The Utah Hockey Club acquired defenseman Ollil Maatta from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick.
The deal addressed a major issue for the Hockey Club: The need for reliable blueliners amid concerning injuries.
The injuries to Sean Durzi and John Marino have decimated the Utah defense corps. In part, the urgent needs have pressed prospects like Maveric Lamoreux into NHL service. If not for the injury, it’s doubtful Lamoreux would be with the big club now.
So, Utah GM Bill Armstrong had to do something. The idea was to get a reliable, veteran defenseman who could stabilize the blue line.
Maatta does that to a certain extent. He brings close to 700 games of NHL experience over 12 seasons to the table. While he’s not a high point producer, he is a solid third-pairing defenseman. Then again, the Hockey Club doesn’t need much offensive production from Maatta.
That’s what Clayton Keller and company do for a living.
The fact of the matter is that Olli Maatta is a stop-gap solution for the Utah Hockey Club. He’s a bit on the older side at 30 and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Of course, it’s too soon to determine if Utah will want to hold on to Maatta. Nevertheless, he could become a valuable member of the upstart Utah Hockey Club.
Utah Hockey Club chooses Maatta over Timothy Liljegren
One of the most common rumors over the past week was Utah’s reported interest in former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren.
Liljegren was a much better choice than Maatta. Liljegren is younger, has a much better offensive upside, and carries the same cap hit.
However, it seems that the cost of doing business was too high for the Hockey Club’s liking. The Leafs eventually traded Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks for a third and fifth-round pick, along with a veteran defenseman.
While the draft picks might not have been the sticking point, adding a roster player would have been a dealbreaker. The Sharks can afford to part with players as they’re a rebuilding team. But in Utah’s case, they may not want to part with roster players at this point.
Ultimately, it seems that the Hockey Club played it safe with the Maatta deal. They didn’t splurge on what was largely a positional need. That positional need was focused on getting solid, reliable blueliners who could eat up minutes.
The Maatta deal does that even if it’s a short-term fix. Time will tell if Maatta and the Hockey Club extend their engagement beyond this season.