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Leo Komarov

Notable Former NHLers Playing In The Liiga In 2023-24

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As overseas campaigns kick off at the beginning of next month, we’ll highlight some notable former NHLers suiting up for teams in major European leagues over the next few days. After highlighting some key Swedish Hockey League contributors last weekend, we’re moving on to Finland with the Liiga, the country’s top pro league, routinely churning out premier draft prospects and marquee European free agents.

D Michal Jordán – Lahden Pelicans

Jordan, 33, was a 2008 fourth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes who played 79 games there in 2012 and 2016, serving as captain of their AHL affiliate in Charlotte for a short time as well. He went overseas in 2016 after scoring just one goal in 36 games with the Hurricanes the year prior, and he would spend most of the next seven seasons with Amur Khabarovsk in Russia. The Czech defender is now entering his first Liiga season, joining after registering 15 combined points in 41 games split between Khabarovsk and the NL’s Rapperswil-Jona Lakers last season. He’s still logging minutes internationally, representing Czechia at the last two World Championships. He’s expected to log top-four minutes and play a leadership role for Pelicans, who have already named him an alternate captain.

F Leo Komarov – HIFK Helsinki

Komarov, 36, will play in Finland’s top league for the first time since 2009. The long-time New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs forward left the NHL ranks via mutual contract termination at the beginning of the 2021-22 season, and he’s since played for Luleå HF in Sweden and SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. He’ll look to regain some offensive confidence in his twilight years with HIFK after recording just nine goals and 18 points in 49 games for Luleå in 2022-23. The versatile, physical forward recorded 63 goals and 170 points in 491 games across nine NHL seasons.

F Lauri Korpikoski – TPS Turku

Korpikoski, now 37, primarily spent his NHL career with the Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers after the New York Rangers selected him 19th overall in 2004. He’s returning to TPS in the 2023-24 season after playing four out of the last five years there, returning to his youth club in 2018 after a ten-year NHL career and one season in Switzerland with ZSC Lions. A versatile winger with a history of reliable two-way play, Korpikoski finished second on TPS in points last season, scoring 11 goals and adding 13 assists for 24 points in 43 games. In 609 NHL games, Korpikoski recorded 86 goals and 201 points. He last suited up in the 2016-17 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars.

F Jori Lehterä – HIFK Helsinki

Lehterä was a top-six center at one point with the St. Louis Blues in the mid-2010s but eventually left for Europe after Finnish police charged him with purchasing and possessing cocaine in early 2019 (as well as his offensive production dropping off a cliff with the Philadelphia Flyers beforehand). Returning to Finland in 2022-23 with Tappara after three years in Russia, Lehtera led the Liiga champions in scoring with 57 points in 57 games and is one of the premier players in the league today. The 35-year-old will suit up alongside Komarov in the country’s capital and biggest city.

D Sami Niku – JYP Jyväskylä

Niku could never really transform into a full-time NHL defender with the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens, and he’s now gearing up for his second season in JYP after a strong first campaign back home in 2022-23. The 26-year-old blueliner erupted for 42 points in 54 games after spending five seasons in the NHL. A 2015 seventh-round pick, Niku did give the Jets decent value for his selection, but it was frustrating watching him not being able to convert high-end point totals in the minors to an everyday NHL role. He’s now routinely averaging over 25 minutes per game in Finland and is a bonafide power-play quarterback.

Honorable mentions: F Nicholas Baptiste (Tappara), F Connor Bunnaman (Kärpät), F Jesse Joensuu (Ässät), F Iiro Pakarinen (HIFK), F Kristian Vesalainen (HIFK)

Leo Komarov Signs With Liiga’s HIFK

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Helsinki-based club HIFK in Finland’s top league have signed former New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov to a two-year contract, according to a team release. In doing so, Komarov returns to play professionally in the country he’s represented internationally for the first time since 2009.

Born in Estonia, the 36-year-old Komarov has maintained Finnish citizenship and nationality since his family moved there in his youth. He hasn’t played in the NHL since he mutually terminated his contract with the Islanders in November 2021.

