A Jokinen No More

Phoenix Coyotes

Olli Jokinen ended what was starting to look like a career-long purgatory with the Panthers organization this past summer...only to find himself traded to its Western cousin. Don't get me wrong. I think there are a lot of reasons to be excited to be a Coyotes fan right now, not the least of which is Jokinen's acquisition. This is a team that almost made the playoffs last year, a team that Ilya Bryzgalov practically transformed upon his arrival, and a team full of talented young prospects like Peter Mueller, Brett MacLean and Viktor Tikhonov. Jokinen won't hurt any of that and he should receive the benefit of playing with Shane Doan, fresh off the best season of his career.

Jokinen should improve on his 71 points from last year, rising back into the 80 to 90 point range. He should also be a bit less of a defensive liability taking him back into his 5 tool stud status (G, A, SOG, +/-, and PPP). Jokinen is a fantasy stud but you didn't need ME to tell you that.

The question really is who benefits the most from Jokinen's arrival? Tough question and one best addressed in the team previews coming in August. If I had to speculate however I would say that Jokinen's arrival (as well as the departure of Ballard and Boynton) may finally catapult Zybanek Michalek into fantasy relevance. It should also continue the career revitalizations of Shane Doan and Ed Jovonovski.

Jokinen gives this team legitimate star power for the first time in some time. Draft him very very early and with great confidence.