Niklas Hagman

Niklas Hagman (born December 5, 1979) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He was a third round pick of the Florida Panthers, 70th overall, at the 1999 NHL entry draft and made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with Florida in 2001. He has also played for the Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks in the NHL, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL, HIFK, Espoo Blues and Kärpät in the SM-liiga and HC Davos in the Swiss National League A.

An accomplished international player, Hagman has represented Finland at three Winter Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in 2006 and bronze at 2010. He played on the Finnish team that reached the final of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, has appeared in five World Championships and twice played at the World Junior Championships, winning a gold medal in 1998.

Playing career

Professional

Finland Hagman grew up playing with HIFK, appearing with their under-18 and junior teams between 1995 and 1999. He played his first professional games in 1997–98 with HIFK. He appeared in eight games in the SM-liiga, Finland's top league, and scored his first goal. He split the majority of the 1998–99 season between HIFK's senior and junior teams before he was sent to the Espoo Blues to complete the season. he remained in Finland. He played with Kärpät of the Mestis, the Finnish second division, in 1999–00, and remained with the team for 2000–01 after they gained promotion to the SM-liiga. He led Kärpät with 28 goals that season and finished second on the team in points.

Following another 23-point campaign in 2003–04, Hagman signed with HC Davos of the Swiss National League A as the 2004–05 season was wiped out by a labour dispute. He returned to the Panthers to begin the 2005–06 season, but after 30 games, he was traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a seventh-round selection at the 2007 NHL entry draft.

Hagman recorded his 100th career NHL point in a 2–1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on October 23, 2006.

Hagman reached numerous milestones en route to his second 20-goal campaign in 2008–09. He played his 500th NHL game on November 17, 2008, against the Boston Bruins, scored his 200th point on February 22, 2009, against the New York Rangers and his 100th goal on March 28, also against Boston. Hagman finished the season with 25 goals and 44 points split between Toronto and Calgary. The Flames then placed the winger on re-entry waivers to allow another team to pick him up for only half his salary. He was subsequently claimed by the Anaheim Ducks on November 14, 2011, with the Flames remaining responsible to pay the other half of his salary for the duration of his contract.

Europe Following the 2011–12 season, Hagman returned to Europe, signing a deal with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL. In the 2012–13 season for Yaroslavl, he played 49 games in the regular season, scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists. This was then followed by a six-game playoff run in which Hagman went scoreless.

In July 2013, the Finnish SM-liiga club Ässät announced that Hagman had signed for a one-year contract.

International play

Hagman first represented his country internationally as a member of the Finnish junior team at the 1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament was held in Helsinki, and though the Finns were not expected to be contenders, they ultimately won the gold medal. He described winning the championship in his home country as being one of the greatest achievements of his career.

An injury to Ville Peltonen shortly before the 2002 Winter Olympics opened up a chance for Hagman to represent the Finnish senior team for the first time. He appeared in four games for the Finns, scoring one goal. The Finns lost the game, 3–2, and settled for the silver medal. It was a result Hagman found disappointing, especially in losing to Finland's arch-rivals in hockey. For Hagman, the bronze represented his second Olympic medal. His uncle is Kai Haaskivi, a retired professional football (soccer) player and former member of the Finnish national team and his cousin is the actor Olli Haaskivi. Hagman announced his engagement to Finnish model and first runner-up of Miss Finland 2003, Piritta Hannula, in Spring 2005. They were married on July 8, 2006, in Helsinki. They have a son named Lukas, born in February 2007. Their daughter Lila was born in September 2009. In March 2018, Niklas and Piritta Hagman filed a request for divorce. The divorce became legal in December same year.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1995–96 HIFK FIN U18 26 12 21 33 32 4 3 0 3 2 1995–96 HIFK FIN U20 12 3 1 4 0 — — — — — 1996–97 HIFK FIN U18 21 19 12 31 46 4 1 1 2 0 1996–97 HIFK FIN U20 30 13 12 25 30 — — — — — 1997–98 HIFK FIN U18 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1997–98 HIFK FIN U20 26 9 5 14 16 — — — — — 1997–98 HIFK SM-l 8 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1998–99 HIFK FIN U20 14 4 9 13 43 — — — — — 1998–99 HIFK SM-l 17 1 1 2 14 — — — — — 1998–99 Espoo Blues SM-l 14 1 1 2 2 4 1 0 1 0 1999–2000 Kärpät FIN U20 4 7 3 10 0 — — — — — 1999–2000 Kärpät FIN.2 41 17 18 35 12 7 4 2 6 0 2000–01 Kärpät SM-l 56 28 18 46 32 8 3 1 4 0 2001–02 Florida Panthers NHL 78 10 18 28 8 — — — — — 2002–03 Florida Panthers NHL 80 8 15 23 20 — — — — — 2003–04 Florida Panthers NHL 75 10 13 23 22 — — — — — 2004–05 HC Davos NLA 44 17 22 39 20 15 10 7 17 6 2005–06 Florida Panthers NHL 30 2 4 6 2 — — — — — 2005–06 Dallas Stars NHL 54 6 9 15 16 5 2 1 3 4 2006–07 Dallas Stars NHL 82 17 12 29 34 7 0 1 1 10 2007–08 Dallas Stars NHL 82 27 14 41 51 18 2 1 3 14 2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 22 20 42 4 — — — — — 2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 20 13 33 23 — — — — — 2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 27 5 6 11 2 — — — — — 2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 71 11 16 27 24 — — — — — 2011–12 Calgary Flames NHL 8 1 3 4 2 — — — — — 2011–12 Anaheim Ducks NHL 63 8 11 19 12 — — — — — 2012–13 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 49 12 8 20 27 6 0 0 0 10 2013–14 Ässät Liiga 44 21 17 38 36 — — — — — 2013–14 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NLA 4 1 4 5 2 10 3 3 6 16 2014–15 Jokerit KHL 46 19 9 28 32 10 2 0 2 6 2015–16 Jokerit KHL 44 5 9 14 20 5 2 0 2 2 2016–17 Kärpät Liiga 14 2 4 6 2 — — — — — 2016–17 HPK Liiga 17 4 5 9 35 7 0 0 0 0 SM-l/Liiga totals 170 58 46 104 121 19 4 1 5 0 NHL totals 770 147 154 301 220 30 4 3 7 28 KHL totals 139 36 26 62 79 21 4 0 4 18

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1998 Finland WJC 7 4 1 5 0 1999 Finland WJC 6 3 5 8 2 2002 Finland OG 4 1 2 3 0 2002 Finland WC 9 5 2 7 2 2003 Finland WC 7 2 1 3 14 2004 Finland WC 5 0 0 0 0 2004 Finland WCH 5 1 0 1 2 2005 Finland WC 7 2 0 2 2 2006 Finland OG 8 0 1 1 2 2009 Finland WC 7 1 5 6 0 2010 Finland OG 6 4 2 6 2 2013 Finland WC 10 1 0 1 4 Junior totals 13 7 6 13 2 Senior totals 68 17 13 30 28