You're allowed to disagree with me! Ha.

I'm just notnas low on Maatta as some and not as high on Kahun as you.

He's a fine player but in my brain he's already been replaced with Dylan Sikura who plays a similar game and should be up all year next year.

Or... Kahun is replaced by Tanev or UFA X.

I want to see how the team shakes out before I get too high or too low.
- Tyler Cameron

Plus Kubelik coming in - and Wedin....

Hawks have a lot of possibly / potentially productive bottom sixers (maybe even middle-sixers) - let’s see how good Colliton and his staff (or Rockford’s) are at developing young talent.

I don’t know about Maatta - seems to be a solid own-zone defenseman - shot blocker, hits some, good size - not a great skater in an increasingly skating league - but the Hawks certainly needed someone with Maatta’s positives (we’ll have to see if his negatives outweigh them).

This board is unbelievable.

All of the female doging about how they need some size and grit - so the get a blue liner with some size (6’2” - 206, according to hockey-reference) who hits and blocks shots - and the female doging starts about his speed.

I have no idea if Maatta will produce what the Hawks think / hope, but I do think that Kahun is a nice - but replaceable (very possibly by skaters already in the system) - bottom-6 winger.
- StLBravesFan

Olli Maatta is a total pro and is looked at as a no maintenance locker room guy, and will be another great example of “how to be a pro defender” for Henri and others.

I find it pretty amusing that after YEARS of hearing about the “bad” and slow skating of Seabrook, you all get to see a REAL feet in quicksand defenseman who KNOWS he must rely on his head, vision, stick body and reach to play his position.

Did Stan make this trade to silence the Seabrook skating naysayers?

Stan Bomwan on his defense, as currently constituted: "We’re gonna keep looking at ways to improve our team — not just the defense, but I’m not setting that aside, either. It’s still early in the process here.”

The 4M doesnt bother me as much when I look at the Hawks D as a whole:

Seabrook - 6.8M
Keith - 5.5M
Maata - 4M
Murphy - 3.8M
Gustafsson - 1.2M
Jokiharju - 925k
Kokekooek - 925k
Dahlstrom- 850k
Forsling - (approx. 1M?)

The Hawks will be cleaning up some room with some of these guys to then make room for the slew of prospects - who will all be on e try level deals- like Boqvist, Mitchell, Beaudin and maybe Byram.
- Tyler Cameron[/quote]
He is the guy/player I want Stan to draft. Happy Father's Day Gentleman!!!
Tyler great job on your blogs I really appreciate them keep them coming [img][/img]

Maybe he’ll turn out to be Sopel-esque... glacially slow but blocks shots like there’s no tomorrow?....
- Chief4Feathers

That IS what he is and when uninjured he will be there to improve the areas he excels in...

Well as you know the scouts on this board know far more than Bowman and his Hockey Ops staff.

Maatta isn't a game changer for the organization but when it comes to foot speed I just look at guys who played important roles in the playoffs that aren't cheetahs on ice - ROR, Bouwmeester, Chara, Steen, even Bergeron. Positioning and knowing how to play the game is far more important that being Eric Heiden. If Maatta can stay healthy and bring hockey smarts to the back end the Hawks will be a better team.
- RickJ

OK but he wasn't even in Pitts top six at the end of the playoffs

It’s trades like this that make me nervous for the Draft. They’ll probably draft some dwarf Swede that no one has ever heard of with the 3rd overall pick.
- Ogilthorpe2

How about Karl Henricksson a LC from Frolunda?

or 5 10 RD Finn Kalle Loponen ?

It's not a NMC - it's a modified NTC - which is significant because an NMC would makeMaatta ineligible for the Seattle expansion draft whereas a NTC allows him to be eligible so the Hawks don't have to protect him if they don't want to.
- EbonyRaptor

and it is an easy buy out IF things go completely off the rails.


