Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an article which discusses defenseman Olli Maatta’s comments regarding his new employer’s potential on-ice improvement this upcoming season:
When it comes to rebuilds, Olli Maatta has been there and done that. One of the newest members of the Detroit Red Wings, Maatta spent the past two seasons patroling the blueline for the Los Angeles Kings.
There, the defenseman saw the Kings go from a .438 winning percentage in 2021 to a .604 mark and a playoff position last season. Maatta doesn’t see why the Red Wings, a .451 squad last season, can’t engineer a similar increase in production this season.
“I think it’s an exciting time, especially when you look at the team,” Maatta explained. “They’re young, but when you see the players they had before . . . and now adding a bunch of big pieces, I think it’s a great place and it’s an exciting time.”
The Kings, Stanley Cup champions in 2011-12 and 2013-14, retooled through the draft and an influx of young homegrown talent. The Red Wings are following a similar pattern. Key parts of the core that are homegrown include captain Dylan Larkin, forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond and Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Moritz Seider.
“When you look at how they built the team, and I know Steve Yzerman knows how to build a team, he’s done it before, when you look at the young guys they drafted, they’re already top players in the league,” Maatta said. “You look at Seider, Larks, Bertuzzi.”
