He was the captain of Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), with whom he has previously won two silver medals as runner-up for the Kanada-malja in 2000 and 2005 in the Finnish Liiga.

He was originally drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes and has additionally played for the Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League (NHL).

[1] Due to the subsequent NHL lockout, Väänänen returned to Jokerit in 2004–05 and helped his former team to another silver medal, losing the Finnish championship to Kärpät.

The move by the Flyers, which also included waiving Glen Metropolit, was precipitated by the imminent return of forward Daniel Brière from injury, requiring the club to dump salary to remain under the cap.

[3] On August 2, 2009, Väänänen joined national teammate Ville Peltonen, signing a one-year contract with Dynamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).