I guess we'll see, but imho we have plenty of 5th and 6th dmen, Kahun isn't a top 6 player but he was a solid role player for this team.
- BetweenTheDots

Why do people think he’s a 5 or 6th defenseman? For a time there he was on the pens 1st line, and was a steady 2nd line guy....him and letang were pretty dominant for a while...yeah I know it’s letang a couple years back but you put maatta with a more mobile defenseman and you have a well balanced pair

Right now I wouldn’t be surprised if sikura is who replaces what Kahun and surprises some people
- rwilliams88

100%.

I heard Sikura is signing soon.

Why do people think he’s a 5 or 6th defenseman? For a time there he was on the pens 1st line, and was a steady 2nd line guy....him and letang were pretty dominant for a while...yeah I know it’s letang a couple years back but you put maatta with a more mobile defenseman and you have a well balanced pair
- rwilliams88

I hope your right, but any time I've seen him play have not been impressed

Why do people think he’s a 5 or 6th defenseman? For a time there he was on the pens 1st line, and was a steady 2nd line guy....him and letang were pretty dominant for a while...yeah I know it’s letang a couple years back but you put maatta with a more mobile defenseman and you have a well balanced pair
- rwilliams88

Maatta is a top 4 in Chicago. He'll get a lot of PK mins.

My advice... everyone needs to wait to see how the rest of the team shakes out.

Heard Stan is far from done.

He's inconsistent as hell in his own zone. He is pretty much what they already had on cheaper deals. Not sure about his PK TOI or performance and that could be more of what this move is about.
- Elbows15

He was probably one of Pitt's top PK guys since he averaged 2 minutes a game short handed, comparable to Keith and Seabrook last season. Noticed also he only had 12 PIM last year, albeit only in 60 games.

https://www.foxsports.com.../olli-maatta-player-stats

Ah boy....This is what we get when everyone snowballs on everyone that doesn’t watch anything other than the blackhawks and some playoff hockey maybe....mattaa is maybe a little slow footed but he’s for sure better responsibly in his own end than most of what we have now...I wouldn’t advocate putting him with seabrook but with gus or maybe even joker, there’s something there....he’s a top 4 right now on the hawks, and all you had to give up was a 5th and Kahun (I like Kahun but he’s replaceable) maatta makes your defense better right now....he makes a bigger impact to the team than Kahun does
- rwilliams88

Orders popcorn.....

I know it can be a very misleading stat, but Maatta's worst +/- for an individual season has been a -1. I liked Kahun too, but it isn't like the Hawks gave up Kane to get him. Also, tells me that Maatta might not be overly great either if the Hawks got him for Kahun. This trade tells me more will be coming to Chicago before the offseason is done.

Maatta is a top 4 in Chicago. He'll get a lot of PK mins.

My advice... everyone needs to wait to see how the rest of the team shakes out.

Heard Stan is far from done.
- Tyler Cameron

First thought when I heard this was that this looks like only the first domino.

Love the blocked shots numbers--been missing that since Hjarmalsson left.

- walleyeb1

I may not be interpreting those rankings right, but those look pretty good to me - especially for someone with ATOI of only about 18 1/2 minutes per game.

He was probably one of Pitt's top PK guys since he averaged 2 minutes a game short handed, comparable to Keith and Seabrook last season. Noticed also he only had 12 PIM last year, albeit only in 60 games.

https://www.foxsports.com.../olli-maatta-player-stats
- boilermaker100

Maatta is fine on the PK - it's 5v5 that he's inconsistent.

Maatta is a top 4 in Chicago. He'll get a lot of PK mins.

My advice... everyone needs to wait to see how the rest of the team shakes out.

Heard Stan is far from done.
- Tyler Cameron

Any specifics or just in general. Hawks need to get tougher to play against so some bangers and crashers pk specialist would be nice.

Maatta is a top 4 in Chicago. He'll get a lot of PK mins.

My advice... everyone needs to wait to see how the rest of the team shakes out.

Heard Stan is far from done.
- Tyler Cameron

Agree, let's give him a chance and see how he'll perform come October.

At least for the Saad backers out there, you can take deep breath and don't have to worry about a Saad-Pesce trade.

