Magnus Pääjärvi

Pääjärvi began his professional career with Timrå in Sweden

Pääjärvi began playing ice hockey at the age of six. During the 2005–06 season, as a 14-year-old, he made his debut for Malmö Redhawks in the J20 SuperElit,[2] and scored eight goals in eight games during TV-pucken, leding Skåne to a silver medal. He also scored two goals when Malmö won the final of the Swedish Championship for 16-year-olds. In the following season, he played a steadier role for Malmö in the J20 SuperElit, and again led Skåne to a silver medal in TV-pucken.

In 2007, Pääjärvi signed with Timrå IK, where his older brother, Björn Svensson, played for the senior team. On 24 September, Pääjärvi made his Elitserien debut at the age of 16, five months and 12 days, becoming the fourth-youngest player in the Elitserien's history. In the game, he recorded an assist on Timrå's opening goal in the first period of play. His first career goal was a game winner in a 1–0 game against HV71 on 16 February 2008, assisted by linemate Anton Lander.

Pääjärvi with the Oilers in 2011

Pääjärvi was later drafted in the first round, tenth overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.[3] He was also selected 19th overall by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)'s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the 2009 KHL Entry Draft.

Pääjärvi was announced as a nominee for 2009–10 Elitserien Rookie of the Year on 20 January.[4]

On 2 June 2010, Pääjärvi signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Oilers ahead of the 2010–11 season.[5] On 2 September, Pääjärvi announced that he would be shortening his surname on his NHL jersey from "Pääjärvi-Svensson," as was hitherto written, to simply "Pääjärvi," and that he will wear the jersey number 91.[6][7]

On 23 September, in his first pre-season game with Edmonton, Pääjärvi scored a hat-trick and registered an assist for four points as the Oilers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5–2. On 7 October, Pääjärvi made his NHL regular season debut against the Calgary Flames. He then scored his first career NHL goal nine days later, on 16 October, against Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. Pääjärvi finished his rookie season with 34 points, finishing sixth on the team in scoring.

In the 2011–12 season, after recording three points in 25 games and having sat-out as a healthy scratch for six games, Pääjärvi was assigned to Edmonton's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons.[8]

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Pääjärvi remained with Oklahoma in the AHL. When play resumed in January 2013 for the 48-game 2012–13 season, Pääjärvi played in 42 games, scoring nine goals and seven assists for 16 points, while also spending further time during the season with the Barons.[9]

On 10 July 2013, Pääjärvi was traded, along with a second-round pick, to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for left winger David Perron.[10] Later in the off-season, on 2 August, Pääjärvi signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with St. Louis.[11]

On 29 December 2014, the Blues placed Pääjärvi on waivers and, upon clearing, was assigned to St. Louis' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, where he remained until the end of the 2014–15 season.[12] Prior to his demotion, he had played in ten games, registering just one assist.[13] Following the 2014–15 NHL season, Pääjärvi became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The St. Louis Blues made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on 5 July 2015, Pääjärvi filed for Salary Arbitration.[14]

Pääjärvi spent the majority of the 2015-16 season with the Blues, appearing in 48 games. Pääjärvi also skated in three playoff games. 2016-17 saw Pääjärvi have more of an even split, playing 32 games for the Blues and 26 for the Wolves. Again, Pääjärvi suited up for the Blues during the playoffs, scoring one goal and two assists.

On 25 January 2018, the Blues placed Pääjärvi on waivers,[15] where he was claimed by the Ottawa Senators the following day.[16] Pääjärvi finished out the season with 12 points in 79 games.

On 30 May 2018, the Senators signed Pääjärvi to a one-year, $900,000 contract extension.[17] In his second and final season with Ottawa in 2018–19, Pääjärvi registered his highest points totals since his 2011 rookie season, contributing with 11 goals and 18 points in 80 games.

As a free agent leading into the 2019–20 season, Pääjärvi halted his NHL career to sign a two-year contract with Russian club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, on 22 October 2019.[18]

In the midst of his final year under contract in the 2020–21 season, Pääjärvi added 3 goals and 11 points in 26 appearances before he was traded to HC Dynamo Moscow in exchange for Teemu Pulkkinen on 30 November 2020.[19] In 24 games with Dynamo, Pääjärvi posted a further four goals and eight points.