Red Wings 2022-23 Wrap-Up: Olli Maatta

DETROIT -- Olli Maatta bet on himself last summer by signing a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

And that gamble paid off for the 28-year-old defenseman, who tallied 23 points (6-17-23) in 78 games with the Red Wings during the 2022-23 season, nearly doubling his combined point total (1-11-12 in 107 games) from 2020-22 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

Maatta's impact both on and off the ice impressed Detroit's brass enough to ink him to a two-year contract extension on Feb. 16.

"I put great value in really good, high-character people," Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman said on March 3. "Olli is a real professional. He shows up every day. He's there early, training, prepared before practice and the game, there after practice and the game. He's been a good, solid and steady defenseman."

Maatta began his debut season in Detroit by posting a four-game point streak from Oct. 14-21, becoming the first Red Wings blueliner to record a point in each of the first four or more games of a season since Brian Rafalski had nine (1-8-9) in seven contests in 2008-09.

According to Maatta, his training camp experience helped him burst out of the gate.

"You were at and outside the rink with the guys for seven days, which was awesome," Maatta Video: Olli Maatta | 2022-23 End of Season Media"We're a new team with so many new guys, so you got to know everybody. I think that helped a lot. The coaching staff also put me in situations and helped me build confidence that way."

As the season progressed, learning a new system became a smooth transition for Maatta due to the tutelage of Red Wings associate coach Bob Boughner.

"Boughner really knows how to get the message across," Maatta said in his end-of-season media session. "Obviously being a head coach before, he simplifies the message to guys. I think that's a big thing for how you get guys to play together within the system."

While Maatta is pleased he took a step forward in his all-around game, he wants to "produce more" in 2023-24.

"I think I can be a little bit more aggressive and better with my gaps," Maatta said. "I think more involved offensively, that's a big part. There's a lot of good things, but a lot of things I can be better with."

Maatta will be counted on to serve in a leadership role in Detroit's dressing room next season, a responsibility he is once again excited to embrace.

"Every year, you kind of take a little more responsibility with that," Maatta said. "Time goes so quick. It feels like sometimes I'm a 19-year-old guy who came into the league yesterday and suddenly, I'm 10 years in this. You can easily see yourself in those shoes when you look at our younger guys, like Mo (Seider) and Simon (Edvinsson), where and how you can help."