Speculation: Teemu Hartikainen Signs With Ufa (KHL)

[Aceboogie]

He gets more money and playtime there, good for him.

He gets playing time, but I was under the impression that the bottom 6 guys in the KHL dont earn alot, its more the superstars that do.

 

[Master Lok]

I realize progression at AHL and progression at NHL are different things. But in the AHL he was progressing at the things he lacked at the NHL level. Those being ability/willingliness to compete, and playmaking/goal scoring.

What's odd about the decision is that next season he would be waiver eligible. So the Oilers couldn't send him down, they had to keep him up on the NHL squad or put him on waivers for another team to take him.

I find it curious why he wouldn't wait for another four months, as it would be have been a guaranteed his best opportunity to crack an NHL squad.

 

[Aceboogie]

What's odd about the decision is that next season he would be waiver eligible. So the Oilers couldn't send him down, they had to keep him up on the NHL squad or put him on waivers for another team to take him.

I find it curious why he wouldn't wait for another four months, as it would be have been a guaranteed his best opportunity to crack an NHL squad.

I do to, so he would be making NHL money regardless.

Maybe he thought that he wasnt NHL ready next year and needed another year of development. And would probaly be put on waivers and bounced around the NHL or get sent to the AHL at make significalty less $

So he went to KHL for development and more $ (than AHL) Or maybe he just didnt like NA hockey

 

[Paralyzer008]

This sucks, I thought with Eakins on board that he'd be solid on our third line.

Our third line right now seriously has 0 players

 

[Tarus]

This sucks, I thought with Eakins on board that he'd be solid on our third line.

Our third line right now seriously has 0 players

The 3rd line was bad enough, adding ineffective tweeners that struggle even in a 4th line role is not an improvement.

 

[Samus44]

With Hartikainen gone does this make Ryan Jones a more likely resigning?

 

[BleedingOil]

nope

 

[Paralyzer008]

With Hartikainen gone does this make Ryan Jones a more likely resigning?

Possibly. He is well liked in the dressing room for what it's worth. Depends on money though.

 

[Everest]

Can't skate. Doesn't fight.

One way or another a diligent GM is going to find other alternatives to fill out his NHL roster. Highly likely he was facing waivers and from his standpoint...its a better option to simply sign a contract, know where you will be playing for the next year (or two) and go from there while making some decent money.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Can't skate. Doesn't fight.

haha are you serious? who the hell care about fighting? its not a part of hockey. you should stick to mma and dont forget to clean your da-silva photo.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

haha are you serious? who the hell care about fighting? its not a part of hockey. you should stick to mma and dont forget to clean your da-silva photo.

Maybe not the hockey that you watch, but it is very much a part of North American pro hockey.

 

[Replacement*]

nevermind, got mixed up on Jones convo

 

[Pajicz]

Year or two in KHL might do some good for Hartikainen (especially for his offense).

 

[djdub]

Year or two in KHL might do some good for Hartikainen (especially for his offense).

I agree.

Would he still be Oilers property in a year or two if he wants to come to a training camp then?

 

[Master Lok]

I agree.

Would he still be Oilers property in a year or two if he wants to come to a training camp then?

I believe he signed a two year contract, so it would be in two years time.

IF the Oilers don't have a replacement for Teemu (4th line) Hartikainen, then the Oilers have much bigger concerns.

 

[djdub]

I believe he signed a two year contract, so it would be in two years time.

IF the Oilers don't have a replacement for Teemu (4th line) Hartikainen, then the Oilers have much bigger concerns.

I just don't look at it like that. We went through a rebuild to stock the cupboards, not to develop them for a couple years to have them want out.

What I was saying is I hope he went there to better himself so he can one day come back and try and make the big squad.

It's bad asset management to develop these players just to watch them walk away, Temmu Hartikainen had value around the league, if he wanted out management should have been on top of that. I'm not worried he's not going to be on the 4th line next year or not.

 

[Master Lok]

I just don't look at it like that. We went through a rebuild to stock the cupboards, not to develop them for a couple years to have them want out.

What I was saying is I hope he went there to better himself so he can one day come back and try and make the big squad.

It's bad asset management to develop these players just to watch them walk away, Temmu Hartikainen had value around the league, if he wanted out management should have been on top of that. I'm not worried he's not going to be on the 4th line next year or not.

He went there to earn money. Its not bad asset management when the Oilers can't do a thing about it. Each player has the choice to play where they want in a different league, especially the KHL. There is nothing that management could do about this. This is entirely on Teemu.

Face it, he's gone, he's done. In two years time, he'll be the same as Alexei Mikhnov.

 

[joestevens29]

He went there to earn money. Its not bad asset management when the Oilers can't do a thing about it. Each player has the choice to play where they want in a different league, especially the KHL. There is nothing that management could do about this. This is entirely on Teemu.

