If this comes to pass it’s utterly remarkable that a player with 568 points in 881 NHL contests has somehow alienated every remaining team for which he has not yet dressed. How is this even possible? No one will take a chance on Olli Jokinen?
A free agent come July 1st, there’s not a chance in Heaven or Edmonton that he’d receive anything close to the $5.5M he was granted by former Panthers GM Mike Keenan in 2006, a deal no one questioned as being anything other than fair considering his numbers in Florida to that point. And now? After a season capped by 15 goals, the Rangers are only too happy to show him the door. If the KHL wants to toss gobs of cash his way then by all means, more power to him; he’s not worth anything north of (a very charitable) $3M per on these shores.
Really a rather tragic downfall. The guy’s only 31 years old; by all measures he should be nailing home 30+ goal seasons for the next half decade in North America. For whatever reasons, it just isn’t working for him any longer, so it’s off to the KHL’s Dynamo Minsk alongside such noted talents as Duvie Westcott and Jeff Platt. Best of luck, bro.
UPDATE: GR at On Frozen Pond offers up a rebuttal of sorts:
Surprised Olli’s reportedly heading east?
| Yes | 16 |
| No | 36 |