| Joni Pitkänen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Pitkänen with theCarolina Hurricanes in 2009 | |||
| Born | (1983-09-19)19 September 1983 (age 42) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Oulun Kärpät Philadelphia Flyers Edmonton Oilers Carolina Hurricanes | ||
| National team |  Finland | ||
| NHL draft | 4th overall,2002 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Playing career | 2000–2016 | ||
Joni Pitkänen (born 19 September 1983) is aFinnish former professionalice hockeydefenceman who played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for thePhiladelphia Flyers,Edmonton Oilers, andCarolina Hurricanes.
Pitkänen started his pro hockey career in theKärpät organization in the FinnishSM-liiga. After three seasons there he crossed the Atlantic to play for thePhiladelphia Flyers, who drafted him in the2002 NHL Entry Draft with their first round draft pick (fourth overall). After a good opening season that saw Pitkänen cement his place on the team lineup, where he was ranked second among NHL rookies with 12 powerplay assists and 17 powerplay points, he played for thePhiladelphia Phantoms during the2004–05 NHL lockout when the team won theCalder Cup. When the NHL resumed in2005, Pitkänen returned to the Flyers and became the team's top-scoring defenseman, recording 46 points in 58 games. However, he was hampered by injuries during the second half of the season.
When Pitkänen came to the United States to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, he hardly spoke a word ofEnglish, so teammate and fellow FinnSami Kapanen translated for him, and eventually taught him English.
On 14 July 2006, Pitkänen signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Philadelphia.[1] A key member of the Flyers' powerplay unit, Pitkänen was tied for second in powerplay scoring in 2006–07 with 18 points and led Philadelphia with 17 powerplay assists. The 23-year-old defenseman led in ice time in each of the last two seasons with Philadelphia.
Pitkänen was ranked among the NHL’s top 25 defensemen in scoring in each of the first two seasons following the2004–05 NHL lockout. His 43 points in 2006–07 ranked him 22nd, while his career-high 46 points in 2005–06 placed him 19th. He was also among the 2006–07 NHL blueline leaders in assists (16th) and ice time (20th with 24:32 minutes per-game).
On 1 July 2007, Pitkänen was traded to theEdmonton Oilers along withGeoff Sanderson and a third round draft choice in the2009 NHL Entry Draft in exchange forJason Smith andJoffrey Lupul. On 20 July 2007, Pitkänen signed a one-year contract with the Oilers. With the Oilers, Pitkänen scored 26 points in 63 games.
On 1 July 2008, Pitkänen was traded to theCarolina Hurricanes in exchange forErik Cole.[2] On 2 July 2008, Pitkänen signed a three-year, $12 million contract with theCarolina Hurricanes as a restricted free agent.[3]
On April 2, 2013, during a contest with theWashington Capitals, Pitkänen suffered an injury to his heel following a race to reach aniced puck.[4] The following year the NHL would change the icing rules to usehybrid icing to help avoid similar incidents.[5]
The injury he received caused Pitkänen to miss entire2013-14 season, his last under contract to the Hurricanes.[6]
In early December 2014 it was reported that Pitkänen had started light training withOulun Kärpät of the FinnishLiiga, skating for the first time since his injury.[7]
On February 5, 2016, it was announced that Pitkänen had signed a deal withOulun Kärpät for the rest of the season. He played his first game in almost three years on February 6 againstKalPa.[8] On February 25, 2016, Pitkänen announced he would retire once more from ice-hockey after playing three games withOulun Kärpät.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–2000 | Kärpät | FIN U18 | 36 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Kärpät | FIN U20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Kärpät | FIN U20 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Kärpät | SM-l | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Kärpät | FIN U20 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Kärpät | SM-l | 49 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 65 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2002–03 | Kärpät | SM-l | 35 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 71 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 44 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Philadelphia Phantoms | AHL | 76 | 6 | 35 | 41 | 105 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | ||
| 2005–06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 58 | 13 | 33 | 46 | 78 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 77 | 4 | 39 | 43 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 63 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 71 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 58 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 16 | ||
| 2009–10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 71 | 6 | 40 | 46 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 72 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 30 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 22 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Kärpät | Liiga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 108 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 115 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||||
| NHL totals | 535 | 57 | 225 | 282 | 484 | 39 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 24 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sice hockey | ||
| Representing Finland | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 2010 Vancouver | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| 2002 Pardubice | |
| 2003 Nova Scotia | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Finland | U18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2002 | Finland | WJC |  | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2003 | Finland | WJC | | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Finland | OG | | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 29 | |
| Junior totals | 18 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 29 | ||||
| Preceded by | Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick 2002 | Succeeded by |