Headlines

  • Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov
  • Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley
  • Blues Pushing For Bowen Byram Trade
  • Hurricanes Sign Nikolaj Ehlers To Six-Year Deal
  • Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov, Claim Nick Leddy
  • Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Metropolitan Notes: Maatta, Philly Prospects, Standings, Tavares

December 26, 2016 at 3:39 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

While he wasn’t drafted to be a key offensive blueliner, Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta surprised many in his rookie season with 29 points in 78 games back in 2013-14.  That raised the level of expectations for him right away that he could be a legitimate two-way threat in the league.  Fast forward to today and suffice it to say, that hasn’t happened, writes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

This season, Maatta has only managed a pair of assists in 35 games, a stat line that more than a few goaltenders around the league have.  The Penguins have deployed him in a primary shutdown role which has limited his offensive opportunities but the 22 year old knows he can be better at that end of the rink:

“It’s something that should be part of my game as well, and it hasn’t been this season. It’s something I gotta pay attention to. You have to try to get better as a player as the season goes on. That’s a big thing, and I think that’s part of my game that I can be better at. I can improve.”

With Kris Letang and Trevor Daley, two of Pittsburgh’s top offensive threats from the back end, both out of the lineup, Maatta should get more of an opportunity to be a factor offensively in the coming games.

More from the Metro:

  • Philadelphia fans will be keeping a close eye on the World Junior Hockey Championships which get underway today. As Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post notes, the Flyers have an impressive nine prospects that will be representing the team.  By comparison, no other team has more than five.  Among those nine players are three netminders, Carter Hart (Canada), Felix Sandstrom (Sweden), and Matej Tomek (Slovakia).  With the uncertainty surrounding Philadelphia’s NHL goaltending situation moving forward (Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are both unrestricted free agents at the end of the season), it’s certainly encouraging for the Flyers to know they have several quality prospects in their junior ranks even if these goalies are still a few years away from contributing at the NHL level.
  • Newsday’s Steve Zipay wonders if there’s a chance we may see tanking of a different kind come April. As things sit in the standings, both Wild Card spots in the East are from the Metropolitan Division, creating a scenario where it could arguably be more beneficial to see a top three team drop into the first Wild Card spot and cross over to the bracket in the Atlantic Division.  There’s still more than half the season to play but if things hold up close to where they are now, it will certainly be something to keep an eye on as we hit the stretch run of the season.
  • With Casey Cizikas expected to be out through the Islanders’ five day break from January 1st to the 5th, captain John Tavares is expected to take a regular turn on the penalty kill, writes Arthur Staple, also of Newsday. Head coach Jack Capuano noted that Tavares has the hockey IQ to handle the role, even though it’s one he hasn’t played since his days in junior hockey.  It also helps that Tavares is their best faceoff threat at 52.9% and winning shorthanded draws is an area that the Islanders have struggled at this year as they’ve won just 45.4% of their faceoffs in that situation.
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Philadelphia Flyers John Tavares| Olli Maatta| World Juniors

Notable Players At The Spengler Cup
Main
Winnipeg’s Pending Roster Decisions
View Comments (1)

Comments

  1. stormie

    9 years ago

    You’re never going to win the Cup without going through the best teams, no matter who you play in the first round. To me it screams no confidence if a team is that concerned about who they’re playing that they would lose a game on purpose to try and manipulate the standings. What a losers’ mentality to build in your locker room heading into the playoffs.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov

    Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley

    Blues Pushing For Bowen Byram Trade

    Hurricanes Sign Nikolaj Ehlers To Six-Year Deal

    Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov, Claim Nick Leddy

    Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov

    Blues Waive Nick Leddy

    Nikolaj Ehlers Expected To Sign Today

    Oilers Sign Andrew Mangiapane To Two-Year Deal

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Recent

    Kraken Re-Sign Tye Kartye

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov

    Capitals Notes: Milano, Free Agency, McMichael, Goaltending

    Canucks Have Started Extension Talks With Kiefer Sherwood

    Atlantic Notes: Korpisalo, Pradel, AHL Contracts

    Capitals Sign Lynden Lakovic To Entry-Level Contract

    Sharks Reportedly Looking To Trade Timothy Liljegren, Henry Thrun

    Flames Not Expected To Trade Nazem Kadri This Offseason

    Flyers’ Tyson Foerster May Miss Start Of Regular Season

    Madison Bowey Signs One-Year Contract With Augsburger Panther

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version