Pittsburgh Penguins: Olli Maatta is Expendable

The Pittsburgh Penguins still have to fill that third line centre position, and trading may be their best option to get him.

But the Pittsburgh Penguins are tight on cap space. They have only $3.28 million left in cap space, and they’ll need to be careful with how they deal in order to get their man. But one player that has been rumoured to be expendable is defenceman Olli Maatta.

Maatta is a young and high calibre defensive talent. His spot on the roster is important, but when looking at the importance of a number three centre in our lineup, the void just might be too much to ignore. As far as rumours have been going, he is looking to be trade bait.

Pittsburgh Penguins

My Thoughts

Olli Maatta was excellent…a couple years ago. He really shined playing with Matt Niskanen, but his production has surely slowed down. His best season was his rookie campaign, in which he scored 29 points in 78 games. This lasts season, he was only able to put up seven points in 55 games.

At 22 years old though, you really have to think about what to do with him. I mean yes, he’s young and still has lots of time to grow, but we are a team looking to win now. We have the core around him, and we can replace him on the blue line quite easily. The need for a third line centre, in my opinion, is more important right now.

Who Wants Him

A trade may actually work out because there are some suitors. One third line centre that I have discussed in the past who can be a very effective player for the Penguins is Tyler Bozak from Toronto.

Well it seems like we’re just in luck. Toronto is a rebuilding team. They want to trade veterans like Bozak for some young talent. They are also lacking in a specific area, which is defence. Well what do we have here in Pittsburgh? A young, promising defenceman in Maatta. It is almost a perfect match.

Now these are obviously just my thoughts, but if GMJR has an opportunity to work out a deal, I’d say do it.