Daniel Tjärnqvist

Daniel Carl Tjärnqvist (born October 14, 1976) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche. His younger brother, Mathias, is an assistant coach in Malmö Redhawks in the Swedish elite league Elitserien.

Playing career Tjärnqvist was drafted by the Florida Panthers as their fourth-round pick, 88th overall, in the 1995 NHL entry draft; however, Tjärnqvist never played a game for the team .

After four years with Djurgården in the Swedish Elitserien, Tjärnqvist spent three seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers in the National Hockey League; after the 2004–05 lockout he played for the Minnesota Wild.

On July 6, 2006, Tjärnqvist signed a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers. Daniel established himself in the Oilers defense until he was beset with a pubic bone injury, missing the majority of the 2006–07 NHL season. Tjärnqvist, a free agent, then spent the 2007–08 season in the Russian Super League reportedly signing with Ak Bars Kazan, before formally signing a contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

On July 3, 2008, with the option to remain in Russia, Tjärnqvist instead came back for a second stint in the NHL, signing a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Tjärnqvist was used primarily as a reserve defenseman before succumbing to a concussion to end his 2008–09 campaign.

On May 24, 2009, Tjärnqvist signed a one-year contract to return to Russia with his previous team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, for the 2009–10 season. Establishing himself as Lokomotiv's best defensive defender, he appeared in 54 games, notching 10 points and adding 3 more in Yaroslavl's run to the Western Conference finals. On June 18, 2010, he was re-signed by the KHL team to a further one-year deal.

On June 27, 2011, Tjärnqvist returned to Djurgården in Swedish Elitserien signing a one plus one optional year contract. As an Alternate captain with the club, he was primarily used as a stay at home defenseman and produced 14 points in 45 games during the 2011–12 season.

On May 12, 2012, Tjärnqvist opted not to extend his contract in Sweden and signed a one-year deal with a German club, Kölner Haie, of the DEL. Upon spending the 2014–15 season with Haie, Tjärnqvist sat out the following season as a free agent before announcing his retirement from professional hockey on June 1, 2016.

Records First Swedish player to win the SM-liiga (1997).

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1993–94 Rögle BK J20 — — — — — — — — — — 1994–95 Rögle BK J20 11 1 5 6 8 — — — — — 1994–95 Rögle BK SEL 18 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1994–95 Rögle BK Allsv 15 2 4 6 0 11 4 0 4 0 1995–96 Rögle BK SEL 22 1 7 8 6 — — — — — 1995–96 Rögle BK Allsv 18 5 16 21 6 11 1 4 5 4 1996–97 Jokerit FIN U20 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1996–97 Jokerit SM-l 44 3 8 11 4 9 0 3 3 4 1997–98 Djurgårdens IF SEL 40 5 9 14 12 15 1 1 2 2 1998–99 Djurgårdens IF SEL 40 4 3 7 16 4 0 0 0 2 1999–00 Djurgårdens IF SEL 42 3 16 19 8 5 0 0 0 2 2000–01 Djurgårdens IF SEL 45 9 17 26 26 16 6 5 11 2 2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 75 2 16 18 14 — — — — — 2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 75 3 12 15 26 — — — — — 2003–04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 68 5 15 20 20 — — — — — 2004–05 Djurgårdens IF SEL 49 12 12 24 30 12 2 5 7 10 2005–06 Minnesota Wild NHL 60 3 15 18 32 — — — — — 2006–07 Edmonton Oilers NHL 37 3 12 15 30 — — — — — 2007–08 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl RSL 18 1 2 3 14 8 0 4 4 4 2008–09 Colorado Avalanche NHL 37 2 2 4 8 — — — — — 2009–10 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 54 3 7 10 26 17 0 3 3 8 2010–11 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 24 3 4 7 12 10 3 3 6 12 2011–12 Djurgårdens IF SEL 45 4 10 14 22 — — — — — 2012–13 Kölner Haie DEL 49 6 22 28 51 5 0 2 2 2 2013–14 Kölner Haie DEL 52 5 12 17 41 7 0 0 0 2 2014–15 Kölner Haie DEL 51 2 8 10 20 — — — — — SEL totals 301 38 75 113 122 62 12 12 24 20 KHL totals 78 6 11 17 38 27 3 6 9 20 NHL totals 352 18 72 90 130 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1994 Sweden EJC 5 2 1 3 0 1995 Sweden WJC 7 0 0 0 2 1996 Sweden WJC 5 2 2 4 0 2000 Sweden WC 7th 7 1 1 2 0 2001 Sweden WC 9 0 6 6 6 2002 Sweden WC 9 2 3 5 0 2003 Sweden WC 8 1 2 3 2 2004 Sweden WC 9 1 1 2 0 2004 Sweden WCH 5th 3 0 0 0 2 2006 Sweden OG 8 2 1 3 4 Junior totals 17 4 4 8 2 Senior totals 53 7 13 20 14

Awards SM-liiga champion with Jokerit in 1997. Elitserien playoff winner with Djurgården in 2000 and 2001. World Championship's Best Defenceman in 2002. Olympic gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics.