Jussi Jokinen

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.

Jussi Jokinen
Jokinen with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013
Born (1983-04-01) April 1, 1983 (age 41)
Kalajoki, Finland
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
PositionCentre/Left wing
ShotLeft
Played forOulun Kärpät
Dallas Stars
Tampa Bay Lightning
Carolina Hurricanes
Pittsburgh Penguins
Florida Panthers
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Columbus Blue Jackets
Vancouver Canucks
EHC Kloten
National team Finland
NHL draft192nd overall, 2001
Dallas Stars
Playing career2001–2021

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]

Jokinen with the Hurricanes in 2009

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]

During the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs

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 in 2008
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
2006 Turin
2014 Sochi
World Championships
2016 Russia
2006 Latvia
2008 Canada
World Junior Championships
2002 Czech Republic
2003 Canada
World U18 Championships
2001 Finland

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

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1999–2000KärpätFIN U1815625311462350
1999–2000KärpätJr. A28471114
2000–01KärpätFIN U1812130
2000–01KärpätJr. A481831496962130
2001–02KärpätJr. A2415011120
2001–02KärpätSM-l54106163841010
2002–03KärpätSM-l51142337101521333
2003–04KärpätSM-l5515233820153476
2004–05KärpätSM-l5623244724123472
2005–06Dallas StarsNHL811738553052130
2006–07Dallas StarsNHL821434481840110
2007–08Dallas StarsNHL5214142814
2007–08Tampa Bay LightningNHL20212144
2008–09Tampa Bay LightningNHL466101616
2008–09Carolina HurricanesNHL2511011121874112
2009–10Carolina HurricanesNHL8130356536
2010–11Carolina HurricanesNHL7019335224
2011–12Carolina HurricanesNHL7912344654
2012–13KärpätSM-l217142110
2012–13Carolina HurricanesNHL33651118
2012–13Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL107411680334
2013–14Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL812136571813731010
2014–15Florida PanthersNHL818364434
2015–16Florida PanthersNHL811842604261344
2016–17Florida PanthersNHL6911172839
2017–18Edmonton OilersNHL140112
2017–18Los Angeles KingsNHL181454
2017–18Columbus Blue JacketsNHL140114
2017–18Vancouver CanucksNHL1446102
2018–19EHC KlotenSL7210128
2018–19KärpätLiiga146142041627920
2019–20KärpätLiiga479253443
2020–21KärpätLiiga51917261452132
Liiga totals349931462391636713173063
NHL totals9511913725633775417153220

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2000FinlandWHC179th31344
2001FinlandWJC18 62022
2002FinlandWJC 72682
2003FinlandWJC 76282
2005FinlandWC7th70112
2006FinlandOG 81342
2006FinlandWC 92682
2008FinlandWC 91344
2010FinlandWC6th721320
2012FinlandWC4th105498
2014FinlandOG 62350
2016FinlandWC 1037102
2016FinlandWCH8th30112
Junior totals2311112210
Senior totals7719375642

References