A 2006 sixth-round pick of the Maple Leafs, Komarov has gone on to have quite a successful career despite playing less than 500 NHL games. The versatile forward is well-decorated internationally, winning gold medals with Finland at the World Championship and the Winter Olympics and capturing the KHL’s Gagarin Cup.

It was extremely unlikely Komarov would ever return to the NHL after departing for Europe this late into his career, but this essentially confirms he’s played his last game in North America. If that’s the case, he finishes his NHL career with 63 goals, 107 assists and 170 points in 491 games across nine seasons with the Islanders and Leafs.

Komarov spent last season in the Swedish Hockey League with Luleå HF. There, he recorded nine goals, nine assists and 18 points in 49 games as his squad lost to Växjö Lakers HC in the league’s quarterfinals.

Leo Komarov Signs In Sweden

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In early August, we covered rumors that veteran NHL forward Leo Komarov would be spending the 2022-23 season in the SHL. While it turns out that Brynas won’t end up being the club that features Komarov next season, Komarov has ended up in the SHL after all. Per a team announcement, Lulea HF has signed Komarov to a one-year contract.

Komarov, 35, is a veteran of nearly 500 NHL games. He played for two teams in his NHL career, the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs, and has scored 170 points in his 491 career NHL games. Komarov’s most recent run was with the Islanders, where he played as a low-scoring bottom-sixer on a squad that went to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals.

The best years of Komarov’s career came with the Toronto Maple Leafs, highlighted by a 2015-16 season where he scored 19 goals and 36 points and represented the Maple Leafs at the 2016 All-Star Game. A sixth-round pick in 2006, Komarov’s NHL career came after a long stretch of development in the KHL.

Komarov made his KHL return last season, skating in 18 regular-season contests and 16 playoff contests for SKA St. Petersburg, scoring a combined nine points. Komarov helped Finland win gold at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and joins a Lulea team that fell just short of winning the SHL championship last season.

While a return to the NHL for Komarov is likely out of the picture, it’s definitely possible that he spends the remainder of his playing days as a quality forward in European leagues while also featuring in international tournaments.

Leo Komarov Linked To SHL

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At the end of April, SKA St. Petersburg announced several players would not be returning to the KHL club for next season. Among those was veteran NHL forward Leo Komarov, who was suddenly without a team. After some rumors earlier in the summer that suggested he would be heading to Sweden, he once again has been linked to the SHL today.

This time, it’s Brynas who are expected to sign Komarov, the same club that was connected to Johan Larsson yesterday. Now 35, Komarov actually started last season in the NHL, before agreeing to a contract termination in order to find more playing time overseas and compete in the Olympics (where he won gold). Despite his Russian-sounding name, the veteran forward was born in Estonia and grew up in Finland, which is also the country he competes for internationally.

A return to North America always seemed unlikely at this point, given how far his game had declined in recent years. An all-effort-every-time kind of player, Komarov banged and crashed his way through nearly 500 regular season games in the NHL, racking up 1,572 hits in the process. He had a career-high 19 goals and 36 points during the 2015-16 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs but would come nowhere close to those totals with the New York Islanders.

In fact, over parts of four seasons, Komarov had just 11 total goals for the Islanders, despite seeing time alongside Mathew Barzal occasionally. A contract in Sweden would likely close the book entirely on his NHL career, if it hadn’t already been shut. In 491 career regular season games, he scored 63 goals and 170 points.

Finland Announces 2022 Olympic Roster

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With just three weeks until the 2022 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament gets underway, rosters are being finalized by all the participating countries. Finland is the latest to reveal who will represent their country in Beijing next month, announcing a roster filled with names that are familiar to NHL fans. While the best league in the world won’t be going to the international event, there’s still plenty of NHL experience that will hit the ice.

The full roster:

G Harri Sateri
G Frans Tuohimaa
G Jussi Olkinuora

D Ville Pokka
D Niklas Friman
D Mikko Lehtonen
D Valtteri Kemilainen
D Juuso Hietanen
D Petteri Lindbohm
D Sami Vatanen
D Atte Ohtamaa

F Marko Anttila
F Miro Aaltonen
F Niko Ojamaki
F Joonas Kemppainen
F Hannes Bjorninen
F Toni Rajala
F Valtteri Filppula
F Markus Granlund
F Sakari Manninen
F Teemu Hartikainen
F Leo Komarov
F Samu Maenalanen
F Iiro Pakarinen
F Harri Pesonen

One thing that immediately sticks out about this group is how it is made up entirely of veteran players, those including several in their mid-thirties. Young options like Topi Niemela or Joakim Kemell, who are both leading players in Liiga, were not included. Experience is the choice here as the Finns try to reach the medal round once again. In 2018, Finland finished sixth after being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Canada.

