Flames Acquire Jacob Middleton From Wild
The Calgary Flames will continue to revamp their blue line. The team is set to acquire defenseman Jacob Middleton from the Minnesota Wild per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Calgary will also receive three draft picks, the highest being a second-round pick, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Minnesota will receive forward Blake Coleman and defender Olli Maatta in return per Michael Russo of The Athletic.
The full deal will send Middleton, a 2029 second-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2028 fourth-round pick to Calgary in exchange for Coleman – with 50 percent of his $4.9MM cap hit retained – and Maatta per PuckPedia. Minnesota will receive $1.6MM in cap space following the move.
Calgary will land a roster player from their search to move Coleman. Middleton will solidify the left-side of Calgary’s blue line alongside Kevin Bahl and Yan Kuznetsov. He will also be the only 30 year old on Calgary’s defense, a standing that could lead to an important, leadership role for the eight-year pro. Middleton has spent the last five seasons with the Wild, where he planted his feet as a physical, two-way defender. He broke into the Wild lineup after a 2022 trade that sent goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen and a fifth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks.
Middleton quickly proved his physical upside in Minnesota. He led the Wild blue line with 115 hits, and ranked second with 155 shot blocks, through 79 games of his first season with the team. That stat line was complemented by a then career-high 15 points. Middleton continued to lead Minnesota with hits through 2023-24, while also rising to the shot block lead with 161 and recording a new career-high 25 points. He continued to lead the blue line in both hits and blocks through 2024-25, then ceded the block lead to Brock Faber while hanging onto the most hits in 2025-26.
Calgary will hope Middleton can bring an imposing physical presence behind multiple puck-moving defensemen. He will backstop the drive of top prospect Zayne Parekh and recent acquisition Simon Nemec as the pair look to establish themselves as the next era of Calgary defensemen. Middleton is set to enter the second year of a four-year, $17.4MM deal signed with Minnesota in 2024. His $4.35MM cap hit will be a cheap price against what many bottom-pair defensemen earned on the open market.
Minnesota’s return will also center around a physical addition. Coleman has continued to serve as an energetic, two-way motor through his mid-30s. He recorded triple-digit hits in each of his five seasons in Calgary and finished second on the team in hits in each of the last three seasons (128, 176, 152 hits respectively). Coleman has coupled his forechecking presence with strong scoring. He orbited 35 points in four of his seasons in Calgary, split by a career-high 30 goals and 54 points in the 2023-24 season. Even as he enters his age-35 season, Coleman should represent a reliable, energy piece for the Wild lineup. He could help fill the large hole left by Mats Zuccarello‘s move to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Wild will backfill Middleton’s third-pair role with the addition of Maatta. The 31 year old defenseman split last season between the Utah Mammoth and Flames. He struggled significantly with the Mammoth, recording just one assist and a minus-five, but found his footing in Calgary’s lineup en route to 14 points and a minus-one in 21 games. Maatta will be entering his 14th season, and seventh team, in the NHL next season. He has averaged 21 points, 84 hits, and 126 shot blocks per 82 games played across 804 career appearances in the NHL. While not a likely option to pop after three consecutive seasons below 20 points, Maatta should offer a two-way presence that Minnesota can rely on for 19 minutes a night.
Flames Are Positioned For A Busy Offseason
The Calgary Flames could be one of the NHL’s most fascinating teams this summer, as they remain among the few teams firmly entrenched in a rebuild. What makes Calgary unique is not that they’re rebuilding, but where they are in the process. They are in a position to accelerate their timeline over the next 12-18 months through shrewd trades involving their remaining veterans, a process general manager Craig Conroy has been pursuing over the past few years, moving out older veterans while stockpiling draft picks, prospects, and salary-cap flexibility. The real heavy lifting begins now.
The Flames enter the offseason with a strong core of young players, including Dustin Wolf, Zayne Parekh, Matthew Coronato, Connor Zary, and Matvei Gridin. Conroy has said most players are available via trade, but one would have to believe Calgary remains committed to building around its younger core rather than executing a full teardown or chasing quick fixes in free agency.
