The Detroit Red Wings traded defenceman Olli Maatta to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick. Utah was in desperate need of a defenceman after both Sean Durzi and John Marino recently underwent surgeries, and are slated to miss multiple months.
While this trade isn’t a blockbuster by any means, it directly impacts the Maple Leafs, as Utah was seen as a potential trade partner for disgruntled defenceman Timothy Liljegren. While it’s very likely GM Brad Treliving and Utah’s GM Bill Armstrong had some level of conversations surrounding a Liljegren deal, Armstrong probably wasn’t interested enough to facilitate a deal with the Leafs.
Maatta much more experienced than Liljegren
The 30-year-old Maatta has been around the block, appearing in 691 NHL games before the trade, and an additional 85 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He’s won two Stanley Cups as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but so far this season has zero points in seven games.
Maatta was averaging just under 16 minutes of ice time per game in Detroit before the deal. He played sparingly on the team’s penalty kill, and doesn’t bring a physical presence to Utah, only throwing three hits in seven games. Maatta’s shown over the years that he’ll hover around the 20-point mark, help out on the penalty kill, won’t throw a ton of weight around, and does a decent job at blocking shots.
Olli Maatta, acquired by UTA, is a veteran defensive defenceman. Slipped in Detroit’s lineup but can generally be counted upon to play steady hockey and retrieve pucks in his own end, even though he lacks footspeed and physical presence. #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/F9oesn36T3
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 30, 2024
As for Liljegren, he continues to be a healthy scratch for Craig Berube’s Maple Leafs, appearing in just one game this season, playing 13:55 in his lone appearance. Even when Conor Timmins came out of the lineup recently, Philippe Myers was inserted ahead of Liljegren, and then when Berube took Myers back out, Timmins dressed, and Liljegren sat. Timmins has been an unexpected bright spot for the Leafs this season, which is terrible news for Liljegren, who is anxious to get back into the mix.
Conor Timmins is off to a great start this season pic.twitter.com/NizxrwvRRM
— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) October 29, 2024
Liljegren’s multi-year contract likely scared Utah away
The one big difference between Mattaa and Liljegren was the fact the Leafs blueliner has another season left on his contract. Utah has six defencemen already under contract for next season, so it’s likely to be one of the few factors that played into their interest level.
Here’s a breakdown between the two defencemen, as there are plenty of similarities between the two former first-round picks:
| Olli Maatta | Timothy Liljegren | |
| 30 | Age | 25 |
| 0 | 2024-25 points | 0 |
| 29 | Career-high points | 23 |
| 131 | Career-high hits | 107 |
| 20:42 | Career-high minutes per game | 19:39 |
| 128 | Career-high blocks | 116 |
| $3-million AAV, pending UFA | Contract | $3-million AAV, one year remaining |
| 2025 third-round pick | Traded for: | TBD |
Who knows what kind of asking price Treliving has been demanding in trade talks, but considering Liljegren’s been in the press box most of the season with a decreasing trade value, and considering the Leafs’ financial constraints as their roster continues to get healthy, it’s hard to imagine Treliving is asking for much more than a third-round pick.
For now, Liljegren remains a Maple Leaf. He’ll continue to practice hard and work on as much as he can without game action. Berube has sent a clear message to the former first-round pick early on this season, that his game isn’t good enough for how the team wants to play this year. Now we wait to see if another GM thinks otherwise.
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