Jokinen deal almost a sure thing

From Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

I’m hearing Olli Jokinen is definitely going to be moved. In other words, that “90 percent” number I mentioned earlier, I believe it’s greater. And remember, I was the first to report to you last year 1) that Tomas Vokoun would be traded and 2) that he was traded to Florida. (and as you’ll see, that Boston was the eventual destination of Manny).

The Panthers have grown tired on Jokinen (acquired in 2000, no playoff appearances). They feel his leadership lacked this past season, they were not happy he went 22 games without a goal at one point (fyi, I didn’t look this up, this was the number told to me by a few people) and that he was a liability defensively.

On the plus side, he’s a heckuva power center.

Read more about a possible Jokinen deal at Russo’s Rants here.

At this point, I’m sick of all the Jokinen rumors. However, at least it looks like the Finnish center is almost guaranteed to be traded. I guess the question is: Does he get traded before or after the draft?