Mikko Leinonen
Mikko Leinonen Simo Yrjänä ( born July 15, 1955 in Tampere ) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey player who played in his playing days from 1973 to 1987 among others for the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League.
Career
Mikko Leinonen began his career as a hockey player in his hometown at Tappara Tampere, for the first team he in the SM- sarja and from the 1975/76 season in the league SM- liiga successor was active from 1973 to 1977 initially. During this period, the attacker with his team in 1975 and 1977 respectively Finnish Champion and 1976 runner-up was. He then moved for two years to MoDo Hockey Örnsköldsvik in the Elitserien, with whom he won the Swedish championship in the 1978/79 season. In Kärpät Oulu, he spent two seasons and also won in the 1980/81 season again the Finnish championship.
On September 8, 1981, wrote Leinonen as a free agent with the New York Rangers, for whom he stood in the following three years as a regular player in the National Hockey League on the ice. During his time in the franchise of the New York Rangers Leinonen came in parallel also for their farm teams. Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League and the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League, for use After the Olympians had begun by 1980, the 1984/85 season with his former club Kärpät Oulu in the SM- liiga, he signed shortly before the end of the Trade Deadline for the Washington Capitals of the NHL, for which he received a submission in four games gave. Then he got a new contract and returned to Oulu. Following the 1986/87 season, he had spent at Kärpäts League rivals KalPa Kuopio, he ended his career at the age of 31 years.
Internationally
For Finland took Leinonen at the world championships in 1978, 1979 and 1981, and the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in part.
Awards and achievements
Records
- Most assists in a playoff game in the National Hockey League: 6 (with Wayne Gretzky )