GM: Jukka Tuominen
Coach: Brent Sutter
Last season: Tied for 2nd overall. In playoffs, defeated London; defeated Minsk; defeated Copenhagen; defeated Berlin to win the Cup.
Ins and Outs
(Season 15 to Season 16)
In: Sergei Mozyakin (free agent), Ryan Strome (free agent), Erik Karlsson (free agent), Mikko Lehtonen (free agent), Anthony Mantha (free agent), Nazem Kari (free agent), Kevin Poulin (free agent)
Out: Brendan Gallagher (free agent), Anze Kopitar (free agent), Mathew Dumba (free agent), Charlie Coyle (free agent), Alexander Georgiev (free agent), John Hayden (free agent)
Potential Lineup
Kyle Connor/Sergei Mozyakin/Mikko Lehtonen
Taylor Hall/Tyler Seguin/Brock Boeser
Nazem Kadri/Jonathan Toews/Ryan Strome
Dillon Dube/Jesperi Kotkaniemi/Anthony Mantha
Nerius Alisauskas/Henri Jokiharju
Erik Karlsson/John Carlson
Daniel Fernholm/Noah Dobson
Frederik Andersen/Kevin Poulin
A Question
Can the long-awaited Cup winning party continue? It finally happened. Ever since Finland native Jukka Tuominen took over the Helsinki team, the Jokerit have been among the best teams in the league, barging into the playoffs six times and placing 1st overall in the standings three times. But they never took home the most precious of all hardware until Season 15. That’s when a team of wily veterans won it all. Experience seemed to be the team’s key attribute. Their starting goalie Frederik Andersen was 35 and the top three centers were 33, 37 and 38. This season, a repeat will certainly be possible, despite Andersen’s aging knees and reflexes. Tuominen did well in free agency. How good? His 4th-line right wing is an 81 OV player who could easily make the second line on most teams. The biggest addition might be 33-year-old Sergei Mozyakin, who will be looking for his 7th straight season of 90 or more points. Bidding was heavy on him during free agency and Helsinki finally got him with an offer of $8.9 million. Mikko Lehtonen, a Finnish free agent acquisition, is lined up for a career year as he tries to replace departed Brendan Gallagher as the RW on the top line. Lehtonen scored 64 points last season in Hanover. Longtime Helsinki defenseman and four-time All-Star Nerius Alisauskas leads the defense corps which now has Carlson and Karlsson as a second pair (John and Erik).
Rose’s Focus
“I was talking to Jokerit right wing Brock Boeser the other day – we have a monthly lunch/coaching session – and he slid a little gift box to me and said ‘Thank you.’ I smiled and said ‘I’m a giver,’ before taking the box. I knew he was referring to Helsinki’s signing of Mikko Lehtonen. I told him, ‘Once I suggested a Finnish guy, I knew Jukka would go for it.’ Early indications are that Lehtonen will play on the top line ahead of Boeser on the right wing. You see, Boeser wanted to stay on the Jokerits’ second line and he asked me to help him stay there, where he has averaged 78 points per season for the last four years. Two seasons ago, he scored 47 goals as a second-liner. ‘I didn’t want what happened to KC (Kyle Connor) to happen to me,’ Boeser told me. Connor and Boeser were great together as second line wingers. Connor scored 83 points per season during that time. But last season, when he was promoted to the top line and 27 minutes per game, Connor’s point total shrank to 71 points. His 22 goals were 5 less than he scored when he played 14 minutes per game back in Season 11. If you look at the photo the team posed for after winning the Cup a few months ago, you will notice Connor was the only one not smiling. Boeser’s smile was gorgeous, not that I am attracted to his good looks. Another season on the second line should mean Boeser’s smile will remain that way.”
