Miikka Kiprusoff

Miikka Kiprusoff is a Finnish goalie on the Calgary Flames.

Kiprusoff was originally drafted by San Jose in 1995. He played a number of seasons in the Finnish SM-liiga and the Swedish Eliserien, winning league titles and top goalie honors on a couple of occasions. When he arrived in San Jose, he split time with Evgeni Nabokov. The Sharks realized that Nabokov and Kiprusoff were both top caliber goalies and decided to stick with Nabokov and allow Kipper to move on. He was traded to Calgary, where in his first full season, he set an NHL record with a 1.69 GAA and was nominated for the Vezina. His performance helped the Flames reach the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost in seven games to Tampa Bay. He played with Timra IK during the 2004-05 lockout, and returned to the Flames the next season. He won 42 games, posted a 2.07 GAA and won the Vezina, while being nominated for the Hart trophy. He recently signed a 6 year deal with the Flames, which should keep him in Calgary for most of the rest of his career.

Kiprusoff has played for Finland four times, at the 1996 World Junior Championships and the 1999 and 2001 World Hockey Championships, as well as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he helped Finland win an unlikely silver medal, losing in the final to the heavily favored Canadian team.