For a large duration of the season, defenseman Olli Määttä has been regularly inactive for the Utah Mammoth, surprising many Mammoth fans coming into this season. 

This is a notable change from his previous season, where he played in 70 games for Utah after being acquired in a trade with Detroit for a 2025 third-round pick. In fact, he appeared in all but five games that season, playing seven games for the Red Wings before he was traded.

Some of Määttä's missed time can be attributed to him spending time on the injured reserved list starting on Nov. 27, where he missed nine games due to an upper-body injury. But even before the injury, Määttä was starting to be listed as a healthy scratch.

This is partially due to Utah's defenseman having great health this season- a very welcome sign for this team. But for Määttä to suddenly go from one of the healthiest and most reliable defenseman for the Mammoth into a player that is getting healthy scratches on a nightly basis.

To make it even more shocking, Määttä signed a well-deserved three-year 10.5 million dollar extension with the Mammoth towards the end of last season due to his stability and good play, yet Määttä has played in less games with worse production this season- going from an 18 points in last season to just one point this season.

However, in the Mammoth's last two games- a 5-2 win over the Wild and 4-0 loss to the Blackhawks- Määttä has returned in the lineup, playing in the place of Utah defenseman Nick DeSimone. 

Is it safe to say that Määttä is back for good? Can Määttä make the most of his reappearance? Let's look at why fans should hope he can get back on the ice. 

While two games is hardly indicative enough to say Määttä won his spot back, there is plenty of good reason to play him down the stretch. 

For one, Määttä did just help Finland secure Bronze in the Olympics with a 6-1 blowout win over Slovakia. 

It certainly can be naïve to assume that Määttä's will make Utah exponentially better just because of his Olympic accolades. Just because Jack Hughes won gold for Team USA back doesn't mean he can will the New Jersey Devils into the playoffs this year. 

The Utah Mammoth and Team Finland may be completely different teams, but Määttä's role on both teams is virtually the same. Määttä's role for Finland was also providing stability, focusing on strong defensive rotations for Finland as a depth player rather than any offensive burden- sound familiar? 

Sure, he only tallied one assist and was nowhere near playing the 26:24 average Miro Heiskanen had- the highest average of any Olympic player. Plus having goalie Juuse Saros, whose 94.01 save percentage was third best in Olympics, is always a big help. 

But despite the lack of stats compared to Heiskanen, Määttä certainly deserves a ton of credit for helping Finland get on the podium. He was playing valuable minutes for a good Finnish team that nearly completed a historic upset over Canada in the Semi-finals.

Giving a depth player like Määttä a second chance is in the Mammoth's best interest because he showed that he can still play his role at an Olympic level.

And having another veteran player like Määttä, who has played in both the Olympics and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, will be important for a young Utah team if this team makes the playoffs. 

DeSimone, who was playing ahead of Määttä, has been a great player for the Utah Mammoth. There is a reason why he has played 33 games for Utah this season, the most he has ever played in a single season in his entire NHL career. 

And though Määttä has played the last two games, there still is a considerable chance DeSimone can be back in the lineup. André Tourigny will likely make some lineup change after recently being shutout 4-0 against the Blackhawks on home ice. Maybe Määttä will get benched once again and never make it back.  

Of course any Mammoth fans simply want the best player to be on the ice for their squad. If DeSimone is the better option for this team, they will want him to play and the same goes for Määttä. 

When the Mammoth have called on DeSimone, he has been better for the team this season, getting 5 points-2 goals and 3 assists- while also recording a +4 in plus-minus. Those stats are better than Määttä's one point and -5 plus-minus.

It's not the wildest set of stats, but DeSimone's has played good defense and Utah has benefitted from his occasional one timer.

DeSimone has played great minutes for the Mammoth. But if DeSimone is deemed the better option over Määttä, that creates some uncomfortable questions for the Mammoth. 

For one, seeing that DeSimone is playing on a one-year deal worth $800,000, means that a player not signed to a long-term contract making significantly less the Määttä has been considered the better option this year. 

But Määttä was given his extension was to secure Utah's defensive group for the next couple of years. Only DeSimone and veteran leader Ian Cole aren't signed past this season, so it would make sense for the Mammoth to want to play Määttä. And the last thing Utah wants to do is trade Määttä away to just get an injury on its d-line. 

But also, keep in mind that Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt has the exact same contract as Määttä, yet he has 18 points, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time all and hasn't missed a game all season.

This isn't to say that playing DeSimone over Määttä is a bad thing. If he's helping the team win, Utah should play him and even consider giving him a contract extension this free agency.

But if Määttä wants to make the Mammoth's investment worth it, he has got to prove he is worth playing down this stretch. Määttä is supposed to be a long term solution for Utah and its defense, but he can't be that if he's not playing. 

It's important to not put any unrealistic expectations on Määttä- he won't suddenly post Cale Makar numbers- but Mammoth fans should hope for his resurgence. 

For one, fans should hope that if he given the starting nod over DeSimone that he will play better than him. And based on last season, Määttä has shown he can play great for Utah and he should be able to get back to that form. 

But if Määttä can get back to being a regular starter for this team, then it would mean that he is playing with the same skill he showed in the Olympics.

It would also mean that Määttä is proving his worth and playing up to his contracts standards and it means Utah can feel confident going ahead with Määttä these next couple years as it grows into a playoff team. 

But he will have to show that he can still provide meaningful minutes even with his average time on the ice dropping from 19:55 to 12:07- the lowest of his career. 

Määttä won't get the same minutes like he did last year when the Mammoth's defense is healthy, but if he can look as good as the player he was last season, this Utah team will have a formidable defense in the playoffs.