Joni Pitkänen

Joni Pitkänen
Born (1983-09-19) 19 September 1983
Oulu, Finland
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Oulun Kärpät
Philadelphia Flyers
Edmonton Oilers
Carolina Hurricanes
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 4th overall, 2002
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2000–2016

Joni Pitkänen (born 19 September 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and Carolina Hurricanes.

Playing career

Pitkänen started his pro hockey career in the Kärpät organization in the Finnish SM-liiga. After three seasons there he crossed the Atlantic to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft with their first round draft pick (fourth overall). After a good opening season that saw Pitkänen cement his place on the team lineup, he played for the Philadelphia Phantoms during the 2004–05 NHL lockout when the team won the Calder Cup. When the NHL resumed in 2005, Pitkänen returned to the Flyers and became the team's top-scoring defenseman, recording 46 points in 58 games. However, he was hampered by injuries during the second half of the season.

When Joni Pitkänen came to the United States to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, he hardly spoke a word of English, so teammate and fellow Finn Sami Kapanen translated for him, and eventually taught him English.

On 14 July 2006, Pitkänen signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Philadelphia.[1] A key member of the Flyers' powerplay unit, Pitkänen was tied for second in powerplay scoring in 2006–07 with 1–17–18 and led Philadelphia in powerplay assists. During his rookie season, Pitkänen was ranked second among NHL rookies in powerplay points (5–12–17) and powerplay assists. The 23-year-old defenseman led in ice time in each of the last two seasons with Philadelphia.

Pitkänen was ranked among the NHL’s top 25 defensemen in scoring in each of the first two seasons following the 2004–05 NHL lockout. His 43 points in 2006–07 ranked him 22nd, while his career-high 13–33–46 in 2005–06 placed him 19th. He was also among the 2006–07 NHL blueline leaders in assists (16th) and ice time (20th with 24:32 minutes per-game).

On 1 July 2007, Pitkänen was traded to the Edmonton Oilers along with Geoff Sanderson and a third round draft choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul. On 20 July 2007, Pitkänen signed a one-year contract with the Oilers. With the Oilers, Pitkänen scored 8-18-26 in 63 games.

On 1 July 2008, Pitkänen was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Erik Cole.[2] On 2 July 2008, Pitkänen signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes as a restricted free agent.[3]

Pitkänen missed the entire 2013-14 season, his last under contract to the Hurricanes, with a broken heel.[4]

In early December 2014 it was reported that Pitkänen had started light training with Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga, skating for the first time since his injury.[5]

On February 5, 2016, it was announced that Pitkänen had signed a deal with Oulun Kärpät for the rest of the season. He played his first game in almost three years on February 6 against KalPa.[6] On February 25, 2016, Pitkanen announced he would retire once more from ice-hockey after playing three games with Oulun Kärpät.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1998–99 Kärpät Fin-Jr. 30 1 5 6 12 — — — — —
1999–00 Kärpät Fin-Jr. 38 12 14 26 26 6 1 4 5 2
2000–01 Kärpät Fin-Jr. 24 6 11 17 77 — — — — —
2000–01 Kärpät SM-l 21 0 0 0 10 2 0 0 0 2
2001–02 Kärpät Fin-Jr. — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2001–02 Kärpät SM-l 49 4 15 19 65 4 0 0 0 12
2002–03 Kärpät SM-l 35 5 15 20 38 — — — — —
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 8 19 27 44 15 0 3 3 6
2004–05 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 76 6 35 41 105 21 3 4 7 16
2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 58 13 33 46 78 6 0 2 2 2
2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 4 39 43 88 — — — — —
2007–08 Edmonton Oilers NHL 63 8 18 26 56 — — — — —
2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 71 7 26 33 58 18 0 8 8 16
2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 71 6 40 46 72 — — — — —
2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 72 5 30 35 60 — — — — —
2011–12 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 30 5 12 17 16 — — — — —
2012–13 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 22 1 8 9 12 — — — — —
2015–16 Kärpät Liiga 3 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 535 57 225 282 484 39 0 13 13 24

International

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
2010 Vancouver
World Junior Championships
2002 Pardubice
2003 Nova Scotia
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2001 Finland 5-Nations 4 0 2 2 6
2002 Finland WJC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 3 4 0
2003 Finland WJC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 5 6 0
2010 Finland OG 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 5 1 2 3 29
Junior totals 18 2 8 10 6
Senior totals 5 1 2 3 29

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Defensman Pitkanen re-signs for one year with Flyers". ESPN.com. 2006-07-14. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  2. ↑ "Oilers bring in Cole, Brule with pair of trades". TSN. 2008-07-01.
  3. ↑ "Canes Sign Defenseman Joni Pitkanen". Carolina Hurricanes. 2008-07-02. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19.
  4. ↑ "joni Pitkanen hopes to resume career". National Hockey League. 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  5. ↑ "Miltä paluu luistimille on tuntunut pitkän tauon jälkeen, Joni Pitkänen?, (How is the return to the skates after such a long pause, Joni Pitkänen?)". Kaleva.fi. 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
  6. ↑ "Joni Pitkänen tekee paluun lauantaina - "Haluan pelata CHL:n loppuottelussa", (Joni Pitkänen returns on saturday - "I want to play in the CHL final")". Kaleva.fi. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
Preceded by
Jeff Woywitka		 Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick
2002		 Succeeded by
Jeff Carter
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