Sami Vatanen playing for the New Jersey Devils in 2021. © Scott Taetsch-Imagn ImagesIt had been rumored since early last season and now it’s official. Finnish defenseman Sami Vatanen, 33, has signed a two-year contract to play with his hometown club JYP, the Liiga club announced in a press conference on Tuesday.
Vatanen has played abroad for the past 13 years – his last game with JYP was when the team won the Finnish title in 2012.
“This was the number one option, where I wanted to come,” Vatanen told the Finnish media. “I think I said at the championship party (in 2012) that I would come back – now is the time. I have traveled the world and it was time to come back to play for a familiar club, so what could be better?”
“Adding Vatanen to JYP’s defense is significant and his experience and leadership will certainly help our entire team in the coming seasons,” said JYP sports director Simo Mälkiä.
A native of Jyväskylä, Vatanen recorded 114 points and 124 penalty minutes in 524 Liiga and playoff games for JYP between 2009 and 2012.
Vatanen was chosen in the fourth round, 106th overall, by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Between 2012 and 2021, he played 473 NHL regular-season games for the Ducks, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars, recording 200 points and 212 penalty minutes. He also played 51 playoff games for Anaheim, New Jersey and Carolina, recording 26 points and 24 penalty minutes.
From 2021 to 2025, Vatanen played in Switzerland for Genève-Servette, which has become somewhat of a haven for Finnish players. Other Finns who played for the team this past season include forwards Teemu Hartikaien, Sakari Manninen, Markus Granlund and goaltender Antti Raanta. The 2023-24 version of the team included Valtteri Filppula, Henrik Haapala, Julius Honka and Jussi Olkinuora.
During his time with Genève-Servette, Vatanen had 124 points and 34 penalty minutes in 162 National League regular-season and playoff games. In 2022-23, he helped the club win its first national championship since its establishment in 1905. In 2023-24, the Swiss team won the Champions Hockey League, defeating Swedish club Skelleftea AIK at home in the final.
Over the past two seasons, however, Genève-Servette has sunk in the National League standings, finishing 10th in 2023-24 and 12th in 2024-25.
Since winning the title in 2011-12, JYP has fallen on hard times – the team has not made the Liiga playoffs since 2017-18, the same year it won the Champions Hockey League.
