It’s a question I’ve posed—and had posed to me—by numerous hockey pals. Especially over the past year.
What’s the Maatta with Olli (pun intended)? Or more to the point, what’s the matter with Olli Maatta’s skating?
A puzzler, to be sure. While the 22-year-old Penguins defenseman still possesses keen instincts and skills, not to mention the cool head that inspired Pens assistant coach Rick Tocchet to label him “a video-game defenseman,” his once strong skating has deteriorated right before our eyes.
I first noticed his struggles last December. Shortly after Maatta returned to the lineup following a three-week absence due to a lower-body injury, courtesy of a questionable hit by Minnesota’s Nino Niedereitter.
Suddenly, opposing forwards were blowing past the former London Knights star at an alarming clip. Maatta seemed especially vulnerable when forced to turn. His ponderous first strides…almost painful to watch.
I chalked up his difficulties to lingering effects of the injury—rumored to involve his lower back and hips—and figured his mobility issues would fade over time. Only they never did. To the point where the one-time wunderkind was a healthy scratch during the 2016 playoffs before Trevor Daley’s busted ankle paved the way for a return.
Perhaps Maatta just needed a full summer of R & R to recover from the rigors of a long season, I reasoned. Then I caught the World Cup match between Sweden and Finland in September. No sooner had I glanced at the TV than an unidentified Swedish forward left Maatta in the dust.
So what’s happened? How did the promising youngster morph from dazzling 18-year-old rookie into a fuzzy-cheeked version of Rob Scuderi? One who’s tallied a lone assist a third of the way through the current campaign.
I’ll share a few thoughts.
First, I reference my own exceedingly modest athletic prowess. As a young man, I was never especially fast. I was, however, fairly quick and nimble, with a decent sense of anticipation.
Then, in my late 20s, I discovered resistance training. Gradually, over the course of a few years, my weight ballooned from 160 pounds to a high of around 210, packed onto a 5’9” frame. While my strength greatly increased, I lost any semblance of the agility I possessed as a youth.
Indeed, I became so bulky and heavy footed that I once was ingloriously picked off first base during a slo-pitch softball game while anchored mere inches from the bag.
Humbling and embarrassing, to say the least.
As a natural part of his maturation process, Maatta appears to have filled out. Could the extra weight be impeding his skating to a degree?
Medical history may be a factor, too. The kid’s been through an awful lot. In addition to two procedures on the same shoulder, he underwent successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his thyroid gland in November of 2014.
The thyroid releases hormones that regulate vital body functions. Everything from metabolism to breathing to heart rate to body weight to nervous system activity.
I wonder if Maatta is experiencing post-surgery problems. Perhaps relating to hormonal imbalances or deficiencies.
To Olli’s credit, he’s adapted his game to mitigate his weaknesses. Mindful that opposing forwards pressure him with a kamikaze fervor whenever he sets up at the point, he’s extremely prudent about joining the rush.
He’s done a much better job of anticipating transitions and cutting down on the turnovers that plagued him for a time. And, even with his skating diminished, Maatta paced all black-and-gold defensemen with a plus-27 last season. He’s currently third among Pens’ defenders with a plus-9.
Still, the mouth-watering upside that led GM Jim Rutherford to ink the young Finn to a six-year extension last February seems to have waned.
At least for now.
Sorry jumping back in here so quickly,
I was sitting here digesting some of what has been discussed. Rick, you reminded us that Shcultz and Daley are UFA and that reality increases Pouliot’s value for the future.
Some random thoughts I have had on this recently and over the a little bit of time.
First I am not in all that of a hurry to rush Schultz or Daley out of town. I am really hoping that the Pens find a way of keeping one or both of these guys. I really enjoy watching these guys skate.
Also, consider this, with the expansion draft; I am not sure, is UFA before or after the draft? but whether or not the Pens sign either of them; who gets protected? Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Letang, and Hornqvist, then who do you protect? With the emergence of Schultz, do they protect him? depending on the particulars of UFA/Draft.
When Pouliot came up the first time, several years ago, I was completely impressed with his offensive instincts and comment in several places that I felt he could go down in Pens history as the best offensive Defensmen they ever drafted. He has had a rough developmental process, no doubt exacerbated by MJs plow horse system. Now under Sullivan, I can’t help but wonder; could not Pouliot excel?
Lastly, the season is long and the Pens do not have very large D. I noted this earlier this year in conversations with you Rick. Our S may wear down a little under the grind of 82 games. Pouliot may not need to wait until next year, he still may get a chance to come up and show his wares before this season is done.
Rick, Phil, Jim,
Looks like I missed a really great discussion, joining in this late.
