Just popped in on the Pens blog. General consensus is that they won the trade.
- boilermaker100

They did

Maatta is slow and below average for the role we’re most likely to give him(3/4Dman)

Giving up Kahun to get him really makes it an overall awful move

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.


- walleyeb1

He’s our 2nd best defensive defenseman right now....opinions will change once people see him play....it’s a solid pick up

Well the Blues just won the cup, and you can argue they have but one speedster (Thomas) on the roster.

He’s our 2nd best defensive defenseman right now....opinions will change once people see him play....it’s a solid pick up
- rwilliams88

Should have just drafted Byram and used the $$ to improve forward depth.

Trade alert:

Pittsburgh trades Olli Maatta to Chicago for Kahun and a 5th round pick.
- walleyeb1

It is nice to find a market and advancement for Kahun, who the hawks actually brought along, help keep him confident and got rewarded when he did finally start clicking.

Matta will
block shots,
have a good stick, but,

he skates in quicksand more than a bit...

this transitional move fills two teams needs until the 134 Blackhawk defender prospects are ready for auditioning.

Well the Blues just won the cup, and you can argue they have but one speedster (Thomas) on the roster.
- LAHawk

Vince Dunn is fast and one of the main reasons their defense has become so elite.

They did

Maatta is slow and below average for the role we’re most likely to give him(3/4Dman)

Giving up Kahun to get him really makes it an overall awful move
- SimpleJack

Yeah he’s not the fastest but he uses his slowness well, if that makes sense...kinda like chara does

Vince Dunn is fast and one of the main reasons their defense has become so elite.
- SimpleJack

I like Dunn, but that's giving a lot of credit to a guy who played a bottom pairing role throughout the playoffs. He was essentially their Leddy rn so I guess Leddy was why the Hawks defense was so elite in 2013.

For what it’s worth, a look back Wiz had him at #11

The concussion he suffered early in the World Junior Tournament has certainly placed a cloud around his slotting. After acting as the leader of the Finn Junior team in the August Ivan Hlnka Tourney, he made his way across the pond to the OHL's London Knights. He is an all-around defenseman that brings toughness and physicality in the defensive zone but rarely misses a chance in transition to rush up ice. One of the younger players in the draft, he is a powerful skater who makes the right decisions wherever he is and no matter how pressured he might be. His biggest strength is the consistency of his play, game in and game out. Displays good speed, vision, and stamina and plays hard no matter how much time is on the clock. He passes the puck with excellent accuracy, and has a heavy point shot. He battles and engages the opposition whenever he can, and is well versed at keeping the puck in the attack zone. Heavy Point shot. Although he is average in his first two steps, and less offensive-minded than many of the other D-men in this draft. He may get overlooked early, but he looks to be a fine long term prospect with significant upside, and showed as much in the Under-18 World Tourney in May.

--Bill Placzek--
- walleyeb1

Yeah, since this junior evaluation I wrote, I think the kid hasn't played with the jump he is capable...is it the hits and a tentative-ness?

Thanks for recognizing my past works.

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

Hjammer was extremely strong in the NZ - he and Seabrook used to be the best at preventing zone entries, esp between 2013-2015. That's the biggest area that Maatta struggles in a defensive sense imo. Hjammer was better in-zone as well, but Maatta can be quite strong there - he's just not consistent.

Should have just drafted Byram and used the $$ to improve forward depth.
- SimpleJack

Tbh I would agree with you if this is the final product. I wouldn’t be happy with just this trade.

But there’s more tweaking that’s going to happen and it will make more sense once the other moves take place

What was Kahun's projected ceiling, and were the Hawks going to be unable to protect him in the expansion draft, so that is part of why they dealt him?

I haven't watched much of Maatta, but the durability questions, I knew about those. 24 years old, what lies ahead for him should he remain healthy? Dmen almost always develop later than forwards. And is this addition a plus for Jokiharju at all?

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.
- Hawkytalk

And we even sweetened this deal by giving the Pens a draft pick.

Here's what the Pens Blogger had to say...


