Former NHLer Jokinen given historic suspension in Finnish league

During his 12 year long career in the NHL, Finnish forward Jussi Jokinen is probably the last guy you would expect to be facing suspension for a dirty hit. But that’s exactly the position that the 36 year old Jokinen finds himself in after a blatant head shot during a Finnish liiga game with Karpat.

Jokinen was in on a clear cut breakaway during a game this past weekend when he was tracked down from behind by Julius Nättinen and legally checked off the puck. Jokinen then chased Nättinen into the corner and delivered a brutal head shot along the side glass.

Check it out:

Ouch… that’s ugly.

As a result, liiga has handed down a historic eight game suspension to Jokinen. He was also assessed a match penalty and a major penalty for an illegal hit to the head. Nättinen managed to shut off the hit and played the rest of the game.