Patrick Williamstheahl.com writer
When the free agency opened in July last year KaapoKähkönen There is a plan.
He signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets and is ready to go to training camp with Eric Comrie Work on the consequences of Vezina Trophy winners Connor Hellebuyck. One person will stick with the Stanley Cup contender, the other will join the Manitoba Moose.
But the plan changed. The Colorado avalanche came when Kähkönen was abandoned at the end of the camp with the intention of being assigned to the moose. The avalanche itself is a champion contender Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen struggle. Colorado was claimed by Colorado on October 11.
He spent two weeks at the big club, saw no action, and was sent to the AHL Hawks for adjustment missions. Kähkönen started his weekend trip to Calgary back to back before returning to the avalanche, allowing four goals in 50 shots on October 30.
Kähkönen was taken back by Winnipeg and assigned to Manitoba, where he would average goals with 3.29 goals and 0.885 save percentage of 6-14-1, with a struggling team trying to find themselves in 22 appearances.
Finally, on March 6, the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers shook their depth map to get Kähkönen from the Jets Chris Driedger. For Kähkönen, who played for San Jose and New Jersey in 2023-24, this is his fifth organization in 12 months.
“Of course, it’s been a long season,” Kähkönen admitted. “It’s a roller coaster, but what do you know? Sometimes it’s like that, you just have to take advantage of the advantages. It’s not ideal (walking around), but I’m really happy.”
It turns out that Kähkönen is the first goalkeeper on a team competing for Calder Cup. He brought stability and success to Charlotte’s checkers and quickly won the trust of head coach Geordie Kinnear, who started a lot of games in his game in every game so far in the regular season and playoffs.
Kähkönen gave the Checkers a favorite start with two wins against Providence, including a 32 win in Game 2. After sending Bruis in five games, Charlotte took care of the back-to-back Calder Cup Championship Hershey Hershey Bears, all at the big seats at the Atlantical Division Division Finals.
Both sides have strong early impressions of each other. For Kinnear and Florida organizations, this is Kähkönen’s commitment to elite-level fitness. He has always had the ability to follow the schedule. As the 21-year-old in the 2017-18 season, he played 56 of 60 regular season games for Finland’s Lukko Rauma, his last Liiga season before coming to North America. With the Charlotte Blue Line breaking out a little bit of this postseason, Kähkönen’s presence alleviating the challenge.
“He’s a very healthy person, so he can handle the minutes,” Kinnear outlined. “His calmness is high. He calms these guys down a little fiercely.”
From Kähkönen’s perspective, Florida’s organizational culture stands out for him. With his corporate-wide personality, he found the right fit with Checkers.
“It’s a great team, a great coaching staff,” Kähkönen said. “I think overall, everything we do has this culture of victory and intention. That’s the reason for everything we do. It’s very professional. You know exactly where other people are going to go. Have that trust in each other, to the system, and then take over the individual as the game gives you a chance.”
Now is the next challenge. Checkers will enter the Eastern Conference Finals and they will face regular season champion Laval Rockets. With anyone underestimating checkers, however, it’s a talented p-bruins holding talented eight shots in the decisive 5 of its series. Next, they killed the Bears, a thorough playoff test team with only Hershey scored only six goals in three games. Charlotte allowed only 23 shots per game, which is the least AHL in the playoffs. When the opponent broke, they fell straight into Kähkönen and his .918 playoff savings percentage.
Charlotte faces considerable obstacles in the Rockets. But there were four wins in the final and eight Calder Cup champions won eight – the closest Champions ever – the inspectors were rolling.
The same is true for Kähkönen, whose season has not yet been planned but still gives him the opportunity to compete in June and play in the Calder Cup. Qualifying as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, he also offers a great opportunity for the scene this summer. For now, though, it’s all about finding a way to get Checkers over Laval.
“We have a good structure,” Kähkönen said. “It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to be part of it. It’s a great feeling, but at the same time, no one here is really happy. We’re really looking forward to the next one, all the way.
“It’s a great opportunity to do something special with a group of great people.”
During the fifty years in the American Hockey League, Theahl.com writer Patrick Williams currently covers NHL.com and Flosports leagues and is a regular contributor to Siriusxm NHL New Network Radio. He won the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding league coverage in 2016.
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