The two teammates were driving home from the airport and looking for a bite to eat.
Ian Cole and Olli Määttä had just won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins — something they did twice, in 2016 and 2017 — and Cole was hungry.
“I was like, ‘Man, we should get Chick-fil-A.’ He goes, ‘What’s Chick-fil-A?’ I was like, ‘You’ve never had Chick-fil-A!?’” Cole recalled Wednesday.
“My claim to fame is introducing Olli Määttä to Chick-fil-A.”
The two veteran defensemen can now dream of lifting another Cup and a spicy chicken sandwich together someday.
Cole and Määttä were reunited on Utah Hockey Club after the team traded a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Detroit Red Wings for the veteran blueliner on Tuesday.
Määttä’s move to Utah comes in the wake of losing defensemen Sean Durzi (shoulder surgery, out four to six months) and John Marino (back surgery, out three to four months) to injury.
The Hockey Club initially looked for answers from within. It first called up Patrik Koch and then Maveric Lamoureux from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners while giving its younger talent, like Michael Kesselring, bigger roles. However, after giving up 17 goals in the past four games, it was evident Utah’s thinned backend needed reinforcements.
“Just over the course of games since all the injuries, you’re always looking at other sources to better your team,” said Utah general manager Bill Armstrong. “I think with what we acquired with Olli — he’s a two-time Stanley Cup winner. He gives a lot of stability to the defense and that’s what we need.”
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta (3) go for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Määttä has gone pointless in seven games with Detroit this season but posted 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) and a plus-14 rating through 72 games in the 2023-24 campaign. The 30-year-old is in his 12th NHL season and will bring battle-tested knowledge to Utah which Armstrong said he thinks will “calm things down” defensively for the team.
“I think he’s a good NHL defenseman,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Brings size, experience to the backend.”
Määttä’s two Stanley Cups came in 2016 and 2017 while with Pittsburgh — the team that drafted him 22nd overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. Cole was on both of those championship-clinching teams.
After winning it all in 2016, the Penguins’ path to postseason victory became more challenging in 2017. All-Star defenseman Kris Letang missed the second half of the year, including the 2017 playoffs, due to a herniated disk in his neck that needed surgery. So, Pittsburgh’s D-corps had to dig deep.
“No one was really giving us a shot. Like, ‘Oh, they don’t have any No. 1 defensemen, they’re never going to win.’ We just had six guys who were really good,” Cole said. “That wouldn’t have been possible without [Määttä]. He was one of those six guys that was playing really well.”
Määttä logged eight points (two goals, six assists) and had a plus-eight rating through 25 games in that Cup run.
On Wednesday, he was expected to make his Utah Hockey Club debut at Delta Center as the group faces the Calgary Flames and tries to snap a four-game losing streak. Tourigny said his team would skate 11 forwards and seven defensemen, and that Määttä would rotate playing with Vladislav Kolyachonok and Juuso Välimäki.
Armstrong said one of Utah’s main goals right now is to cut down its goals against. Määttä, in the long run, can help with the effort without taking developmental time away from the Hockey Club’s budding defensemen.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) and Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) defend during the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Ottawa Senators at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
Määttä is in the final season of the two-year, $6 million contract that he signed with Detroit in Feb. 2023. The defenseman not carrying any term on his deal was likely an attractive factor for Utah, which is working to remain competitive this season, but not clog up room for its younger players to have more important roles in the future.
“You want to see if we can always push the limits of how good we can be this year,” Armstrong said. “Doesn’t mean we’re going to win the Stanley Cup, but we’re competitive inside that locker room.”
One player won’t single-handedly fix Utah’s defensive holes. However, Määttä can alleviate some of the extended minutes and situations the Hockey Club’s defensemen have had to play in and act as a steadying force on a Utah blueline that has seen a lot of changes early in the year.
“Smart player, puts himself in good spots. Can make some plays when those situations arise,” Cole said. “I think we should be very excited to have him. He’s a great hockey player, a great guy.”
A bonus? Utah has 33 Chick-fil-A locations, including one inside the Delta Center.