This summer, Calgary is in a strong position to do a lot of business if they are so inclined. The Flames have a ton of cap space, which they could use in any number of ways, whether it’s to acquire pricey young talent to upgrade the NHL roster or to take on unwanted contracts in exchange for additional assets. The Flames could go either way but combining their cap flexibility with their draft capital would give Conroy many options to improve in the future.
Then there are the veterans who will attract significant interest on the trade market. Forward Blake Coleman will certainly be available and should draw interest given his playoff experience and leadership qualities. He is entering the final season of his current contract, and it’s hard to imagine him having a future in Calgary beyond this season. Ryan Strome is another player who could be moved, but his market may be limited after a poor showing last year. Strome is in the final year of his contract, so he could be moved near the NHL Trade Deadline, but it’s hard to imagine him having much of a market unless he can return to the level of play, he showed in the seasons before last year.
The best pending UFA in Calgary is probably Morgan Frost, who remains an intriguing two-way option at just 27 years old. Frost isn’t going to wow anyone offensively, but he is a consistent 40-point forward and a solid defender. Given his age, he could be an extension candidate in Calgary if they are looking to keep some of their younger veterans in the fray.
Beyond a few pending UFAs, Calgary has some veteran players with term remaining on their deals who could be of interest to teams seeking short-term upgrades. Defenseman Zach Whitecloud, a former Stanley Cup Champion, came to the Flames in the Rasmus Andersson trade and would be sought after if Calgary makes him available. He is just 29 and has two years remaining on his deal, with a cap hit of $2.75MM, making him a strong option for a third-pairing role. Whitecloud won’t score much or wow anyone, but he plays an honest game and can take on the defensive role alongside a more offensively minded partner.
Speaking of defensive defensemen, Olli Maatta is also an option for Calgary to move, as he has two years left on his deal at $3.5MM per season. Maatta is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion who has bounced around the league a lot since the Pittsburgh Penguins traded him seven years ago. He is playing for his fifth team since then but remains a steady presence. He probably isn’t suited for top four duties anymore but can fill in if needed. Maatta played sparingly in Utah last year before being dealt, but after the trade he logged 22:30 minutes a game with Calgary and fared reasonably well, posting two goals and 12 assists in 21 games.
Now, with Calgary in its current position, there isn’t much pressure to win, which should allow management to show some patience and perhaps capitalize on more desperate teams looking to acquire talent this summer. The Flames have a few players on long-term deals who aren’t veterans but may not fit Calgary’s current timeline. Yegor Sharangovich is a name that comes to mind, as he is signed to a lucrative long-term deal and didn’t produce much offence last season. With four years left on his contract at $5.75MM per season, the Flames need more than 29 points from the centre and could look to move him if teams are seeking a struggling player with offensive upside. Sharangovich is just 28, so he could still turn things around, but the last two seasons have been an offensive grind for the Minsk, Belarus, native.
Outside of moving guys out, the Flames have a pile of draft capital and could move up in this year’s NHL Entry Draft or turn picks into prospects or young, NHL-ready players who can play alongside Calgary’s young, NHL-ready prospects. The Flames have some good young pieces in Wolf, Zary, Coronato, and 2024 9th overall pick Parekh, and much of their timeline will hinge on the development of those four players. Zary and Coronato look like future top-six wingers, and they will need to be supported by other young, NHL-ready players to take the next step. Gridin is another intriguing young player in the Flames pipeline who will have a big role when Calgary emerges from this rebuild.
One thing the Flames are unlikely to do is spend heavily in free agency. That doesn’t mean they won’t make any moves, but at this stage of their rebuild, they will be looking to add pieces who can complement their core players beyond this season or serve as short-term options to move for future assets. The Flames could also use their sizeable cap space to bring in older players on bad contracts to grab assets from cash-strapped teams, as the Pittsburgh Penguins have in recent seasons, but it remains to be seen whether they will pursue that.