Like Rick and Jim I had started to doubt Maatta. In my mind he really had looked slow from about the time he took that last hit until last night’s game against Arizona. Just a few games ago, I noted somewhere, in the form of a shout out to Daley, that it looked like Daley was doing his level best to run picks in the D-zone to give Maatta more time to get to the puck and to make decisions about what to do with the puck once he did get there. However, after last nights game and reading you three’s discussion, I have started thinking;
First, as the season progressed and more and more teams started to learn from the success the Pens were having, some teams have been trying to retool ala Sullivan, bringing up and in faster players and employing high tempo, in your face fore-checking. Look what the Pens game did to Arizona’s All Star veteran D-man last night, the constant pressure eventually caused him to make a rookie mistake and set up Bonino with an early Christmas gift. If speed and non-stop, aggressive fore-checking can break down a veteran, it certainly can cause some problems in a young D-man like Maatta, lets remember he still is very young for a D-man, maybe about three years from where he should hit his prime, age wise.
Second, not only has the league started getting faster, Maatta has been moved up the depth chart as you three have noted so that he is facing even faster competition.
Third, especially this year, the D-pairings have been in a state of flux. No one is getting a chance to settle in and learn there partners nuances. And some of these experiments just didn’t seem to work. Example, Schultz and Cole are looking like bread and butter right now, but they are the only 2 D-men getting any consistent ice-time together.
Fourth, as Phil noted, confidence can be a big issue, especially in a kid, and when your name appears in the media in a negative way (Although the professional media outlets haven’t really been all that critical of Maatta, I have read on some comment boards really nasty attacks on the kid.) it has to take a toll on the psychie.
Last night, it seemed to me Maatta was skating much faster and stronger than I have seen him skate since early last year. Maybe it was because Arizona was shell shocked, maybe he is regaining his confidence, maybe the renewed confidence can be attributed to Daley trying to shield a bit, who knows. Regardless, even though many people have been wondering the same thing we have, Maatta has built a pretty good plus/minus despite not really contributing himself to goal production. Also, I believe he is second on the team in blocked shots, behind only Cole.
And although I would love to see Maatta get more involved in the O (I can still remember a play last season, I think against TB, where Maatta stick handled down from the point, around a defender and scored a goal.) but let’s look at Schultz; when Schultz came over here, a highly regarded offensive-defenseman, the team asked him to work on his D-game first and he did. Now look at what Schultz is doing offensively.
As you note Rick, this off season could see some turn-over due to UFA on the blue line. Maatta may not be a Schultz but if he has a similar turn around in his game, geared to his skill set, then the Pens will surely need him next year.
Hey Rick, I know there are people talking about this, but I just don’t see it at all. What I did see is them moving Maatta to the top shut down defensive pairing. I think he may look a little slower because he is facing the NHL’s elite each and every night.
The weird thing is that he stopped his offensive approach that he started on the Pens with and has gone to a more solid defensive mode. I pretty much use the +/- yardstick as the best measurement of defense and for him to finish in the top five overall in the NHL last year at +27 with the next closest Pens defenseman at +11, that speaks volumes. On top of that, behind Letang and Crosby last year, he played the most minutes per game.
The Pens sitting him in the playoffs was a move made because he lost his confidence it happens to young defensemen all the time. Didn’t they have him covering Ovechkin the whole time? Look at Dumoulin getting benched a few games this year. It is a great coaching move.
He ice time has diminished a little this year, but I think his role in the main shut down pair with lovejoy gone has increased his value.
Hi Rick,
We have discussed this point about Olli several times last year and again early this year and yet it seems that nothing has really changed. Before his injuries and medical problems he seemed to be a different player, a second coming of Kris Letang. We all had great hopes. Maatta gets this big contract and nothing changes. So is it his state of mind? I do not think so. A secret serious medical problem from the past ? No news of such a thing. Remember he was chosen to play for Finland in the World Cup and if he had such an injury, they would have left him off the Team most probably.
To his credit he is still young and he can hopefully overcome his deficiencies of the past.
There may be another answer,although seems a bit irrational to me Rick.
Maybe, we misjudged him. In his first year he made the Team at just 18. We were all impressed.But the Coach often played him in third pairing situations to get him accustomed to the NHL.Then next year came the Cancer situation and then the serious injury he sustained. So he really never played the full three years against the best opponents for an extended period of time. A smart agent gets him a new 6 year, 4.1 million contract and now the REAL Olli Maatta has emerged. Maybe he will never be a Kris Letang. He will just be an over paid third pairing d-man who got lucky? I know it sounds crazy…..
I hope not and I want him to return to form of 3 years ago.
Let’s go Pen’s.
Hey Jim and Phil,
This was a touchy one to write, since it’s almost entirely based on the eye test. And drawing from our perceptions of how someone used to play and comparing them to how they’re playing now…well let’s just say it’s hardly an exact science.
Along those lines, Phil, it’s interesting that you don’t notice a difference in Maatta’s skating. And I know you attend a lot of Penguins games and watch a ton of hockey.
I just never remember watching Maatta play his first couple of seasons and noticing that his skating was suspect. If anything, it was just the opposite. I recall him being a strong skater with good mobility.
