Former Detroit Red Wing Valtteri Filppula—a member of the Triple Gold Club as a Stanley Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist, and World Championships gold medalist—has announced his retirement from the sport of hockey at the age of 41.
Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, China; Team Finland forward Valtteri Filppula (51) hugs Team Finland forward Marko Anttila (12) during the medals ceremony as part of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at National Indoor Stadium. (George Walker IV, Imagn Images)
Filppula spent 10 seasons of his career as a Red Wing split across two tenures, one from 2005 to 2013 and the other from 2019 to 2021. That run included 591 games and 287 points, along with the 2008 Stanley Cup Championship. Filppula retired from the NHL and returned to Europe at the end of the 2020-21 season.
He spent the ensuing three seasons with Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League, before concluding his hockey career with a year as captain for Helsinki Jokerit, winning the Mestis championship for Finland's second division.
Filppula retires as one of 30 members of hockey's triple gold and the only Finnish member of that illustrious fraternity. Here's to a happy retirement for the long-time Red Wing and serial winner.
