Henri Jokiharju has two years remaining on a contract that pays him just $3 million annually, but he still seemed to be a trade candidate for the Boston Bruins this offseason. With Andrew Peeke likely finding a new home in free agency, and Jokiharju potentially heading out in a trade, the right-side of the defense was potentially going to go through a massive overhaul.
Jokiharju played two games in the first-round against the Buffalo Sabres, and didn't hurt the Bruins when he was in the lineup. With his purpose being to add some puck-moving abilities to the back-end, he did well enough in that area to justify why he was in the lineup, but fans also understood that he might not be the missing piece to a blueline that needs much more mobility.
Jokiharju has been a presence for Team Finland in international play, appearing in last year's 4 Nations Face-Off, the 2026 Winter Olympics, and now the 2026 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship. Jokiharju, along with goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, won the gold medal with his country at the Worlds and earned an impressive individual accolade along the way.
With eight points in 10 games and better defense than some might've expected, Jokiharju was given the honor of making the tournament's All-Star team. He and Roman Josi shared the honor on defense, joining Leonardo Genoni, Sven Andrighetto, Aleksander Barkov, and Macklin Celebrini. Impressive company to say the least.
Marco Sturm and Don Sweeney aren't going to pencil Jokiharju into the lineup for next season just because of a good couple of weeks in a tournament that isn't even best-on-best, but it's important to see that Jokiharju may have more upside than anyone thought. Is there a scenario where Jokiharju can lock down the third defense pair next season in place of Peeke, giving the Bruins the task of just improving the second pairing alongside Hampus Lindholm?
Add us as a preferred source on Google