Olli - Bort

 

[QnebO]

Congratz Määttä! Well played. If Määttäs level of play does not decline dramatically, he should be looking to book a flight to Sochi in February.

Yep.. Torilla tavataan! Having NHL-proven defensemen helps olympic team for sure, even if they're young.. I'm sick of our KHL defenders.. Määttä, maybe Ristolainen and obviously Barkov.. they have chance to be there and really määtä for our team.. Not jokinen here.

 

[Muscles4Malkin]

Great news!

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Hopefully Määttä proved something to the organization and impacted some of the views, like playing their rookie dmen and that they are successfully developing their current ones so it's time to reassess the drafting strategy.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Logic and reason prevail. Who knew!

 

[Darth Vitale]

Yes, but I don't think it's a Dman.

I think it'll be Jeffrey and Engelland becomes the 13th forward.

While I will not be surprised if Jeffrey is moved this year (he's the next Letestu), it will not be because Engo is to become the 13th Forward, nor be timed to coincide with Letang's return (more likely with Neal's). In short, I doubt if Jeffrey or Engo will be here at season's end. They will become next year's draft picks.

he's horrible and fat

Also he speaks French in team meetings which is strictly forbidden. We do not believe in independence for Quebecers around here. That's a Euro-concept, stirred up by the Frenchy French and their non-pasteurized cheeses.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

The Pens seem very high on Niskanen. On one hand there are a lot of reasons to sell high on him now, but we all know how Shero likes to have 7-8 defensemen he thinks he can trust in.

We currently have 10 NHL Dmen, including Nisky. At some point Shero needs to let go of some ****ing Dmen and turn them into forwards. People keep telling me that was his master plan when exclusively drafting Dmen for the past 4 years.

But, then again we have the great Kobe ready to fill in on Malkin's wing in case of injury!

 

[DoktorZaius]

You say some weird things

The Penguins aren't keeping him up right now so they can give him 40 games and send him back. They are keeping him up because he's one of their 6 best dmen and can help them win hockey games.

I suspect you're right, but who knows. IMO the RFA years are what really matter, so it's totally possible Shero could ship him back before that point if he starts to struggle with the physicality of the game or something like that.