To put things bluntly I think Olli Maatta is incredibly dependent on quality of teammate, he is injury prone, and his rookie season in a sheltered role with Matt Niskanen elevated perceived value for the fanbase his entire Penguins career. There’s a reason I have advocated moving Maatta for quite a while. While I think the Penguins waited too long and didn’t get as much as they could have, they did just fine here.

I liked Kahun decent kid and could skate. It's great that Matta can block shots when healthy which doesn't seem to be a whole lot. 4 mil in cap space gone - less than thrilled.

What was Kahun's projected ceiling, and were the Hawks going to be unable to protect him in the expansion draft, so that is part of why they dealt him?

I haven't watched much of Maatta, but the durability questions, I knew about those. 24 years old, what lies ahead for him should he remain healthy? Dmen almost always develop later than forwards. And is this addition a plus for Jokiharju at all?
- 333inthe3rd

I have a gut feeling that joki is gonna be used in a significant trade coming up, could be way off

They did

Maatta is slow and below average for the role we’re most likely to give him(3/4Dman)

Giving up Kahun to get him really makes it an overall awful move
- SimpleJack

I didn't realize Kahun was the 2nd coming of Mark Stone.

Maata can fill the 5/6 Dman role so I don't have to watch Carl Dahlstrom in action anymore.

What was Kahun's projected ceiling, and were the Hawks going to be unable to protect him in the expansion draft, so that is part of why they dealt him?

I haven't watched much of Maatta, but the durability questions, I knew about those. 24 years old, what lies ahead for him should he remain healthy? Dmen almost always develop later than forwards. And is this addition a plus for Jokiharju at all?
- 333inthe3rd

JMO but I would have rather they given Perlini in the deal. Young, fast, smart hockey players don't grow on trees. Perlini better show some consistency and play every dam shift like it's his last. Kahun is just a good hockey player with the ability to play 1LW or 3LW like he did last year.

I totally hate this trade !!!

Just popped in on the Pens blog. General consensus is that they won the trade.
- boilermaker100

I checked out HF Boards for the blog on this trade. Consensus there from fans of other teams is that the Pens did well on a player who had little market value. Some comments also about payback for Stan for his Manning/Caggiula deal.

I didn't realize Kahun was the 2nd coming of Mark Stone.

Maata can fill the 5/6 Dman role so I don't have to watch Carl Dahlstrom in action anymore.
- RickJ

No poop. Kahun is a solid bottom 6 guy that put up some pts playing in the top 6.

He isn’t anything special. Not like he was a top PK guy... he skated fast and lost puck possession a lot.

I didn't realize Kahun was the 2nd coming of Mark Stone.

Maata can fill the 5/6 Dman role so I don't have to watch Carl Dahlstrom in action anymore.
- RickJ

Are you saying then that 5/6 defencemen should be paid $4M+ ? ?
If that will be his role on this team, then we just lost big on this trade.

Yes. Actually I did hear something today. Keep an eye on Murphy. He may be on the move.
- Tyler Cameron

So Murphy, Forsberg, and Hayden for RW Kapanen, RHD Durzi, and G Ian Scott... yes please lol

I didn't realize Kahun was the 2nd coming of Mark Stone.

Maata can fill the 5/6 Dman role so I don't have to watch Carl Dahlstrom in action anymore.
- RickJ

Yeah, until you watch Maatta. Then you realize there isn't much difference.

Tyler is Kubalik or even Wedin viewed as replacing Kahun?
- Abadseed

this clearly makes a space for Kubalik to get a long opportunity if Sikura's second audition fails...or Wedin beats him out...iand Kubalik goes back over.

I bet they are confident that Kubalik can be a big wing now for them...the same thin k I said when the signed little wing Kahun.

For all the poop StanBo takes this was a clear use of scouting, signing and resourceful asset training and getting something for a build a bear (player) they did all those things for and it pays a dividend Olli's salary $4,083,333 minus Kahun's (925,000 plus possible bonuses reach) is 3,158,333 less than Murphy's

Yes. Actually I did hear something today. Keep an eye on Murphy. He may be on the move.
- Tyler Cameron

That was one of my thoughts too.

You won’t get that good of a return for Zaitsev
- Ogilthorpe2

Agreed ...because Zaitsev asked to get out...