Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Valtteri Filppula has officially retired from professional hockey. Filppula's 2024-25 team, Jokerit of the Finnish league, Mestis, made the announcement.
Filppula, 41, had a strong season with Jokerit, posting 14 goals, 41 points, and a plus-25 rating. While he clearly showed that he still has skill this season, he has decided to hang up the skates.
Filppula joined the Lightning during the 2013 NHL off-season after playing his eight previous seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. Fippula put together a strong four-year tenure with the Lightning, recording 52 goals, 119 assists, and 171 points in 292 games. He also scored a career-high 25 goals and had 58 points in 75 games with the Bolts in 2013-14.
Filppula was selected by the Red Wings with the 95th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. In 1,056 career NHL games split between the Red Wings, Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Islanders, he had 197 goals, 333 assists, and 530 points. His final season in the NHL was in 2020-21 with Detroit, and he played his final four professional hockey seasons overseas.
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