DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills examines Olli Maatta’s successful 2022-2023 season with the Detroit Red Wings this morning, discussing the fact that Maatta “bet on himself” by signing a one-year contract, and won the bet in a big way:
That gamble paid off for the 28-year-old defenseman, who tallied 23 points (6-17-23) in 78 games with the Red Wings during the 2022-23 season, nearly doubling his combined point total (1-11-12 in 107 games) from 2020-22 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.
Maatta’s impact both on and off the ice impressed Detroit’s brass enough to ink him to a two-year contract extension on Feb. 16.
“I put great value in really good, high-character people,” Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman said on March 3. “Olli is a real professional. He shows up every day. He’s there early, training, prepared before practice and the game, there after practice and the game. He’s been a good, solid and steady defenseman.”
Maatta began his debut season in Detroit by posting a four-game point streak from Oct. 14-21, becoming the first Red Wings blueliner to record a point in each of the first four or more games of a season since Brian Rafalski had nine (1-8-9) in seven contests in 2008-09.
According to Maatta, his training camp experience helped him burst out of the gate.
“You were at and outside the rink with the guys for seven days, which was awesome,” Maatta told Red Wings TV’s Daniella Bruce on Feb. 27.“We’re a new team with so many new guys, so you got to know everybody. I think that helped a lot. The coaching staff also put me in situations and helped me build confidence that way.”
Continued; Maatta is a very strong middle-pair defenseman, and while he’s never going to be an offensive superstar, an NHL team needs players who are willing to play in supporting roles in order to succeed, and Maatta has found his place in Detroit.
