2020-2021 Jokerit review: four quarantines and four playoff games
KHL.ru continues reviewing the 2020-2021 campaign for the league’s 23 teams. Due to the pandemic, the Finnish side had to sit four times in quarantine and play the postseason games in away arenas.
Jokerit’s season started with a forfeited game after a no-show in Minsk, then they had four quarantines and played two home games in away arenas (in Kazan and Yekaterinburg). However, Jokerit’s season was not a bad one, especially considering its October, with a lopsided win over Spartak (7:1), a sound victory against CSKA (5:2), and a sensational comeback in Nur-Sultan starting from a 0:4 score.
In the playoff’s first round, the Jokers faced Lokomotiv for the second year in a row, but this time, the Motormen were better and won the series in just four games. In the 2020 summer, the team decided to part ways with veterans like Sami Lepisto and Peter Regin but recalled them back when Jokerit was short on players.
Best players
57 games, 55 (12+43) points
O’Neill’s fifth season in Helsinki was undoubtedly an excellent one. The 33-years-old American forward demonstrated to be helpful in any shape. During the 2020-2021 campaign, O’Neill passed the 200-game mark. He can establish other records for Jokerit, especially considering that, during the season, he renewed his ties with the Finnish franchise for a further three years.
54 games, 36 (18+18) points
Another USA forward was a crucial player for Jokerit. Jordan Schroeder played most of the season on a line with O’Neill. His numbers went down slightly compared to his first season with Torpedo, yet he played two minutes fewer a night and had far fewer faceoffs.
32 games, 17 W, GAA 2.51, 91.3%, 3 SO
The pandemic situation deeply impacted the goalies’ play and condition, and each netminder, including the young Samuel Jukuri, had a chance to showcase their talent. However, Kalnins had the most wins for Jokerit. The goalie was at his third season in Finland. Last year, he won the starting goalie position off Antti Niemi, but this season the coaches preferred Anders Lindback, who played all the playoff matches.
Best game
Jokerit consistently won against the league’s top teams. However, Jokerit achieved the most memorable victory in October in Nur-Sultan. At the 44th minute, the hosts were up by four goals, and it looked like the game was virtually over. But Jokerit only needed 13 minutes to tie things up and win it all in OT. The night’s star was O’Neill, with four assists.
Head coach
Lauri Marjamaki had his third year on the Jokerit’s bench. After a strong 2019-2020 regular season, the 2020-2021 campaign can be marked as an unsuccessful one for the Jokerit, especially after the four-game series against Lokomotiv. However, the pandemic claimed its cost, and most likely, Jokerit spent enough energy trying to recover all the games in the season’s tail. Marjamaki’s contract will run out next April.
“Last time around, we had a great series against Lokomotiv, but this year was a rocky one due to the pandemic. It was a disappointment for our team. Last year, we decided to part ways with a few veteran players, but Sami Lepisto and Peter Regin deserved a second chance. Regin captained our team for four years, and everyone was happy to see him back. We had a good first part of the season; then, it was very challenging. We had four quarantines this season, and I missed forty days myself,” Marjamaki said after the season.
Offseason moves
In the latest few seasons, Jokerit was constantly one of the most experienced teams in the league. Veterans Lepisto, Regin, Antti Pihlstrom, and Veli-Matti Savinainen left the team, and the boards hope to replace them with similar players but of a younger age. Petter Lindbohm, Hannes Bjorninen, and Teemu Turunen signed with Jokerit before winning silver medals at the recent IIHF World Championship in Riga.
D-man Philipp Holm should improve the team’s powerplay and offensive game in general. Moreover, Jokerit inked former AHL players Otto Leskinen and Kalle Kossila to two-year deals. The team retained most of its players, but the expectations on the new signings are very high.
