We covered a trade on Saturday that helped bring a core piece of the 2009 team to the Hurricanes, so let's talk about another with this one. In early February 2009, the group was locked into a tight battle for a playoff spot, and their offense was near the bottom of the conference. Looking to add some scoring, the team turned within their division for a little help.
About a month before the trade deadline, the Hurricanes sent forward Wade Brookbank, defenseman Josef Melichar, and a 4th-round pick in 2009 to the Bolts to acquire young forward Jussi Jokinen. Jokinen hadn't scored much that season, scoring 16 points in 46 games, but the Canes appeared confident that he could find the same touch he had with Dallas in his rookie year.
The Lightning finished in the basement of the Southeast Division and collected the second-fewest points in the Eastern Conference. Melichar played 24 games with Tampa Bay, finishing with five assists. Brookbank never played a game for the Bolts, as he was assigned to the AHL. After leaving the Canes, he spent the rest of his career playing in the minor leagues.
The pick the Hurricanes traded had its own interesting journey. A month after this deal, Tampa Bay traded the pick to Toronto in a package that also sent Olaf Kolzig to Toronto. The Maple Leafs were stripped of the pick for circumventing the CBA when signing Swedish defender Jonas Frogren. Based on this alone, this was a slam-dunk victory for the Hurricanes.
Jokinen's 2009 postseason heroics are the stuff of legend
While Jokinen's numbers after the trade didn't improve much (1-10-11 in 25 games), the Hurricanes rode an excellent final two months to the sixth spot in the conference. During the conference quarterfinal matchup, the Canes met the New Jersey Devils, a more than familiar foe for the team over the last decade. Over the next seven games, Jokinen gave the Devils fits.
It all started in Game 4. Jokinen redirected Dennis Seidenberg's shot with his skate past Martin Brodeur as time expired to even the series and avoid a disaster after blowing a 3-0 lead. Brodeur was incensed after the goal, feeling Jokinen interfered with him. I'll always assert that Brodeur initiated contact a mile above the crease, so he had no room to complain and throw a fit.
After adding a goal in Game 6, Jokinen netted the game-tying goal in Game 7, scoring with 1:20 left in regulation to knot things at two before Eric Staal's series winner. Jokinen finished tied for second in goals (3), but it was about the timeliness of those markers as the Canes completed the upset in the opening round.
Not to be outdone, Jokinen continued his heroic ways against Boston in the next round. Jokinen scored the overtime winner in Game 3, knocking home a rebound to give the Canes a 2-1 series lead. He followed it up by dropping a three-point performance in Game 4. Jokinen finished the run with the second-most goals (7) and tied for the second-most points (11) on the team.
His incredible postseason earned him a stay in Raleigh
Instead of testing free agency, the Canes signed Jokinen to a two-year extension after the postseason, keeping him around for a little longer. How did he reward the team? By putting together the best season of his career. In 2009-10, Jokinen notched the only 30-goal campaign of his career and set a career mark with 65 points.
After another 50-point season the following year, the Hurricanes extended Jokinen, again. This time, it was a three-year agreement. This is where our happy story takes a detour. Jokinen was good in 2011-12, scoring 12 goals and 46 points, but he was placed on waivers in March 2013 before being traded to the Penguins in April.
Jokinen played well for the Penguins and added another 60-point season with the Panthers a few years later. Jokinen's NHL career concluded in 2017-18, when he played for four teams throughout the season. Across 13 seasons, Jokinen played 951 games, scored 191 goals, and finished with 563 points, 185 of which came with the Carolina Hurricanes.
While there have been playoff runs that featured players scoring more points, there are few who were as clutch as Jussi Jokinen was in 2009. Against New Jersey and Boston, Jokinen did more than just step up in the big moments. He blasted through them to help the team make a deep run. He'll always be one of my favorite Hurricanes.