For the Flames, at the end of the day, this summer is about using their flexibility to set the table for next summer and beyond, when they can begin to push their chips all in around this core, which should see an infusion of young talent in the coming seasons.
Morning Notes: Maatta, Martone, Faber
Flames defenseman Olli Määttä is the first NHLer officially named to Finland’s roster for next month’s World Championship, according to an announcement from the national program. The tournament kicks off in Switzerland on May 15. It will be the shutdown rearguard’s fourth appearance for his country at the Worlds and his first since 2024.
While he went to the event three times in a four-year span, his only miss in that frame coincided with the country’s most recent gold medal in 2022. Now a fixture on the national team, Määttä has donned Finland’s colors at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off as well as this year’s Winter Olympics. He took home a silver medal with Finland at the 2021 Worlds. He has a 1-9–10 scoring line and a +3 rating in 26 career games at the event.
After sitting most of the season in the Mammoth’s press box, Calgary picked him up as a contract dump in the MacKenzie Weegar trade. The 31-year-old excelled down the stretch, averaging 22:30 per night on a paper-thin Flames blue line while potting 14 points and a -1 rating in 21 games. All of that offense came at even strength, as well. Signed for two more seasons at a cap hit of $3.5MM, he’ll be an everyday option once again next season in a Calgary pool largely devoid of long-term impact lefties outside of top-pair fixture Kevin Bahl and the emerging Yan Kuznetsov.
More from around the league as the first Game 2s of the first round get underway tonight:
- Flyers winger Porter Martone‘s arrival has been one of the best stories over the past few weeks. The 2025 sixth overall pick finished his season with 10 points through his first nine career games following his exodus from Michigan State, and he followed that up with the game-winning goal Saturday for the Flyers’ first postseason victory in six years. Yesterday, he told Kevin Kurz of The Athletic that he’s been relying on support from a close friend and another standout rookie – Islanders Calder Trophy shoo-in Matthew Schaefer – for advice throughout the year. He credits those talks for helping him exhibit the confidence he’s put on display thus far. “I think the big thing that made him successful was, he was himself,” Martone told Kurz. “You see how much of an impact he made on that organization, how much he contributed to that team. For me, that’s what I try to do coming here. Just be who I am, as a player and as a person.”
- Wild defenseman Brock Faber was initially quite unhappy with the organization’s decision to sit him for “forced rest” for the final two games of the regular season, but he’s quickly changed his tune on that following their Game 1 win over the Stars on Saturday, he tells The Athletic’s Michael Russo. “I think everyone was kind of in the same boat there, where you hate to watch the game from the stands but when you get told that’s what you’re doing, I think you can kind of look at it one of two ways,” Faber said. “We did take advantage of the rest. Obviously, it’s been a long year for us and we just needed to do everything we could to prepare for this series and hopefully a long run here. So I think that’s what we did, and it was definitely beneficial.” Faber recorded his first career playoff point in the win, along with a league-high +4 rating.
Mammoth Acquire MacKenzie Weegar
3/5/26: The Mammoth have recalled defenseman Dmitry Simashev from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. Armstrong told the media yesterday that he expects Weegar to be unavailable for 10 days at most as the team finalizes his visa, allowing him to work in the United States. With Weegar sidelined and Maatta off to Calgary, the Mammoth had a need for an additional defenseman – a need that has been filled by this recall.
Simashev, 21, was the No. 6 pick of the 2023 draft, and in in his first full season of professional hockey in North America. He’s split time between Utah and Tucson, scoring 28 points in 30 games at the AHL level, and one point in 24 games in the NHL.
9:00 p.m.: The trade has now been officially announced by both teams. Utah GM Bill Armstrong issued the following statement regarding the addition of Weegar:
MacKenzie is a high-end defenseman with the type of leadership and work ethic that we want in a top-four blueliner. Acquiring MacKenzie solidifies our back end as we continue to push towards the playoffs, and he will be a great addition to our team on and off the ice.
