While North Americans celebrate the Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend, the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame just inducted its Class of 2024, which included former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jussi Jokinen.
The 13-year NHL veteran played a season and a half in Pittsburgh, scoring 28 goals and 68 points in 91 games. He came to the organization in a trade from the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations on Apr. 3, 2013.
Jokinen played 951 NHL games with nine franchises, scoring 191 goals and 563 points. However, he’s most fondly remembered as a shootout specialist, with 37 career goals and 27 game-winners.
Besides being a one-time 30-goal scorer, Jokinen had his second-best NHL season with the Penguins in 2013-14, scoring 21 goals and 57 points. Eventually, he departed as a free agent on July 1, 2014, signing with the Florida Panthers.
Despite not finding any team success in the NHL, Jokinen was very successful in Finland, winning two Liiga championships and two silver medals as runner-up. Additionally, he captured three World Championship bronze medals plus an Olympic silver and bronze while representing his home country.
Other inductees into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame included Jarmo Kekäläinen, former general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Pekka Rinne, the winningest goalie in Nashville Predators history. Three other inductees included Jari Levonen, Markku Tuominen, and Lasse Kukkonen, a veteran of 159 NHL games.
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