Olli Määttä

[Shady Machine]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.

It's Ron Burgundy.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

He was rock solid to start the season, in his first dozen games, but the last few, he hasn't had his best games. I figured he'd have a few of those at some point so I am not all that worried.

 

[Fordy]

I am completely satisfied with Maatta. currently depth chart wise he's in the top 4. with these injuries he's probably second best on the team, as will be reflected in practice pairings but not in game. makes sense right

 

[MrBurghundy]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.

If you don't know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.

 

[Jacob]

He's good. Frequently equal to or better than some of the veteran d-men on this team.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Maatta has had some rough games lately, but its standard for young def to go through some growing pains, im sure DB and Shero expected that.

 

[cygnus47]

I'm just guessing, but I imagine its hard as a rookie defenseman to play well when everyone else is playing bad. You'd try too hard to make up for their mistakes and then fall into their bad patterns. If the team starts playing well and he doesn't, then I'll be worried.

 

[Til the End of Time]

you can tell he is a smart defenseman. and i like all that stuff i've heard about him having an amazing work ethic.

i wish letang had half of his hockey iq.

 

[IcedCapp]

Appreciate your input, thanks!! I am so happy he is where he is, simply because he did earn his roster spot and is a quality guy and I do want him to suceed in the NHL, but in order to get to that "impact defensemen" calibre, I think he needs to come back to London. He will be that top 4 defensemen for the Penguins soon enough, but not right now....However, the Knights are decimated without him and Nikita Zadorov, and we could be almost be guaranteed a Memorial Cup if Maatta and Zadorov return. I know that doesn't matter to you Pens fans, but if you want him to be that top calibre defensemen of the future, I would send him back, where he will get more responsibility in every situation and Dale Hunter will have him ready for the Penguins next year.....Again, not "completely" speaking as a Knights fan, but Dale Hunter has a knack for developing quality defensemen, so he'll be ready next year.

I wonder if your personal hopes are influencing what you think needs to happen for him to progress? =)

 

[Fordy]

Appreciate your input, thanks!! I am so happy he is where he is, simply because he did earn his roster spot and is a quality guy and I do want him to suceed in the NHL, but in order to get to that "impact defensemen" calibre, I think he needs to come back to London. He will be that top 4 defensemen for the Penguins soon enough, but not right now....However, the Knights are decimated without him and Nikita Zadorov, and we could be almost be guaranteed a Memorial Cup if Maatta and Zadorov return. I know that doesn't matter to you Pens fans, but if you want him to be that top calibre defensemen of the future, I would send him back, where he will get more responsibility in every situation and Dale Hunter will have him ready for the Penguins next year.....Again, not "completely" speaking as a Knights fan, but Dale Hunter has a knack for developing quality defensemen, so he'll be ready next year.

Hopefully he never goes back.

 

[Sutter16]

I've been thrilled with Olli. He's been really solid. Saw him at the prospect camp in July and you could just tell he was close to being NHL ready.

 

[Shrimper]

In some senses he's been a breath of fresh air that has managed to prevent the permeation of the "country club" smell a little bit.

 

[Darth Vitale]

You genuinely think they will send him back after 40 games? I don't believe that at all. Personally, I'm still very pleased with him. He's been very steady for a rookie. He will be a top pairing dman in the future.

I don't necessarily want him to go back (will depend on the next few weeks and team health) but i would not be surprised at all. 1 they've sort of done the "half season" thing with Despres too and I suspect would not want to risk burning him out if he slows down / struggles. 2 the FA matters. While they did burn a year of his contract they have not burned a year towards FA yet and that is the kind of thing that will likely cause Shero to take the conservative approach.

It's solid asset management, which Shero has always been very good at. Sending Maata back before 40 games buys another year of RFA, which is a significantly cheaper contract. It's not like Dumoulin or Despres can't be called up to do a very similar job to Maata on the 3rd pairing if Maata gets sent back.

Pretty much this.

 

[Sivek]

I think it would be beyond stupid to send him back after burning up a year of his ELC, especially if he is still playing well. Sending Maatta back to the OHL while he's playing decently sends a terrible message. There's much more to gain by playing against NHL'ers and in the playoffs than the Matia Marcantuoni's of the world.

The team could of just kept Despres in the line-up and let him get extended regular NHL playing time for the first time of his career instead of keeping Maatta for around for 40 games. I think sending him Maatta back is the complete opposite of good asset management. The only scenarios should of been Maatta being sent back after 9 games or stay the entire season.

 

[jmelm]

you can tell he is a smart defenseman. and i like all that stuff i've heard about him having an amazing work ethic.

i wish letang had half of his hockey iq.

hahaha. I thought, for once, I was reading the first positive message I've seen you post here. And then I read the second sentence. I guess it's just not possible for you.

Appreciate your input, thanks!! I am so happy he is where he is, simply because he did earn his roster spot and is a quality guy and I do want him to suceed in the NHL, but in order to get to that "impact defensemen" calibre, I think he needs to come back to London. He will be that top 4 defensemen for the Penguins soon enough, but not right now....However, the Knights are decimated without him and Nikita Zadorov, and we could be almost be guaranteed a Memorial Cup if Maatta and Zadorov return. I know that doesn't matter to you Pens fans, but if you want him to be that top calibre defensemen of the future, I would send him back, where he will get more responsibility in every situation and Dale Hunter will have him ready for the Penguins next year.....Again, not "completely" speaking as a Knights fan, but Dale Hunter has a knack for developing quality defensemen, so he'll be ready next year.

