Jokinen Returning to Calgary
It seemed that the relationship between Olli Jokinen and the Calgary Flames had ended after the team traded him to the New York Rangers 56 games into last season, but Jokinen is now back for another chance at redemption in Calgary.
Jokinen played 75 games in Calgary over the span of two seasons, but was largely unproductive. When General Manager Darryl Sutter shipped him to New York on Feb. 1, it was of little surprise to anyone who watched Jokinen struggle to produce for the Western Canadian team. However, few expected Jokinen to be inking a brand new deal worth $6 million over two years, just a mere five months later.
Given Jokinen’s production woes at Calgary, fan reaction to his return has been mixed. Sutter was uncomfortable when asked about it, but had this to say: "The reaction has been really, really positive ... from people that are important."
The reason Jokinen will be suiting up for the Flames again stems from his drop in value and the Flames signing another former player, Alex Tanguay. Tanguay played for the Flames between 2006 and 2008, and was signed to a one-year deal on Thursday. Jokinen’s contract with the Flames will be paying him $2 million per year less than what he was earning during his first disappointing stint with the team.
With these new signings, Sutter expects the Flames to have an effective top-line of Jokinen, Tanguay, and Jarome Iginla.
When discussing the returns of the two ex-Flames, Sutter said: "I think when we traded him, we said that if we could get him at a number that worked for us, we'd pursue it again.”
"It wasn't just Olli. It was Olli and Tangs that was important. After discussing it with the players, Jarome and Olli, what they felt they missed was the play-maker with them and certainly Tanguay is capable of that."
Tanguay and Jokinen have both shown the ability to be top-class players earlier in their careers, but have both struggled as of late. After putting up a career-high 81 points in 2006-07 with the Flames, Tanguay’s point totals have been 58, 41 and 37 over the past three seasons, each of which has been spent on a different team.
Similarly, Jokinen had a meagre 50 points last season even though he had not had less than 58 since the 2003-04 season. He had also steadily improved early in his career, but has stalled since peaking at 91 points in 2006-07.
Sutter does not think that Jokinen is a lost cause despite his dwindling production. "We really missed him," Sutter said. "The biggest gap we had in our line-up after we traded Olli was his size and speed in the middle. From a point production standpoint, his assists are where you want them to be, but his goal scoring wasn't."
He also thinks that will be remedied with the addition of a player like Tanguay. Despite Jokinen’s trade last season, Sutter says: "We think that it quite honestly did work and it was probably not being able to get that other position player there such as Alex. They tie together."
The Flames also need Jokinen to fill the void left by the bizarre neck injury sustained by their centre Daymond Langkow. Langkow took a slap-shot to his neck after falling during a game last season and his availability for next season remains uncertain. According to Sutter: "It's still an issue. We are 100 days post-injury and we thought he'd be further along than he was and he's still not. He's probably in that 60 percent area. So, I know we're 100 days away, but it's still a concern.”
The Flames have shown Jokinen and Tanguay that they haven’t given up on them, unlike most NHL analysts, and this good faith might just be rewarded with good play from players who were once renowned for their abilities to produce points.
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