Eventually Jokinen became the Captain of the Panthers for four years. Jokinen finally got Keenan's full respect the night when they faced Keenan's last season team, the Bruins.
"I played a lot injured and through many injuries that many wouldn't have played with. Mike had been with Boston the four previous years. We had the legendary George Kingston as our assistant coach. During the end of a morning skate before the Boston game Kingston came from behind the net and leaned against the net. He thought I had already passed him but I was just behind the net when he turned. He grabbed his stick from the middle and turned with the stick in a 90 degree angle. I skated straight into the butt-end of the stick. The right side of my mouth was completely lose. 120 stitches to my face, 100 of them inside the mouth. All the mucous came off my gums. Eight teeth in. Above the teeth a fracture in my cheek. I was supposed to be out 4-6 weeks. I spent the whole day at the dentist and had a game in the evening.
Iron told me to come straight to the arena from the dentist. I came, and he asked me straight away if I could play. I couldn't even talk! I came there fifteen minutes before the warm-up with both of my cheeks being the size of a baseball. Dr. Keenan just said, that we'll give you one of those chin protectors. The doc told that I didn't feel pain go ahead and play. That it won't get any worse from that. We lost 7-1 and I scored! In the end I didn't miss a single game. A few games later they gave me an A."
· 
· 
