Teppo Numminen

Teppo Numminen
Teppo Numminen playing for the Buffalo Sabres, January 2007.
Born	(1968-07-03) July 3, 1968 Tampere, FIN
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Tappara (SM-liiga) TuTo (SM-liiga) Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes Dallas Stars Buffalo Sabres
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	29th overall, 1986 Winnipeg Jets
Playing career	1985–2009

Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
	1988 Calgary	Ice hockey
	1998 Nagano	Ice hockey
	2006 Torino	Ice hockey

Teppo Kalevi Numminen (born July 3, 1968) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

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 1252nd game in the NHL, thus setting a record for most NHL games played as a European-trained player, surpassing Jari Kurri. At the time of his retirement, Numminen was the last player from the 1986 NHL Entry Draft still playing in the NHL.

After signing a one-year contract for the 2007–08 NHL season, Numminen was forced to undergo open heart surgery before the start of the season. Numminen was suspended by the Buffalo Sabres when it was discovered he needed heart surgery. Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier stated the suspension was because his $2.6 million contract was not insured, and the contract contains a clause that states the player must pass the physical and be fit to play.

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. 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 GM 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.

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, his 1372 NHL games were the most by a European-born and trained player at any position, a record since broken by Nicklas Lidstrom in the 2009-10 season.

On January 30, 2010, the Phoenix Coyotes retired Numminen's #27. 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.

International play

Numminen won two silver medals ('88 & '06) and a bronze ('98) playing with the Finnish Olympic Team.

Other activities

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.

Personal life

Numminen and his wife Ann-Maarit have two daughters, Bianca and Erica, and one son, Niklas. 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.

Career statistics

				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 Jr.	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	-11	36		—	—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		79	11	32	43	-4	20		7	1	2	3	+1	10
1990–91	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		80	8	25	33	-15	20		—	—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		80	5	34	39	+15	32		7	0	0	0	-3	0
1992–93	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		66	7	30	37	+4	33		6	1	1	2	-4	2
1993–94	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		57	5	18	23	-23	28		—	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		42	5	16	21	+12	16		—	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	TuTo	SM-liiga		12	3	8	11	—	4		—	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		74	11	43	54	-4	22		6	0	0	0	-3	2
1996–97	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		82	2	25	27	-3	28		7	3	3	6	+3	0
1997–98	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		82	11	40	51	+25	30		1	0	0	0	0	0
1998–99	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		82	10	30	40	+3	30		7	2	1	3	-5	4
1999–00	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		79	8	34	42	+21	16		5	1	1	2	+1	0
2000–01	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		72	5	26	31	+9	36		—	—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		76	13	35	48	+13	20		4	0	0	0	0	2
2002–03	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		78	6	24	30	0	30		—	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Dallas Stars	NHL		62	3	14	17	-5	18		4	0	1	1	-1	0
2005–06	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		75	2	38	40	+6	36		12	1	1	2	+3	4
2006–07	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	2	27	29	+17	32		16	0	4	4	+10	4
2007–08	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		1	0	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		57	2	15	17	-4	22		—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1372	117	520	637	+56	513		82	9	14	23	+2	28
SM-liiga totals				127	24	31	55	—	55		27	10	7	17	—	10

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Teppo Numminen - Sabres.com
• Teppo Numminen on nhlfinns.com
• Teppo Numminen's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Keith Tkachuk

Phoenix Coyotes captain 2001–03

Succeeded by Shane Doan