NHL trade grade: Penguins acquire Dominik Kahun from Blackhawks

The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded defenseman Olli Maatta to the Blackhawks for Dominik Kahun. Let’s take a look at what each side got.

Late on Saturday, June 15, the Pittsburgh Penguins did the inevitable by clearing up space on their blueline. They traded defenseman Olli Maatta to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Dominik Kahun and a 2019 fifth-round pick.

This trade solves a need for both sides. The Penguins needed cap space and younger forwards. Kahun qualifies for the latter and getting rid of Maatta’s $4.083 million cap hit accomplishes the former. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks upgrade their blueline, which was horrendously bad last season.

Let’s take a deep look into what each team got and grade how they did.

Blackhawks

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The Blackhawks need to add a top-four defenseman this summer. Maatta could be that guy. At the very least, he should be a part of the solution. Maatta isn’t going to wow you with his numbers, but he’s a steady, reliable defenseman.

It’s not a secret he’s a slow defenseman. However, Maatta has great instincts and a high hockey IQ, which help him to survive against faster forwards. He also knows how to use his size to his advantage, as he has a nice reach

Maatta should help Chicago improve their penalty kill, which was borderline historically bad last season. He was a staple of the Penguins penalty kill, averaging over two minutes shorthanded per game. Maatta had one of the higher goals for percentages there among Pittsburgh defensemen and the lowest goals against per hour rate (minimum 20 minutes played).

In a vacuum, this is a good trade that helps Chicago upgrade their blueline. That said, the Hawks need to do more to upgrade their blueline. Maatta is a perfectly capable defenseman, but he’s not the solution by himself.

Grade: B-. There were some better defensemen out there on the trade market, but perhaps Chicago didn’t have what it took to get them. I’m curious what they’ll do in free agency because they have the cap space to make some moves.

Penguins

The most important thing about this trade for the Penguins is that it gives them cap space. They now have $6.375 million of cap space, which should be enough to sign Zach Aston-Reese, Teddy Blueger, and Marcus Pettersson to new contracts, plus call up an extra forward.

Kahun is a nice addition to the Pens as well. He’s a versatile forward who has experience playing at all three forward positions. Kahun played all across the lineup for the Hawks and I’d expect him to do the same for the Penguins.

His most common role, though, will most likely be on the third line. Though he’s a nice option if head coach Mike Sullivan wants to give Evgeni Malkin a defensively responsible wing. Kahun will be a restricted free agent after the 2019-20 season and could be a long-term option for Pittsburgh.

In a vacuum, this is a pretty darn solid trade for the Penguins. However, it doesn’t really do much to change their defense. The Pens defense remains mostly slow. If Jack Johnson is still playing second pairing minutes, nothing has changed. Likewise, if Pittsburgh winds up paying their third pairing over $7 million combined, nothing has changed.

Grade: B. This trade gets the Pens some much-needed cap space and I’m a fan of Kahun. But it doesn’t address the Penguins defense. It makes things clearer, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing.