Kari Takko

Kari Maurits Takko (born 23 June 1962) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League between 1986 and 1991, and in the Finnish SM-liiga between 1979 and 1985, and again from 1991 to 1997. Internationally Takko played for the Finnish national team at several tournaments, including the 1984 Winter Olympics. He currently works for Porin Ässät as a player coordinator. Takko is also the Director of European Scouting for the Dallas Stars.

Playing career Takko played six seasons in the NHL, serving as a backup to Don Beaupre, Jon Casey and Bill Ranford. He was selected in the tenth round of the 1981 NHL entry draft, 200th overall, by the Quebec Nordiques, but was unable to come to contract terms. He re-entered the 1984 NHL entry draft and was this time drafted by the Minnesota North Stars.

Takko started his SM-liiga career in Ässät during the 1978–79 season, and played there for seven seasons (1978–1985). Takko went to the NHL after the 1984–85 season. He was signed by the Minnesota North Stars, and played with them for a total of six seasons (1985–1991). During the 1990–91 season Takko was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Bruce Bell, making it the "Takko Bell Trade", a play on the fast food restaurant chain. Takko played for the rest of his NHL career in Edmonton. After retiring from NHL play, he played nine more seasons in Europe representing Ässät (1991–1996) in the SM-liiga, and HV71 (1997–2000) in the Elitserien. Takko retired from playing after the 1999–2000 season.

Takko also played internationally for Finland, appearing for their national team a total of 104 times. He is currently the Director of European Scouting for the Dallas Stars.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1977–78 Porin Ässät U20 FIN U20 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Porin Ässät U20 FIN U20 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Porin Ässät FIN 2 — — — 120 2 0 1.00 .905 — — — — — — — — 1979–80 Porin Ässät FIN 2 — — — 120 4 0 2.00 ,873 — — — — — — — — 1980–81 Porin Ässät FIN 4 — — — 240 16 0 4.00 .843 — — — — — — — — 1981–82 Porin Ässät FIN 14 — — — 840 60 0 4.28 .853 — — — — — — — — 1982–83 Porin Ässät FIN 21 — — — 1260 77 0 3.66 .883 — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Porin Ässät FIN 32 — — — 1920 102 3 3.19 .890 9 — — 540 37 0 4.11 — 1983–84 Olympiajoukkue FIN 3 — — — 180 11 0 3.66 .890 — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Porin Ässät FIN 35 — — — 2100 123 3 3.51 .887 8 — — 480 32 0 4.00 .881 1985–86 Minnesota North Stars NHL 1 0 1 0 60 3 0 3.01 .909 — — — — — — — — 1985–86 Springfield Indians AHL 43 18 19 3 2286 161 1 4.05 — — — — — — — — — 1986–87 Minnesota North Stars NHL 38 13 18 4 2067 119 0 3.46 .887 — — — — — — — — 1986–87 Springfield Indians AHL 5 3 2 0 300 16 1 3.20 — — — — — — — — — 1987–88 Minnesota North Stars NHL 37 8 19 6 1917 143 1 4.48 .866 — — — — — — — — 1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 32 8 15 4 1604 93 0 3.48 .899 3 0 1 105 7 0 4.00 .873 1989–90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 21 4 12 0 1012 68 0 4.03 .858 1 0 0 4 0 0 0.00 1.000 1989–90 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 1 0 1 0 59 5 0 5.08 — — — — — — — — — 1990–91 Minnesota North Stars NHL 2 0 2 0 119 12 0 6.06 .838 — — — — — — — — 1990–91 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 5 4 1 0 300 10 1 2.00 — — — — — — — — — 1990–91 Edmonton Oilers NHL 11 4 4 0 530 37 0 4.20 .867 — — — — — — — — 1991–92 Porin Ässät FIN 28 13 11 2 1628 98 1 3.61 .885 6 3 3 359 17 1 2.84 .908 1992–93 Porin Ässät FIN 45 21 16 8 2723 138 3 3.04 .913 7 4 3 430 29 0 4.05 .886 1993–94 Porin Ässät FIN 48 25 16 7 2920 145 3 2.98 .907 5 2 3 296 20 0 4.06 .884 1994–95 Porin Ässät FIN 49 20 18 11 2963 157 1 3.18 .904 7 4 3 425 18 3 2.54 .919 1995–96 Porin Ässät FIN 42 18 21 4 2509 128 2 3.06 .904 3 0 3 178 12 0 4.05 .880 1996–97 Porin Ässät FIN 42 16 16 9 2492 139 1 3.35 — 4 1 3 217 15 0 4.14 .856 1997–98 HV 71 SWE 39 — — — 2340 122 5 3.13 .880 5 — — 314 11 2 2.10 .934 1998–99 HV 71 SWE 40 — — — 2475 107 5 2.59 .888 — — — — — — — — 1999–00 HV 71 SWE 39 — — — 2271 95 4 2.51 .892 3 — — 179 7 0 2.35 .899 NHL totals 142 37 71 14 7305 475 1 3.90 .878 4 0 1 109 7 0 3.86 .873

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1979 Finland EJC 4 — — — 240 8 0 2.00 — 1981 Finland WJC 4 2 1 1 240 12 0 3.00 — 1982 Finland WJC 7 5 2 0 420 29 0 4.14 — 1983 Finland WC 6 — — — 360 25 0 4.17 — 1984 Finland OLY 5 — — — 195 19 0 5.85 .891 1985 Finland WC 7 — — — 420 23 0 3.28 — 1987 Finland CC 5 0 5 0 280 22 0 4.71 .877 1991 Finland WC 3 2 1 0 178 9 0 3.03 .877 1997 Finland WC 2 1 1 0 119 7 0 3.53 .885 Junior totals 15 — — — 900 49 0 3.27 — Senior totals 29 — — — 1552 105 0 4.06 —

Awards Silver medal at the World Junior Championships in 1981. Bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in 1982. Named Best Goalie of SM-liiga in 1985 and 1994.