Valtteri Filppula, 40, returns to Finnish ice hockey rinks after more than ten years. With the agreement, Filppula becomes one of the owners of the Jokers.
Aino Paloniemi,
Jussi Saarinen
12:01•Updated 13:03
Valtteri Filppula see you next season in the jersey of the Helsinki Jokers. In addition to the one-year player contract, the 40-year-old Filppula will become one of the owners of the Jokers.
Returning to the homeland first required a personal reflection on the continuation of the career, after which the discussions started with the Jokers in June.
– First I had to find my own motivation and I thought for a long time if I wanted to continue. One possibility was that the games would end completely, Filppula said.
Filppula considered the Helsinki club almost the only option for his career. The goal of the Finnish striker is to help the club get back to the highest league level in Finland.
– I’m not the loudest guy in the booth, but I strive to bring leadership by doing things right on and off the ice. There are a lot of young people in the booth, but also a lot of other types of leaders. I try to be myself in the team, nothing else.
In recent years, Filppula has been playing in the Swiss premier league in the Geneva-Servette team. Last season, Filppula scored eleven goals and 22 assists in 51 matches.
But where is Keuruu?
Filppula will transfer to the Jokers without monetary compensation. Sarjana Mestis is completely new to Filppula, who has experienced almost everything in her career.
However, bus trips to, for example, Rovaniemi, Kajaani, Keuruu and Iisalmi do not make the Finnish star happy.
– I’m used to sitting on the bus and even in Switzerland the journeys are long. You have to bring books and download movies to pass the time. There will certainly be interesting places and halls.
When asked if he knows how to place, for example, Keuruu on the map of Finland, Filppula hesitates a little.
– Don’t start asking questions like that. I look stupid. I’ve mostly looked at the map and yes there will be long distances, but there’s nothing in it, Filppula said with amusement.
After his playing career, Filppula’s goal is to continue working for the Jokeri organization as an employee.
A return to the national team unlikely
Filppula considers it unlikely that he would be seen in the national team shirt again. When asked about his national team career, he doesn’t promise anything final, but says that he will mainly focus on the Mestis matches and recovering from them.
– I’m not that young anymore, so I have to focus on recovery and helping the Jokers, so that I can get as many games as possible during the season, Filppula acknowledges.
The last time Filppula was seen in domestic puck rinks was during the 2012–13 NHL lockout season. Before this, Filppula represented Jokeri in 2000–2005. He still thinks the domestic league level is tough, even though there are relatively many teams.
– I don’t think it has weakened much since those times. A lot of good players come and of course a lot of players also go to other parts of Europe to play in the NHL, but I think Finnish ice hockey is doing just fine.
In 2005, Filppula moved to the NHL club Detroit Red Wings. In total, Filppula played in the world’s toughest hockey league for 16 seasons and more than 1,200 matches.
Filppula joins the strength of the Jokerit in the first week of September and will play his first match on September 17 in front of the home crowd when the Jokerit face Tuto.
The Jokers’ Mestis season starts on September 14 with an away match against Kiekko-Vantaa, which Filppula represents in the juniors.