To the next one.........

[jRuutu 2,464]

 

Game six defeat in the finals and on the overtime, that is a tough way to end a year. So close to game seven and the ultimate final, but Seattle was better and they took the championship. Despite not winning the cup we can still look back at this year with pride, Helsinki had a really strong regular season and even better playoff run, made it to the finals after all! Big thanks for that goes to all the players in the team who worked steadily every week, not easy sometimes to keep going, but in the end, you might win something big. We cant of course forget the management of the Titans, constantly looking at the bigger picture when figuring out possible line combinations and the even bigger picture of putting this group of players together, great job overall!

 

What comes next for the Titans? Well, the oldest of the old - Titans legend Ben Hafkey announced his retirement earlier, him leaving will leave a big hole to the middle of the ice, but at the same time young players like Laine and Sens will be joining the forward group from juniors. Young Harvey will more than likely make the jump from juniors to the big show as well to take the backup goalie position. In defense, things might be more or less the same, the same group potentially staying together, which is going to be a big thing for our overall game.

 

 

If I look at the future from my point of view, it's going to be an interesting time. Next year is my fourth year in VHL, I had a pretty good regular season, but in the playoffs, I played perhaps the best hockey of my career, 10  goals, and 22 points in 17 games. During the playoffs, I also signed a one-year contract extension. The solid performances in the playoffs mean I need to play at a high level right from the start of next season, that type of increased pressure is what I have been asking for and it was the reason why it took some time for me and my agent to say yes to contract extension.

 

Why only a one year deal? As a player I'm in a bit of an awkward position, as an S71 player I'm not the oldest by any means, but when you look at the roster I'm not exactly in the absolute best possible timeframe with some of the younger players in the organization, all it takes is a one year difference if the team has a lot of top-level talents and Helsinki has a lot of top-level talents. Cap situation is going to be tough and I'm one reason for it. I'm going to keep rolling along on a steady pace when it comes down to TPE earning, soon I will be earning 5 or 5.5 mills a year - not a big deal, but when you add the role into that mix, very few teams can pay that kind of money to a ´role player´.  Before I know it I'm the odd man out and getting shipped to non-contender. Which is fine for a young player, but for a player like me who is entering the so-called prime years - that is a fear and a big risk.

 

That is why I've had long discussions with my agent and with the management of Titans about the future, one year deal felt like a good compromise based on those talks, both parties can focus on the upcoming training camp and the regular season, long term talks can be started after the start and after we see if I have what it takes to keep the same level of play up from the playoffs!