Janne Henrik Niinimaa (born May 22, 1975) is a Finnish former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player. He played 10 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

, and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. He also played in the Finnish

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

, Swedish

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

, Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...

, and Swedish

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

Playing career

Niinimaa was selected in the second round of the

1993 NHL Entry Draft The 1993 NHL Entry Draft was the 31st NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 26, 1993, at the Colisée de Québec in Quebec City, Quebec. First overall pick Alexandre Daigle is widely regarded today as one of the all-time greatest draft busts ...

, 36th overall, by the

. Following three seasons playing with

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland, Niinimaa made his debut with the Flyers in the

1996–97 NHL season The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years. T ...

, posting 44 points and a +12 rating, and being named to the

NHL All-Rookie Team The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...

. In the following 1998 season, Niinimaa was traded to the

, where he spent parts of six seasons. He earned himself an All-Star appearance in the 2000–01 NHL regular season. He was traded to the

in 2003 and then was traded to the

and

. During the

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

, Niinimaa returned to play in his native Finland. Niinimaa has twice represented Finland at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, winning a bronze medal in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, and was on the national team when Finland won its first

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

gold medal. Niinimaa retired on 10 February 2014.

Personal life

On 2 August 2008, Niinimaa married Jaana Kehusmaa, a model from

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

, at Kiiminki Church.

Teemu Selänne Teemu Ilmari Selänne (; born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipe ...

Saku Koivu Saku Antero Koivu (; born November 23, 1974) is a Finns, Finnish former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1995–96 NHL season, 1995–96 after th ...

, and

Timo Jutila Timo Juhani "Juti" Jutila (born 24 December 1963 in Tampere, Finland) is a retired Finnish ice hockey defenceman. Jutila was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres (4th round, 68th overall) in 1982 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Jutila's ice hockey ca ...

were among the invitees. They separated in July 2012.

Transactions

* 26 June 1993 – Drafted by the

* 24 March 1998 – Traded by Philadelphia to the

in exchange for

Dan McGillis Daniel Stewart McGillis (born July 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, and New Jer ...

and a 2nd round draft pick (Philadelphia selected Jason Beckett) * 11 March 2003 – Traded by the

to the

along with a second round draft pick (New York selected Evgeni Tunik) in exchange for

Brad Isbister Brad Isbister (born May 7, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 541 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Isbister grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and played junior hockey with ...

and

Raffi Torres Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

* 10 January 2006 – Traded by the

to the

along with a fifth round draft pick in exchange for John Erskine and a second round draft pick. * 30 September 2006 – Traded by the

along with a fifth round pick in 2007 to the

in exchange for

Mike Ribeiro Michael Tavares Ribeiro (born February 10, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round, 45th overall, of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Ribeiro has played in the NHL for ...

and a 2008 sixth round pick. * 14 September 2007 – Signed by

HC Davos Hockey Club Davos is a professional Swiss ice hockey club based in Davos, Switzerland. Davos plays in the National League (NL). The team is usually a strong force in the league and often bolster their roster with Swiss national team players and ...

of the

Swiss National League Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss International ...

. * 14 August 2008 – Signed by Kärpät of the

. * 27 November 2008 – Signed by

SCL Tigers SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,000-seat Ilfis Stadium, which is currently one of the smallest arenas in the N ...

of the Swiss National League. * 16 August 2009 – Signed by

HV71 HV71 (), often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League s ...

Honours and accolades

*Elected to the Finnish Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 as a player. *has played once

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. *Won the Swedish Champion (

Le Mat Trophy The Le Mat Trophy ( sv, Le Mat-pokalen, "Le Mat Cup") is the trophy awarded to Swedish champions in ice hockey, which since 1976 has been the winners of the SHL playoffs. The Le Mat is the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in ...

) in 2009–10 *Won the Finnish Champion (

Kanada-malja The Kanada-malja is an ice hockey club championship trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Finnish Liiga playoffs. Kanada-malja is Finnish for "Canada Bowl"; the trophy is so named because it was donated by Canada's Finnish community in 195 ...

) in 1993–94, 1995–96 and 2004–05. *Won the

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss tea ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niinimaa, Janne 1975 births Living people 20th-century Finnish people 21st-century Finnish people Asplöven HC players Dallas Stars players Edmonton Oilers players Finnish ice hockey defencemen Finnish ice hockey world championship gold medalists HC Davos players HV71 players Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Jokerit players Luleå HF players Malmö Redhawks players Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League All-Stars New York Islanders players Olympic ice hockey players of Finland Olympic medalists in ice hockey Oulun Kärpät players People from Raahe Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players SCL Tigers players Sportspeople from North Ostrobothnia