The terms of the deal were confirmed to be what had been previously reported. Utah acquired Weegar in exchange for Maatta, Castagna, and three 2026 second-round draft choices. (via Utah, via New York Rangers, via Ottawa) Flames GM Craig Conroy told the media that Calgary was on Maatta’s 10-team no-trade list, meaning both Weegar and Maatta needed to, and ultimately did, sign off on being traded.
7:00 p.m.: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Utah Mammoth and Calgary Flames are finalizing a trade for defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reported that Weegar has agreed to waive his contractual protection against a trade in order to facilitate the move to Utah. The deal has not yet been officially confirmed.
According to Frank Seravalli, the Flames are acquiring veteran defenseman Olli Maatta, a prospect, and three second-round picks in exchange for Weegar. Francis reported that the prospect involved is Jonathan Castagna, a 20-year-old center currently playing college hockey at Cornell University.
The Mammoth entered deadline season coveting a right-handed shooting defenseman, and they have seemingly landed a top target. Not only is Weegar one of the better two-way defensemen in the league, but he’s arguably the best at being able to play on both sides of the blue line. That’s an added level of versatility that should complement the existing defenders in the lineup in Utah.
From Weegar’s perspective, the significant decision was likely about whether to commit what is likely to be the rest of his best playing years to the Mammoth. Utah (or previously the Coyotes) have made the playoffs once since 2011-12. Weegar is under contract for an additional five years beyond this one at a $6.25MM cap hit. When his contract expires, he will be 37 years old.
When deciding whether to commit to the Mammoth, Weegar undoubtedly had to consider whether he feels he’ll be able legitimately compete for a Stanley Cup championship. Utah are an ascending team, to be sure, but there is still a difference in near-term competitiveness between them and, say, the Tampa Bay Lightning or Colorado Avalanche.
The on-ice fit in Utah appears to be there, at least. The Mammoth boast several high-quality defensemen, but his best fit may be on their second pairing alongside John Marino, a spot currently occupied by 34-year-old Nate Schmidt. He could also play alongside Ian Cole, which would likely mean playing on the right side.
In any case, the Mammoth are adding a versatile, extremely reliable defenseman for their playoff push, and for several future playoff pushes.
Weegar has been an all-situations minutes-eater for the Flames this season, averaging 23:06 time-on-ice per game, including usage on both sides of special teams.
From the perspective of the Flames, they have added some useful future assets in this deal.
While the return for Weegar notably lacks a high-end young asset going the other way, adding three second-rounders (presumably the trio of second-round picks the Mammoth have for the 2026 draft) is still extremely valuable.
There are talented players to find in the second round every year, and odds are the Flames will have the chance to draft a few future NHLers with those picks. One of the draft picks originally belonged to the New York Rangers, and its one that is likely to be near the top of the second round of the draft order.
In addition to the picks, the Flames added Maatta, who is a useful veteran defenseman in his own right. He’s a player who needed a fresh start, having been a frequent healthy scratch, and he’s now gotten one in Calgary, where he’ll likely play heavy minutes. He’s averaged just 12:03 time on ice per game this season, way down from his career average of 18:16 per game.
Maatta is under contract for an additional two years at a $3.5MM cap hit, and if he can effectively weather the minutes he’s likely to receive as a Flame, he could be a candidate for the Flames to trade at some point down the line. If that ends up being the case, the Weegar trade could still yet add even more future assets to the Flames organization.
The final piece of the Flames’ return for Weegar is Castagna, who as mentioned is currently a top center for Cornell. The 2023 No. 70 overall pick has had a strong bounce-back year, and according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, is an “excellent athlete and skater.” Wheeler noted Castagna was set to slot in as the No. 12 prospect in Utah’s system in his upcoming prospect pool rankings. Francis reported that the Flames are “very excited” about adding Castagna.
While he’s not a high-pedigree prospect with a strong chance of changing the fortunes of the Flames franchise, his addition fits the strategy the Flames appear to have taken with this deal: they’re looking for as many chances as possible to get future long-term NHL contributors.
