Heikki Mälkiä, former Ilves coach and SaiPa stalwart, dies at 68

SaiPa announced his death.

Mälkiä coached Ilves from 1999 to 2001 and returned for the 2009–10 season. He guided the Tampere side to a league bronze in spring 2001. He later coached SaiPa and HIFK and spent many years coaching abroad. As a player, he was one of SaiPa's most significant figures, appearing in 498 games over 15 seasons and recording 208 goals and 254 assists for 462 points. SaiPa retired his number 20 in January 2009.