Chicago Blackhawks trade Olli Maatta to Los Angeles Kings
The Chicago Blackhawks have traded defenseman Olli Maatta to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Brad Morrison.
Ahead of Tuesday’s NHL draft, the Los Angeles Kings decided to be the first to initiate the offseason’s game of musical chairs by trading for Finnish defenseman Olli Maatta. In a move to free up cap space, Maatta is likely Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman’s first salary cap casualty in the first off-season without a rising salary expenditure limit.
With Maatta in the midst of a six year-$24.5 million contract, the Blackhawks are expected to retain $750,000 of his contract in each of the next two seasons.
Maatta, who played a depth defensive role on both Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins teams in 2016 and 2017, joins a young LA Kings team in the process of a rebuild and is looking to reshape their future this week at the draft, starting with likely picking either highly touted prospects Quinton Byfield or Tim Stützle.
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With over 400 NHL games under his belt and an abundance of playoff experience, Maatta adds a veteran presence to a young Kings blueline who, aside from Drew Doughty and Ben Hutton, have only a combined 300 games of NHL experience to show for.
Often known for his hockey IQ and his puck moving ability in all three zones, Maatta also adds an element of size to a traditionally tough team with his 206 lb stature and ability to shield the puck from opponents while moving at a high speed.
The 26 year old Finn is coming off a season long stint in Chicago where he played a key role in helping the Blackhawks topple the heavily favoured Edmonton Oilers in the play-in round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Before bowing out of the NHL playoffs at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, Maatta recorded four goals and 13 assists in the shortened 2019-20 campaign and six points in nine post-season games with a young Blackhawks defensive corps he was expected to help lead and stabilize.
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The piece going to Chicago, forward Brad Morrison, was picked in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft by the New York Rangers and has spent time in both the AHL and the ECHL over the past two years after making the transition to pro hockey.