[News] Olli Jokinen talks about his career

[Ben Dover]

Stumbled upon this post on Reddit where someone did an amazing job translating a lengthy Finnish article about Jokinen's career.

Here are some excerpts from the post which includes his experience playing for the Islanders, his relationship with Mike Keenan, and how he almost got traded to Calgary in 2004.

Playing for the Islanders amid their financial troubles

It was a pretty catastrophical season. I left LA, where everything was taken care of to a team where they counted even the meals. Before a trip, they asked whether you wanted to eat chicken or fish. We thought, 'What the hell is this'? If you ate chicken, you got one chicken breast for lunch. If fish, you got one fillet of fish. If 15 guys took chicken, there was going to be 15 chicken breasts. If someone took two, one was left without one.

Keenan

"Once we lost to New Jersey 3-2. During the game there was one bad pass to my blind spot to my skates. If it had hit my body I would have been in the hospital. Scott Stevens was lining me up. He would crushed me. I saw him at the last second and let the puck go past me. I could have tried to get it but then I would have been in the hospital.
I scored two goals and lost. Keenan came into the locker room and told that we had an off day tomorrow. My phone rang at 3AM, it was Keenan. He told me to be at the rink at 8AM. I asked, 'What?'. He asked me if I thought had played well. I told him we lost but I had a couple of goals. He told me 'No, no, you're such a p****.' He went through the play on the phone. I was like, okay. Alright. I went to rink and Keenan made my ride the stationary bike for an hour.

Calgary

"Florida was a roller coaster. Coaches changed, GM's change, owners changed. At least I got to play with great players. We were in Toronto during the trade deadline in '04. The lockout was coming and we didn't know if they wanted to keep the team together or blow it up. Keenan had been fired and then everyone of Keenan's played got to leave. I was the only one to stay because the owner wanted to keep me. I was supposed to go to Calgary that year. They had Darryl Sutter, who wanted me. According to my knowledge, the trade had already been done. The GM was willing to do the trade, but the owner didn't want to. Eventually Marcus Nilsson went there.

After requesting for a trade from Florida, Jokinen was finally traded to Phoenix where the coach was Wayne Gretzky. Calgary would have wanted Jokinen again, but the Florida refused to trade Jokinen to a team coached by Keenan.

GM Don Maloney took four or five of the highest paid players into a meeting during the season and said that he can't keep all of us. That meant that it would be a time to make trades since he had no clue what the future might bring. Maloney said, that he could promise a trade to a Playoff team. I raised my hand and said I would be willing to leave. At the time I had already heard that Keenan in Calgary wanted me there. I ended up there at the trade deadline. Since 2003 they had actively tried to get me there.

In Calgary Jokinen made the playoffs for the first time and - before this season - the only time. In the end the biggest disappointment for the team was the players' failed discipline.
"We should have won that series. First we lost in overtime, then by a goal. In both games we had the lead coming into the third period. Fifth game was in Chicago. We went there a couple of days early. Later we found out half the team had been drinking for two days. The sun is shining and the terrace's are open, it was such a big disappointment to hear after the season, that some guys had had something else in mind. Big disappointment for the organisation and the fans. The belief was, that we were going far. Chicago ended up going to the Conference Finals. Then the coach was changed in Calgary. Keenan was fired and Brent Sutter came.

"For half the season we were on the top spots of the conference. Then we had a huge losing streak. Dion Phaneuf always says how he remembers one day when were talking. We probably had seven guys that had No Trace Clauses in their contracts. We played Edmonton on a Saturday and before the game we were taping our sticks with Dion. I told him 'I have a feeling something is going to happen tomorrow.' We had played so bad. I said, look and we'll be the two guys who will be traded. Others couldn't be traded. Dion left the next day and I left two days after.

https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comm...jokinen_talks/

[keenan87]

Fantastic. More players need to do this.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Really interesting stuff, thanks Ben Dover

[Vinny01]

Interesting read thanks.

That game 5 in Chicago was one of the most disappointing games I can remember. That team was supposed to go far

[starseed]

Wow. This is some really cool insight. Can you imagine 2004 with Jokinen? He was not a bad playoff player despite only making the dance once. He had his 89 point season the year after the lockout.

What could have been...

[starseed]

"Darryl called me and said that I should have never been traded. He told me we had this much space in the Salary Cap and gave me a NTC. He asked me back. Said we had unfinished business. I said why not. It had to be the fastest signing that summer. Less than a minute in and we had a contract. I took exactly one call and it took 20 seconds. Maybe a couple of minutes before you were allowed to call. Some sort of respect toward Sutter also helped.

Uh oh... I hope no one is paying attention.

