Jokiharju returns to United Center with Sabres
If there's one things we've learned with Stan Bowman over the years it's that he isn't afraid to pull the trigger on a big deal.
Two of the biggest, of course, came when Bowman sent Artemi Panarin to Columbus for Brandon Saad, and Niklas Hjalmarsson to Arizona for Connor Murphy.
On the same day and in the same hour, no less.
While both of those trades remain controversial, last offseason's decision to send Henri Jokiharju to Buffalo for Alex Nylander also turned plenty of heads and was heavily panned in many circles.
Jokiharju, whom the Hawks drafted 29th overall in 2017, returned to the United Center for the first time as a Sabre on Sunday. He has 2 goals and 5 assists in 20 games, and is averaging 16½ minutes of ice time.
"Henri's been outstanding and a really big, positive surprise from training camp all the way through," Buffalo coach Ralph Krueger said beforehand. "He is good on both sides of the puck (and) moves the puck very, very well because he keeps his feet moving all the time and finds good options. Very seldomly is he in trouble."
Jokiharju played 20-25 minutes a game under Joel Quenneville last season, then saw his playing time plummet once Jeremy Colliton was hired. He was eventually assigned to play for Team Finland in the World Championships and spent almost the entire second half of the season in Rockford.
"It's a little bit how the coach sees you as a player and as a person," Jokiharju said. "I think that was one of the issues in here."
Krueger said Jokiharju's confidence can be "misunderstood" for cockiness, when that's not the case at all.
"Every country in Europe has a different personality," Krueger said. "You can't look at a European kid from Finland (the same) as you can an American boy or a Canadian. They all have different backgrounds and you need to consider that in the way they come across.
"Joki is the kind of person that is confident in an honest way. He wants to do what's good for the team and he also takes critiquing very well and is very coachable. He's been an excellent fit to our team."
Nylander, meanwhile, has been a bit inconsistent but is currently skating on the Hawks' top line with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad. He scored a pair of goals in Nashville to double his season total, and has also added 5 assists.
"If there's a question of anything it's just finding that (consistency) every single shift, especially in the critical moments of the game," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "But I think he's playing very well and ultimately ... (he) could have more goals (and) more points. So very happy for him."