It’s never too late for a trade, right?

Well, we now know that Steve Yzerman definitely believes that.

THE Detroit Red Wings announcement Tuesday night they traded defender Olli Määttä to the Utah Hockey Club for a 2025 third-round pick that originally belonged to the New York Rangers.

Määttä, a 12-year NHL veteran, was in his third season with the Wings after joining in 2022. The former first-round pick made his NHL debut when he was just 19 years old with the Pittsburgh Penguins and finished fifth in the standings. Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) voting that year.

He played the first six years of his career with the Penguins, then one season with the Chicago Blackhawks and two years with the Los Angeles Kings before joining the Wings.

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The left-handed defenseman played in seven of the Wings’ nine games and had yet to record a point. He played more than 17 minutes in the Wings’ last game, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, and was minus-1 with two shots on goal.

Määttä was a key figure on last year’s Wings team that narrowly missed the playoffs and finished 14th on the team in minutes and 18th in points with 14 goals and 14 assists.

THE Wings signed Määttä to a two-year extension worth $6 million in February 2023.who was halfway through his first year in Detroit, having shown improvement in his game with the Wings.

After two days off, the Wings will be back on the ice Wednesday to host the red-hot Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.

This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Red Wings trade Olli Määttä to Utah Hockey Club for third-round pick