Zadorov and Maatta are different. Zadorov has a lot still to be gained from the tutelage of the Hunters and to grow into his frame. But while it would not hurt Maatta to go back, it is absolutely not essential either. He is a smart, smart player, he has a work ethic that the Hunters would be proud of, and he has learned to be a "Hunter" defenseman. And he is fully realized in that regard: he's defense-first despite his offensive talent, he has become a tremendous shot blocker, and he's a team player. Whether he plays 39 games or less and gets sent back, or if he's with us for the rest of the season, his development will be just fine -- even if his absence hurts the Knights play. The latter is obviously not the Penguins primary concern.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Appreciate your input, thanks!! I am so happy he is where he is, simply because he did earn his roster spot and is a quality guy and I do want him to suceed in the NHL, but in order to get to that "impact defensemen" calibre, I think he needs to come back to London. He will be that top 4 defensemen for the Penguins soon enough, but not right now....However, the Knights are decimated without him and Nikita Zadorov, and we could be almost be guaranteed a Memorial Cup if Maatta and Zadorov return. I know that doesn't matter to you Pens fans, but if you want him to be that top calibre defensemen of the future, I would send him back, where he will get more responsibility in every situation and Dale Hunter will have him ready for the Penguins next year.....Again, not "completely" speaking as a Knights fan, but Dale Hunter has a knack for developing quality defensemen, so he'll be ready next year.

Maatta is currently helping the Pens win this year. So long as he continues to do so, he'll stay with the Pens.

Anyway, interesting that he's getting a look with Letang. It'd be a big jump in responsibility for a rookie, but I'm curious to see how he'd fare in game action.

 

[Shady Machine]

Can anyone thing of examples of players staying up for half a season and then getting sent back to juniors? I'm sure it happens, I just can't imagine it would be that often.

 

[Epic Neal Time]

I'm pretty sure Buffalo did it with Grigorenko last year, but I could be wrong.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Can anyone thing of examples of players staying up for half a season and then getting sent back to juniors? I'm sure it happens, I just can't imagine it would be that often.

Happened to Grigorenko and Stephan Matteau in the past couple years.

 

[Shady Machine]

Cool thanks. The Pens shouldn't do it with Maatta.

 

[jmelm]

Bob McKenzie said it right from the beginning (or at least after the Pens "announced" Olli would stay): He said that the Pens were not at all concerned about burning the first year of his ELC. He said their primary concern would be the UFA year. So it really depends on how Olli is doing vs. how Despres/Dumo are doing vs. if there are any other injuries/trades, etc.


So I wouldn't be surprised if he stays up, nor would I be surprised if he got sent back down; but I see the latter only being the case if they feel Despres or Dumo can step in and be about as good as Olli has been so far, or if they do move a body like a Nisky or Orpik.

 

[Burgs]

Can anyone thing of examples of players staying up for half a season and then getting sent back to juniors? I'm sure it happens, I just can't imagine it would be that often.

Fleury played 3 months for the Pens as a rookie in 03-04, got increasingly shelled, then was allowed to go to the WJC at the end of the year, returned briefly and was finally reassigned to Cape Breton in the Q at the end of January. But that was as much about money as it was about performance.

 

[tjziel]

Can anyone thing of examples of players staying up for half a season and then getting sent back to juniors? I'm sure it happens, I just can't imagine it would be that often.

2012-2013 - Mikail Grigorenko - played 25 games before getting sent down. (Juniors)
2012-2013 - Stefan Matteau - played 17 games before getting sent down. (Juniors)
2008-2009 - Luca Sbisa - played 39 games before getting sent down. (Juniors)

Those are the ones that comes to mind.....

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I'd like to see him paired with Letang for several games in a row. I think they complement each other very well. And I think Maatta deserves to be on the ice more with Geno's line or Sid's line.

I'm still not seeing any reason to send him to London. If they want to send him to Team Finland for 10 days during the holidays for the WJC, that's perhaps something they can consider. But this kid is so far above the OHL by now it would literally be stupid to go backwards here.

Again, he really has NOTHING to do with Simon Despres and/or Brian Dumoulin. If those guys are ready, we can find place for one of them by moving out our statistically beautiful/eyeball-test ugly/current left defenseman Matt Niskanen.

But I suppose we have to expect the worst with this regime these days.

 

[jmelm]

I'd like to see him paired with Letang for several games in a row. I think they complement each other very well. And I think Maatta deserves to be on the ice more with Geno's line or Sid's line.

I'm perfectly fine with any experimentation right now, while Scuderi is out with his injury.

That said, I still think that, long term, Maatta or Despres are not the right partners for Letang. Why? Because what makes those prospects good, especially Maatta, is their ability to jump into the play and add to the offense. When you're playing with a guy who is so eager to always jump into the rush, it cause their partner to always think to stay back, rather than follow their normal offensive instincts. That's why I think that Letang will eventually end up with either Harrington (pure rock on defense who is smart enough to play with Letang), or Dumoulin (who can add offense, but does it with smart 2-way play, like a Paul Martin type, and can play with anyone).

So short term? Sure. But long term, I don't think they'll end up being partners. I think Bortuzzo is a great partner for Maatta in the short and long term because he really allows Maatta (who is easily our best offensive Dman after Letang and Pouliot) to do what he does best: follow his instincts, which include a strong offensive acumen and sense of when to join or lead the play up the ice. I think Letang will be an excellent role model for Maatta in this regard, and Maatta has already praised Letang as someone who really inspires him and whose footsteps he'd like to follow in terms of work ethic, conditioning and ability to consistently play at a high level. So take that, all you Letang haters.