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Somebody posted this on reddit and took the time to translate it from a Finnish article. It's pretty long, but some of the juicy and NHL related stores are below:
Playing for the Islanders amid their financial troubles
Quote:
It was a pretty catastrophical season. I left LA, where everything was taken care of to a team where they counted even the meals. Before a trip, they asked whether you wanted to eat chicken or fish. We thought, 'What the hell is this'? If you ate chicken, you got one chicken breast for lunch. If fish, you got one fillet of fish. If 15 guys took chicken, there was going to be 15 chicken breasts. If someone took two, one was left without one.
Keenan
Quote:
"Once we lost to New Jersey 3-2. During the game there was one bad pass to my blind spot to my skates. If it had hit my body I would have been in the hospital. Scott Stevens was lining me up. He would crushed me. I saw him at the last second and let the puck go past me. I could have tried to get it but then I would have been in the hospital.
I scored two goals and lost. Keenan came into the locker room and told that we had an off day tomorrow. My phone rang at 3AM, it was Keenan. He told me to be at the rink at 8AM. I asked, 'What?'. He asked me if I thought had played well. I told him we lost but I had a couple of goals. He told me 'No, no, you're such a p****.' He went through the play on the phone. I was like, okay. Alright. I went to rink and Keenan made my ride the stationary bike for an hour.
Calgary
Quote:
"Florida was a roller coaster. Coaches changed, GM's change, owners changed. At least I got to play with great players. We were in Toronto during the trade deadline in '04. The lockout was coming and we didn't know if they wanted to keep the team together or blow it up. Keenan had been fired and then everyone of Keenan's played got to leave. I was the only one to stay because the owner wanted to keep me. I was supposed to go to Calgary that year. They had Darryl Sutter, who wanted me. According to my knowledge, the trade had already been done. The GM was willing to do the trade, but the owner didn't want to. Eventually Marcus Nilsson went there.
Quote:
After requesting for a trade from Florida, Jokinen was finally traded to Phoenix where the coach was Wayne Gretzky. Calgary would have wanted Jokinen again, but the Florida refused to trade Jokinen to a team coached by Keenan.
GM Don Maloney took four or five of the highest paid players into a meeting during the season and said that he can't keep all of us. That meant that it would be a time to make trades since he had no clue what the future might bring. Maloney said, that he could promise a trade to a Playoff team. I raised my hand and said I would be willing to leave. At the time I had already heard that Keenan in Calgary wanted me there. I ended up there at the trade deadline. Since 2003 they had actively tried to get me there.
Quote:
In Calgary Jokinen made the playoffs for the first time and - before this season - the only time. In the end the biggest disappointment for the team was the players' failed discipline.
"We should have won that series. First we lost in overtime, then by a goal. In both games we had the lead coming into the third period. Fifth game was in Chicago. We went there a couple of days early. Later we found out half the team had been drinking for two days. The sun is shining and the terrace's are open, it was such a big disappointment to hear after the season, that some guys had had something else in mind. Big disappointment for the organisation and the fans. The belief was, that we were going far. Chicago ended up going to the Conference Finals. Then the coach was changed in Calgary. Keenan was fired and Brent Sutter came.
Quote:
"For half the season we were on the top spots of the conference. Then we had a huge losing streak. Dion Phaneuf always says how he remembers one day when were talking. We probably had seven guys that had No Trace Clauses in their contracts. We played Edmonton on a Saturday and before the game we were taping our sticks with Dion. I told him 'I have a feeling something is going to happen tomorrow.' We had played so bad. I said, look and we'll be the two guys who will be traded. Others couldn't be traded. Dion left the next day and I left two days after.
Torts
With the Rangers, Jokinen played under John Tortorella, who didn't want Jokinen. Instead he wanted to keep Chris Higgins, who had gone to Calgary.
"After the Olympics I played in the fourth line. 'Torts' didn't warm up. I think I played like ten games with minimal minutes. I think I still scored over 50 points that season though. Chris Drury and Henrik Lundqvist came to talk to me. They said the team needs me and they know I won't go to the coach and complain about my ice time. They asked me to go talk with Torts and ask what I could do better. I promised them I would.
Torts was there drawing up something. I asked him if he had a minute. I asked him how I could play more and said that I felt like i could help the team more that way. I added that no one had told me a thing about this since I had come here. I would gladly take feedback if I was doing things wrong. Torts looked at me as if I had two heads. 'There's nothing to be done here,' he said. 'I didn't make the trade and I didn't want you here. You're a good guy but I have never liked your playing style. I wanted to keep Higgins. You can't do anything. You're now here and do that. I don't want more'. I shook his hand and thanked him for being honest.