The hawks have tons of prospects and not enough spaces to even sign them all, so I am pretty sure they weighed the Kahun subtraction and figured there were options and Kahun wasn't going to win them the Blues, or Bruisn a Stanley Cup before he wanted a raise...

Hello, LBR. As you may know, this board believes they should get Hedman for Kahun. Nothing less.
- mohel

Well they should have!

Maybe Maatta gets flipped in a subsequent trade? There’s a lot of LHD on the roster right now.
- Chief4Feathers

LOL

someone else

I sure hope so. Penguins fans are rejoicing tonight, they got rid of a mediocre player with a pretty big Cap hit
- kwolf68

and they rejoiced when the added Jack Johnson, so ?

I just hope this doesn't signal that the team is NOT taking Byram now.

I just hope this doesn't signal that the team is NOT taking Byram now.
- TommyHawk

I have the same thought but we knew the biggest area of need was the d-corps and that Stan was going to try to address that this off season independent of the draft.

OK but he wasn't even in Pitts top six at the end of the playoffs
- HamiltonHawk

And if he had been, he wouldnt have played any worse than Letang and Jack Johnson did in their 4 game sweep loss.

Penguins made Maatta a healthy scratch in their last 3 games in the first round vs Islanders

I find it very hard to label Maatta top 4 right now when you take that into consideration

Good chance that a change of scenery will be great for him though
- jimbro83

Boy I have read these points in triplicate here.

nay player trying to play after a serious injury gets caught in a void where they cannot do the recoup exercises anytime but after games, so they have to sit to work those issues out.

Health IS the key here, not his ability to play and help the hawks in all the ways he did as a Penguin when he did.

A new group IS part of it, but in the freaking NHL, for anyone on this board to say ten dozen names are not top 4 defenders is a funny...

Most teams don't have a true first pair or for that matter many teams have THREE second pairs, and most second pairings in the NHL are comprised by players who are LESSER the the present day Maata PERIOD.

(And yes, there are a tiny few teams with strong first pairs and as strong second pair PLUS.)

This is all about seeing the five year vet play and reset his NHL career .

I have the same thought but we knew the biggest area of need was the d-corps and that Stan was going to try to address that this off season independent of the draft.
- EbonyRaptor

We’re not drafting at #3 based on need, we draft the best player available period!

From a Pen's poster:

"Maata's better than most Pens fans understand. He's not "slow". He's a solid skater. He just doesn't have that first quick step. It's honestly his only real weakness. But, on a Pens team who were all pushing north and forgetting to bring the F3 high in the zone to help the Dmen, that initial step stood out BIG time last season.

Basically, if he's looking up ice and someone turns it over, he just doesn't react in time to that quick transition. And, the Pens are constantly making those turnovers at the absolute wrong time.

He'll be fine in the future."
- SoftServe

Never had a quick first two steps, but is balanced and as you get older and are more experienced, your on ice reads lead you to your area, when the attackers shift.

You don't last if you can play the position.

To say this kid is horsefeathers says the ENTIRE BLACKHAWK scouting and organization has no clue on how to evaluate...

and I finally heard a radio podcast were some =cited the VERY same defensive kinks I SEE in Bowen Byram saying it will a few pro years before he can really {maybe} LEARN THE DEFENSIVE SIDE ...Kyle Woodlief on some Winnipeg pd cast maybe...I do not have the Red Line final report..does anyone out there to verify these ccmments?

So if the scouts are wrong on Maatta you better pray they DO NOT take Bowen.

and they rejoiced when the added Jack Johnson, so ?
- wiz1901

Sorry Wiz, most Penguins fans smelled the stink of the Jack Johnson deal from day one - no one I read was rejoicing that move.