The Flames, as currently constructed, have quite a few roster needs, so it’s understandable that they would rather spread out their return and give themselves as many chances as possible to land a quality player, rather than shift all of their eggs in one basket in hopes of one target turning into a star.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Mammoth Recall Kevin Rooney, Place Olli Maatta On IR
Kevin Rooney’s latest stint in the minors was short-lived. After being sent back down over the weekend, the Mammoth announced today (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the forward from AHL Tucson. In a corresponding move, defenseman Olli Maatta was placed on injured reserve.
Rooney signed a one-year, two-way deal with Utah at the end of the preseason and quickly cleared waivers, allowing him to start the season with the Roadrunners. In eight games with them, he has fared rather well offensively, collecting five goals and an assist. That performance has now earned him a third recall in less than five weeks although he’s still looking to make his official Mammoth debut.
The 32-year-old played in a career-high 70 games last season with Calgary where he had five goals and five assists. Over his career, he has 32 goals and 28 helpers in 330 NHL appearances. Rooney may have to wait a little while yet to add to that count as he projects to be their 14th forward for the time being.
As for Maatta, he missed last night’s game against Montreal due to an undisclosed injury which has now been revealed as an upper-body issue, one that will now keep him out for the next week. The 31-year-old is in his first full season with Utah and while he fared well last season after being acquired from Detroit in an early swap, things haven’t gone as well this season. Through 16 outings, Maatta has just one assist while his ice time is down below 12 minutes a night, well below his career ATOI of 18:18.
With the moves, Utah’s roster remains at the maximum of 23.
West Notes: Mammoth, Lucic, Klingberg, Kaprizov
As is the case around many training camps, the Mammoth are dealing with a couple of injuries. KSL Sports’ Cole Bagley notes (Twitter link) that winger JJ Peterka and defenseman Olli Maatta are both listed as out day-to-day but aren’t supposed to be out for long. Peterka was Utah’s big offseason addition, coming over in a trade from Buffalo after putting up 27 goals and 41 assists in 77 games. Meanwhile, Maatta was acquired in an early-season swap last year with the team dealing with injury woes on the back end and did well enough to earn himself a three-year, $10.5MM extension soon after.
More from out West:
- The Blues expect winger Milan Lucic to be back to full practice on Monday, relays Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’s currently listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, a tough spot to be in for someone who is on a PTO in camp and is trying to make the team. Lucic last played in 2023-24 (where he suited up just four times) and is hoping to land a spot on the fourth line in St. Louis. He’ll need to get some more preseason action under his belt to have a shot at accomplishing that objective.
- Sharks defenseman John Klingberg is expected to return to practice soon, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the last few days of camp due to an upper-body injury. Klingberg inked a one-year, $4MM contract with San Jose early in free agency after playing well in limited action with Edmonton, including four points in 19 playoff games. Generally a defenseman who can put up some offensive production, he’ll have a chance to do that on a Sharks back end that doesn’t have too many offensive threats as things stand.
- Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov is dealing with an eye infection that will keep him out of the lineup, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Head coach John Hynes noted that Kaprizov is already on antibiotics and that the hope is that he won’t miss much time. The veteran was limited to just 41 games last season due to injuries although it didn’t stop him from declining what was reported to be the richest contract offer in NHL history earlier this offseason.
Central Notes: Manson, Kiviranta, Sissons, Schenn, Määttä
The Colorado Avalanche will have one injured member back for their road trip through the Midwest, but no more. Forward Joel Kiviranta has fully recovered from his lower-body injury and will return for the road trip, but defenseman Josh Manson will stay in Denver due to an upper-body injury, according to Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette.
Kiviranta has missed Colorado’s last three games, with the team managing a 1-1-1 record in his absence. Despite being in his second year with the organization, he’s offered extraordinary flexibility to the Avalanche’s forward core this season. Kiviranta has demonstrated the ability to play up and down the lineup, putting up a career-high 16 goals in 72 games this season while averaging 12:30 of ice time per game.
