After a good opening season that saw Pitkänen cement his place on the team lineup, where he was ranked second among NHL rookies with 12 powerplay assists and 17 powerplay points, he played for the Philadelphia Phantoms during the 2004–05 NHL lockout when the team won the Calder Cup.

When the NHL resumed in 2005, Pitkänen returned to the Flyers and became the team's top-scoring defenseman, recording 46 points in 58 games.

[2] On 2 July 2008, Pitkänen signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes as a restricted free agent.

[3] On April 2, 2013, during a contest with the Washington Capitals, Pitkänen suffered an injury to his heel following a race to reach an iced puck.

[6] In early December 2014 it was reported that Pitkänen had started light training with Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga, skating for the first time since his injury.