By Greg Caggiano
There was always a stigma attached to Olli Jokinen that followed him around everywhere he went; he was a cancer in the locker room and not a team player. Eight games into his tenure with the New York Rangers, the complete opposite could be said. The trade that sent underachievers Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik to Calgary for the one-time superstar has been a complete win for the Rangers.
In 7 games with Calgary, Kotalik has registered 1 goal and 0 assists, while Higgins has not even recorded a point. Jokinen, in 8 games with the Rangers has 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points. Brandon Prust, the enforcer throw-in who also came over in the deal has 2 assists himself, putting him ahead of both spare parts that were dealt away. He also has a better plus/minus rating than all four involved players.
Jokinen has played his part well since coming over. He has played the point on the powerplay and has used his 6-foot-3 frame to drive to the net and win battles along the boards. But aside from his obvious set of offensive skills, what has intrigued me is his willingness to get physical and stick up for his teammates in the many scuffles that have taken place. Jokinen was never one to drop the gloves and fight, but he has never shied away from the pushing and shoving in the good ol' fashioned scrum. He was in the middle of it at least twice last night; once during the first period event when Dubinsky jumped in on Crosby after he took a swipe at Lundqvist. Jokinen could be seen trying to get at Crosby himself, as pictured above. He did the same thing later in the game.
This trade has proven to be a great success for the Rangers, and whether or not he re-signs for next season, if he continues this productivity and Kotalik and Higgins continue to slump, this could be Sather's best trade as Rangers' GM since he stole Jaromir Jagr from the Washington Capitals in 2004.
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