Urheilucast: Tough talk about Kari Jalonen's departure from Tappara – "The team was not in the glove"

Kari Jalonen‘s decision to immediately end his coaching career shook Tappara and the entire Liiga on Monday.

Urheilucastia host Esko Seppänen reports having received messages from Tampere indicating that there were issues in the collaboration between the head coach and the players even before Jalonen’s surprise decision.

According to Seppänen, Jalonen was unable to get the team under his control with his usual leadership style.

– The messages I received from Tampere strongly indicated that this team and the players were not under Jalonen’s familiar “iron fist” leadership model, Seppänen begins.

Seppänen emphasizes that based on the information he received, it was not a player rebellion. The criticism was directed at the daily operations of the coaching staff.

– It wasn’t that the players had risen in rebellion or made KJ a subject of jokes, but rather that the daily routine was not sufficient for these players. The detail levels were mediocre, and the focus on specifics was nonexistent. At times, it leaned panic-stricken towards defensive hockey, Seppänen lists.

– The level of demands and details both seemed to vanish at the same time, and in their place came practice for the sake of practicing.

According to Seppänen, the roles of the players also remained unclear.

– Especially Tappara’s star players did not know what their job was in that team, as the leadership was unclear, clumsy, and outdated.

Jalonen, 66, started as Tappara’s head coach with a two-year contract just a few months ago. He justified his decision to resign by stating that the drive had faded.

Tappara’s new head coach will be Fredrik Norrena, who was already part of the coaching staff. The former NHL goaltender’s contract covers the remainder of the season.

TPS star received a massive ban for biting – TS: Denies the accusations

League | 26.10.2026 18:43