Meanwhile, Manson has been continuously plagued by a lower-body injury for much of the 2024-25 campaign. Given that Colorado only has seven games remaining on their schedule, there’s a decent chance Manson may not play another regular season contest for them this season. If that’s the case, he’ll finish the year with one goal and 15 points in 48 games, averaging 18:02 of ice time per game.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- After sustaining a leg injury a few days ago against the Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators’ forward Colton Sissons‘ season may have already ended. According to general manager Barry Trotz (and publicized by Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game), the second-year front office leader said a decision regarding Sissons’ status is coming relatively soon. Kieser quoted Trotz saying, “I would probably say he’s close to not being back for the rest of the season.“
- Winnipeg Jets’ analyst Mitchell Clinton reported earlier that defenseman Luke Schenn is a game-time decision against the Los Angeles Kings. Clinton didn’t allude to the specifics regarding Schenn, but he did mention that Schenn left early from the team’s morning skate. Should he miss tonight’s contest, the Jets will likely contextualize Schenn’s absence after the game.
- Joining Schenn as a game-time decision will be Utah Hockey Club’s Olli Määttä (Tweet Link). Määttä had been dealing with a lower-body injury, which kept him out of the team’s recent matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. However, even if he doesn’t feature in tonight’s game, it shouldn’t keep him out of the lineup much longer. The Finnish blueliner has scored two goals and 15 points in 63 games for Utah since being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings in late October.
Utah Activates Robert Bortuzzo, Olli Määttä Game-Time Decision
The Utah Hockey Club has activated defenseman Robert Bortuzzo off of injured reserve. Bortuzzo sustained a lower-body injury in December 10th’s game against the Minnesota Wild. He returned for eight minutes of ice time in Utah’s January 2nd win over Calgary, but wasn’t back to full health and had to step back out of the lineup. Bortuzzo missed 44 games of action in total with this injury and will now return with just nine games left in Utah’s season.
Bortuzzo played in 14 games before falling to injury. He recorded two assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-two, while averaging just 11 minutes of ice time. After years of a dwindling role, Bortuzzo has fallen firmly into the role of seventh defenseman after signing a one-year, two-way, league-minimum contract with Utah this summer. The end of the season will be his chance to finally affirm that contract, though the signs of retirement could be shining for the 36-year-old defender.
If Bortuzzo does hang up his skates at the end of the year, he’ll leave behind a strong 14-year career in the NHL. His career began with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2011-12 season, but he spent the vast majority of it with the St. Louis Blues after a trade in the 2014-15 season swapped him for fellow veteran defender Ian Cole. Bortuzzo went on to record 424 games with the Blues – routinely serving in a depth role and never managing more than 13 points in a single season. Still, his gritty physicality and veteran depth helped support St. Louis to a Stanley Cup in 2019 – and made him a valuable addition for the injury-riddled New York Islanders blue-line last season.
Bortuzzo could quickly find his way back into Utah’s lineup on Sunday, with vet Olli Määttä designated as a game-time decision for the matchup per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. Määttä left Utah’s Friday game early with a lower-body injury. If he can’t go, the Hockey Club will be pushed to decide between Bortuzzo and current extra defender Nick DeSimone. Määttä has been an oft-used member of Utah’s blue-line. He’s averaging a career-high 20 minutes of ice time in Salt Lake City and has so far scored 15 points in 63 games. But Määttä is also in the rut of a cold-streak, with no scoring and a minus-three over his last nine games. A spot absence could be a chance for Määttä to make sure the mental and physical are both on the right track – as he prepares to serve a confident top-four role while Utah clings on to their playoff hopes.
Utah Signs Alexander Kerfoot To One-Year Extension
After signing Olli Maatta to an extension back on Monday, Utah HC has taken another pending UFA off the market for this summer. The team announced that they’ve signed center Alexander Kerfoot to a one-year contract extension. While the financial terms weren’t disclosed by the team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the deal will pay Kerfoot $3MM. GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement about the signing:
We are very pleased for Alex to remain in Utah. Alex is an important leader for our group with his versatility on the ice and leadership off the ice, and we look forward to having his continued contribution as we fight down the stretch to make the playoffs.
