Career
Drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2001 in the sixth round, 192nd overall, with which he spent his first three National Hockey League seasons with, Jokinen has also played in the National Hockey League for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins. Jokinen is of no relation to current National Hockey League free agent Olli Jokinen, but has a younger brother, Juho, who also plays ice hockey. Jussi Jokinen is widely considered a shootout and faceoff specialist in the National Hockey League.
Professional
Jokinen was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the sixth round, 192nd overall, at the 2001 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
He spent his four seasons before his National Hockey League debut playing for Kärpät of the Master of Science-liiga, the top Finnish league.
In his rookie year in 2005-2006, Jokinen gained a great reputation in the National Hockey League as one of the top shootout specialists in the National Hockey League. Until being stopped by Vesa Toskala, he was a remarkable nine-for-nine in shootouts before his first unsuccessful attempt. He can be seen pulling some unique dekes, such as the one-handed, slide-in goal (as made famous by Peter Forsberg) — also known as "The Paralyzer" — in shootouts.
At the National Hockey League trade deadline, on February 26, 2008, Jokinen was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with Mike Smith, Jeff Halpern and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick, in exchange for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist. On February 4, 2009, Jokinen was placed on waivers by the Lightning and later, on February 7, 2009, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Wade Brookbank, Josef Melichar and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick.
On June 29, 2009, the Hurricanes signed Jokinen to a two-year contract worth $3.4 million ($15 million in 2009-2010 and $19 million in 2010-2011).
As of November 19, 2009, Jokinen has scored a total of 25 goals in 46 shootout attempts, with an impressive 54.3% success rate. Eight of those shootout goals were game-winners. Jokinen re-signed with former Finnish club Kärpät during the 2012-2013 National Hockey League lockout, committing himself there until the resumption of the National Hockey League season in January 2013.
On March 26, 2013, Jokinen was placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes.
On April 3, 2013, Jokinen was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional sixthor seventh-round pick in 2013. In his first game with the Penguins, Jokinen scored Pittsburgh"s lone goal in regulation and tallied the only shootout goal for the team"s 2–1 victory over the New York Rangers.
Jokinen enjoyed his most productive season since 2010, totalling 21 goals and 57 points in 81 games with the Penguins. On July 1, 2014, as an unrestricted free agent, Jokinen signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Florida Panthers.