Meet the newest Calgary Flames defenseman: Olli Maatta

The Calgary Flames made a huge and surprising trade on Wednesday that shocked many people. Defenceman MacKenzie Weegar was sent to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for three 2026 second-round picks, prospect Jonathan Castagna, and defenceman Olli Maatta. This trade was marked as a definite signal that the Flames are in tank mode. As much as it hurts to see Weegar go, it was time to move on. In return, the Flames got valuable assets and a veteran defenceman. Let’s see what Maatta has to offer the Flames.

Maatta’s recent statistics

	GP	G	A	PTS	HITS	BLKS
2022-2023	78	6	17	23	78	128
2023-2024	72	4	14	18	53	96
2024-2025	77	2	16	18	25	124
2025-2026	23	0	2	2	1	22

Maatta has certainly not been a huge point producer in his career. The main strength for Maatta is his defensive game. Maatta is a 6’2″, 209-pound defensive defenceman who will slide into a bleak-looking Flames defensive core. With the departure of Weegar, Maatta will likely slide in on the third defensive pairing in place of Brayden Pachal or Joel Hanley. His history of blocking shots will also be an asset in potentially gaining some time on the penalty kill. Other than that, Maatta will supply a veteran presence that can assist the younger guys like Zayne Parekh and Yan Kuznetsov.

This new chapter in Calgary will be no significant change for Maatta. The defenceman is joining his sixth NHL franchise of his career. He originally started out with the Pittsburgh Penguins and bounced around from Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Utah, and now, Calgary. Maatta has had a bit of a down season. He has only appeared in twenty-two NHL games, but did play for Team Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Maatta made his Flames debut on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes and tallied one assist.

Maatta’s career achievements

Although Maatta is typically a second or third-pairing defenceman, he has a lot to be proud of in his hockey career. The Finnish defenceman was a member of the London Knights for two seasons. Here, he won two OHL championships and made two Memorial Cup appearances. The Knights made it to the 2012 Memorial Cup Final, but lost 2–1 in overtime to the Shawinigan Cataractes. From the OHL, Maatta was drafted to the NHL in 2012. The Penguins selected him with the twenty-second overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft.

The best years of Maatta’s career came during his time in Pittsburgh. Maatta spent six seasons with the organization, had his best offensive seasons, and won two Stanley Cups. Since these two Stanley Cup wins, Maatta has rarely seen any playoff hockey. His last playoff games came with the Los Angeles Kings in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Outside of the NHL, Maatta has gotten to represent his hometown of Finland on multiple occasions. The defenceman has played in three World Junior Championships, three World Championships, the World Cup of Hockey, the four Nations, and two Winter Olympic Games. Maatta has had plenty of good international hockey experience. These tournaments resulted in two Olympic bronze medals and a silver medal in the 2021 World Championship. His most recent international performance obviously came in the 2026 Olympic Games. Maatta recorded one assist through six games.

Looking at the trade

This trade was fantastic for both sides. The Mammoth get a top-pairing defenceman on a great contract, while the Flames load up with draft stock and gain a decent prospect. The interesting part about acquiring Maatta is that he still has term on his contract. After this season, Maatta still has two years left with an annual salary of $$3.5M. He will be a part of this defensive core for a few more years. The question is, who should the Flames move on from next?

At the moment, the Flames have too many defencemen. Guys like Jake Bean (pending UFA), Brayden Pachal, and Joel Hanley do not bring much to the lineup. They also take away opportunities from young players like Hunter Brzustewicz. Going into the offseason, moving on from these guys should be near the top of the Flames’ to-do list.

The Flames remained busy on trade deadline day. They acquired forward Ryan Strome from the Anaheim Ducks and sent Nazem Kadri back to the Colorado Avalanche. Lots of changes are in store for this young Flames team. The Kadri deal signified that a full rebuild is taking place in Calgary. Blake Coleman could be the next name that is on the move in the offseason, as well as Ryan Lomberg, who is a pending UFA.

Craig Conroy has a lot to be proud of. The Flames GM has completely turned this franchise around. This team is now completely on the tank for McKenna/Stenberg. The draft cannot come soon enough.