Blackhawks: Olli Maatta Has Been Traded To The Kings

Instead of buying out Olli Maatta, the Chicago Blackhawks get rid of all of his salary cap by trading him to the Kings for Brad Morrison, AHL forward.

The Chicago Blackhawks have just cleared $3,333,225 off of their books, as they’ve just traded Olli Maatta to the LA Kings for Brad Morrison. Now, the Hawks have $11,163,687 to spend this offseason. That is huge, but it’s just a step in the right direction.

Instead of being tied to Maatta’s salary for multiple years with a buyout, Chicago trades him. I have to give credit to Stan Bowman here. He adds $3,333,225 to the Blackhawks’ spending, this offseason – for nothing.

This money should be used to re-sign their key free agents; like Dominik Kubalik, Dylan Strome, and the other skaters. The goalie issue is a different one in itself. Corey Crawford was offered a 1-year deal worth $3,500,000. He is yet to accept it.

In 65-games with the team., Maatta scored 5-goals and had 12-assists for 17-points. He ends his time in Chicago with an even plus/minus of 0. During the playoffs, Maatta had 6-points in the 9-games, with them being 3-goals and 3-assists. He was a plus-7 defenseman in the playoffs.

Seeing Chicago have $11,163,687 open to re-sign key players and fix the goalie situation, potentially, should be exciting to all fans out there. This is one of their biggest moves of the offseason.

Bowman could be turning the page, as this again is one of his best moves, even though it seems so simple. He made the move the consensus of fans wanted him to do – along with what the team needed him to do. It’s a great move, now they have to get the right contracts in place for their key free agents.

Who is next to go? Zack Smith? Brandon Saad? Both players have 1-year remaining in their contracts with the team.

Smith would be better, as Saad has just 1-year left on his massive contract. If Saad will take a pay cut from $6,000,000 down in 2021, he should be kept in Chicago. If he refuses to, trade him for draft capital or even a player to take his spot.