A former Stanley Cup Champion and legend of the Detroit Red Wings, Valtteri Filppula, has called it quits on a lengthy professional hockey career.
Tim Fuller-Imagn Images
One of the NHL's most under-the-radar reliable contributors has hung up his blades officially. Helsingin Jokerit captain Valtteri Filppula declared himself retired after leading his club to a Mestis title.
While Jokerit fell short in the promotion series, it was a fitting finale to an incredible two-decade stint.
One of the greatest Finnish ice hockey players of all time, Valtteri Filppula, is ending his playing career.The Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, the world championship - and finally the Mestis championship as Jokeri captain.
Thank you, Valle.
Filppula, drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with a third-round selection in 2002, played his first game in the NHL in 2005-06 and played full-time the following season.
Filppula won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008
He was a supporting contributor on the 2008 Stanley Cup-winning Detroit team alongside legends like Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk.
A dependable scorer with a proven two-way game, the Finnish right winger established a career best of 66 points in 2011-12 and hit the 40-point mark four times.
Over 1,056 NHL contests playing for the Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and the New York Islanders, Filppula accumulated 530 points (197 goals, 333 assists), and added a further 86 points over 166 playoff matches.
After leaving the NHL in 2021, he joined Genève-Servette HC in Switzerland, where he won a National League championship and Champions Hockey League title. He returned to Jokerit to end his career in the city where he started.
Filppula leaves the game as the only Finnish member in the prestigious Triple Gold Club, having won the Stanley Cup (2008), Olympic gold (2022), and World Championship gold (2022).
A genuine prountil the end, Filppula finishes with a career defined by understated greatness and championship bloodlines.
