Matti Hagman

Matti Risto Tapio "Hakki" Hagman (21 September 1955 – 11 October 2016) was a Finnish professional ice hockey player. Hagman was the first Finnish-born and Finnish-trained player to play in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the first to play in a Stanley Cup Final. The first Finnish-born player in NHL was Albert Pudas, who never played hockey in Finland, having moved to Canada at the age of one. Hagman's jersey number 20 is also one of the eight retired numbers in HIFK, where he was a prominent player.

NHL & WHA career

Boston Bruins (1976–1977) Hagman played 237 NHL games over seven seasons. He debuted for the Boston Bruins on 7 October 1976 as they hosted the Minnesota North Stars. During his time in Boston, Hagman was coached by famous Canadian Head Coach Don Cherry. During his time with the Bruins, Hagman did not get much time on ice, but he did score well. During his first NHL season, Matti Hagman scored 28 points in 75 games, though he was playing on the third and fourth lines who do not have much offensive time on ice.

Quebec Nordiques (1977–1978) Hagman joined the WHA Quebec Nordiques in 1977 after they purchased him from Boston. Despite scoring 3 assists in his first Nordiques game, Hagman returned to Finland in 1978, unhappy with playing abroad. He joined Helsinki IFK and went on to lead the Finnish league in points in 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85. Hagman played 3 Canada Cups, as Finland finished sixth in each tournament (1976, 1981, and 1987). He also played on the fourth-place Finnish team in the 1976 Winter Olympics.

Edmonton Oilers (1980–1982)

Hagman was a more prominent player on the Edmonton Oilers as they made the transition from WHA to NHL play. Though being originally a Centre, Hagman played left wing on the line with all-stars Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson during the 1980–81 campaign. Hagman moved from centre to left wing because the Oilers had two top centres: Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. An injury in training camp the next year limited Hagman to just a few games and spelt the end to his NHL career.

After retirement

Hagman was named head coach of Martigny (Switzerland) in 2004. Hagman also has coached numerous Finnish Ice Hockey teams.

Personal life Hagman was the father of Niklas Hagman, who also played in the NHL. He was also the brother-in-law of former indoor soccer star Kai Haaskivi.

Hagman's sister Riitta Salin won a gold medal in 400 metres at the 1974 European Athletics Championships.

Hagman died after a long illness in Espoo, Finland, on 11 October 2016. He died in hospital after seeking treatment a few days earlier.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1972–73 HIFK SM-s 13 11 5 16 7 — — — — — 1973–74 HIFK FIN Jr 6 10 6 16 2 — — — — — 1973–74 HIFK SM-s 35 30 9 39 20 — — — — — 1974–75 HIFK SM-s 33 30 16 46 27 — — — — — 1975–76 HIFK SM-l 36 24 34 58 39 4 1 1 2 5 1976–77 Boston Bruins NHL 75 11 17 28 0 8 0 1 1 0 1977–78 Boston Bruins NHL 15 4 1 5 2 — — — — — 1977–78 Quebec Nordiques WHA 53 21 35 56 16 — — — — — 1978–79 HIFK SM-l 36 20 37 57 53 6 1 6 7 4 1979–80 HIFK SM-l 35 37 50 87 28 7 3 10 13 6 1980–81 Edmonton Oilers NHL 75 20 33 53 16 9 4 1 5 6 1981–82 Edmonton Oilers NHL 72 21 38 59 18 3 1 0 1 0 1982–83 HIFK SM-l 36 23 41 64 50 9 9 8 17 11 1983–84 HIFK SM-l 37 22 47 69 33 2 1 1 2 2 1984–85 HIFK SM-l 34 23 44 67 24 — — — — — 1985–86 EV Landshut 1.GBun 36 25 49 74 24 3 1 2 3 2 1986–87 HIFK SM-l 44 17 51 68 37 3 0 1 1 10 1987–88 HIFK SM-l 44 17 43 60 37 6 4 5 9 6 1988–89 HIFK SM-l 44 11 30 41 23 2 0 1 1 0 1989–90 Hockey-Reipas FIN II 44 18 47 65 4 4 2 3 5 0 1990–91 Hockey-Reipas SM-l 44 15 35 50 24 — — — — — 1991–92 HIFK SM-l 42 8 20 28 20 8 1 3 4 2 SM-s totals 81 71 30 101 54 — — — — — SM-l totals 432 217 432 649 368 47 20 36 56 46 NHL totals 237 56 89 145 36 20 5 2 7 6 WHA totals 53 21 35 56 16 — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1974 Finland EJC 5 10 2 12 0 1975 Finland WJC 5 3 2 5 9 1975 Finland WC 9 2 3 5 4 1976 Finland OLY 6 1 4 5 2 1976 Finland WC 10 4 7 11 14 1976 Finland CC 5 2 4 6 6 1978 Finland WC 5 1 2 3 8 1981 Finland CC 5 1 2 3 4 1983 Finland WC 10 2 5 7 4 1987 Finland CC 5 1 0 1 0 Junior totals 10 13 4 17 9 Senior totals 55 14 27 41 42