Hannu Toivonen

Hannu Toivonen
Born	(1984-05-18) May 18, 1984 Kalvola, FIN
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
NHL team Former teams	St. Louis Blues Ilves Boston Bruins
NHL draft	29th overall, 2002 Boston Bruins
Playing career	2002–present

Hannu Toivonen (born May 18, 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Pre-NHL

Toivonen started his pro career with HPK in the Finnish SM-liiga. He was drafted by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, and moved to the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2003.

The NHL

With Andrew Raycroft sitting out due to a contract dispute, Toivonen started the 2005–06 NHL season as the Bruins' backup goaltender. He made his NHL debut on October 8, 2005 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, coming away with an overtime win. He holds the distinction of allowing the first goal of Sidney Crosby's career in that game. On December 1, 2005, he recorded his first NHL shutout, blanking the Ottawa Senators. Toivonen was 9–5–4 with a 2.63 GAA and a .914 SV% before suffering a high ankle sprain in January that effectively ended his season.

At the beginning of the 2006–07 NHL season, Toivonen and fellow team-mate and goaltender Tim Thomas were competing for the starter spot. After a rough start at the beginning of the season, Toivonen was sent down to Providence and was replaced by Brian Finley on November 7, 2006, officially making Tim Thomas the starting goaltender for Boston. Over the course of the next couple months, he was repeatedly recalled to Boston and sent back down to Providence. On April 2, he was recalled to Boston for the last two away games, then sent back to Providence on April 6.

On April 26, 2007, Toivonen signed a one-year contract extension with the Boston Bruins.

On July 23, 2007, Toivonen was traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Carl Soderberg. On November 17, 2007, Toivonen recorded his first shutout against the Nashville Predators. Upon being traded to the Blues, Toivonen was reunited with former Bruins teammates Brad Boyes, Ryan Glenn, Yan Stastny and Derek Gustafson. Toivonen was assigned to the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues' AHL affiliate, on February 11, 2008.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T/OTL	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
2001–02	HPK-Jr	Fin-Jr		31	15	12	4	1878	103	2	3.29
2002–03	HPK	SM-l		24	16	2	4	1432	54	2	2.26
2003–04	Providence Bruins	AHL		36	15	16	4	2162	83	2	2.30
2004–05	Providence Bruins	AHL		54	29	18	3	3017	103	7	2.05
2005–06	Boston Bruins	NHL		20	9	5	4	1163	51	1	2.63
2006–07	Providence Bruins	AHL		27	13	13	1	1618	64	2	2.37
2006–07	Boston Bruins	NHL		18	3	9	1	893	63	0	4.23
2007–08	St. Louis Blues	NHL		23	6	10	5	1202	69	0	3.44
2007–08	Peoria Rivermen	AHL		11	6	4	0	627	33	0	3.16
2008–09	Ilves	SM-l		56	19	23	9	2913	130	3	2.68
NHL Totals				61	18	24	10	3258	183	1	3.37

*Beginning in the 2004–05 AHL season and the 2005–06 NHL Season, regular season games could no longer end in a tie and a new record called "OTL - Overtime Loss" was introduced.

External links

• Hannu Toivonen career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Hannu Toivonen player profile at NHL.com
• Hannu Toivonen on nhlfinns.com