The 2024-25 NHL season is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory. The 108th campaign in league history will feature the debut of NHL hockey in the state of Utah, with the relocation of the former Arizona Coyotes franchise to Salt Lake City. In addition, hockey fans will once again be subjected to best-on-best hockey. Instead of the NHL All-Star Game, the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off will take place Feb. 12-20, 2025. It is structured as an international round-robin tournament between Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland with the top two teams competing in the final. Only NHL players are allowed to compete, and NHL rules will be in place for all games. Seven total games will be played, split between the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.
The event is a precursor to the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will welcome back NHL player participation for the first time since 2014. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also announced that the league would house World Cup of Hockey tournaments once more, with the last such event taking place in 2016. For Calgary Flames fans, a number of players could be invited to play for their home countries. In anticipation, we think it’s only fair to go back in time to look at the best players in franchise history from each respective nation. We’re beginning our series with Finland. Currently, the Flames have no active players from the country apart from minor league goaltender Waltteri Ignatjew, but have a handful of excellent former Finns worth remembering. Here are our top five Flames players from Finland.
5. Karri Rämö, Goaltender
First up is former Flames goaltender Karri Rämö, who hails from Asikkala. He was originally a Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick, chosen in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He came to North America in 2006 after winning a championship in the Finnish SM-Liiga with HPK Hameenlinna. His NHL beginnings were rough, as the Lightning were in rebuild mode and put forth a poor on-ice product. Rämö went a combined 11-21-10 in 48 appearances for the team from 2006-09 and had a dismal .873 save percentage (SV%) and a 3.45 goals-against average (GAA). He decided to take his talents back overseas in 2009, signing with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In two of his three seasons in the KHL, he was selected as an All-Star after posting stellar numbers. Meanwhile, his NHL rights were traded to the Montreal Canadiens, who flipped them, Michael Cammalleri, and a 2012 fifth-round pick to the Flames for Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland, and a 2013 second-rounder.
Rämö took over the Flames’ crease in 2013, appearing in 40 games and finishing with a 16-15-4 record and two shutouts. However, the team missed the postseason. The next year was Rämö’s best; he split netminding duties with newly-acquired Jonas Hiller, playing 34 games and going 15-9-3 with two shutouts. He posted an impressive 2.60 GAA and .912 SV%. The 2014-15 Flames made it to the second round of the playoffs, and Rämö played a solid role, winning two of four playoff starts. He would play one more season with the team before a knee injury temporarily derailed his playing career. He would get no NHL interest, and he went home to focus on his recovery. From 2016 until his retirement in 2022, Rämö played in the Liiga, KHL, Swedish Hockey League (SHL), and Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). All told, he played in 111 games for the Flames and compiled a record of 49-42-8 with five shutouts.
4. Kari Eloranta, Defenseman
For our fourth-best Finn, we’re heading back to the 1980s with defenseman Kari Eloranta. A native of Lahti, Finland, he is one of nine NHL players to be born on “leap day” (Feb. 29). He played the majority of his professional career in the Liiga, SHL, and Swiss National League. However, he did play parts of six seasons in the NHL, primarily as a member of the Flames. He got his start with the team as an undrafted free agent in 1981, for its inaugural season in Alberta after moving from Atlanta, Georgia. He suited up for 19 games and registered five assists before being traded to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations. After three months and 17 games with the Blues, he was sent right back to Cowtown for cash.
Related: Calgary Flames: Forgotten Players From the 1980s
In his second stint with the team, he fared much better. The 1982-83 season saw him score a very honorable four goals and 44 points in 80 games, in addition to one goal and four points in nine playoff contests. Eloranta had an excellent following season as well, with five goals and 39 points in 78 games. After the 1984-85 campaign, he played in the SHL for a year before coming back to the Flames at the end of 1986-87. This served as his final foray in the NHL, playing the rest of his career in the aforementioned leagues. Eloranta ironically won a silver medal for Team Finland at the 1988 Winter Olympics, held at the Saddledome. In 255 total games for the Flames, Eloranta finished with 12 goals and 109 points.
