This article is the first in a series ranking all Penguins throughout history from different countries. Some lists will rank just the top 10, due to the number of players from those countries. Today, we begin by ranking all Penguins players from Finland.
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There have been 15 Finnish players to suit up for the Penguins in their history -- one goaltender, seven defensemen, and seven forwards.
Let's see how they rank, not necessarily in terms of overall skill, but more so by their impact on the Penguins during their time in Pittsburgh.
15. ANTTI NIEMI
Goaltender
The lone goaltender on the list comes in at last place. Niemi wasn't around long -- only three games in 2017 -- and he looked awful in all of them.
Niemi's debut lasted just 9:16, getting yanked after allowing four goals on 13 shots to the Blackhawks on Oct. 5. The Penguins went on to lose 10-1, and Niemi was credited with the loss. He started his second game a week later and took another loss, allowing five goals on 34 shots to the Lightning. His final outing for the Penguins came nine days later, when he allowed seven goals on 32 shots in another loss to the Lightning.
The Penguins waived Niemi on Oct. 23, and he was claimed by the Panthers. The Panthers waived Niemi after two games, and he was claimed by the Canadiens. He finished the season with Montreal, and remained with the Canadiens last season. He signed with Jokerit of the KHL for 2019-20.
14. JANNE PESONEN
Forward
Expectations were high for Pesonen, but he never panned out at the NHL level.
Pesonen had a lot of offensive success in Finland, and that did translate to the North American game at the AHL level. In 2008-09, he led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring with 32 goals and 50 assists in 70 games. When he was recalled to Pittsburgh, though, that production disappeared. He only played seven NHL games, and was scoreless in all of them. He returned to Europe the following season.
Pesonen, now 37, is still playing hockey. Since leaving the Penguins he has played in the KHL, Finnish Liiga, Swiss NLA, and the SHL. He played for the Vaxjo Lakers of the SHL last season, where he recorded 17 goals and 13 assists in 42 games. Pesonen signed with Karpat in Liiga for the 2019-20 season. He previously played for Karpat for five seasons before leaving to play for the Penguins.
13. PETTERI LEHTO
Defenseman
Lehto was signed out of the Liiga for the 1984-85 season. He spent nearly the entire season in the AHL with the Baltimore Skipjacks, except for six games in the NHL. He recorded three goals and 18 assists in 52 games with the Skipjacks and was scoreless with a minus-4 rating in six games with the Penguins.
Lehto returned to Finland the following season, where he played until 1990. Now 58 years old, he's currently a player agent with Octagon Hockey.
12. PETER AHOLA
Defenseman
The Penguins acquired Ahola from the Kings in exchange for Jeff Chychrun in November 1992. Ahola played 22 games for the Penguins, recording one assist and a minus-2 rating. The Penguins traded Ahola to the Sharks the following summer for Dave Capuano.
Ahola, now 51, has been a European scout with the Golden Knights since they joined the league.
11. TUOMAS GRONMAN
Defenseman
The Penguins acquired Gronman from the Blackhawks in exchange for Greg Johnson in October 1997. He was assigned to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL for most of the season.
Gronman played 22 games with the Penguins, scoring one goal, two assists, and recording a plus-3 rating. He appeared in one playoff game with the Penguins in the first round, a 3-0 loss to the Canadiens in Game 6 that ended the Penguins' season.
Gronman retired from professional hockey in 2003, after four more seasons in the Liiga.
10. ARTO JAVANAINEN
Forward
Javanainen was the first European draft pick in Penguins history, selected in the fifth round of the 1984 draft after nine seasons in the Liiga. He spent most of the 1984-85 season in the AHL with the Skipjacks, where he recorded 26 goals and 29 assists in 59 games. He played 14 games with the Penguins, scoring four goals and one assist.
Javanainen returned to Finland following his one season in North America and played another nine seasons in Finland, and one in Denmark before retiring from professional hockey in 1995.
He passed away in 2011 at the age of 51 after a long illness.
9. JANI RITA
Forward
The Penguins acquired Rita and Cory Cross from the Oilers in exchange for Dick Tarnstrom in January 2006.
Rita played in 30 games to finish the season, scoring three goals and four assists.
Rita returned to Finland the following year, where he played another 10 seasons before retiring in 2016.
8. JUUSO RIIKOLA
Defenseman
Riikola is the only active Penguin on this list, and he'll likely move up in the future rankings.
The Penguins signed Riikola as an undrafted free agent in 2018, after Riikola played six seasons with KalPa in the Liiga.
Riikola played just 37 games in his rookie NHL season, registering two goals, three assists, and a plus-3 rating. After spending much of the season in the press box, he was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre on March 20. He played five games in Wilkes-Barre, recording two assists and a plus-1 rating before an injury ended his season.
Riikola was re-signed to a one-year extension on May 30.
7. LASSE PIRJETA
Forward
The Penguins acquired Pirjeta from the Blue Jackets in exchange for Brian Holzinger in March 2004. Pirjeta played 13 games with the Penguins over the remainder of the season, scoring six goals and six assists.
Pirjeta returned to Finland during the 2004-05 lockout, then returned to Pittsburgh for the 2005-06 season. During the preseason, Pirjeta centered a line of Mario Lemieux and Ziggy Palffy. He played 25 games in the regular season, scoring four goals and three assists, before he was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre. Pirjeta played in eight games with Wilkes-Barre, scoring one goal and four assists, before he left and signed with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss NLA to finish the season.
He played two seasons in Sweden before returning to the Liiga for the 2008-09 season. He retired after seven games.
