The Utah Hockey Club acquired defenseman Olli Maatta from the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, receiving a third-round 2025 NHL Draft pick in exchange.
Maatta, 30, was the No. 22 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 draft, and the Finn has 40 goals and 137 assists in 691 regular-season games with the Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Red Wings. He won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh early in his career.
This season, he appeared in seven games with Detroit and didn’t register a point. Last season, he posted 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) and a plus-14 rating in 72 games.
“I think with what we acquired in (Maatta), he’s a two-time Stanley Cup winner,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement Wednesday. “He gives a lot of stability to the defense, and that’s what we need. One of the big things that we’re trying to do is cut our goals against, and he’s going to help add in that stability on the back side.”
Armstrong said his experience also is crucial for Utah.
“For us to add another Stanley Cup winner to that (locker room), that’s huge for us,” Armstrong said. “One of the things you see with the club, I mean, I talk about this a lot, but I’ll say it again. I think we’re the second-youngest team in the League. So, you know, you see games that we had the other night. We’ve got to calm that down and make sure that we have good veteran presence that’s going to allow us to walk out with the win.”
Maatta is playing the final season on a two-year, $6 million contract he signed with the Red Wings in February 2022. He will become an unrestricted free agent if he does not extend his deal with Utah.
–Field Level Media