I thought Maatta turned a bit into a whipping boy for Pens fans. Some of it deserved, but some of it overblown. He is solid in his own end, thinks the game pretty well, because his acceleration is awful. His stick on puck game is usually pretty strong, but you will find games where he just things that makes you scratch your head. I promise you, you will see at least one time a game where someone blows by him up the wall because his first few steps are just so slow. You will than get to see the look up to the heavens when the puck goes in the net lol My favorite all time Maatta story though, is when he was passed out on the balcony after the Pens cup parade back in 17. He will be loved by the media, because he is just an honest to goodness good person. The local media here has nothing bad to say about him as a teammate or person. I think he just ran his course in Pitts, if that makes sense. A change might do wonders for him and a fresh start could be whats needed. I think he will be a 5/4 type dman for the Hawks, depending on the outcome of the off season. I would only be upset, if I was a Hawks fan, if Maatta is playing on the 3rd pairing most of the season. If that is the case, you will understand the exact reason the Pens traded him.

Trying to think from the Hawks front office:

1) Need to fix the defense and penalty kill
2) Very weak at LD ( Keith and ...). My guess is evaluation that what they have are no better than #5.
3) Keith is 35 a step slower, limit his music notes further by not having to play primary PK minutes
4) Matta salary not a deal breaker, if he plays top 4 minutes it actually is a bargain.
5) Matta has played 82 games 2 years ago,good I own end, shot blocker, bad season last year, chance to trade for a #4 buying low, able to check boxes 1-3;above
6) Kahun s 13 goals probably will be replaced by Sikura/Kubalik, and possibly FA.

Stan might have made this deal now before the draft to have some chess pieces to get some draft picks, or for add ons for other trades.

I thought Maatta turned a bit into a whipping boy for Pens fans. Some of it deserved, but some of it overblown. He is solid in his own end, thinks the game pretty well, because his acceleration is awful. His stick on puck game is usually pretty strong, but you will find games where he just things that makes you scratch your head. I promise you, you will see at least one time a game where someone blows by him up the wall because his first few steps are just so slow. You will than get to see the look up to the heavens when the puck goes in the net lol My favorite all time Maatta story though, is when he was passed out on the balcony after the Pens cup parade back in 17. He will be loved by the media, because he is just an honest to goodness good person. The local media here has nothing bad to say about him as a teammate or person. I think he just ran his course in Pitts, if that makes sense. A change might do wonders for him and a fresh start could be whats needed. I think he will be a 5/4 type dman for the Hawks, depending on the outcome of the off season. I would only be upset, if I was a Hawks fan, if Maatta is playing on the 3rd pairing most of the season. If that is the case, you will understand the exact reason the Pens traded him.
- Thorny

Thanks for your perspective on this.

Our old friend JJ over at The Rink has a fairly positive take about the Maatta acquisition.

Trying to think from the Hawks front office:

1) Need to fix the defense and penalty kill
2) Very weak at LD ( Keith and ...). My guess is evaluation that what they have are no better than #5.
3) Keith is 35 a step slower, limit his music notes further by not having to play primary PK minutes
4) Matta salary not a deal breaker, if he plays top 4 minutes it actually is a bargain.
5) Matta has played 82 games 2 years ago,good I own end, shot blocker, bad season last year, chance to trade for a #4 buying low, able to check boxes 1-3;above
6) Kahun s 13 goals probably will be replaced by Sikura/Kubalik, and possibly FA.

Stan might have made this deal now before the draft to have some chess pieces to get some draft picks, or for add ons for other trades.
- LAHawk

7) Maatta is a candidate for the draft lottery, so he can be looked at as a two year rental and placeholder until one of the prospects is ready
8) Maata will be probably be paired with Jokiharu and can mentor him.

That IS what he is and when uninjured he will be there to improve the areas he excels in...
- wiz1901

Dare I say Maatta/Gus pairing?

7) Maatta is a candidate for the draft lottery, so he can be looked at as a two year rental and placeholder until one of the prospects is ready
8) Maata will be probably be paired with Jokiharu and can mentor him.
- boilermaker100

Thank you, 2 more and we can have a Letterman top 10 reasons why the Hawks traded for Olli Maata