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Welcome to The Real DFG's Pittsburgh Penguin Autograph Project. My goal is to eventually try and get at least one autograph of every player to lace up the skates in an NHL game for the Pittsburgh Penguins. It could have been for one game or 700 games, I will add them. Occasionally I may post cards of former players in their new team uniforms. While the goal is to get autos in Pens uni's, it isn't always possible. Since the team has been in existence since 1967, the list is pretty large. Last I checked, it was somewhere in the range of 624 different players. Currently, I sit at about 100 autographs (with some duplication). Enjoy the posts.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Janne Laukkanen

Laukkanen is Finnish and by the time he made his way to the NHL, he had seen over 10 years of action in European leagues.  The Nordiques drafted him and he followed when they relocated to Colorado.  It was then on to Ottawa for five seasons, Pittsburgh for four, New York (he never played), and Tampa before calling it a career.

Laukkanen spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins, after being traded from Ottawa.  I was never a big fan of Mr. Laukkanen, not because of his performance on the ice, but because he was part of the trade that dealt one of my all-time favorite players (despite the sometimes poor attitude and unapproachability) Tom Barrasso to the Senators for himself and Ron Tugnutt.  Obviously that wasn't his fault but you can't blame a fan for their fandom.

A hip injury spelled the end of his time in Pittsburgh and in February of the 2002-03 season, he was dealt to the Rangers, along with a host of other players including Alex Kovalev.  But on the bright side, we did get fan favorite, Rico Fata, out of the deal.

He is now working back in Finland with minor league teams (if you believe the internet).

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