I may not be interpreting those rankings right, but those look pretty good to me - especially for someone with ATOI of only about 18 1/2 minutes per game.
- StLBravesFan

Maatta is fine when he's in-zone, honestly. It's preventing entries and other NZ play where he's inconsistent to subpar, which is particularly important to a team system that is pretty run-and-gun. Maatta was fine under Johnson but struggled a bit more with Sullivan - JC's system is closer to Sullivan.

Ironically, Maatta likely would have been good in how Q ran his defense.

Just popped in on the Pens blog. General consensus is that they won the trade.

Ah boy....This is what we get when everyone snowballs on everyone that doesn’t watch anything other than the blackhawks and some playoff hockey maybe....mattaa is maybe a little slow footed but he’s for sure better responsibly in his own end than most of what we have now...I wouldn’t advocate putting him with seabrook but with gus or maybe even joker, there’s something there....he’s a top 4 right now on the hawks, and all you had to give up was a 5th and Kahun (I like Kahun but he’s replaceable) maatta makes your defense better right now....he makes a bigger impact to the team than Kahun does
- rwilliams88

He is inconsistent in his own zone. Gets lost in the corners and his foot speed hinders his ability to recover. Not to mention he will probably miss 20 games so his impact will be limited.

Maatta is a top 4 in Chicago. He'll get a lot of PK mins.

My advice... everyone needs to wait to see how the rest of the team shakes out.

Heard Stan is far from done.
- Tyler Cameron

With this trade there’s no way Bowman is done....the defensive lines just don’t seem to match up the way you’d want them to

Sean Tierney @chartinghockey
Want to see something interesting? Olli Maatta placed 20th among DEF in GAR last year. CHI may have found a competent defender for their top-four.

Agree, let's give him a chance and see how he'll perform come October.

At least for the Saad backers out there, you can take deep breath and don't have to worry about a Saad-Pesce trade.
- boilermaker100

Pesce was maybe one of the few defenders I'd have been okay moving for Saad, thogh lol. He's a legit top pairing guy.

Anyway, I actually agree. Maatta had a really down season but he was a solid if unspectacular 2nd pairing d-man pretty much every other season. Maybe he'll have great chemistry with Jokiharju or Murphy and the 2nd pairing will be lit. Who knows.

He is inconsistent in his own zone. Gets lost in the corners and his foot speed hinders his ability to recover. Not to mention he will probably miss 20 games so his impact will be limited.
- Elbows15

There an argument to be made on the speed and corners, tbh not so concerned about getting lost in the corners, but I get it....but he’s pretty damn solid in his own zone overall....and if you watch him he’s pretty damn smart on angles and with his stick which makes up for his below average speed

To be honest I really don’t know that much about him. Seems like Bowman is sticking to his strategy of first round picks that haven’t quite worked out the way the drafting team thought they would!l though!
- walleyeb1

Him being Finnish has to be a factor. Helps make Joki feel more at home? Maybe Stan tries to trade up for Kakko?

Him being Finnish has to be a factor. Helps make Joki feel more at home? Maybe Stan tries to trade up for Kakko?
- RedRevenge

That would be great. They can all share an apartment.

Pesce was maybe one of the few defenders I'd have been okay moving for Saad, thogh lol. He's a legit top pairing guy.

Anyway, I actually agree. Maatta had a really down season but he was a solid if unspectacular 2nd pairing d-man pretty much every other season. Maybe he'll have great chemistry with Jokiharju or Murphy and the 2nd pairing will be lit. Who knows.
- L_B_R

What would be the scouting report on Hjarmelsson? To me this looks similar.

There an argument to be made on the speed and corners, tbh not so concerned about getting lost in the corners, but I get it....but he’s pretty damn solid in his own zone overall....and if you watch him he’s pretty damn smart on angles and with his stick which makes up for his below average speed
- rwilliams88

Its cute you think I have never seen him play.

For the record... my fake trade was:

PIT trades Olli Maatta to CHI for Carl Dahlstrom and 2019 4th round pick – I've heard on numerous occasions that there wasn't a lot of Maatta appetite around the NHL. A deal like this might get it done. The Hawks might have to add another prospect to the mix. The Pens need cap space and draft picks. This achieves both.
- Tyler Cameron

That would have been acceptable. ..Trading a good, young, fast forward like Kahun with big upside is horrible. Now our defense is even slower.
What a disgrace.

What would be the scouting report on Hjarmelsson? To me this looks similar.
- LAHawk

Hammer had better mobility and was strong in the NZ. Much better metrics, too.