Jokinen Works Hard While Flames Cool Off
March 16, 2009 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under Calgary Flames, Fan Fare, NHL, Players
As far as trades are concerned, Olli Jokinen is delivering all that the Calgary Flames could have asked for when they acquired him at the trade deadline. The man has managed to post eight goals and two assists in just six games. Unfortunately, his new team appears to be struggling. Despite Jokinen’s big numbers, they’ve just won two of their last six games.
I was over on Puck Daddy’s blog and he is blaming Jokinen for the team’s demise. I’m not sure I’d go that far but I will concede that the man has some extremely valid points. As he mentions, I’ve been scratching my head over Miikka Kiprusoff’s play in these last six contests. Granted the defense has been just awful (the goalie had to stop 26 shots in the first period alone during one of the games last week) but Kipper looks a little frazzled. At one point, my son and I were actually laughing because it looked like he was afraid that coach Mike Keenan was waiting in the wings with a gun. The whole thing has just been really baffling.
Some are accusing Jokinen of being selfish with the puck (the numbers would seem to support that theory), causing his teammates to be resentful. To be honest, while it was a sweet move, when Jokinen used the boards to assist himself in making a flashy, mid-air goal on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, I did wonder what the other players were thinking of him. I hope that the Flames can get it together and they can figure out a way to work with their new acquisition because he really is talented.
