Olli Jokinen said he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he found out the Calgary Flames had acquired him at the trade deadline.
“It’s a fresh start,” said Jokinen, who notched 21 goals and 21 assists in 57 games with the Phoenix Coyotes this season. “It’s a good feeling right now.”
The Flames sent forwards Matthew Lombardi and Brandon Prust along with a conditional first-round draft pick in 2009 or 2010 to Phoenix in exchange for Jokinen and a third-round pick in 2009.
In addition, general manager Darryl Sutter re-acquired defenceman Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche without having to give up a player on his current roster.
“It’s what we wanted,” said Sutter, who also broke news that Todd Bertuzzi will be out of the lineup for about a month after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday.
“We wanted to get a centreman and we wanted to get a defenceman. We knew we were going to have to pay a price.”
Jokinen has played an NHL-record 780 games without a single post-season appearance and he’s looking forward to ending that drought.
“It’s very exciting,” said the six-foot-three, 215-pound native of Kuopio, Finland. “To get a chance to play for a hockey market and play for a team like Calgary, it’s like a dream come true.”
Meanwhile, Leopold is excited to return to a team he helped guide to within one victory of hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2004.
“I’m excited to be back,” said the six-foot, 205-pound blue-liner, who put up six goals and 14 assists in 64 games with the Avalanche this season.
“I’m thrilled to have the chance to come to a contender and be able to compete with the top teams in the West.”
Other notable deals
• The Pittsburgh Penguins added forward Bill Guerin from the New York Islanders for a conditional draft pick.
• The Phoenix Coyotes sent Derek Morris to the New York Rangers for fellow defenceman Dmitri Kalinin and forwards Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes.
• The Boston Bruins got forward Mark Recchi and defenceman Steve Montador.
• The Los Angeles Kings traded Patrick O’Sullivan to the Hurricanes, who turned around and sent O’Sullivan and a draft pick to the Edmonton Oilers for Erik Cole.