I never thought any different until after he came back from the Niederreitter hit last year. All of a sudden, Maatta seemed sluggish, for a lack of a better word. And he appeared to be getting trapped with stunning frequency. Something I never recall happening early in his career. The kid was just so solid and reliable, remarkably so for someone his age.
I went back and watched video of the hit. Maatta was shoved into the boards and landed really awkwardly. It appears his lower back struck the edge of the boards directly adjacent to the Pens’ bench door, which then flew open.
Olli was on the ice for quite a while and in obvious pain. Pens trainer Chris Stewart came out and cradled Maatta’s neck. After a minute or so Olli was helped to his skates by Pascal Dupuis. He appeared to be dragging his right leg and seemed unable to put any weight on it. He was helped off the ice by Sid and then to the locker room by two guys, one under each arm.
I decided to check his stats, post-hit. He actually scored goals in each of his first two games back and collected two assists the next game. Then his production tailed off (2 goals, 11 points in his final 46 regular-season games).
He enjoyed a mild resurgence in the playoffs (7 assists in 18 games). This season, his output has been non-existent.
I don’t think it’s a matter of diminished offensive skills. On the rare occasions when he sets up in the offensive zone, you can see that he still has ability. He sees the ice well, makes nice, crisp passes, and is very good at changing the shooting angle and getting his shots on goal. However, he was getting burned so much on turnovers at the opposing blue line earlier this season that he doesn’t press the attack nearly as much. Naturally, his output has dropped as a result.
Anyways, many people have privately commented to me about this, so I thought I’d take a stab at addressing it on the blog. It’s by no means meant to demean Maatta in any way, or his value to the team. He’s still a fairly solid stay-at-home defenseman. Just, as Jim noted, not the all-around package and future All-Star we thought we had.
Rick
I’ve heard a bunch of people talk about his skating also, including Reg from ppoop here that I go to a bunch of games with. So, I’ve been watching him. Reg did say that he seems to have regained his skating abilities about 10 games ago. I was wondering if being paired with Letang & Daley, two of the fastest, may be what makes him look slow?
Like you pointed out, he has completely stopped joining in rushes and his offensive prowess is non existent. I was wondering if it was more of a coaching move where the coaches decided he was the straight guy in the Laurel & Hardy of defence pairings.
The thing I have noticed about him from watching him is that he always has someone tied up around the net. He doesn’t float around trying to block passes, he is old school.
Excellent point, Phil.
When you’re part of a defensive mix that includes Deryk Engelland, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi, as Maatta was during his rookie season, perhaps by default you assume a higher offensive profile.
Still, I maintain that his rather sharp decline in production (10 goals and 38 points in his first 98 games vs. six goals and 20 points in his past 95) is at least partly attributable to skating issues.
I’m reading into things a bit. But it’s worth noting that Maatta seemed to be dragging his right leg following the unfortunate Niederreitter hit. Olli’s push-off leg, perhaps?
I agree that he does a really good job of getting body on body in the defensive zone. I just hope nothing’s happened to impair his overall development.
Rick
Hi Rick & Phil,
Excellent discussion. When Olli first came into the league I was impressed by 3 unique traits he displayed.
1.Poise. As an 18 year old he played with a calmness and control to his game. I marveled at his composure.
2.His Vision. For a man of such young age he was able to see plays unfold before him and was almost always in the right position.
3.His skating.Strong on his skates.He seemed to get better as the season progressed.
In all a total package whom I thought would be an anchor on the blue line for the next 12 + years.
Then the medical problem and the injury occurred and he never regained the status I thought he would have. Were my expectations to high ? Probably. I truly believed he would be a 15 + goal scorer with 60 – 70 points every year moving forward.
I am glad to here your observations Phil, and as I said before there is NO substitute for watching Hockey live because TV can not do it justice. Your point of Olli’s defensive prowess is welcomed indeed. My hope is that Olli does not become just a defensive d-man because the team has that particular need at present.
We need his offensive abilities in the future when Daley and others are gone.
My thoughts guys. Thanks.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
Your anticipated offensive upside for Maatta was a bit higher than mine. I figured on 7-10 goals and perhaps 35-40 points per season. Kind of Ryan Suter type numbers.
I agree wholeheartedly with your initial assessment of his attributes. I think a lot of people felt that way.
Rick
PS–Just to be clear. Maatta was dragging his right leg as he exited the ice immediately following the hit. Not when he returned to the lineup.
Agreed.☺
i was laughing when I read this comment. I was picturing him on the ice like a zombie dragging his leg every shift.
His skating’s not THAT bad!!! … 🙂
Dawn of the dead on the Monroville Mall Skating Rink?
I went to school with someone who claimed to have been an extra in that movie, but for the life of me I haven’t found him in any scenes. Granted, by the time DVDs/VHSs came out it had been years since I had seen him so my memory of what he actually looked like may have faded a bit.