No 'Maatta" What You Say, Olli Belongs with the Penguins

Olli Maatta Is Ready To Improve This Penguins Team...

When you watch the Pittsburgh Penguins play ice hockey, there is one common thread amongst the back end defenders...you have to be a two way player.  Sure, the Penguins deploy Rob Scuderi and Brooks Orpik who are primarily "stay at home" defenders, but the Penguins have possibly the most offensive talented defensive unit in the Eastern Conference.  Heck, maybe even the entire NHL.  Kris Letang, Paul Martin, Matt Niskanen, and now Olli Maatta now make up the offensive talent that is the Penguins' "Blue Liners".

That Olli kid (19 years old) sure can play some hockey can't he?  Thursday it was released from Penguins' GM Ray Shero that Olli Maatta will be retained by the Penguins this season and will not be returning to his Junior Club team this season.  Please, spare me the financials.  I could care less.  What I do care about is the Penguins putting the best club on the ice as possible, and it couldn't be more obvious that Olli Maatta is a top 6 defensemen on this time right now, at age 19.  The way he moves the puck, his offensive prowess, and how he plays his angles defensively stand out as a player that deserves to be in the NHL now, not later.  Please, spare me the "he is too young" argument too.  Did people say that when Sidney Crosby played in the NHL as an 18 year old?  Nope, so why say that now?  If a player is ready...let them at it, and its pretty obvious that Maatta is ready.

Will there be growing pains?  There is a good chance that there will be, but that shouldn't deter anyone from thinking that he is NHL ready.  Why would Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero keep him on the roster if there was even an inclination that he wasn't ready?  No, he is ready to go and don't be surprised if you see him play better now that the decision has been made.  Don't think for a second that this decision hasn't weighed on the young defenseman.  Maatta even said in an interview that he was more nervous after the game Monday than he was before the game.  Don't think it was on his mind?  Yeah it was.  With the decision over, I have a feeling we might see a new Olli on the back end.  A better Olli that can play the way he was born to play...without the pressure of an NHL contract weighing on his mind.  Either way, there is no question in my mind that Maatta does belong in the NHL, and I'm glad he belongs with the Pittsburgh Penguins.