As of February 10, 2023, the Calgary Flames are carrying a 23-man roster with $4,436,269 in projected accrued deadline cap space. With 29 games remaining and the slim chance that Oliver Kylington returns for the remainder of this year, depth defence should be on Brad Treliving’s shopping list come March 3, if there should be any shopping done at all. It is an area of acquisition he’s historically been no stranger to around this time.
A solid rental candidate (should he be available) that could improve the Flames’ backend is Olli Määttä. Määttä is 28 years old and standing at 6’2″ and 207 lbs. Through 47 games played thus far this season with the Detroit Red Wings, he’s notched four goals and 12 assists for a total of 16 points. He is also currently riding an 11.1% career-high shooting percentage, 2.52 times his career average (4.4%). Määttä carries a cap hit of $2,250,000.
Määttä’s impact with Detroit
The Detroit Red Wings have struggled to suppress high-danger chances this season, yet that hasn’t stopped Määttä’s solid defensive metrics from standing out. Under a Darryl Sutter defensive structure, there is no reason why he wouldn’t be able to maximize his already established skillset.
Potential market comparable between Määttä and Megna
For reference through 49 games played, Jaycob Megna has registered a goal and 11 assists for a total of 12 points. Megna however is also a player carrying term with an AAV of $762,500 until 2024.
Megna’s charts are immaculate and Seattle seems to have done well in regards to setting the defensive depth market for this calibre of player heading into March 3.
The cost of acquiring Määttä
Megna costing a fourth-rounder leads me to believe Detroit could be looking for around the same sort of return for Määttä. The biggest factor would be salary retention for the Flames, especially if they are serious about also adding forward help with the JVR rumours circling. I’d assume that Detroit retaining 50% on Määttä would get the cost to bump up to a third-round pick.
The Flames do not have their third-rounder for this summer’s draft so a mock could look like Määttä at 50% retained for a 2024 third-round pick. Three years ago, the Flames paid a third-rounder for Erik Gustafsson, that ask has historically been in the budget for the Flames organization, in regards to addressing their defensive needs.
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