Jussi Jokinen Explained

Jussi Jokinen
Birth Date:1 April 1983
Birth Place:Kalajoki, Finland
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:192
Position:Centre/Left wing
Shoots:Left
Played For:Oulun Kärpät
Dallas Stars
Tampa Bay Lightning
Carolina Hurricanes
Pittsburgh Penguins
Florida Panthers
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Columbus Blue Jackets
Vancouver Canucks
EHC Kloten
Ntl Team:FIN
Draft:192nd overall
Draft Year:2001
Draft Team:Dallas Stars
Career Start:2001
Career End:2021

Jussi Petteri Jokinen (born April 1, 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. After playing in his native Finland with Oulun Kärpät of the Liiga he was drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Dallas Stars in 2001 in the sixth round, 192nd overall, and spent his first three NHL seasons with the team. Jokinen has also played in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks.

Jokinen is of no relation to former NHL player Olli Jokinen, but has a younger brother, Juho, who also plays hockey. During his NHL career, Jokinen was widely considered a shootout and faceoff specialist.[1]

Playing career

Dallas Stars

Jokinen was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the sixth round, 192nd overall, at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He spent four seasons before his NHL debut playing for Oulun Kärpät of the SM-liiga, the top Finnish league.

In his rookie year in 2005–06, Jokinen gained a great reputation as a top shootout specialist in the NHL.[2] [3] Until being stopped by Vesa Toskala, he was a remarkable nine-for-nine in shootouts before his first unsuccessful attempt.[3] On November 16, 2007, Jokinen scored four goals against the Colorado Avalanche in a 6–1 win.[4]

Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes

At the NHL trade deadline, on February 26, 2008, Jokinen was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning (along with Mike Smith, Jeff Halpern and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick) in exchange for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist. Jokinen finished with 16 goals and 42 points.

On February 4, 2009, Jokinen was placed on waivers by the Lightning and later, on February 7, 2009, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Wade Brookbank, Josef Melichar and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick.[5] During the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, on April 21, he scored the latest regulation game-winning goal in NHL playoff history, with 0.2 seconds remaining in the third period, as the Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–3 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals.[6]

On June 29, 2009, the Hurricanes signed Jokinen to a two-year, $3.4 million contract ($1.5 million in 2009–10 and $1.9 million in 2010–11).[7] As of November 19, 2009, Jokinen had scored a total of 25 goals in 46 shootout attempts, with an impressive 54.3% success rate. Eight of those shootout goals were game-winners.[8]

Jokinen re-signed with his former Finnish club Kärpät during the 2012–13 NHL lockout and committed himself to remain with the club until the resumption of the NHL season in January 2013.[9]

Pittsburgh Penguins

On March 26, 2013, Jokinen was placed on waivers by Hurricanes. On April 3, 2013, Jokinen was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional sixth- or seventh-round pick in 2013.[10] In his first game with the Penguins, Jokinen scored Pittsburgh's lone goal in regulation and tallied the only shootout goal for the team in a 2–1 victory over the New York Rangers.[11] During the 2013–14 season, on October 8, 2013, Jokinen scored his first hat-trick with the Penguins in a 5–2 win over his former team, the Carolina Hurricanes. Jokinen enjoyed his most productive season since 2010, totaling 21 goals and 57 points in 81 games with the Penguins, playing alongside Evgeni Malkin for most of the season.

Florida Panthers

On July 1, 2014, as an unrestricted free agent, Jokinen signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Florida Panthers.[12] During his second season with the club, Jokinen scored 18 goals and 60 points, the second-best offensive output of his career. During six playoff games, Jokinen contributed one goal and three assists.

Final NHL season

On June 30, 2017, following the 2016–17 season and with one-year remaining on his contract, Jokinen was bought-out by the Panthers.[13] On July 7, 2017, as a free agent, Jokinen signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[14] In the 2017–18 season, he struggled to find his role with Edmonton, adding just 1 assist in 14 games. On November 14, 2017, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Mike Cammalleri.[15] Jokinen recorded 1 goal and 4 assists in 18 games for the club.

On January 16, 2018, Jokinen was placed on waivers by the Kings,[16] and was then claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 17.[17] On February 26, 2018, Jokinen and Tyler Motte were traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Thomas Vanek.[18] As a result of this trade, Jokinen became the fourth player in NHL history, behind Dennis O'Brien, Dave McLlwain and Mark Arcobello, to play for four different NHL teams in a single season. He also joins the exclusive club of scoring at least a point in each of the four different hockey clubs he played for in one NHL season, along with O'Brien and Arcobello.[19]

Return to Europe

Having completed his NHL career, Jokinen returned to Europe in signing with EHC Kloten of the Swiss League. He registered 12 points through just 7 games before returning to his original Finnish club, Oulun Kärpät.

After three further seasons in the Liiga, Jokinen announced his retirement on May 18, 2021, ending a career spanning 20 seasons.[20]

International play

Jokinen has played for the Finnish national team in multiple tournaments, including the 2006 and 2014 Winter Olympics, winning a silver and bronze medal.

