Every team has its heroes and underrated superstars. Olli Jokinen is both for the Florida Panthers.
Here at The Rat Trick, we have praised the likes of Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau for their on-ice contributions. At the end of the day, it only makes sense as they will undoubtedly take over as the all-time point leaders in Florida Panthers history next season.
What seems to fly under the radar is the footprint that the current franchise point leader – Olli Jokinen – left on Florida’s hockey market. With that in mind, let’s look back on Jokinen’s record-breaking tenure with the Cats.
It all started with probably the best trade in franchise history. Jokinen was packaged with Roberto Luongo and sent from the New York Islanders to South Florida in exchange for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha at the 2000 NHL Draft.
Parrish and Kvasha had a few respectable years in the league after the trade, but compared to the impact of Jokinen and Luongo in Florida, Islander fans must have been distraught.
Jokinen’s first two years with the Panthers were rough. In fact, his first five years in the league were underwhelming. After being selected by the Los Angeles Kings 3rd overall in the 1997 Draft, people around the hockey world were beginning to consider him a bust as he struggled to find his stride.
Finally, in 2002-03, the Finnish forward would take the next step in his development.
In a 2002 article by Kevin Allen of USA Today, he describes how the relationship between Jokinen and former Panthers coach Mike Keenan helped to boost his confidence and find his game. Keenan began trusting him in all zones. He had him playing on the power play, the penalty kill and gave him a ton off ice-time.
As it turns out, this is just what Jokinen needed to flourish.
The 6’3″ Finnish forward led the way for Florida’s offense for five straight seasons from 2002-2008. He was just the second player in franchise history to eclipse the 90-point mark (first was Pavel Bure) and remains one of four Panther players to achieve such an accomplishment.
To this day, Jokinen is one of just four Finnish players to reach 90 or more points (others include: Jari Kurri, Teemu Selanne, and Aleksander Barkov) solidifying him as one of the greatest Finns of all time.
You may be reading this and thinking “Okay cool, he had a couple of good years in Florida. What’s the big deal?” The thing is, Jokinen was basically a one-man show with the Cats.
2005-06 was his true breakout year as he scored 89 points on a team with very little support. Second place in Panthers scoring that year was Joe Nieuwendyk with just 56 points.
Contrast that with the performance of Florida’s most recent Finnish superstar, Aleksander Barkov, and it helps to put things into perspective.
Barkov’s 96 points, while impressive, came on a team with Huberdeau, Hoffman, and Dadonov making up the most offensively gifted Panthers team ever. Jokinen had to put the entire team on his back and carry the load offensively.
Sadly, as a result of coaching instability and a lack of depth, Florida failed to reach the postseason during Jokinen’s time with the team.
The Panthers opted to trade their Finnish captain to the Phoenix Coyotes at the 2008 NHL Draft in exchange for Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton, and a second-round pick.
Jokinen left the franchise as the all-time leader in points (419), goals (188), game-winning goals (36) and games played as team captain (328).
After an impressive 17-year career and 1,231 games played, Jokinen decided to retire in 2015. His 567 games played in a Panthers sweater were the most he ever played for one single franchise.
Despite having played his final game for the Cats over ten years ago, Jokinen’s impact in South Florida lives on today. He resides in Parkland and runs the South Florida Hockey Academy (SFHA) with other former NHLers: Tomas Vokoun, Radek Dvorak, and Sergei Krivokrasov.
The fact that the man is the franchise leader in so many categories and continues to grow the game in the sunshine state is impressive. He was featured in last season’s Legacy Saturdays celebrations to recognize his time with the team which was nice to see. However, the fact still remains, Olli Jokinen is underrated.
With Barkov now in his prime and ready to take down Jokinen’s franchise records, it only seems fair to look back on Jokinen’s time with the Cats to give him the credit he deserves.