Riley Sheahan And Leo Komarov Placed On Waivers

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November 14: Komarov made his move to the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg today, announcing it via an Instagram post. Komarov expects to join SKA “soon.”

November 13: A pair of veterans are on the waiver wire today as James Mirtle of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Kraken have placed center Riley Sheahan on waivers while the Islanders have done the same with Leo Komarov.

Sheahan signed with Seattle at the beginning of September to give them some extra depth down the middle, inking a one-year, $850K contract.  However, he has had a limited role this season, logging just 11:28 per game, the lowest average of his career, while tallying just a goal and two assists in 14 games this season.  With Colin Blackwell set to make his Kraken debut tonight – per The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark (Twitter link) – it will be Sheahan that loses his roster spot.  With center depth typically being something that teams covet, there is a reasonable chance that the 29-year-old could be claimed.

The same can’t be said for Komarov, who has cleared waivers several times including last month.  A report surfaced earlier this week that Komarov was expected to head back overseas and join SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL and today’s placement on unconditional waivers paves the way for that move to be made official on Saturday.  Assuming this is indeed the end of Komarov’s time in North America, he’ll leave with 170 points in 491 career NHL contests to go along with a whopping 1,572 hits.  Once his deal is terminated, the Islanders will free up $1.875MM in cap room.

Leo Komarov Expected To Be Placed On Unconditional Waivers

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In something of a surprise move, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports that veteran forward Leo Komarov is expected to be on unconditional waivers tomorrow. The move would be to terminate Komarov’s contract, allowing him to return to the KHL where he would join SKA St. Petersburg. Komarov never did report to Bridgeport after being assigned to the AHL, but by terminating his deal it would mean forfeiting the remainder of his $2MM salary for this season.

Importantly, it would also clear Komarov’s entire $3MM cap hit off the books for the Islanders. Assigning him to the AHL only cleared $1.125MM, meaning New York and GM Lou Lamoriello would gain some extra cap space should this termination go through. After trading away Johnny Boychuk’s deal a few days ago, the Islanders are already under the cap and accruing cap space every day. Moving on from Komarov would give them even more cap space and help to accommodate a midseason acquisition.

The simple fact is that Komarov is no longer effective enough to be a full-time option at the NHL level. The 34-year-old forward recorded just 11 points in 52 games last season (regular season and playoffs combined), with only a single goal. While he’s always been a good defensive player and a physical presence, willing to hit just about anything that moves, his time as a realistic NHL option is over. A return to the KHL makes sense at this point, especially if he can recoup at least most of his remaining NHL salary.

Depending on what he signs in the KHL he may be an unrestricted free agent again next summer, but it seems unlikely that we’ll ever see Komarov as a regular in the NHL again. If that’s true, he leaves with 491 career regular season games, 63 goals, 170 points and 1,160 hits.

Metropolitan Notes: Lapierre, Hamilton, Komarov

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With Capitals center Hendrix Lapierre averaging only nine minutes per game in his first five NHL appearances, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he’s returned back to junior.  He has been scratched in five other games to buy them some more time to make the decision, one that GM Brian MacLellan acknowledged to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription link) should be coming soon:

We’re going to do what’s best for him development-wise. He’s done a great job up until this point. Everything he’s done has benefited his growth — off-ice workouts, being around the guys, practicing with the big club.

But at some point here, we’re going to make a decision on what’s going to be best for him moving forward, to grow his game.

