TOP 100 OILERS: JANNE NIINIMAA (53)
7 years ago
If the Edmonton Oilers want to help bump blue chip prospect Jesse Puljujarvi along the learning curve that faces all NHL prospects, especially those who are making the transition from Europe, they should fly Janne Niinimaa into town and let the former Oiler and fellow Finn spend a couple of weeks with the kid to show him the ropes.
Niinimaa loved, or so it seemed, every minute and every one of the 399 regular season games he played with the Oilers over the parts of six seasons he spent here. He loved the city, and he showed it by playing the best hockey of his NHL career here after arriving from the Philadelphia Flyers in March of 1998. And the city loved him, despite a style of play that earned the noted metal head the nickname Spaz.
Janne Niinimaa
Defense
Born May 22 1975 — Raahe, Finland
Height 6.01 — Weight 220 [185 cm/100 kg]
Drafted by Philadelphia Flyers
Round 2 #36 overall 1993 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S% | ATOI |
1996-97 | 21 | 77 | 4 | 40 | 44 | 12 | 58 | 2.8 | ||
1997-98 | 22 | TOT | 77 | 4 | 39 | 43 | 13 | 62 | 3.0 | |
1997-98 | 22 | 66 | 3 | 31 | 34 | 6 | 56 | 2.6 | ||
1997-98 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5.3 | ||
1998-99 | 23 | 81 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 7 | 88 | 2.8 | 23:54 | |
1999-00 | 24 | 81 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 14 | 89 | 6.0 | 24:28 | |
2000-01 | 25 | 82 | 12 | 34 | 46 | 6 | 90 | 9.8 | 25:20 | |
2001-02 | 26 | 81 | 5 | 39 | 44 | 13 | 80 | 4.2 | 26:02 | |
2002-03 | 27 | TOT | 76 | 5 | 29 | 34 | -9 | 80 | 5.0 | 26:09 |
2002-03 | 27 | 63 | 4 | 24 | 28 | -7 | 66 | 4.4 | 26:48 | |
2002-03 | 27 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -2 | 14 | 9.1 | 23:02 | |
2003-04 | 28 | 82 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 12 | 64 | 9.3 | 23:15 | |
2005-06 | 30 | TOT | 63 | 3 | 13 | 16 | -12 | 86 | 6.1 | 19:46 |
2005-06 | 30 | 41 | 1 | 9 | 10 | -7 | 62 | 4.3 | 20:30 | |
2005-06 | 30 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -5 | 24 | 7.7 | 18:25 | |
2006-07 | 31 | 41 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -13 | 36 | 0.0 | 14:51 | |
6 yrs | EDM | 399 | 34 | 154 | 188 | 40 | 419 | 5.4 | 25:14 | |
3 yrs | NYI | 136 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 3 | 140 | 8.4 | 22:24 | |
2 yrs | PHI | 143 | 7 | 71 | 78 | 18 | 114 | 2.7 | ||
1 yr | DAL | 22 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -5 | 24 | 7.7 | 18:25 | |
1 yr | MTL | 41 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -13 | 36 | 0.0 | 14:51 | |
Career | 741 | 54 | 265 | 319 | 43 | 733 | 5.1 | 23:36 |
PLAYOFFS
Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S% | ATOI |
1996-97 | 21 | 19 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 1.8 | ||
1997-98 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 5.0 | ||
1998-99 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0.0 | 28:16 | |
1999-00 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 21:39 | |
2000-01 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 6 | 0.0 | 28:33 | |
2002-03 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 12 | 0.0 | 23:32 | |
2003-04 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 2 | 25.0 | 24:31 | |
2005-06 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.0 | 14:07 | |
Career | 59 | 3 | 21 | 24 | -2 | 60 | 2.6 | 23:46 |
NOTABLE
Niinimaa was a quirky sort, but he was also one of the most likeable guys I’ve ever met in an NHL dressing room. He used to drive equipment man Barrie Stafford to distraction because he was so particular about his skates and his equipment. It seemed like at least once a day Niinimaa would shout, “Staffy,” summoning him from the back because something didn’t fit quite right or the grind on his blades seemed off.
Niinimaa’s love for death-metal and speed-metal — his playlist included bands like Cradle of Filth and Cannibal Corpse – was legendary and cause for debate with teammates who didn’t have the same affection for the equivalent of slasher movies on CD and who damn sure didn’t want it on the dressing room boom box. He was pals with the guys in Metallica, for the times when he wanted something he considered easy listening.
For reporters, he was a go-to quote. When things went off the rails for the Oilers, fairly often at the hands of Niinimaa himself, he was as brutally honest a player as you’d find. “That was unacceptable. That was just bullshit,” he’d declare while spitting tobacco juice into a cup. Gold. More important than all that, Niinimaa was a helluva player during his time in Edmonton, playing tough minutes, running the power play and, occasionally, making the highlight reels with plays that seemed like absolute genius and blunders that made you laugh out loud.
THE STORY
There was an overlap when the Oilers boasted Niinimaa, Boris Mironov and Roman Hamrlik on the back end. A wealth of riches, compared to the crew that’s manned the blue line in recent years. I always thought Niinimaa was the best of the three. Bobo was more flamboyant and Hamrlik was likely a bit better in his own end, but Niinimaa had things going on at both ends of the rink – usually for the better, but occasionally for worse.
In the time Niinimaa played here, he twice surpassed the 40-point mark and finished with 188 points. He averaged 25:14 per game in ice time. He played first-pairing minutes, always took on the toughest match-ups with opposing forwards and kept the power play ticking, even if his own guys sometimes had to wonder where that shot from the point was going.
How much did Niinimaa love playing here? A couple winters back he flew in from Finland to take part in the World’s Longest Hockey Game at Brent Saik’s acreage in Sherwood Park – not for a guest cameo, for the long haul. The big Finn had just as big a smile on his face then as he wheeled around effortlessly with frozen toes as he did dancing on the Oiler blue line with Bobo and Hammer. He’d be a great chaperone for Puljujarvi.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
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