Olli Maatta

Last Season

Two goals and 15 points in 43 games, minus-six, on seventeen minutes a night. He missed half the season, which has happened more than once.

The Finesse Game

Simple and safe. He makes the short first pass, he puts pucks off the glass when the forecheck is on him, and he does not attempt plays that could turn into odd-man rushes. Forty-four goals in 804 games says everything about his offensive ambition.

He is not a puck-mover in the modern sense and has never been asked to be. On a pairing with somebody who can skate, he is perfectly functional.

The Physical Game

Six-two and 207, and he defends positionally rather than physically. He boxes out in front, takes the body when it is available, and does not chase. The skating is the limitation: he is a step slow closing on fast wingers and can be beaten wide.

The Intangibles

He won a Cup at twenty and another at twenty-one, which framed expectations that his career was never going to match. What he became instead is a dependable third-pairing defenceman who has lasted thirteen years.

At thirty-two the availability is the concern. When he plays he is fine; he has not played a full season in some time.