3. Toni Lydman, Defenseman
Next comes another Finnish blueliner held in high regard and also raised in Lahti, Toni Lydman. An original Flames draft pick, he was chosen by the franchise in Round 4 of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. After four years in the Liiga, he made the Flames roster in 2000-01 and never looked back. The talented, two-way rearguard scored three goals and 16 points in 62 games in his rookie season. His best statistical campaign came the following year, totalling a career-high six goals and 28 points in 79 games in 2001-02. Lydman was a part of the 2003-04 Flames team that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, falling short to the Lightning. He unfortunately missed a lot of postseason action due to injury, skating in just six matches during the run.
Lydman was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for a third-round pick during the 2005 offseason. He played five seasons with the team and went to the Eastern Conference Final in back-to-back seasons (2005-06, 2006-07). As a free agent in 2010, he signed a three-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks. After the conclusion of the contract in 2013, he announced his retirement from professional hockey.
An intriguing factoid about Lydman is that he is part of the “Quadruple Silver Club”, a humorous take on the coveted Triple Gold Club which players achieve by winning an IIHF World Championship, an Olympic gold medal, and Stanley Cup. He won one Olympic silver (2006), two World Championship silvers (1998, 1999) and a World Cup silver (2004) with Finland, and lost in the aforementioned 2004 Stanley Cup Final, earning him the unfortunate title. As a Flame, Lydman skated in 289 contests and scored 19 goals and 93 points.
2. Olli Jokinen, Forward
Our number two pick is a player that had two stints with the Flames, centreman Olli Jokinen. One of just nine total NHLers from Kuopio, Finland, he got his NHL start with the Los Angeles Kings after they drafted him third overall in 1997. He played parts of two seasons with them and ironically scored his first NHL goal against the Flames on Nov. 10, 1998. At the end of his rookie season, he was traded to the New York Islanders in a blockbuster six-player deal. After just one season on Long Island, he again was traded to the Florida Panthers along with Hall of Fame goaltender Roberto Luongo. Jokinen finally broke out in 2002-03, scoring 36 goals and 65 points. He went on to become the captain of the Panthers and played seven total seasons before again being traded, this time to the Phoenix Coyotes. The forward played 57 games with them before packing his bags again as he was sent to the Flames for the first time.
Jokinen scored 15 points in his first 19 games as a Flame, and after ten seasons finally made his NHL playoff debut with them. He performed well, scoring five points in six games, but the team was ousted in Round 1 by the Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately for Jokinen, he had a cold start to the 2009-10 campaign and was sent to the New York Rangers. However, as a free agent that same summer he returned to the Flames, signing a two-year contract. He had his best year with the team in 2011-12, scoring 23 goals and 61 points in all 82 games, though the team missed the postseason in both years of his contract. Jokinen went on to play for the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Blues before retiring in 2015. He had 236 games, 59 goals, and 165 points as a member of the Flames.
1. Miikka Kiprusoff, Goaltender
Is it really a surprise? The greatest Finn to ever lace ’em up for the Flames is undoubtedly legendary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flames’ all-time goalie leader in games played, wins, saves, shutouts, SV% and GAA recently became the fourth player to have his number retired by the franchise. In the beginning, the netminder was property of the San Jose Sharks after they drafted him 116th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first three pro seasons in their organization, and in just his second-ever NHL start during the 2001 postseason, he became the first Finnish goaltender in league history to win a playoff game. After his struggles in 2003, the Flames acquired him for a mere second-round pick, easily becoming one of the best trades in franchise history.
In his first season with the team, he went 24-10-4 and set a modern NHL record with a 1.69 GAA. Behind his strong play, the Flames made their famous run to the 2004 Final. Kiprusoff finished the playoffs with 15 wins, a sparkling 1.85 GAA and .928 SV%. While the team would never again make such a run, “Kipper” led them to the playoffs four more times. He continued his solid play into 2005-06, winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender as well as the William M. Jennings trophy for fewest goals allowed. He also finished as runner-up for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, with an otherworldly 42 wins, 2.07 GAA and .923 SV%. Kiprusoff manned the Flames’ net for seven more seasons before hanging up the skates in 2013. No Flames goalie has captured the hearts of fans like Kipper did, and every future Flames goalie will unfortunately have to try to live up to his standards.
It is always tough picking all-time lists, as the process is opinion-based and often players are left out. For Finnish-born Flames, there were an excellent bunch of individuals to choose from. Hopefully, with time this list will be made irrelevant due to an influx of immensely talented future Finns that don the Flaming ‘C’.
