Mika Noronen, the former Canucks goalie who spent the majority of his NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres, got himself into trouble. He was given a 60-day jail sentence earlier.
Back in Finland, the former NHLer was convicted of tax fraud because he forgot to include his NHL pension in his most recent tax declaration. Since he had no prior run-ins with the law, his 60-day jail period was suspended.
The netminder claimed that it was all a big misunderstanding and that he had no intentions of dodging taxes; he only forgot. In his defence, he paid his dues with a hefty amount in interest.
"It was his NHL pension. Noronen played in the NHL for several seasons and was entitled to a pension of almost [USD 150,000].
The pension was triggered when the ex-goalkeeper turned 40 in June 2019. Noronen reported his tax number to the US authorities in Finland and requested payment to a Finnish bank account.
The money arrived in Noronen's account. Noronen received a pre-filled tax return the following spring but failed to declare his pension income."
In his career, Noronen took part in 71 NHL games, 4 of them starts were with a Canucks' jersey.
#OTD in 2004 unknown to Rick Jeanneret and Jim Lorentz, goalie Mika Noronen is credited with a goal in the Sabres 6-4 win over Toronto. On a side note, J.P. Dumont scored the Sabres's 9,000th goal.