A misunderstood Chief's diary - Olli Jokinen talks about his career (Finnish article, translated quotes) : hockey
Playing for the Islanders amid their financial troubles
Quote:
It was a pretty catastrophical season. I left LA, where everything was taken care of to a team where they counted even the meals. Before a trip, they asked whether you wanted to eat chicken or fish. We thought, 'What the hell is this'? If you ate chicken, you got one chicken breast for lunch. If fish, you got one fillet of fish. If 15 guys took chicken, there was going to be 15 chicken breasts. If someone took two, one was left without one.
Keenan
Quote:
"Once we lost to New Jersey 3-2. During the game there was one bad pass to my blind spot to my skates. If it had hit my body I would have been in the hospital. Scott Stevens was lining me up. He would crushed me. I saw him at the last second and let the puck go past me. I could have tried to get it but then I would have been in the hospital.
I scored two goals and lost. Keenan came into the locker room and told that we had an off day tomorrow. My phone rang at 3AM, it was Keenan. He told me to be at the rink at 8AM. I asked, 'What?'. He asked me if I thought had played well. I told him we lost but I had a couple of goals. He told me 'No, no, you're such a p****.' He went through the play on the phone. I was like, okay. Alright. I went to rink and Keenan made my ride the stationary bike for an hour.
Calgary
Quote:
"Florida was a roller coaster. Coaches changed, GM's change, owners changed. At least I got to play with great players. We were in Toronto during the trade deadline in '04. The lockout was coming and we didn't know if they wanted to keep the team together or blow it up. Keenan had been fired and then everyone of Keenan's played got to leave. I was the only one to stay because the owner wanted to keep me. I was supposed to go to Calgary that year. They had Darryl Sutter, who wanted me. According to my knowledge, the trade had already been done. The GM was willing to do the trade, but the owner didn't want to. Eventually Marcus Nilsson went there.
Quote:
After requesting for a trade from Florida, Jokinen was finally traded to Phoenix where the coach was Wayne Gretzky. Calgary would have wanted Jokinen again, but the Florida refused to trade Jokinen to a team coached by Keenan.
GM Don Maloney took four or five of the highest paid players into a meeting during the season and said that he can't keep all of us. That meant that it would be a time to make trades since he had no clue what the future might bring. Maloney said, that he could promise a trade to a Playoff team. I raised my hand and said I would be willing to leave. At the time I had already heard that Keenan in Calgary wanted me there. I ended up there at the trade deadline. Since 2003 they had actively tried to get me there.
Quote:
In Calgary Jokinen made the playoffs for the first time and - before this season - the only time. In the end the biggest disappointment for the team was the players' failed discipline.
"We should have won that series. First we lost in overtime, then by a goal. In both games we had the lead coming into the third period. Fifth game was in Chicago. We went there a couple of days early. Later we found out half the team had been drinking for two days. The sun is shining and the terrace's are open, it was such a big disappointment to hear after the season, that some guys had had something else in mind. Big disappointment for the organisation and the fans. The belief was, that we were going far. Chicago ended up going to the Conference Finals. Then the coach was changed in Calgary. Keenan was fired and Brent Sutter came.
Quote:
"For half the season we were on the top spots of the conference. Then we had a huge losing streak. Dion Phaneuf always says how he remembers one day when were talking. We probably had seven guys that had No Trace Clauses in their contracts. We played Edmonton on a Saturday and before the game we were taping our sticks with Dion. I told him 'I have a feeling something is going to happen tomorrow.' We had played so bad. I said, look and we'll be the two guys who will be traded. Others couldn't be traded. Dion left the next day and I left two days after.
Torts
With the Rangers, Jokinen played under John Tortorella, who didn't want Jokinen. Instead he wanted to keep Chris Higgins, who had gone to Calgary.
"After the Olympics I played in the fourth line. 'Torts' didn't warm up. I think I played like ten games with minimal minutes. I think I still scored over 50 points that season though. Chris Drury and Henrik Lundqvist came to talk to me. They said the team needs me and they know I won't go to the coach and complain about my ice time. They asked me to go talk with Torts and ask what I could do better. I promised them I would.
Torts was there drawing up something. I asked him if he had a minute. I asked him how I could play more and said that I felt like i could help the team more that way. I added that no one had told me a thing about this since I had come here. I would gladly take feedback if I was doing things wrong. Torts looked at me as if I had two heads. 'There's nothing to be done here,' he said. 'I didn't make the trade and I didn't want you here. You're a good guy but I have never liked your playing style. I wanted to keep Higgins. You can't do anything. You're now here and do that. I don't want more'. I shook his hand and thanked him for being honest.
A misunderstood Chief's diary - Olli Jokinen talks about his career (Finnish article, translated quotes) : hockey
