Tyler Cameron: Olli Maatta traded to Chicago + More Rumors
We all know the trade by now; Olli Maatta is a Blackhawk and Dominik Kahun and a 5th Rounder now belong to Pittsburgh Penguins.

I am surprisingly in the minority. The initial reaction is that Maatta is terrible and Kahun is irreplaceable. Not really, but it's really not a trade to get overly worked up about in my opinion.

Here are my thoughts + other rumors I'm hearing.

The biggest positive I take out of this is that the front office and the coaching staff are working together on personnel decisions. That didn't seem to be the case in recent past. Having everyone on the same page is huge.

Loved Maatta, he’s a great kid. A little slow of foot, but all the best for him and his tenure with the Hawks.

The biggest positive I take out of this is that the front office and the coaching staff are working together on personnel decisions. That didn't seem to be the case in recent past. Having everyone on the same page is huge.
- rickboardman

I've heard it a couple times. Colliton is obsessive about this game and his team (not to say Coach Q wasn't).

Colliton has been included in most meetings about personnel... and has a strong voice just like Joel did.

I think with some more tweaks, a solid draft and a full training camp with Colliton at the helm, we could see some serious progress.

The biggest positive I take out of this is that the front office and the coaching staff are working together on personnel decisions. That didn't seem to be the case in recent past. Having everyone on the same page is huge.
- rickboardman

Don’t need another Q incident. Stanley messed up there keeping him out of it.

Maatta is a good start but only the beginning of many changes & work to do. D are so hard to acquire & this is not an earth shaker but definitely needed to try.

Loved Maatta, he’s a great kid. A little slow of foot, but all the best for him and his tenure with the Hawks.
- Doogs

Thanks for dropping in with the note Doogs.

Any other thoughts on Maatta? Always love to get a fans opinion.

Also, my thoughts on Kahun (if you care) are this:

Kahun will be great for PIT.

He is a winger (can play C but better as a W) and thinks the game really fast. He is a hard worker and plays a good defensive game as a tenacious backchecker.

He also played on the same team as Domink Simon for Czech at the world champs. So maybe there is some chemistry there.

If in the top 9, I can see him as a 40+ point season.

Also, for those having issues with quoting others in the thread.

All you need to do is this:

* At the top of the page you will see the following:

Forums :: Blog World :: Tyler Cameron: Olli Maatta traded to Chicago + More Rumors

Click the bolded part and quote away after that.

nice call on the matta trade...

kahun irreplaceable...now thats a

he is just another guy who was given a chance to play with toews and couldn't stick...what is that #15 in 4 years...

indeed the dman pool is awfully crowded now...stan has leverage and flexibility...

losing forsling = meh

Acquire murry sell high on gust i could see that happening.

People are acting like Kahun was the next big superstar!! My God, he wasn't. He was a nice player, but they just signed 2 guys who are him or better. ( Not Sykura he will be a career minor leaguer) Guys like Maatta are what this team needs. He is 24, stay at home D man that they didn't have 1 of last year.

Great write-up! How do you think this acquisition affects the upcoming draft. With them thinking Bovquist may be ready to take the next step, this may have them leaning against Byrum? And if Byrum is not their guy, who may want him and would be likely to trade up. It's gonna be a great next two plus weeks.

As a Pitt fan I think we got lightly hosed. I could easily see maatta turning into a solid top 4 d man if healthy ... I would have wanted a much higher pick. Good on Stanley for buying low. Weird that pens sold low... youda thunk after silly seasons first days were over that pens coulda got more from those left in the dust. They must think they need that space for a bigger move.

IMO a right shot on PP1 would be ideal as it would give Kaner 2 options for 1 Timers from his spot on the right wing half wall. Boquist, Jokiharju and Beaudin will all be pushing hard for a roster spot. id think Murphy holds a lot more value as a trade chip this summer compared to this time last year.

I’m hoping for Byram but any of the 3 centers (Cozens, Turcotte, Dach) being discussed should be excellent players to add to the organization.

Thanks for dropping in with the note Doogs.

Any other thoughts on Maatta? Always love to get a fans opinion.

Also, my thoughts on Kahun (if you care) are this:

Kahun will be great for PIT.

He is a winger (can play C but better as a W) and thinks the game really fast. He is a hard worker and plays a good defensive game as a tenacious backchecker.

He also played on the same team as Domink Simon for Czech at the world champs. So maybe there is some chemistry there.

If in the top 9, I can see him as a 40+ point season.
- Tyler Cameron

For most Pitt fans a comparison to Simon is a bad start.

Thanks for dropping in with the note Doogs.

Any other thoughts on Maatta? Always love to get a fans opinion.

Also, my thoughts on Kahun (if you care) are this:

Kahun will be great for PIT.

He is a winger (can play C but better as a W) and thinks the game really fast. He is a hard worker and plays a good defensive game as a tenacious backchecker.

He also played on the same team as Domink Simon for Czech at the world champs. So maybe there is some chemistry there.

If in the top 9, I can see him as a 40+ point season.
- Tyler Cameron

His start of career was stellar. Showed top 4 potential. Sadly, injuries and illness sapped a ton from him.

That said, he is certainly the type of D man that works better in a pairing. He is not the guy that will make the pairing but works in tandem amazingly. The past couple of seasons in Pittsburgh he has had some tough pairings...Johnson, Oliesiak for examples.

He is well liked in the room and can play a role on the PP.

As I said, I am a fan and wish him all the best and success in the Hawks uni.

If another veteran defenceman goes out the door I think that will answer your question - Byram will be their guy.

