LA Kings acquire D Määttä from Blackhawks for F Morrison
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Kings have acquired defenseman Olli Määttä from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade for minor league forward Brad Morrison.
The Kings announced the deal Sunday to acquire Määttä, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh.
Määttä spent last season with the Blackhawks after six seasons with the Penguins. The Finnish blueliner had four goals and 13 assists in 65 games for Chicago before adding three goals and three assists in nine playoff games.
The trade clears salary cap space for the Blackhawks, who acquired Määttä in June 2019. Määttä has two years and more than $8 million left on his contract, and the Blackhawks were contemplating a buyout to create space for their offseason business after Määttä had a mildly disappointing regular season.
The Kings need every quality defensemen they can get to supplement their unimpressive group around Drew Doughty and up-and-coming Sean Walker.
Los Angeles has the No. 2 overall pick in the draft on Tuesday.
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