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Teppo Numminen

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Teppo Numminen
Numminen in 2013
Born (1968-07-03) July 3, 1968 (age 56)
Tampere, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Tappara
Winnipeg Jets
TuTo
Phoenix Coyotes
Dallas Stars
Buffalo Sabres
National team  Finland
NHL draft 29th overall, 1986
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 1985–2009
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Men's ice hockey
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1986 West Germany
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1988 Soviet Union
Winter Olympics
Silver medal – second place 1988 Calgary
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Nagano
World Cup of Hockey
Silver medal – second place 2004 World Cup

Teppo Kalevi Numminen (born July 3, 1968) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for Tappara and TuTo of the SM-liiga and the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Internationally, he represented the Finland men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2013.

Playing career

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Numminen playing with the Buffalo Sabres in 2007

Numminen started his career with his local team, Tappara, in the SM-liiga. Drafted in the second round (twenty-ninth overall) in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets, Numminen moved to North America in 1988 to play for the Jets. He moved with the team as it became the Phoenix Coyotes before the 1996–97 season. He played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1999, 2000 and 2001. After fifteen seasons playing for the Winnipeg/Phoenix organization, Numminen was traded to the Dallas Stars in July 2003, for Mike Sillinger. Numminen took a break from hockey during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, then signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Sabres.

On November 13, 2006, Numminen played his 1,252nd game in the NHL, thus setting a record for most NHL games played by a European-trained player, surpassing Jari Kurri.

After signing a one-year contract for the 2007–08 season, Numminen was forced to undergo open heart surgery before the start of the season. Numminen was suspended by the Sabres when it was discovered he needed heart surgery.[1] Sabres' general manager Darcy Regier stated the suspension was because his $2.6 million contract was not insured, and the contract contained a clause, which stated that player must have passed the physical and had to be fit to play.[2]

Word came that Numminen's heart surgery was successful. Completed on September 20, 2007, at the Cleveland Clinic, the surgery was performed to repair a faulty valve.[3] Numminen was able to return to action for the final game of the Sabres' 2007–08 season on April 5, 2008.

Per a statement by general manager Regier, Numminen expressed some interest in returning to NHL play for at least another year. On August 8, 2008, Numminen re-signed with the Buffalo Sabres.[4]

He was the leader among active NHL players who played the most games without winning the Stanley Cup: 1,372 at the end of the 2008-09 season.

Numminen announced his retirement on August 4, 2009. The 41-year-old finished his NHL career with 117 goals and 520 assists for 637 points in 1372 NHL games. At the time of his retirement, Numminen was the last player from the 1986 NHL Entry Draft still playing in the NHL and he had extended his record to 1,372 NHL games, the most by a European-born and trained player at any position, which stood until broken by Nicklas Lidström in the 2009–10 season.

On January 30, 2010, the Coyotes enshrined Numminen's number 27 jersey into the ring of honor. During his 15 seasons for the franchise, including their previous incarnation as the Winnipeg Jets, he played 1,098 games, a then franchise record. His 534 points are also a franchise record for defencemen.[5]

International play

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IIHF Hall of Fame in 2013: Jan-Åke Edvinsson, Gord Miller, Mats Sundin, Danielle Goyette, Paul Henderson, Peter Forsberg, Teppo Numminen and Boris Mikhailov

Numminen represented the Finnish men's national team and won two silver medals in 1988 and 2006, and one bronze medal in 1998 Winter Olympics.[citation needed]

Numminen was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2013.[6][7]

Personal life

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Numminen and his wife Ann-Maarit have two daughters, Bianca and Erica, and one son, Nicklas. His brother, center Teemu Numminen (born December 23, 1973) was drafted 229th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets but he never made it to the NHL.[8]

Numminen used to own 80% of Montreal Sports Ltd, which was a company founded by his father, Kalevi. The company produced ice hockey sticks and equipment and was sold to the large hockey brand Warrior.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1984–85 Whitby Lawmen OJHL 16 3 9 12 0 — — — — —
1985–86 Tappara Fin-Jr. 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 2
1985–86 Tappara SM-liiga 31 2 4 6 6 8 0 0 0 0
1986–87 Tappara SM-liiga 44 9 9 18 16 9 4 1 5 4
1987–88 Tappara SM-liiga 40 10 10 20 29 10 6 6 12 6
1988–89 Winnipeg Jets NHL 69 1 14 15 36 — — — — —
1989–90 Winnipeg Jets NHL 79 11 32 43 20 7 1 2 3 10
1990–91 Winnipeg Jets NHL 80 8 25 33 20 — — — — —
1991–92 Winnipeg Jets NHL 80 5 34 39 32 7 0 0 0 0
1992–93 Winnipeg Jets NHL 66 7 30 37 33 6 1 1 2 2
1993–94 Winnipeg Jets NHL 57 5 18 23 28 — — — — —
1994–95 Winnipeg Jets NHL 42 5 16 21 16 — — — — —
1994–95 TuTo SM-liiga 12 3 8 11 4 — — — — —
1995–96 Winnipeg Jets NHL 74 11 43 54 22 6 0 0 0 2
1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 2 25 27 28 7 3 3 6 0
1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 11 40 51 30 1 0 0 0 0
1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 10 30 40 30 7 2 1 3 4
1999–00 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 79 8 34 42 16 5 1 1 2 0
2000–01 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 72 5 26 31 36 — — — — —
2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 76 13 35 48 20 4 0 0 0 2
2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 78 6 24 30 30 — — — — —
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 62 3 14 17 18 4 0 1 1 0
2005–06 Buffalo Sabres NHL 75 2 38 40 36 12 1 1 2 4
2006–07 Buffalo Sabres NHL 79 2 27 29 32 16 0 4 4 4
2007–08 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Buffalo Sabres NHL 57 2 15 17 22 — — — — —
SM-liiga totals 127 24 31 55 55 27 10 7 17 10
NHL totals 1,372 117 520 637 513 82 9 14 23 28

International

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Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1986 Finland EJC 5 2 3 5 8
1987 Finland WC 10 5 0 5 4
1987 Finland CC 4 1 0 1 2
1988 Finland WJC 7 5 2 7 4
1988 Finland OLY 6 1 4 5 0
1991 Finland WC 10 1 3 4 10
1991 Finland CC 6 1 1 2 2
1996 Finland WC 1 0 1 1 2
1996 Finland WCH 2 0 0 0 0
1997 Finland WC 5 2 2 4 6
1998 Finland OLY 6 1 1 2 2
2002 Finland OLY 4 0 1 1 0
2004 Finland WCH 6 0 2 2 0
2006 Finland OLY 8 2 1 3 2
Junior totals 12 7 5 12 12
Senior totals 68 13 17 30 30

See also

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References

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  1. ^ http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnhl/story/162294.html [dead link]
  2. ^ http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/162818.html [dead link]
  3. ^ http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnhl/story/167444.html [dead link]
  4. ^ Buffalo Sabres - News: SABRES SIGN TEPPO NUMMINEN - 08/08/2008 Archived 2008-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "COYOTES INDUCT NUMMINEN INTO RING OF HONOR". Phoenix Coyotes. 2010-01-30.
  6. ^ Koivukangas, Antti (19 May 2013). "Teppo Numminen intagen i Hall of Fame". Yle (in Swedish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Monster class of 2013". International Ice Hockey Federation. 4 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Eurohockey.com - 404 error page". www.eurohockey.com. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
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Preceded by Phoenix Coyotes captain
2001–03 		Succeeded by
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