After a 23-year playing career, one-time New York Islanders forward Valtteri Filppula announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Filppula made the announcement on Jokerit’s X account.
“Hello, fans. I wanted to let you know that I have made the decision to end my playing career,” Filppula said. “Of course, there are many people to thank, but I wanted to thank you in particular and your support, especially this season. It has been incredible and it means a lot to me that I can now end my career at the same club where I also started my professional career, so thank you very much for that. I hope we will see each other again somewhere, hopefully at least at our championship party. Thank you again.”
Helsingin Jokerit (@jokerithc) on X
Yksi kaikkien aikojen suomalaisista jääkiekkoilijoista, Valtteri Filppula, päättää pelaajauransa.
Stanley Cup, olympiakulta, maailmanmestaruus – ja viimeiseksi Mestis-mestaruus Jokeri-kapteenina.
Kiitos, Valle. ❤️💛
#Jokerit
Filppula played 16 seasons in the NHL but spent the last four seasons overseas.
Stateside, he spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Red Wings, playing 10 seasons and winning the Stanley Cup in 2008. Additionally, he spent four years with the Tampa Bay Lightning and two with the Philadelphia Flyers.
However, he made a brief but memorable stop for the 2018-19 season with the Islanders. As the third-line center, he recorded 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points, helping the team surprise and make the playoffs in the first year of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz (2018-19).
In 1,056 NHL games, he recorded 197 goals and 333 assists for 530 points.
After playing two seasons in a return to Detroit (2019-2021), he played three seasons with Genève-Servette HC of the National League in Switzerland, where he won a championship in 2023.
Last season, he played for Jokerit in Mestis, Finland’s second division, where he began his career in 2000-01.
Taking the captaincy, he scored 14 goals and 27 assists for 41 points in 39 regular season games last season. In the playoffs, he notched eight goals and six assists or 14 points in 13 games en route to capturing the Mestis Cup, defeating Peli-Karhut in the finals in a 4-1 series.
In other accolades, he won Olympic gold with Finland at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and placed first with Finland at the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships. He is one of 30 players to win a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold and World Championship gold.
Matthew Page wrote this story.
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