Valtteri Filppula
| Valtteri Filppula | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 20, 1984 Vantaa, Finland |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb) |
| Position | Centre/left wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Tampa Bay Lightning Detroit Red Wings Jokerit |
| National team |  Finland |
| NHL Draft | 95th overall, 2002 Detroit Red Wings |
| Playing career | 2003–present |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Competitor for Finland
| ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Bronze | 2010 Vancouver | |
| IIHF World U20 Championship | ||
| Bronze | 2004 Finland | |
| Bronze | 2003 Canada | |
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. He has previously played for the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2008.
He is the younger brother of Ilari Filppula.
Playing career
Filppula was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the third-round, ninety-fifth overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
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 excellent 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 headed across the Atlantic to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League. He was selected to play for PlanetUSA in the 2005–06 AHL All-Star Game.
On December 15, 2005 he 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 Wing Manny Legacé in a game against the St. Louis Blues. Filppula scored his first playoff career goal in Game 1 against the Calgary Flames on April 12, 2007 in his first post-season game.
Filppula continued playing for the Red Wings and scored 36 points on his third season for the team.
Filppula won his first Stanley Cup when Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. Filppula scored the 2–0 goal for Detroit in the decisive sixth game of the series, Detroit won the game 3–2.
On July 30, 2008, Filppula signed a five-year, $15-million contract with the Red Wings, avoiding salary arbitration.[1]
On September 21, 2012, he signed with SM-liiga team Jokerit due to the 2012 NHL lockout. He has since returned to the Red Wings, as the contract was signed to last as long as the lockout did. [2]
On July 5, 2013, Filppula signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.[3]
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 | ||
| NHL totals | 483 | 100 | 151 | 251 | 158 | 105 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 30 | ||||
International play
- Captain of Team Finland at the World U18 Championships in Slovakia in 2002.
- 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships tournament all-star.
- Selected to play for Team Finland 2010 Winter Olympics, which eventually resulted in a bronze medal win over Slovakia. He scored the empty net goal in the 5–3 win.
References
- ↑ Lage, Larry (2008-07-30). "Red Wings re-sign F Filppula to $15M, 5-year deal". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 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.
External links
- Valtteri Filppula on nhlfinns.com
- Valtteri Filppula's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Valtteri Filppula at ESPN.com