Olli Jokinen playoff-bound again after being traded to Blues
Olli Jokinen has played 1,223 games in his NHL career, but has only been involved in six playoff games. That number will increase this spring after the Toronto Maple Leafs dealt him to the St. Louis Blues for forward Joakim Lindstrom, a conditional 2016 sixth-round pick 15 days after acquiring him from the Nashville Predators.
The condition, according to Pierre LeBrun, is that the pick becomes a fourth-rounder if the Blues reach the Stanley Cup Final and Jokinen plays.
Jokinen was not a happy camper to be traded to Toronto from the Cup-contending Predators last month.
“Years go by fast. Any year you go in, you always think any team’s got a chance. Maybe I will get lucky one of these days," he said last week.
Jokinen told Armstrong that he feels like he hit the lottery being traded to the #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) March 2, 2015
Jokinen played six games with the Maple Leafs, recording one assist in 14:17 of ice time.
He's set to become a free agent this summer, so it's an okay deal for both teams. Toronto doesn't retain any salary in the deal and picks up a conditional pick for a player they weren't going to bring back. The Blues get some forward depth and a player who's been champing at the bit to play in the postseason for the first time since 2009.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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