Sami Vatanen explains why he left the NHL despite getting offers
It was a bit of a surprise earlier this week when Genève-Servette of the Swiss National League announced it had signed NHL veteran defenceman Sami Vatanen to a one-year deal. Vatanen has had some very good years in the NHL as an offensive defenceman and is only 30 years old. In an interview in his home country of Finland, Vatanen explained his decision and insisted it wasn't because there were no offers from NHL teams.
"It was no big deal. There were a few offers from the NHL, but I felt they just weren't good enough," said Vatanen.
Vatanen also stated that he realizes this is his fault.
"I waited all summer for something interesting to come along, but no. I haven't had terribly good seasons under my belt, so I understand that. I didn't stress about the whole thing. I was enjoying the summer and spending time with my family."
Vatanen said this isn't necessarily the end of his NHL career.
"I have to say, we'll see after this season. You can never say no. We'll see again in a year. I wanted to play in Europe now, so it wasn't a big shock," said Vatanen.
Vatanen said his decision to go to Europe was influenced greatly by the fact that he just had a child (daughter). He also stated he always gave it his best in the NHL despite what some might think.
"Yes, I would say so. There's always work to be done, sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. Looking back now, there were some great years in the NHL. It was fun. No regrets, nothing left behind."
Vatanen played for Anaheim, New Jersey, Carolina and Dallas during his time in North America. He has 200 points (47 G, 153 A) in 473 NHL games.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||