Pirjeta, 45, was most recently an assistant coach with Hermes of the second-tier Finnish league, Mestis, in 2017-18.
6. VILLE NIEMINEN
Forward
The Penguins acquired Nieminen, along with Rick Berry, from the Avalanche in exchange for Darius Kasparaitis in March 2002. Nieminen played in 13 games to close out the season, scoring one goal and two assists.
Nieminen finished seventh in scoring for the Penguins in the 2002-03 season, scoring nine goals and 12 assists in 75 games.
Nieminen signed in Chicago the following season. He played 12 seasons after leaving the Penguins, including stops in Chicago, Calgary, San Jose, New York (Rangers), Sweden, Finland, Russia and Latvia. He retired from professional hockey in 2015.
Nieminen was named head coach of the Pelicans of the Liiga last season.
5. JARKKO RUUTU
Forward
Ruutu signed with the Penguins in 2006 after six seasons in the Canucks organization.
Ruutu spent the next two full seasons in Pittsburgh, scoring a combined 13 goals and 19 assists in 152 games. He scored two goals and one assist in 20 games in the Penguins' 2008 run to the Stanley Cup Final. He scored the game-winning goal for the Penguins in a 3-1 win against the Senators to complete the sweep in the first round, and he scored the Penguins' first goal in Game 1 of the second round matchup with the Rangers to cut the Rangers' lead to 3-1. The Penguins completed the comeback and won Game 1, 5-4.
Ruutu signed with the Senators in the offseason, and played three more years in the NHL before returning to Europe. He played three seasons in the Liiga and four games in the Swiss NLA before retiring in 2014. He's been a development coach with the Blue Jackets since 2015.
4. JUSSI JOKINEN
Forward
The Penguins acquired Jokinen from the Hurricanes in April 2013, in exchange for a conditional sixth- or seventh-round draft pick. Both conditions required that the Penguins make it to at least the Stanley Cup Final for the pick to transfer, and the Penguins were swept in the Eastern Conference Final. So, the Penguins got Jokinen in a trade for free, and the Hurricanes retained $900,000 in salary for the remainder of his contract.
Jokinen finished the 2012-13 season with seven goals and four assists in 10 games, and three assists in eight playoff games. He spent the 2013-14 season on the second line alongside Evgeni Malkin and James Neal, where he tallied 21 goals and 36 assists in 81 games. He scored seven goals and three assists in 13 playoff games as the Penguins were eliminated by the Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.
Jokinen signed with the Panthers in the offseason and spent three years there. He bounced between the Oilers, Kings, Blue Jackets and Canucks — all in 2017-18 — and split the 2018-19 season between Kloten of the Swiss NLA and Karpat of the Liiga. Jokinen, now 36, is signed with Karpat for 2019-20.
3. JANNE LAUKKANEN
Defenseman
The Penguins acquired Laukkanen and Ron Tugnutt from the Senators in exchange for Tom Barrasso in March 2000. Laukkanen became one of the Penguins' top defensemen over the remainder of the season, recording one goal, seven assists, and a plus-3 rating in 11 regular season games and two goals, four assists, and a plus-6 rating in 11 playoff games. The Penguins re-signed Laukkanen to a three-year extension that summer.
Laukkanen's next two seasons were marred by various ailments, ranging from a lung condition to multiple knee injuries that eventually resulted in surgery. He played only 50 games in 2000-01, and 47 games in 2001-02.
By Feb. 10 of the 2002-03 season, Laukkanen had only played in 17 games with the Penguins. The Penguins traded Laukkanen, along with Alexei Kovalev, Dan LaCouture and Michael Wilson, to the Rangers for cash, Rico Fata, Richard Lintner, Mikael Samuelsson, and Joel Bouchard.
Laukkanen was sent to the Rangers' AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack for a conditioning stint two weeks later, then claimed off waivers by the Lightning in March. He was re-signed to a one-year deal by the Lightning in the offseason, then had his contract bought out in October, having not played a game. He retired after that.
Laukkanen, now 49, worked as a player coordinator for HPK of the Liiga from 2011-15. He has been the sports manager of the Liiga's Pelicans since 2016.
2. VILLE SIREN
Defenseman
Siren played the second-most games of any Finn for the Penguins, playing 199 games over four seasons from 1985-88. He's definitely not No. 2 on this list for any flashy plays or real offensive production (he scored 11 goals and 45 assists in his Penguins career) but he was reliable during his time in the organization.
The Penguins traded Siren and Steve Gotaas to the North Stars in December 1988 for Scott Bjugstad (uncle of Nick) and Gord Dineen.
Siren played a full season with the North Stars in 1989-90, then returned to Europe. He played for nine more seasons, with stops in Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Italy. After he retired in 1999, he was hired as a scout for the Capitals, a job he held until 2002. He was a player coordinator for a year with the Ilves of the Liiga, then was a scout with the Blues from 2003-13. Siren, now 55, has been the director of amateur scouting for the Blue Jackets since 2013.
1. OLLI MAATTA
Maatta played more games (362) and recorded more points (107) than any other Finnish Penguin. He's the only Finnish Penguin to win a Stanley Cup, and he did it twice.
“My stomach was upset for two days," Jim Rutherford told Dejan about the decision to trade Maatta to the Blackhawks for Dominik Kahun. "This is a tough one. Talking to Olli … not only do I respect what he did for us in those two Cups, what he’s meant to us as a player, but the person that this is … it was tough.”
Giving Maatta the No. 1 spot was an easy choice.
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