Florida, Philly and Winnipeg will be active and it will involve defenceman.

People are acting like Kahun was the next big superstar!! My God, he wasn't. He was a nice player, but they just signed 2 guys who are him or better. ( Not Sykura he will be a career minor leaguer) Guys like Maatta are what this team needs. He is 24, stay at home D man that they didn't have 1 of last year.
- SaadBeast

No one ever said that about Kahun. Maatta up until last season always had more O-zone starts. So he isn't some shutdown specialist. When he did get a heavy dose of d-zone starts, he was terrible.

As a Pitt fan I think we got lightly hosed. I could easily see maatta turning into a solid top 4 d man if healthy ... I would have wanted a much higher pick. Good on Stanley for buying low. Weird that pens sold low... youda thunk after silly seasons first days were over that pens coulda got more from those left in the dust. They must think they need that space for a bigger move.
- ChrisMS

No likely given his history but on the bright side, you hardly miss when he is not in the line-up.

Pens need cap space. Bowman was too generous in giving a pick at all.

Thanks for the update Tyler.

My initial reaction was one of disappointment to the Maatta trade, perhaps previous speculation raised my expectations of who the Hawks would acquire. But, there’s a chance (you place your own odds) Maatta could prove useful to improve the Hawks defense, and as you report, its most likely that this isn’t the only move Stan makes to address the team’s needs.

Should be fun one way or the other.

Great write-up! How do you think this acquisition affects the upcoming draft. With them thinking Bovquist may be ready to take the next step, this may have them leaning against Byrum? And if Byrum is not their guy, who may want him and would be likely to trade up. It's gonna be a great next two plus weeks.
- ksilvy58

It shouldn't affect the draft at all. At #3 you take the player you feel is the best for that slot. (not Cozens hopefully).

If anything, acquiring Maatta with the term left on his contract kinda indicates to me that they are prepared to be patient with Boqvist and Beaudin. Jokesonyou is a wild card. Given his performance last season, he appears ready to step into a consistent spot in the NHL. It being with the Hawks is a mystery.

If another veteran defenceman goes out the door I think that will answer your question - Byram will be their guy.

Florida, Philly and Winnipeg will be active and it will involve defenceman.
- RickJ

How so? Doubt Byram is ready for NHL minutes. Did you see him at the combine? He is kinda puny. If he is the pick, let him build himself up playing in juniors another season. No reason to rush him.

Thanks for dropping in with the note Doogs.

Any other thoughts on Maatta? Always love to get a fans opinion.

Also, my thoughts on Kahun (if you care) are this:

Kahun will be great for PIT.

He is a winger (can play C but better as a W) and thinks the game really fast. He is a hard worker and plays a good defensive game as a tenacious backchecker.

He also played on the same team as Domink Simon for Czech at the world champs. So maybe there is some chemistry there.

If in the top 9, I can see him as a 40+ point season.
- Tyler Cameron

My two cents... OM never looked the same (to me) after the thyroid cancer. I've read it's difficult for athletes to get the perfect dosage of medications after the thyroid gland is removed. I also worry about his multiple shoulder injuries. I cringe sometimes when he takes a hard hit on his shoulder. He missed another chunk of time this season with a shoulder injury.....didn't require surgery however.

Gunners blog is completely accurate. Great hockey sense, but needs every bit of it to make up for his feet. When he get's caught it's ugly. The good news is he doesn't get caught too often.

Plus - Over all he's a pretty good player if he keeps it simple.

Minus - I worry about his injury history. If he ever loses a step, he'll have problems staying in the NHL. Contract is rough for his limited attributes.

Seriosuly. Even if the Hawks add 2 more NHL d men that doesnt mean anything about the #3 pick this season. Not one damn thing.
Byram is not playing in the NHL more than the 9 game feeler at the beginning of the season.

Don"t believe everything you hear. Boqvist is far from ready. No system is going to help him enough, not now. He needs to work at developing different things and the weekly visits by Campbell should help. Campbell can provide hands on encouragement, tips, how to from a been there done it veteran.

Even if you want to fast track Boqvist, it is not good to rush him as per his confidance and development in a very young career. I think you are just hearing the thoughts of what they would like to do once Boqvist is abke to play nhl competently - which is consider trading Gus.

The fact is that Bowman will not tolerate as bad a defense group again. Unless or until one or two descent defensively dmen are aboard, Gus is a liability. However Gus could become better defensively but he needs a team approach and a system before his performance is better. Gus hasvincentive as in new cintract and i believe he ca become better anyway if he wants it.

Maata is not really a significant add skill wise. This blog column spelled that part of it out for us to undertstand. Maatabut is proof to dmen prospects how to think and play the game. Which is important because the success or consistency of a dman performance is not purely based soley on athleticism.

Seabrook training hard may or may not result in his continual regular appearance in the line up. Maata is expansion fodder but good here for one season. Kahun is a nice player you like to keep; he has greater offensive capability (read: points) but is replaceable. Kahun would be a top expansion consideration too. He was signed for dollars not players so it is a plus move he is gone for Maata.

No one said Kahun was irreplaceable. Hell, Maatta career to this point is the very definition of replaceable.

What fans said about Kahun was they liked some aspects of his game. He put up 35EV points as rookie playing on NA ice for the first time in years. He gave an honest effort every night. On a team with poop for forwards with any defensive acumen, he was decent.

Is he going to be a 50-60 point guy? Probably not but he could be a 40-50 guy with more PP time.

Just stop with the hyperbole if someone likes a player they automatically think he is going to be a star.