3 players the Chicago Blackhawks should trade after postseason exit

1. Olli Maatta

The Chicago Blackhawks need to create some space on their blueline for younger players. Given his injury history and how bad he was when he was healthy, Calvin de Haan is likely not a tradeable option at this point. However, Olli Maatta is. And he likely made himself a bit more attractive as a trade candidate with his play in Edmonton.

Maatta is due $4.083 million a year for the next two seasons. That’s not ideal for the Blackhawks because he’s at best a third-pairing defenseman for them. Albeit a useful one. But still, the Blackhawks cannot afford to be paying a third-pairing defenseman over $4 million. That’s simply not good business.

His strong play this year, particularly in the second half and in the postseason, should make him tradeable. Maatta used to be a buyout candidate, but now I believe the Blackhawks could get something for him. It wouldn’t be a huge return, but getting his contract off the books would let the team focus on improving elsewhere.

Now, if they could trade de Haan, that would be great. Maybe then the Blackhawks could keep Maatta around. But who’s going to be willing to take on de Haan’s contract at this point, knowing he has a long, lengthy history of injuries? Maatta’s the logical candidate to be the odd man out on Chicago’s blueline. At least the Blackhawks could get something for him.