Lapierre can play in four more NHL games before officially burning the first year of his entry-level deal and MacLellan admitted that the cap element – in particular, having another cheap season from him – will also play a factor in their decision.  At this point, it feels like the Capitals returning him to the QMJHL is a matter of when, not if.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • Prior to Dougie Hamilton leaving in free agency, Carolina GM Don Waddell felt that there was some progress on a new deal that would have stopped him from reaching the open market. However, the defenseman didn’t feel the same way, telling ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that he never felt that he was wanted.  He certainly got that feeling from the Devils, who signed him to a seven-year, $63MM contract on the opening day of free agency and he has done well so far, collecting six points in eight games while averaging 21:59 per contest.
  • Islanders winger Leo Komarov has yet to report to Bridgeport despite clearing waivers and being assigned more than two weeks ago, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross. However, GM Lou Lamoriello indicated that the veteran is rehabbing a minor injury and will report soon once that has cleared.  Players generally aren’t permitted to be waived when they’re injured although since Komarov is still collecting his full salary (without escrow now that he has been sent down), it shouldn’t be much of a concern for him.

Leo Komarov Assigned To AHL

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It’s been quite some time since Leo Komarov suited up for an AHL match, but that’s exactly what may have to happen if he wants to continue to play professional hockey. The New York Islanders have assigned Komarov to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after he cleared waivers earlier today, activating Matt Martin from injured reserve to take his place on the roster.

Komarov, 34, hasn’t played an AHL game since the 2012-13 season, his first year in North America after finally signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the KHL. The 2006 draft choice spent years overseas before ever joining the Maple Leafs and actually returned for the 2013-14 season, but has been in the NHL ever since. In fact, it wasn’t so long ago that Komarov was lining up beside Mathew Barzal on the Islanders’ top unit–even though that became a point of amusement among many hockey fans as he clearly didn’t earn that spot on his offensive merit.

Waivers wasn’t an entirely new experience for Komarov, as he cleared three times last season. But he was never sent to the minor leagues because of the existence of the taxi squad, something that isn’t around this season. It will be interesting to see if he will actually report to Bridgeport and play in the minors, or something else will come of the veteran forward’s future. At the very least, the Islanders will receive $1.125MM in cap space by assigning him there, the maximum allowed to be buried. Komarov normally carries a $3.0MM cap hit on the final season of his four-year, $12MM deal.

It’s been years since he was effective at the opponent’s end of the rink, with just one goal and eight points in 33 games last season, but Komarov was actually once selected to an NHL All-Star Game because of his offensive contributions. In 2015-16 he recorded 19 goals in 67 games, a number that came very close to leading the rebuilding Maple Leafs. In his career, he has just 63 total tallies in 491 regular season games.

Belzile, Komarov Clear Waivers

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Oct 19: Both players have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Oct 18: With Mike Hoffman ready to make his debut, the Montreal Canadiens have placed Alex Belzile on waivers. The team was at the maximum 23 roster spots after claiming Adam Brooks earlier this month, and needed to make room for Hoffman to come off injured reserve. The New York Islanders have also placed Leo Komarov on waivers after the veteran forward played just 10:50 on Saturday night in his only appearance of the season. Matt Martin is likely the cause in this case, as he too is ready to come off injured reserve and reclaim his spot on the team’s fourth line.

Belzile, 30, was the definition of a minor league journeyman until he appeared in the 2020 playoffs for the Canadiens, suiting up six times and registering his first NHL point. He appeared twice for the team last season, recording another assist, but is still without a goal at the NHL level. That’s certainly not the case in the minor leagues, where he is often among the scoring leaders on whatever team he suits up for. Belzile has donned the sweater of the Gwinnett Gladiators, Hamilton Bulldogs, Alaska Aces, Idaho Steelheads, Fort Wayne Komets, San Antonio Rampage, Colorado Eagles and Laval Rocket over his long career. His one-year, two-way contract carries an AHL salary of $250K, should he clear and be assigned to the Rocket once more.

Komarov meanwhile is much more expensive, as he’s in the final season of a four-year, $12MM contract signed in 2018. The 34-year-old forward will actually only earn $2MM this season but carries a $3MM cap hit, which only $1.125MM of can be buried should he be assigned to the minor leagues. Because of that, clearing waivers certainly shouldn’t be a challenge, just like he did in January, February, and March of this year. While Martin is set to jump back on the line with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck, Komarov will still likely be a useful call-up should the Islanders run into any injury trouble.

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