Face it, he's gone, he's done. In two years time, he'll be the same as Alexei Mikhnov.

At least it wasn't a first rounder

 

[Seedling]

With Hartikainen gone does this make Ryan Jones a more likely resigning?

I think so. With Horcoff and Hemsky going, that improves his chances of staying as well I would think. Jones is a legit bottom six guy that plays hard. I like him.

 

[Hockey Monkey]

Blogger here posted a really nice article on Teemu:

http://www.tendthefarm.com/love-hate-and-original-barons-farewell-teemu-hartikainen/#more-9114

Teemu Hartikainen has officially signed a two-year deal to leave the Edmonton Oilers organization to play for Ufa in the KHL. Details on how much have not been released, but know that he’s being paid well. Likely moreso than a re-up with the Oilers. However, there’s such a deep well of story telling that is tied to the three year AHL/NHL run of Hartikainen, and for some reason many are willing to discount the journey.

At just barely twenty years old, speaking virtually no English, Hartikainen or Harski for short, was thrown into a torrid relationship with the Oilers. Drafted in round six of the 2008 NHL entry draft, all eyes were laser focused on the Jordan Eberle pick in round one. He was a Finnish player with good hands, good presence on the ice, and a tenacity around the edges of the ice. His feisty nature is likely what sparked the drafting of him to begin with. He was disappointed from the get-go about not making an NHL roster, but those in Edmonton wanted to watch him closely to see how he translated to North American hockey. He eventually took it in stride, and he’ll go down in history as the first Oklahoma City Barons player to score a goal. He did so in the first game ever in OKC, and in the middle of a 6-1 undressing care of the Houston Aeros. 65 AHL games later, he’d have 47 points alongside 12 NHL games with 5 points. However, Hartikainen was a grinder, something the Oilers needed, yet the powers-that-be in Edmonton were unsure how to use.



In his second pro year he continued his solid pace through the American League. This time he’d play more at the NHL level than he had in the previous season, and with some offseason tutelage from Oilers scouts, Hartikainen learned to exist in a world where he didn’t have to score goals, and where puck responsibility and tenacious board play was enough. 51 games played in the AHL yielded 32 points, and a boost in NHL games allowed him to play 17 games and score 5 points. It was a transition year, in terms of what he was doing on the NHL level, and everyone gave him a pass. After all, he was just a second year N. American pro player. He had time.

In the final season of his entry level deal he seemed poised to get the roster spot it felt like he’d earned, and with a new coach that clearly wanted to move things in a positive direction, Hartikainen felt like a solid answer to the baby soft tendencies of the Oilers strength game. The lockout happened, and the great I in team gave us a half-season of amazing All-Star Game like play from Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Justin Schultz but seemingly buried some into the lineup. Time on ice changed, went towards the NHL guys, and even caused some chemistry issues team-wide that only a handful could have predicted would occur. Yet Harski played well. Shoulder issues aside, he was a guy built for tough hockey play. Shoulder healed, he’d slightly tweak it while playing 23 games with the Oilers, but he’d post some really brutal numbers. Ralph Krueger was a man that knew a thing or two about coaching, but he had blemishes that went unchallenged. Even Yakupov felt the force of this as he’d get weird placements in the roster while still producing. Hartikainen did the things he did well – movement in front of the net, puck possession, great hands – but it was another really awful year for the Oilers, and the addition of Mike Brown felt like a stamp of disapproval on any prospect grinding out minutes looking for NHL time.

As Hartikainen now finishes his three year run with the Oilers, his RFA status dictates that the Oilers have his rights despite his ability to play for a reasonably good team in Ufa where he’ll be watched for production.

The story of Hartikainen is an interesting one. Circumstance dicatated a lot of his direction in his first years as a pro, and that’s a real shame. Imagine if the young Finn played in an organization that wasn’t as desperate. Would he felt less pressure to perform? Would he have had a bit more time to come up for air? Would it be a no-brainer to sign him at least another season? You bet. The Oilers need a lot of things – leadership, increasingly better goaltending, defenders than can defend, back-end strength on the third and fourth lines – and I believe that Hartikainen could have owned that final section of need. We all watched, expected him to churn out goals with rapid pace, but he’s just not that type of player. When he spent time on the back-end of the lineup, he was rarely assisted by anyone who didn’t themselves need assistance.

Steve Tambelinni was a difficult man to understand, and with a few interesting pieces to his credit, the bulk of his successes were found in crafting beautiful minor league hockey teams. Managing those highly skilled, highly motivated, well sought after players wasn’t a success, and that leaves an impression.

