Joni Pitkänen

[Mathletic]

wow !!!! that's a bright young star, first time that I see him play since the Workd Junior Championship ... boy he skates well, and great passing ability

what did the Flyers give to get him ? Fedotenko and 2 2nd round picks I think, am I right ?

Click to read more...

 

[Qubax]

Yeah something like that they just stole him away...Man could the Lightening use him on the PP right now...

Pitkanen with the right handed shot Boyle would make one nice PP combo....

Should have a crack at the Calder this year be surprised if he isn't atleast a candidate....

 

[SpezNc2]

Pitkanen is impressive tonigth. No doubth about that

 

[PhoPhan]

wow !!!! that a bright young star, first time that I see him play since the Workd Junior Championship ... boy he skates well, and great passing ability

what did the Flyers give to get him ? Fedotenko and 2 2nd round picks I think, am I right ?

The Lightning took way too little for him, that's all there is too it. A simple phone call to any team saying, "The Flyers offered this crap for our pick, and we are going to take it unless you want to up the ante" would have likely gotten much more, unless the team said "No way would the Flyers make such a lowball, I'll move on."

 

[Nikkowar]

Pitkanen has been great for us.

 

[FearTheFlyers]

Yeah something like that they just stole him away...Man could the Lightening use him on the PP right now...

Lightning don;t need anyone right now because the last time i checked they were 6-0 and a hell of a lot better team than us.


(Whether Rick Dudley made it or not )

 

[Winston Wolf]

7GP-1G-3A-4P +6

His +6 is leading all rookies right now.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

The Pens could have given the lightning a better deal and only moved them down a spot.

I believe they made the deal because the Lightning really wanted Fedetenko right?

 

[Winston Wolf]

The Pens could have given the lightning a better deal and only moved them down a spot.

I believe they made the deal because the Lightning really wanted Fedetenko right?

It was said that the Lightning wanted a player who could automatically step into their 2nd or 3rd line and play right away. The way of thinking by the Lightning wasn't wrong, it was just that Fedotenko wasn't the player they thought he was. It's understandable for a team that is consistently one of the last place finishers to want a roster player who could step in and play right away, rather than another prospect. They probably thought Fedotenko could be a very good 2nd liner, while in reality he is only a decent 3rd liner.

 

[Liquidrage*]

Definitely very talented.

Good things happen when he's on the ice.

Like the assist last night on Amonte's goal. Every other defenseman that we have would have either just dumped it in at the blue line cause they are too slow to bring it into the zone themselves, or would have shot it wide at 100 MPH and it would have gone back down the ice.

Pitkanen just gets the puck up ice and throws a nice low shot on net giving Amonte a freebie.


Then later on a delayed penalty he danced around a few defenders holding the puck in the zone for a good 12 seconds before getting a shot from the slot.

These are just things we Flyers fans haven't seen from our blue line in a long time.

Rusty is a good player and I was sad to see him leave. But I still can't see why Tampa would have done it. Pitkanen has franchise D written all over him. Salary be damned, whats the point of having a franchise if you can draft a potential franchise D and you trade him for a 2nd Rnd pick and a 3rd liner.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

Pitkänen's surprised people on this side of the pond too.

Last week in the sports news they referred to Joni's "incredible start to the season" hmm, incredible isn't probably the word I'm looking for, but pleasant surprise should give a better translation?

Anyways, we thought this kid was a prospect and now he's already looking like a seasoned veteran.. power to him!

 

[sveiglar]

I think a lot of Pitkanen as a Dman, and I'm not exactly a Feaster apologist after the Richards contract, but the Pitkanen trade netted Fedotenko and 2 2nds. One second was spent on Adam Henrich, and the other was flipped to Dallas for Brad Lukowich and a 7th (Fredrik Norrena). Neither Fedotenko nor Lukowich will be a "franchise" talent, but both were big helps in winning Tampa their first division title and first playoff series. If Henrich can pan out (he's among OHL leaders this season), then Feaster shouldn't be ripped as much as he is... and even if he doesn't, he accompished his goal of making the Lightning a playoff team.

I don't like the concept of trading high picks for serviceable parts, but I've seen worse deals (Glen Wesley for *three* 1sts?)

 

[Hammerwise]

Although I agree the Bolts got taken in that trade, the reasoning was simple. They had drafted so high so many times and had a ton of prospects, they wanted someone who could play right away, so the fans could see some immediate impact. The thought of having another bluechipper that they'd have to wait for 2-3 years for was not what Tampa wanted.

