montreal bride deald pk subban and we know how that worked out
- martox

Same with niskanen when the Penguins gave him a 2 year deal

Do people really think that Maatta is having a bad year? All i hear about is him being slow and worried he's not in great shape.

He's probably our best "defensive" defenseman who is also not a liability with the puck on his stick. Kid is having a great year, and has solidified himself as our #2 d-man.

The Penguins near future at D is bright. A top 4 of Letang, Maatta, Dumoulin, and Pouliot is a pretty damn good top 4.
- cap1681

He is having a "down year". Slightly different from bad... but he DEFINITELY had a bad start.

Everyone on here was on board with a 3 mil 2-3 year bridge deal. I said that I would rather give him more $$ for more years. I anticipated 4.75-5.5 for 6 years so I am more than fine with this. Great deal.
- Pens_Burgh

I think that was a pipe dream. The more i think about it, the more i come to the realization that this is a great deal. Those final 2 years of this deal will be a huge steal when he is a top 10 D-man in the NHL.

Do people really think that Maatta is having a bad year? All i hear about is him being slow and worried he's not in great shape.

He's probably our best "defensive" defenseman who is also not a liability with the puck on his stick. Kid is having a great year, and has solidified himself as our #2 d-man.

The Penguins near future at D is bright. A top 4 of Letang, Maatta, Dumoulin, and Pouliot is a pretty damn good top 4.
- cap1681

He's having a fine year. He also plays with an elite partner and gets favorable deployments.
Dumo is a superior defensive dman and also not a liability with the puck. Maatta is more offensively inclined than Dumo. Not sure he is a 2D on a contender. But he is young and could improve.

I don't think that is why he is a slow skater. I am far from an expert but I cannot see how you can improve your speed all that much with work outs. I can see how you can improve it a little bit but he is not going to be a fast skater, ever. Ron Francis was not a fast skater but he is a HOF candidate. Granted the game was a lot slower then but if Maatta can play good position and anticipate the play he can also be a very good player. He is not in the same category as Ron Francis but he can still be a solid NHL player.

I think they paid too much and for too long but 4$M per is the going rate for a top two defenseman. He is getting paid for potential and not for past performances.
- Thunderbolt

The thing is, he was much faster before the injuries. At 21 years old its not age that slowed him. I am a little concerned with his speed this year but what was said about the limited training and what not does make sense. I think this contract will have a positive impact on him too. He's the Pens 2nd D-man who certainly doesnt look out of place there and locked up for 6 years at a great 2nd d-man price.

He is having a "down year". Slightly different from bad... but he DEFINITELY had a bad start.
- Guile

looking at the stats, i can't say he is having a down year. I know +/- doesn't matter to most people, but the fact he is a +18 playing 20 minutes a game is impressive. Only on the ice for 34 even strength goals in 53 games. He is doing his job in his own zone. His posession numbers aren't top of the team, but he's above 50%.

http://player.radio.com/l...sten/station/93-7-the-fan

looking at the stats, i can't say he is having a down year. I know +/- doesn't matter to most people, but the fact he is a +18 playing 20 minutes a game is impressive. Only on the ice for 34 even strength goals in 53 games. He is doing his job in his own zone. His posession numbers aren't top of the team, but he's above 50%.
- cap1681

Come on man... we all knew he looked bad to start the season, and were okay with that due to coming off the injuries.

I want to say this is a good deal. In 2 years he could be great. However if he doesn't progress much more then it's not very good
- drummer829

I'm holding out hope that his shoulder surgery limited the amount of training he was able to do last summer. It would explain his less than stellar skating. I don't remember him being so slow, so there's reason to believe with a healthy summer of work it will get better. With that salary it's imperative.

I don't think that is why he is a slow skater. I am far from an expert but I cannot see how you can improve your speed all that much with work outs. I can see how you can improve it a little bit but he is not going to be a fast skater, ever. Ron Francis was not a fast skater but he is a HOF candidate. Granted the game was a lot slower then but if Maatta can play good position and anticipate the play he can also be a very good player. He is not in the same category as Ron Francis but he can still be a solid NHL player.

I think they paid too much and for too long but 4$M per is the going rate for a top two defenseman. He is getting paid for potential and not for past performances.
- Thunderbolt

Not working out makes a lot of sense for not being fast. Take it from someone who had a very similar injury to Maatta just in a different sport. Even though it was the shoulder, you can not workout at all because have to keep shoulder secure and everything. Because of not working out, I put on close to 20 pounds and got very slow that first year back. I lost my quick first step, could not accelerate as fast. It is very easy to lose fast twitch muscle fibers if you do not constantly work on them. Speed is always the first thing to go.

Maatta looks a lot bigger and heavier to me this year which could be the cause of him being slower. I am curious to know his playing weight as a rookie to his weight now. If he put on 15-20 pounds, it could really slow him down. So an offseason to lose some weight and restrengthen his body could easily speed him back up. Not Hagelin fast but back to normal.

As for the deal, I love it!

new blog

I'm holding out hope that his shoulder surgery limited the amount of training he was able to do last summer. It would explain his less than stellar skating. I don't remember him being so slow, so there's reason to believe with a healthy summer of work it will get better. With that salary it's imperative.
- madmike71

At only 21 I really do think he will get better. Hopefully we see continual rise in the cap as well.

Gogo > Olli

He's having a fine year. He also plays with an elite partner and gets favorable deployments.
Dumo is a superior defensive dman and also not a liability with the puck. Maatta is more offensively inclined than Dumo. Not sure he is a 2D on a contender. But he is young and could improve.
- jfkst1

Thats all just a part of the balancing act that is pro sports. If you're gonna have 2 top 5 centers and keep them long term the team will need to suffer in a different place. So you have a #2 d-man thats better suited as a #3 or #4. I think its a pretty good trade off. Rutherford is doing pretty well right now IMO.

First saw the Maatta signing in my Facebook news feed...the comments are comical. A lot of those 'fans" are clueless.

Come on man... we all knew he looked bad to start the season, and were okay with that due to coming off the injuries.
- Guile

Who didn't look bad on this team at the start of the season. Maatta is quietly having a very good season.

Kris Russell's selling point isn't in his possession stats or physicality.
But essentially it's everything else.
I'm obviously biased but Russell ability to identify and read plays of where the puck is going is off the charts. Combine that with his hand-eye, and he's arguably the best in the NHL at blocking the pass and the shot.
His offensive capabilities are no joke either. Great passing, puck moving, and stickhandling. Can stickhandle his way into the zone, make a pass/take a shot and still be the first man back.

3 weeks ago I was arguing for Shultz on this very board and looks like Rutherford was reading it. I need to just get him my phone number so I can text him.

Nice dive Oshie!!!

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They won because we can't match them physically and that is Rutherford's greatest failure(apart from Despres). It's fun to have all this speed on the wings and it works against a lot of teams but you still need a couple of guys that can drop bodies if necessary. The Caps just pummeled us the last 2 periods and Holtby is another goalie that gives us fits. Stars need to do more and we needed to grab a couple of physical presences that can still play hockey at the TDL. Not psychopaths like Downie either. SHould have got Gryba along with Shultz in that trade and playe him in games like tonight. You can't say Cole is that much better at defense.