The 30-year-old is in his second year with the organization going back to his time in Arizona. But those two seasons have had considerably different trajectories. Last year with the Coyotes, Kerfoot had the second-best offensive season of his career, tallying 13 goals and 32 assists in 82 games while logging a career-best 17:26 per night. It looked like he’d be well on his way toward a long-term deal on his next contract if he could even match that level of performance.
But instead of producing at a similar level in 2024-25, Kerfoot’s output has dipped to the lowest levels of his eight-year NHL career. Through 61 outings this season, he has just seven goals and nine assists while his playing time has dropped by more than two minutes a game. While he is winning more than 50% of his faceoffs for the first time since his sophomore season, it’s fair to say his stock around the league has taken a hit.
To that end, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that Kerfoot opted to take just a one-year deal now, giving himself a chance at rebuilding some value before potentially taking a run at the 2026 free agent market when another big jump in the salary cap is expected. He’s also taking a small cut in pay in the process to stick around; next season will be the first time since the 2018-19 campaign that he hasn’t carried a $3.5MM charge against the salary cap.
With the signing, Utah now has $73.5MM in commitments for next season to 18 players, per PuckPedia. Those numbers could go up soon enough if they’re able to get goaltender Karel Vejmelka locked down on an extension, an outcome he’s known to be seeking.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Utah Signs Olli Määttä To Three-Year Extension
Utah HC announced they’ve signed pending free agent defenseman Olli Määttä to a three-year extension. The contract is worth $10.5MM with an even $3.5MM base salary and cap hit each season, PuckPedia reports.
The deal is a demonstration of Määttä’s re-emergence as a top-four piece on the Utah blue line. After being underutilized and relegated to a fringe bottom-pairing role with the Red Wings in the past couple of seasons, he was traded to Utah for a third-round pick a few weeks in late October. Utah, at the time, needed veteran insurance on defense with Sean Durzi and John Marino out long-term and relieved Detroit of his $3MM cap hit in the process.
For his low acquisition cost, the Club has been rewarded. His underlying metrics remained strong as his minutes were slashed in Detroit, signaling he should still be a more effective complementary defensive piece in heavier minutes. Määttä has proved that suspicion right in Salt Lake, posting 2-12–14 in 51 games with a plus-seven rating while averaging 20:41 per game, only the second time he’s averaged north of 20 in his 12-year career. His possession numbers – a 51.4% share of shot attempts and 48.6% expected goals share at even strength – are decent considering he’s started over 55% of his shifts in the defensive zone, the second-highest mark of his career.
While a lefty, the 6’2″ Määttä can comfortably play both sides. He’s done so for a good chunk of the season, playing top-pairing minutes to the right of Mikhail Sergachev while Durzi and Marino were out. Since they returned, he’s shifted back to his natural left side to form Utah’s second pairing with the right-shot Durzi. That pairing has controlled 58.3% of expected goals in 70 minutes of deployment together, per MoneyPuck.
He’s fit in well as a shutdown piece in Utah’s possession-reliant system under head coach André Tourigny. Utah ranks top five in the league at controlling shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger chances at even strength, but league-average goaltending on the whole from their hot (Karel Vejmelka) and cold (Connor Ingram) tandem means their team defense is only 15th in the league. He logs heavy penalty-killing minutes, too, and doesn’t grade out as the offensive liability he was at points earlier in his career. His play as a veteran stopgap is a significant reason why Utah still has a chance at the postseason, sitting two points back of the Flames for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
A three-year term is of value to the 30-year-old Määttä as well as the team. He lands some stability after suiting up for five teams in the last seven years, while Utah avoids locking themselves into a deal that takes him into his mid-30s, when his play will likely decline.
Utah now has six defensemen signed to one-way deals for next season, so it stands to reason veteran pending UFA Ian Cole could be on his way out at the deadline for the right price. They now have $25MM in projected cap space for 2024-25 with only six roster spots to fill, and with Vejmelka as the only potential high-cost pending UFA, they’re in good position to make a big splash for a forward on this summer’s free agent market.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.