Olli Jokinen

**Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen** (born 5 December 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre. He played parts of 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues. Outside of the NHL, Jokinen has played for KalPa and HIFK of the SM-liiga, EHC Kloten of the Nationalliga A (NLA), and Södertälje SK of the Elitserien.

Internationally, Jokinen played for Finland. He won a silver medal them at the 2006 Winter Olympics and two bronze medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Olympics.

## Career
Before playing in the NHL, Jokinen played parts of one season with KalPa and one season with HIFK of the SM-liiga. He had a successful time with both teams. He won the Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy as being the top rookie in the SM-liiga. In the 1998-99 season, he was awarded the Matti Keinonen trophy for most effective player in the SM-liiga and the Jari Kurri Trophy for being the best player in the SM-liiga playoffs.

He was drafted 3rd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1997 NHL entry draft. On 1 October, Jokinen made his NHL debut in a 3–3 overtime tie against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On 24 November 2018, he recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Glen Murray goal in a 2–2 overtime tie against the St. Louis Blues. On 10 November, Jokinen scored his first NHL goal against Jean-Sébastien Giguère in a 5–4 overtime loss against the Calgary Flames.

On June 20, 1999, the Kings traded Jokinen along with Josh Green, Mathieu Biron, and a 1999 first-round draft pick to the New York Islanders in exchange for Žigmund Pálffy, Bryan Smolinski, Marcel Cousineau, and a 1999 fourth-round selection. He played all 82 games, scoring 11 goals and recording 10 for 21 points.

On June 24, 2000, the Islanders traded Jokinen along with Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. He did not enjoy his first season in Florida, being criticized by head coach Terry Murray with others starting to call him a bust. This depressed him and he started thinking about moving back to Finland but stayed with the team. He started to improve his play after the Panthers hired Mike Keenan to become their head coach. On July 20, 2001, Jokinen signed a one-year contract to stay with the Panthers. He was named to his first NHL All-Star that year. On July 19, 2002, Jokinen signed a contract to stay with the Panthers. On July 16, 2003, Jokinen signed another one-year contract to stay with the Panthers. On September 12, 2005, Jokinen again signed a one-year contract to stay with the Panthers. On October 7, 2003, the Panthers named Jokinen as their next captain. On November 25, 2005, Jokinen scored his first NHL career hat-trick in a 6–3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On March 9, 2006, Jokinen signed a four-year contract to stay with the Panthers. On February 10, 2008 during a game against the Buffalo Sabres, Jokinen was involved in a scary incident. After being knocked down by Sabres Clarke MacArthur, Jokinen's leg flew upwards and his skate blade struck the carotid artery of his teammate Richard Zedník. He began to leak blood from his neck and had to rush off the ice.

On June 20, 2008, the Panthers traded Jokinen to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton, and a 2008 second-round draft pick. Jokinen played 57 games with the Coyotes, scoring 21 goals and recording 21 assists for 42 points.

On March 4, 2009, the Coyotes traded Jokinen along with a 2009 third-round draft pick to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a 2010 first-round draft pick. Jokinen did not have a good 2009–10 season and was largely blamed for the Flames missing the playoffs that year as fans believed that he did not live up to his contract.

On February 1, 2010, the Flames traded Jokinen along with Brandon Prust to the New York Rangers in exchange for Chris Higgins and Aleš Kotalík. Jokinen later admitted that he was traded because of his poor performance. Jokinen played 26 games with the Rangers, scoring 4 goals and recording 11 assists for 15 points.

On July 2, 2010, Jokinen signed a two-year, $6 million contract to rejoin the Flames. Some fans were not happy about his signing. On January 1, 2012, Jokinen played in his 1,000 NHL game in a 5–3 loss to the Nashville Predators.

On July 2 2012, Jokinen signed a two-year, $9 million contract to join the Winnipeg Jets. Over two seasons with the Jets, he scored 25 goals and recorded 32 assists for 57 points.

On July 20, 2014, he signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract to join the Nashville Predators. He played 48 games with the Predators, scoring 3 goals and recording 3 assists for 6 points.

On February 15, 2015, the Predators traded Jokinen along with Brendan Leipsic and a 2015 first-round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli. He only played 6 games with the Leafs, recording 1 assist.

On March 2, the Leafs traded Jokinen to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Joakim Lindström and a 2016 sixth-round draft pick. He played 8 games with the Predators, scoring 1 goal and recording 2 assists for 3 points.

Jokinen decided to retire from playing professional ice hockey in 2015.

## References
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