They should have gotten more, admittedly. They have very good prospect forwards, maybe thge best crop of forward prospects in the league, but look at their defense and goalie prospects (ugh).

Pitkanen looks very, very good and I dare say he will get 35-40 pts this year.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

As a Flyers fan I love the trade, but I will say that Fedotenko is getting far too little respect.

He's a very good 3rd line player, that can also play on a 2nd line.

 

[Qubax]

""Although I agree the Bolts got taken in that trade, the reasoning was simple. They had drafted so high so many times and had a ton of prospects, they wanted someone who could play right away, so the fans could see some immediate impact. The thought of having another bluechipper that they'd have to wait for 2-3 years for was not what Tampa wanted.""

I realize this I do....but had they done any scouting whatsoever they would ahve known how incredibly elite the TOp 4 players were in that draft and guys like Pitkanen don't just come around everyday he's gonna likely win a few Norris trophys could end up having a better career then Lidstrom..I thnk it's insane....


They probably could ahve drafted Pitkanen then traded like some mid range prospect or pick to get Fedotenko....pullezzz

 

[Dr_Chimera*]

Budding Larry Robinson-type. Heart-and-soul player.

 

[Doc_M]

Robinson ?
Lidstrom ?
Even better than Lidstrom ?

I'm not sure. I'm also impressed, I watch the MTL-PHI game this monday and Pitkanen was the main reason why. I drafted the kid in a KEEPER pool, and I was pleased with what I saw, and I'm glad to read your comment this morning.

But better than Lidstrom ? Let's wait a bit...

 

[Marmax]

I heard Savard saying that he don't understand why Tampa Bay didnt shop their pick instead of taking that slump Fedotenko. He would likely have made a much much better offer for Piktanen.

 

[Winston Wolf]

1G, 1A through two periods tonight.

 

[Qubax]

The kids got 6 points in 8 games.....that is unreal.....he won't get 60 points in 80 games but what if he gets like 35....you gotta think then he's the favorite for Calder....

 

[Doc_M]

He is good, very good...

Rookie of the month ??

Since he is leading rookie D's in scoring and leading his teams in +/- ( by far ), he is my choice, although Patrice Bergeron would also be a good choice...

 

[MojoJojo]

I think the thing people are forgetting about Fedotenko, is that he was making only about a half mil a year when he was traded. Pitkanen on the other hand was signed for around 3 mil/year, which the Lightning would have had trouble fitting into their budget. I think the idea of a small market team trading their high 1st round pick for a bunch of lower picks is pretty smart, considering the outrageous signing bonuses top rookies are getting this year, and the fact that so many never live up to the hype surrounding them.

Anyway, this deal came on the heels of the Oates trade, you know: the worst trade in the history of the NHL. Pitkanen and Handzus equal about what we threw away to the Caps.

 

[Dr Love]

Pitkanen on the other hand was signed for around 3 mil/year

That's only if he reaches all his bonuses.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Anyway, this deal came on the heels of the Oates trade, you know: the worst trade in the history of the NHL. Pitkanen and Handzus equal about what we threw away to the Caps.

For all those that still kill what we gave up for Oates. A few items to remember.

#1. Night before the trade deadline, both Primeau & Roenick suffer big injuries.

#2. We had enough excess picks to make the Otaes deal, still aquires the #4 pick that year, and have 9 picks in the top 100 the following year.

#3. The 4 players that Washington got are the following:

Ouellet - highly regarded, but still not even an NHL back-up, far from a proven #1 goalie,

The three players that were taken with the draft picks are:

1st round - Martin Vagner, defenseman - Dallas Stars 11th ranked prospect

2nd round - Maxime Daigneault, goalie - Washington Capitals 7th ranked prospect

3rd round - Derek Krestanovich, center - Washington Capitals, not among their top 15 prospects



Did the Flyers overpay for Oates ???

Yes, but they were best over the barrel by two injuries the night before the deadline.

Until any off the above players becomes a big time NHL player, that Caps didn't make out too good on the deal either.

 

[tom_servo]

Until any off the above players becomes a big time NHL player, that Caps didn't make out too good on the deal either.

Wrong. What they got were valuable assets. Ouellet himself carries substantial value. And you neglected to mention the swap of their first round pick which netted them Alexander Semin.

Very good return for an old UFA.