Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust are on their way to the New York Rangers after all, in exchange for wingers Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins.
Rumours of a possible deal began circulating around the web Sunday evening but Calgary hesitated to pull the trigger because of a crucial game at home the next night against Philadelphia.
Jokinen and Prust, undoubtedly, would've heard their names being tossed around in a possible trade but were asked to suit up anyway. Trade rumours are nothing new in the NHL and there's a possibility the deal could have fell through although unlikely. There's no point leaking the names beforehand, especially if Jokinen or Prust got hurt. That part is unfair to both the players and to the New York Rangers, their rumoured destination. Jokinen ended up playing 15 minutes, Prust seven, in a 3-0 loss to the Flyers.
Enough was enough. Soon after the game, the deal was finalized and the two players were gone, sent packing to New York City.
The Jokinen-Iginla Experiment is Over in Cowtown
The Flames essentially gave up on Jokinen, the team's first big name centre in years who was supposed to be the primary setup man for Jarome Iginla, and sent him to the Big Apple in hopes to revive his career. For whatever reason, Jokinen and Iginla didn't click. But at the same time, as elite of a player as Iginla is, not many players seem to dominate alongside him.
The 6-foot-3, 215 lb. Jokinen was drafted third overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1997 and took years to develop into a surefire NHL player. Thought to be a bust after just two seasons, the Kings shipped Jokinen to the New York Islanders, who, after one year, flipped him to the Sunshine State (Florida), where his career subsequently took off. His first two years with the Panthers looked like the same old story, he averaged just 23 points in 79 games. But in year three, Jokinen broke out and in a big way, notching 36 goals and 65 points in 81 games. That began Jokinen's streak of six straight years with 25 goals or more. Up until this year, that is, where Jokinen is on pace for just 15.
The Jokinen Experiment certainly didn't go as planned with just 11 goals and 35 points this year. Picked up at last season's trading deadline from Phoenix, Jokinen technically played one full season in Calgary, tallying 19 goals and 50 points in 74 games. Hardly numbers able to justify earning $5-plus million this year.
After years of futility on small market NHL teams, Jokinen got his first breath of post-season experience last year with Calgary. First playoff appearance, first round exit as the up-and-coming Chicago Blackhawks dismantled the Flames in six games. Jokinen recorded two goals and three assists in the series.
A Deal of Spare Parts for Two Struggling Teams As of Late
In Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins, Calgary picks up two largely, ineffective players. Kotalik is in the first year of a hefty three-year, $9-million deal and has seen a lot of press box duty this season under Rangers coach John Tortorella. Pegged solely as a power play specialist, the 31-year-old Kotalik has 8 goals and 22 points in 45 games. He is miserable defensively as his minus-18 rating can attest to.
Higgins, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, was also in his first season in New York after five in Montreal. A three-time 20-goal scorer with the Canadiens, Higgins struggled mightily with the Rangers, posting just 14 points and a minus-8 rating in 54 games.
Popular enforcer Brandon Prust, second in the NHL with 18 fights, is earning a very reasonable $500k this season, just above the league minimum and should help the Rangers in the toughness department.
Winner: New York.
The Rangers could do no wrong here, adding the best player in the trade, albeit a struggling one, while freeing up valuable money this summer.
Flames GM Darryl Sutter pulled off a confusing one here. Jokinen and Higgins are both UFA's at the end of the year but Calgary is stuck with Kotalik's fat contract, $3 million annually for the next two years.
What on earth was he thinking? Unless Sutter has a trick up his sleeve and there are more moves on the horizon.
Thomas Cranston - Thomas Cranston is a graduate of the Journalism (Print) program at Durham College (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada). He is passionate about a wide ...
