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Valtteri Filppula

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Valtteri Filppula
Filppula with the Tampa Bay Lightning in December 2014
Born (1984-03-20) March 20, 1984 (age 40)
Vantaa, Finland
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Tampa Bay Lightning
Jokerit
Detroit Red Wings
National team  Finland
NHL draft 95th overall, 2002
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 2003–present

Valtteri Filppula (born March 20, 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Detroit Red Wings, whom he won the Stanley Cup with in 2008.

Playing career

Filppula was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the third round, 95th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Filppula in January 2014.
Valtteri Filppula in March 2014.

Filppula started his hockey career with the Jokerit organization, and secured his place in the SM-liiga team in the 2003–04 season as an offensive forward. He won the SM-liiga silver medal with Jokerit in 2005, and was set to become the team's number one center for the next season. However, Filppula moved to North America to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL), the top minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. He was selected to play for PlanetUSA in the 2005–06 AHL All-Star Game.

On December 15, 2005, Filppula made his NHL debut with the Red Wings, becoming the first Finnish player ever to play an NHL game for Detroit. He scored his first NHL goal on October 28, 2006, against former Red Wing goaltender Manny Legace in a game against the St. Louis Blues. He then scored his first playoff career goal in Game 1 of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Calgary Flames on April 12, 2007, his first post-season game.

Filppula continued playing for the Red Wings and scored 36 points on his third season for the team in the 2007–08 season. He won his first Stanley Cup when Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. He scored the second goal for Detroit in the decisive sixth game of the series, a game in which the Red Wings won 3–2.

On July 30, 2008, Filppula signed a five-year, $15-million contract extension with Detroit, avoiding salary arbitration.[1]

On September 21, 2012, Filppula signed with his former team club Jokerit in Finland as a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout that halted play. He returned to the Red Wings at the conclusion of the lockout, as his contract with Jokerit was signed to last as long as the lockout did. [2]

On July 5, 2013, Filppula signed a five-year, $25 million contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning.[3] On December 1, 2014, Filppula recorded his 200th NHL assist in a 6-3 Tampa Bay Lightning win over the New York Rangers.[4] On January 6, 2015, Fippula played in his 600th NHL game in a 4-2 Lightning win over the Montreal Canadiens.[5]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Canada
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Finland

Filppula was named captain of Finland at the World under-18 Championships in Slovakia in 2002. At the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, he scored four goals and five assists in seven games to be selected as the tournament all-star. He was selected to play for Finland at the 2010 Winter Olympics, which eventually resulted in a bronze medal win over Slovakia. He scored the empty net goal in the 5–3 win.

On January 7, 2014, Filppula was named to the team Finland roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[6] On February 6, 2014, Filppula suffered an ankle injury in Tampa Bay's 4–1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.[7] The injury was diagnosed as a non-displaced fracture and he was expected to miss at least three weeks, forcing him to miss the Olympics.[8]

On March 2, 2016, Finland named Filppula to its 2016 World Cup of Hockey roster.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Jokerit SM-l 49 5 13 18 6 — — — — —
2004–05 Jokerit SM-l 55 10 20 30 20 12 5 6 11 2
2005–06 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 74 20 50 70 30 16 7 9 16 4
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 73 10 7 17 20 18 3 2 5 2
2006–07 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 3 2 2 4 2 — — — — —
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 19 17 36 28 22 5 6 11 2
2008–09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 12 28 40 42 23 3 13 16 8
2009–10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 55 11 24 35 24 12 4 5 9 6
2010–11 Detroit Red Wings NHL 71 16 23 39 22 11 2 6 8 6
2011–12 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 23 43 66 14 5 0 2 2 2
2012–13 Jokerit SM-l 16 6 9 15 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Detroit Red Wings NHL 41 9 8 17 6 14 2 4 6 4
2013–14 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 75 25 33 58 20 4 0 1 1 0
2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 12 36 48 24 26 4 10 14 4
2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 76 8 23 31 46 17 1 6 7 0
NHL totals 716 145 243 388 248 152 24 55 79 34

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Finland U18 4th 8 4 6 10 2
2003 Finland WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 2
2004 Finland WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 4 5 9 2
2010 Finland Oly 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 3 0 3 0
2012 Finland WC 4th 10 4 6 10 6
2016 Finland WCH 8th 3 1 0 1 0
Junior totals 21 8 12 20 6
Senior totals 19 8 6 14 6

Personal life

Filppula is the younger brother of Ilari Filppula.

References

  1. ^ Lage, Larry (2008-07-30). "Red Wings re-sign F Filppula to $15M, 5-year deal". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  2. ^ "Valtteri Filppula to become the latest locked-out NHL star to join the Finnish SM-Liiga". Helsingin Sanomat. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  3. ^ Damian Cristodero (July 5, 2013). "Lightning signs free agent C Valtteri Filppula as No. 2 center". Tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  4. ^ Burns, Bryan (December 1, 2014). "Pair of goals from Brett Connolly helps complete sweep of Rangers". Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  5. ^ Burns, Bryan (January 6, 2015). "Sensational second period lifts Bolts past Habs". Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  6. ^ Meares, Tasha (January 7, 2014). "Finland Releases 2014 Olympic Men's Hockey Roster". SI.com Fansided. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  7. ^ Zielinski, Missy (February 6, 2014). "Bishop, Filppula Leave Game With Injuries In Bolts Second Straight Loss". Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  8. ^ Erlendsson, Erik (February 7, 2014). "Bolts C Filppula injures ankle, to miss Olympics". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  9. ^ Roarke, Shawn (March 2, 2016). "Rask, Rinne to lead Finland at World Cup". NHL.com. Retrieved May 30, 2016.

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

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