Getting To Know: Jussi Jokinen

It's been a turbulent season for Jussi Jokinen.
He started off in Edmonton, where he'd signed with the Edmonton Oilers last summer as a free agent. After 14 games there, the 34-year old forward was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for veteran forward Mike Cammalleri.
Jokinen played 18 games with the Kings, scoring a goal and adding four assists, before another sudden change Wednesday landed him in Columbus. He was claimed by the Blue Jackets off waivers, and will make his Jackets debut Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, against the Dallas Stars.
Columbus is racked with injuries, especially up front, so Jokinen will get a chance to earn a regular role in the lineup.
Before he got started, though, Jokinen met with the local media for the first time Thursday, following a rare morning skate for Columbus.
Here's how it went:
This is an odd year thus far, signing with Edmonton, getting traded to L.A. and then being placed on waivers. Nice to get some certainty after being claimed by the Blue Jackets?
"Yeah, for sure. The GM, [Jarmo Kekalainen], obviously knows me really well from Olympics and World Cup, and being from Finland. And I'd been with 'Torts' a little earlier in my career, so I think he knows, too, what kind of player I am. I think as a good hockey team, you need different types of players, and I feel I can bring something different that these guys [don't] have yet, so I'm excited to be here."

Coming to a new team, you have to prove yourself all over again. Do you enjoy that challenge?
"Sure. I've been in and out of this league so many times in my career, and I always found a way to come back. And, you know, it's another time again. It's a fun challenge when you accept that challenge and that pressure, and you have to prove yourself again."
What do you remember from that 2014 Stanley Cup Playoff first-round series against the Blue Jackets, when you were with the Penguins?
"I remember that 3-0 lead wasn't a good lead. That's the thing I remember. It's one of the best playoff series I've been part of. It was two great teams, and I think that's when Columbus really sold that they're going to be a really good team for a long time - and obviously they've shown it after that. [There are] still lots of the same players on this team, as [there were] three years ago. It was two really good hockey teams playing. Every game was [like] a one-goal game."
Do you remember the atmosphere at Nationwide Arena in that series?
"Yeah, for sure. You know, I was afraid of that cannon before, but now I want to hear it more. So, that's going to be different. This was an unbelievable rink to play in, and even in a regular-season game, it's a nice atmosphere. I always enjoyed playing here."
Is your surgically-repaired knee an issue at all?
"Uh, no. I've been 100 percent healthy the whole summer, and this year my body feels really good."
The Blue Jackets are a very young team. Can you add some veteran leadership right away, or do you need to be around the [locker room] for a while?
"I've always been a guy who likes to talk a little bit, so that's just who I am. And I've been around a long time, so I'm comfortable coming into a new room. I've done it before, but obviously this team has their own leaders, and it's their team. So, it's just me trying to fit in, and being that one piece who can help the team. But, for sure, I can bring my own experience and leadership, and help some of the young guys, for sure."
Is four Finns on a roster the highest number in your NHL career?
"In my first year in Dallas (2005-06), we had six Finns, so there's still a couple more we need."
You know Markus Nutivaara a little bit, correct?
"Yeah, we're from the same hometown, so we train a little bit together in the summer. So, I know him pretty well."
He's pretty excited to have you here. Now there's two Finns from northern Finland and two from southern Finland. It's even now.
"Yeah, I heard the South guys have been giving him a little bit of a hard time, so now he has an older countryman helping him. I spoke with him [Wednesday], and he was excited - and I'm excited to be on the same team as him. He's taken some great strides the last two years, and it's been fun to watch him develop and become a really good NHL player."
Two years ago, you had 60 points for the Florida Panthers. Is that reassuring in a tough year?
"Yeah, for sure. A year-and-a-half ago, I had 60 points in probably the best season of my career, at 33, so I still feel I have lots of hockey to be played and my body feels really good. Obviously, last year was kind of a tough year in Florida. I had 30 points. Then this year, it's gone that way, but at the same time you have to remember what kind of role you're playing. In Florida, I was playing in the top six and I was on the power play, and this year I've been playing mostly fourth line. That's like 10 or 11 minutes, so you can't have the same expectations when you're playing that kind of role. At the same time, if that role is here, it's about doing [it] as well as you can and trying to help [the] team win some games."
You have a lot of power-play experience. Do you have a preference between power-play setups? Some teams, including this one, use that 1-3-1 setup.
"I think it's pretty much every team now plays that 1-3-1, or [something] like that for the past four or five years. You have to play to the strengths that you have on the unit. I was practicing with, kind of, that second unit. So, obviously, Wennberg is kind of the brains of that power play, so when you play in the middle, he's just … I really like him as a player, how smart he is. I actually told him, too, like, 'This is your power play. You need to tell me what you want me to do.'
You like playing on the wing more than the middle of the 1-3-1 on the power play?
"Early in my career, I was playing lots of that kind of playmaker on the side, but now, the last few years, I played that guy in the middle, and I've been ready for that high feed and those [big] rebounds and stuff like that."
You got No. 36 for your jersey, the number that Zac Dalpe wore for the Blue Jackets. He has No. 29 now. Did you have to ask for that number?
"Actually, I played with Zac in Carolina, so I was going to call him. But early on, they thought they might have to change the number, but then a couple hours later I got a call that I'll get No. 36, so I'll buy Zac a nice dinner, for sure. I played with him in Carolina, and he's a great guy. That number was given to me my first training camp, and it was a little bit of an odd number, but I've had a pretty good run with it so far. I was happy to be able to keep it this year, too."
You were willing to buy it from him then?
"Yeah, for sure. I was willing to start some negotiations. But I'm going to buy a nice dinner for Zac, for sure."
Where is it colder, Finland or Columbus?
"I think it's pretty close to similar."
You're used to this temperature, then?
"Well, I haven't lived in Finland [in the winter] in 15 years, so I've gotten pretty lucky in my career. I've been in some warm places, like Dallas, Raleigh (N.C.), Florida, L.A. … but I'll be fine."
Did you remember to bring your winter gear?
"I had some, but we had a bye week like 10 days ago [with the Kings], so my family is still living in Florida. I pretty much took all my winter clothes from Edmonton to there [in Florida], so now I need to get it back during the All-Star break. But I still have a couple jackets with me."