In 2016, Jokinen and teammate Aleksander Barkov Jr. were selected to represent Team Finland at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.[21] They won silver after a 2–0 loss to Team Canada.[22]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GP G A Pts PIM
1999–2000KärpätFIN U1815 6 25 31 146 2 3 5 0
1999–2000KärpätJr. A28 47 11 14
2000–01KärpätFIN U181 2 1 3 0
2000–01KärpätJr. A48 18 31 49 696 2 1 3 0
2001–02KärpätJr. A2 4 1 5 01 1 1 2 0
2001–02KärpätSM-l54 10 6 16 384 1 0 1 0
2002–03KärpätSM-l51 14 23 37 1015 2 1 3 33
2003–04KärpätSM-l55 15 23 38 2015 3 4 7 6
2004–05KärpätSM-l56 23 24 47 2412 3 4 7 2
2005–06Dallas StarsNHL81 17 38 55 305 2 1 3 0
2006–07Dallas StarsNHL82 14 34 48 184 0 1 1 0
2007–08Dallas StarsNHL52 14 14 28 14
2007–08Tampa Bay LightningNHL20 2 12 14 4
2008–09Tampa Bay LightningNHL46 6 10 16 16
2008–09Carolina HurricanesNHL25 1 10 11 1218 7 4 11 2
2009–10Carolina HurricanesNHL81 30 35 65 36
2010–11Carolina HurricanesNHL70 19 33 52 24
2011–12Carolina HurricanesNHL79 12 34 46 54
2012–13KärpätSM-l21 7 14 21 10
2012–13Carolina HurricanesNHL33 6 5 11 18
2012–13Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL10 7 4 11 68 0 3 3 4
2013–14Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL81 21 36 57 1813 7 3 10 10
2014–15Florida PanthersNHL81 8 36 44 34
2015–16Florida PanthersNHL81 18 42 60 426 1 3 4 4
2016–17Florida PanthersNHL69 11 17 28 39
2017–18Edmonton OilersNHL14 0 1 1 2
2017–18Los Angeles KingsNHL18 1 4 5 4
2017–18Columbus Blue JacketsNHL14 0 1 1 4
2017–18Vancouver CanucksNHL14 4 6 10 2
2018–19EHC KlotenSL7 2 10 12 8
2018–19KärpätLiiga14 6 14 20 416 2 7 9 20
2019–20KärpätLiiga47 9 25 34 43
2020–21KärpätLiiga51 9 17 26 145 2 1 3 2
Liiga totals349 93 146 239 16367 13 17 30 63
NHL totals951 191 372 563 37754 17 15 32 20

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2000FinlandWHC179th31344
2001FinlandWJC1862022
2002FinlandWJC72682
2003FinlandWJC76282
2005FinlandWC7th70112
2006FinlandOG81342
2006FinlandWC92682
2008FinlandWC91344
2010FinlandWC6th721320
2012FinlandWC4th105498
2014FinlandOG62350
2016FinlandWC1037102
2016FinlandWCH8th30112
Junior totals2311112210
Senior totals7719375642

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Penguins acquire Jussi Jokinen for pick. National Hockey League. 2013-03-04. 2013-03-04.
  2. News: Shootout is Jokinen's specialty. 2006-09-21. USA Today. Kevin Allen . January 31, 2006.
  3. Web site: Star not lost without shootout. 2006-09-21. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006.
  4. Web site: Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars Box Score — November 16, 2007.
  5. Web site: Hurricanes acquire Jussi Jokinen from Tampa Bay . 2009-02-07. National Hockey League. 2009.
  6. Web site: Wild finish has Devils, 'Canes all tied up . . 2009-04-21 . 2009-04-21.
  7. Web site: Canes Agree to Terms with Jokinen on Two-Year Deal . carolinahurricanes.com . 2009-06-29 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090701021421/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=432159 . 2009-07-01 .
  8. Web site: Jokinen's deft shootout skills set him apart . . 2009-11-19 . 2009-11-19 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091122161143/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=506624 . 2009-11-22 .
  9. Web site: Jussi Jokinen signs new contract with Karpat . . 2012-11-05 . 2012-11-15.
  10. News: Rob. Rossi. Penguins add Carolina forward Jokinen. April 3, 2013. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  11. Web site: Endgame: Penguins 2, Rangers 1 (SO) . . 2013-04-05 . 2013-04-05.
  12. News: Florida Panthers sign six free agents . . 2014-07-01 . 2014-07-01.
  13. Web site: Panthers buy out Jussi Jokinen . . 2017-07-01 . 2017-07-07.
  14. Web site: Oilers sign Jokinen to one-year deal . . 2017-07-07 . 2017-07-07.
  15. Web site: Oilers Acquire Mike Cammalleri for Jussi Jokinen . Copper and Blue . 2017-11-14 . 2017-11-14.
  16. Web site: Kings place F Jokinen on waivers. TSN. January 17, 2018. January 16, 2018.
  17. Web site: Blue Jackets Claim Veteran Forward Jussi Jokinen Off Waivers. National Hockey League. January 17, 2018. January 17, 2018.
  18. Web site: Canucks acquire Motte & Jokinen from Blue Jackets. National Hockey League. February 26, 2018. February 26, 2018.
  19. Web site: Blue Jackets acquire forward Thomas Vanek. ESPN. February 26, 2018. February 26, 2018.
  20. Web site: Jussi Jokinen playing career completed . . 18 May 2021 . 18 May 2021 . Finnish.
  21. Web site: Aleksander Barkov, Jussi Jokinen to Represent Team Finland at 2016 IIHF World Championship . National Hockey League . 17 December 2018 . 28 April 2016.
  22. News: Panthers' Matheson Wins Gold Medal with Team Canada at IIHF World Championship . 16 December 2018 . South Florida Sun-Sentinel . 22 May 2016.