The final demotion of Hartikainen in 2013 felt like the end of an era for the Finn. With Craig MacTavish into the arena, many will be left without a ticket to watch the lions devour the innocent. Sure Hartikainen could have rolled with the punches, signed an extended year (as CVV and Plante did a year ago), but he wouldn’t earn guaranteed money because it was still unclear where he fit in to the Oilers grand jigsaw puzzle. Instead he did the right thing, and that’s honing his game where he gets the highest paycheck, wins the best minutes, and finds ways to maybe increase his value in N. America while not playing inside its borders.

Hartikainen existed in Oklahoma City as a fine example of what hockey is meant to be. He was a foreign entity with great promise, tough gamesmanship, highly energized skill, and value beyond what you immediately see on paper. He was an original Baron. Easy to cheer for. Cordial in conversation. Delightfully awkward with English. Always fun. Light-hearted. Warm. And most importantly, an honest to goodness human being. As my fellow Oklahomans and I adjusted to the new AHL game, it was as if Teemu was living out our understandings on the ice. He was learning the game of AHL hockey right along with us.

On a semi-warm December afternoon several years ago, the Barons held an outdoor fan skate. This wasn’t anything different for this group of guys, because they loved the community they were in despite it not being their desired destination. Me, my wife, and my daughter headed to the rink, laced ‘em up, and hit the ice. As we skated circles around Paajarvi and many others, there sat Hartikainen with a bundle of children on his lap. Like Santa, he had a grim permanently plastered on his face, smiled for each photo, and won the hearts of mom’s for a lifetime. There stood my daughter, who’d channeled her father’s inner-love of a Finnish forward, waiting to have her photo taken with Teemu. She crawled into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her. She smiled. He smiled. It was perfect. As she scooted off his lap he turned, and in the most Finnish of accents simply said, “Thank Youâ€. She, without missing a beat, said “You’re Welcomeâ€.

In that brief but heart tugging moment, I found a bit of real life in a prospect that had been talked, blogged, podcasted, interviewed, and critiqued since he was a youngster. As he melded his profession within the Oilers organization, the great and powerful Oz watched with even more anticipation. Yet he was as human as they come.

With a life ahead of him that is bound to be successful, I’m slow to give a verdict on his worth ethic, chances of making it, or promise to one day return to N. America to play hockey. How great were you at your job after three years? He’s always functioned as someone that did more than just play hockey, he lived it. Passion, and passion alone, can’t be measured on a scale that a newspaper writers have thrown together.

You take the pieces of Hartikainen’s game, throw in the human element, realize he has the rest of his life before him, and suddenly you understand why he’d choose to play KHL hockey. Not because he gave up on the Oilers, didn’t work hard, or even prove he had things that people want – it’s because he lives life by his standards. Rather than allow his NHL club to throw him to the waiver wire in the upcoming season, he’ll choose his own path. At least for now. That’s admirable, and chances are, you’d do the same thing.

I love Teemu Hartikainen, rough hockey playing edges and all. I hate that he’s leaving Oklahoma City, Edmonton, and the NHL. I bid a found farewell to one of the original Barons. Go get ‘em Harski.

 

[joestevens29]

I think so. With Horcoff and Hemsky going, that improves his chances of staying as well I would think. Jones is a legit bottom six guy that plays hard. I like him.

I never was one that really pumped Hartsi wheels or really thought he was an answer, but the one thing he did well was generate competition. Especially this year with Prv. Both were guys that brought some similar attributes and some different ones. They were kinda thought as two guys that could potentially be battling for the same spot. Without Hartsi does Prv elevated his game this year? Maybe, maybe not.

With Temmu now gone I'd hope we try to replace him. Not neccasarily a guy that has to make the team, but someone who is real young that has potential and is going to generate competition for roster spots.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying Temmu will never be a NHLer and I would prefer we actually acquire a more polished Temmu that is proven, but we still need someone to push hard from the pressbox/OKC.

 

[joestevens29]

Blogger here posted a really nice article on Teemu:

http://www.tendthefarm.com/love-hate-and-original-barons-farewell-teemu-hartikainen/#more-9114

I really wish the they team and Temmu talked before he left. I could've sworn shortly after TDD that Tencer or Gregor or someone tweeted that we received a call from a playoff team on him.

Could've tried to work together to find a new fit in the NHL.

 

[Mr Forever]

I personally think its kind of a joke the Oileta didn't give him a one year one way deal for next season. If they bring back guys like Petrell or Jones over him, I'll be really pissed.

 

[joestevens29]

I personally think its kind of a joke the Oileta didn't give him a one year one way deal for next season. If they bring back guys like Petrell or Jones over him, I'll be really pissed.

Do we know they didn't?

 

[djdub]

He went there to earn money. Its not bad asset management when the Oilers can't do a thing about it. Each player has the choice to play where they want in a different league, especially the KHL. There is nothing that management could do about this. This is entirely on Teemu.

Face it, he's gone, he's done. In two years time, he'll be the same as Alexei Mikhnov.

Where did you hear that? Or is it just your own assumption?