The Utah Hockey Club has signed Olli Määttä to a three-year contract extension, reportedly worth $3.5 million annually.
The 30-year-old defenseman earned a $500,000 raise over his current contract, which expires this summer.
What has Olli Määttä done in Utah?
Since Utah acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings in late October, Määttä has played an important role both on and off the ice. He averages 20:41 of playing time per game — the third-most on the team, behind only Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino.
His two goals and 14 points in 51 games with Utah doesn’t stand out, but his ability to keep the puck out of his own net does. He plays key defensive minutes and has adapted to be able to play both the left and right sides.
Määttä is also tied with Logan Cooley for the team lead in goal differential at even strength.
Another valuable part of Määttä‘s play is his ability to advance the puck from one zone to the next. That was something general manager Bill Armstrong mentioned at his press conference when he first acquired him, and it was apparent as soon as he suited up that evening.
Now that Utah’s blue line is regaining its health, you’d expect Määttä‘s role to decrease significantly — but that hasn’t been the case. In the five games since Sean Durzi’s return, he has averaged the fourth-most ice time with just six seconds per game less than Durzi.
The hockey world was reintroduced to Määttä at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he was given top minutes due to injuries that struck fellow defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Rasmus Ristolainen. He handled the assignment well, and he even recorded a pair of assists.
What does this mean for Utah’s playoff push?
If it wasn’t clear before, it should be now: Armstrong and company are playing a long game.
Yes, Määttä would probably have been worth a lot more at the trade deadline than the third-round pick that they exchanged for him in October, but he’s a guy that will help Utah to grow going forward — and that’s valuable to a young team.
Whether the team signs its other pending unrestricted free agents, trades them at the deadline or lets them walk in the summer will likely also depend on this long-term view. If the team believes the particular player has the ability to help the team in its development, it will keep him.