The champion “Detroit Red Wings” trades a defenseman to the hockey club “Utah”.

It’s early in Utah’s first season in the NHL, but they need help on defense after several major injuries. To help fill the void Utah acquired Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Olli Maatta from the Detroit Red Wings.

Utah acquired Maatta from the Red Wings in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick. The first pick belonged to the New York Rangers.

Maatta spent two seasons with the Red Wings, leading up to the 2024-25 season, and was a usual suspect in their lineup. In 157 games for Detroit, Maatta had 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 points.

Before joining Detroit, Maatta spent several seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and one year with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Maatta spent the first six years of his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins after they selected him 22nd overall in the 2012 draft. He played 362 games for the Penguins and scored 107 points (25G-82A).

Notably, Maatta was a regular on the Penguins’ blue line in their back-to-back Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and 2017. He appeared in 69 playoff games in which the Penguins scored 21 points (2G-19A).

Utah became in dire need of defensive help when they announced that John Marino and Sean Durzi were both out for several months recovers after operations. They received a third round pick from the Rangers when they were still the Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes made a third-round pick, the third team involved in the move that took Patrick Kane out of Blackhawks to Rangers.

As a left guard, Maatta will slot right into Utah’s lineup and likely play on the second pairing. Before the trade, he averaged just under 16 minutes on ice in seven games with the Red Wings.

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