Utah’s Olli Maatta leaves game against Panthers with lower-body injury

The Utah Hockey Club will play with five defensemen for the remainder of their Friday contest against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers after veteran rearguard Olli Maatta exited early in the second period with a lower-body injury. Utah later ruled out Maatta for the remainder of the game.

Acquired from the Detroit Red Wings in a late October deal in exchange for a third-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, Maatta has since made 61 appearances with Utah in which he has scored twice and added 13 assists for 15 points coupled with 14 penalty minutes and a team-leading plus-four rating. With it, Maatta has averaged just over 20 minutes in ice time per game to rank third among all Utah defensemen.

Prior to his arrival in Utah, Maatta made seven appearances with the Red Wings this season in which he totaled three shots while seeing 15:52 in ice time per game. In all, Maatta has totaled 15 points through 68 appearances in 2024-25. This season also saw Maatta join his native Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Earlier in March, Utah inked the 30-year-old rearguard to a three-year extension that will carry a $3.5-million annual average value, per PuckPedia.

Originally chosen 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 NHL Draft, Maatta has totaled 753 career contests counting stops with the Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Red Wings, and Utah in which he has collected 42 goals and 150 assists for 192 points. Maatta has also added five goals and 22 assists for 27 points through 85 postseason appearances, underscored by back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Entering Friday’s contest against the Panthers, Utah sat 32-29-11 on the season and 10 points back of the Central Division rival St. Louis Blues for the final wildcard seed in the Western Conference.