Boston Bruins

Henri Jokiharju Hoping To Turn Early Success With Bruins Into Contract Extension

Published

1 month ago

March 15, 2025

Photo courtesy of the Boston Bruins/@NHLBruins on 𝕏

BRIGHTON, Mass. — Few in Boston knew who Henri Jokiharju was, let alone how to pronounce his name when the Boston Bruins acquired him last week at the NHL trade deadline.

But after spending the last five seasons hidden away with the perpetually rebuilding Buffalo Sabres, the Finnish defenseman has stood out along Boston’s depleted blue line. While he’s yet to officially add his name to the stat sheet since joining the Bruins, Jokiharju has thus far passed the eye test, doing a lot of the thankless little things that have helped the team find a small semblance of stability just as all seemed to be falling apart upon his arrival.

“He has the ability to make some good first passes coming out of our D zone coverage,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said. “That’s something that has helped our group and alleviated some of the pressure when we’re in our defensive zone. His play at the offensive blue line has been good, too. When we go low to high,h and we’re trying to get the puck, whether it’s a D-1 shot or a D over, or whatever we’re trying to execute at that particular time, he’s been pretty good there so far.”

Sacco mentioned that Jokiharju is still adjusting to Boston’s defensive zone structure. Even still, Jokiharju hasn’t been a detriment in his own end to this point, owning a plus-one rating through his first three games with the team.

The Bruins hold a 58-43 advantage in shot attempts whenever Jokiharju has been on the ice. He’s averaged 19:17 of time on ice per game skating alongside Nikita Zadorov.

“We can keep the game simple,” Jokiharju said. “He’s a great defenseman in this league, for sure. Every team wants a player like him on their team, so it’s just really nice to play with him.”

Reuniting with his former Sabres teammate, Casey Mittlestadt, who the Bruins also added at the deadline in a move with the Colorado Avalanche, has helped Jokiharju make the adjustment to playing in Boston.

“We’re both going through a lot of the same things right now,” said Mittlestadt. “We were really close in Buffalo, so it’s been fun to reconnect and get to play together again, and it obviously really helps the transition as well.”

Sending the fourth-round selection of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2026 draft to Buffalo for Jokiharju was the one move made by the Bruins at the deadline that could be considered as them “buying.”

An unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, the 25-year-old Jokiharju wanted to sign an extension with the Sabre but requested a trade once it became clear they had no intention of offering him one.

“I didn’t have that much ice time out there,” said Jokiharju. “They didn’t offer me an extension. Business is business, so there’s no hard feelings, but it’s great to be here.”

According to AFP Analytics, Jokiharju is in line for a three-year deal worth somewhere in the range of $3.125 million per season, just a hair more than what he’s earning on his current contract.

If he keeps performing the way he has for the Bruins over the final stretch of the season, he’ll be more than worth it.