[Ben Dover]

Just another reason to hate Tortorella

With the Rangers, Jokinen played under John Tortorella, who didn't want Jokinen. Instead he wanted to keep Chris Higgins, who had gone to Calgary.

"After the Olympics I played in the fourth line. 'Torts' didn't warm up. I think I played like ten games with minimal minutes. I think I still scored over 50 points that season though. Chris Drury and Henrik Lundqvist came to talk to me. They said the team needs me and they know I won't go to the coach and complain about my ice time. They asked me to go talk with Torts and ask what I could do better. I promised them I would.

Torts was there drawing up something. I asked him if he had a minute. I asked him how I could play more and said that I felt like i could help the team more that way. I added that no one had told me a thing about this since I had come here. I would gladly take feedback if I was doing things wrong. Torts looked at me as if I had two heads. 'There's nothing to be done here,' he said. 'I didn't make the trade and I didn't want you here. You're a good guy but I have never liked your playing style. I wanted to keep Higgins. You can't do anything. You're now here and do that. I don't want more'. I shook his hand and thanked him for being honest.

[AC]

Olli got a bad wrap here, largely due to his inability to find chemistry with Iginla. Yet Iggy has only had chemistry with a handful of players in his career.

McAmmond/Conroy obviously, Huselius/Langkow, Lucic/Krejci.

I understand that Olli didn't live up to all the expectations but I was still a big fan of his here. Can't imagine what could have been if we got him in 2004.

I'm still pissed off at how unprofessional the Fan960 was when we re-signed Jokinen on July 1st.

[starseed]

That is nuts. Tortorella is childish and incompetent. Wish he were still coaching the Canucks.

[mile]

2014-15 Season: Jokinen in the NHL. Torts not in the NHL.

[Dion]

I loved this quote about his time with the Islanders......

We flew commercial. Some days we left on game days to Washington so the team didn't have to pay for hotels the day before. On game trips, we always spent the night in the same city we played in. You know how it ends when you have 23 guys and all of them are between 19 and 25 years old. The rest was history as far as those nights go! We always had a green light to go see sights since the following day was a travel day. Colorful year. I had a good time. Good place."

[CalgaryFan1988]

Wonder who the Flames players are that were out drinking and cost the Flames the Chicago series. Cmon Ollie, spill the beans!!

[jeep991]

Originally Posted by AC

I'm still pissed off at how unprofessional the Fan960 was when we re-signed Jokinen on July 1st.

What happened?

[AC]

When Jokinen was traded to Calgary from Phoenix, ex-NHL player Matthew Barnaby had told stories to the media, how Jokinen was a bad teammate in the NHL.
"Yeah, apparently I was a ####ty guy. Gretzky and my other old teammates' comments that defended me were never released. Maybe in some local Phoenix newspaper they had told that Gretzky said the rumors to be bull####. I don't know where those rumors started. Of course I've played with a lot of guys over the years. Could be, that someone hasn't liked me and he has happened to be Barnaby's friend. Some reporters' reporting is as if they only care about their name becoming known.
Of course it hasn't been gone real well with Barnaby either. There's domestic violence, DUI and being fired from a job.

Love the dig at Barnaby at the end there.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by AC

Olli got a bad wrap here, largely due to his inability to find chemistry with Iginla. Yet Iggy has only had chemistry with a handful of players in his career.

McAmmond/Conroy obviously, Huselius/Langkow, Lucic/Krejci.

I understand that Olli didn't live up to all the expectations but I was still a big fan of his here. Can't imagine what could have been if we got him in 2004.

I'm still pissed off at how unprofessional the Fan960 was when we re-signed Jokinen on July 1st.

Yeah, I liked Olli too. The thing was, he was a goal scorer the same as Iginla and not a setup man like a usual centre. I remember his first game with us was a great game. Like you say the media didn't like him and not just in Calgary.

[Zyronicuz]

Cool insight

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by mile

2014-15 Season: Jokinen in the NHL. Torts not in the NHL.

Yeah but now he's an FA. I wonder if anybody will knock on his door.

[Mathalete]

Olli's always been one of my favourites because he seems to be a genuinely nice guy. While he was with the Predators last season, I shook his hand as I was visiting my cousin in the team area after the game. I probably sounded like a complete tool but he still shook my hand and indulged me.

[debil]

Wow

"Fifth game was in Chicago. We went there a couple of days early. Later we found out half the team had been drinking for two days."

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Originally Posted by debil

Wow

"Fifth game was in Chicago. We went there a couple of days early. Later we found out half the team had been drinking for two days."

I'm trying not to get too mad, and remembering that this is a third party translation and we can't even verify the original interview.. Disturbing if true, and reaffirms my acceptance of a new leadership group