Valtteri Filppula is an Olympic champion.
The 37-year-old forward — a veteran of 1,056 National Hockey League games — captured one of hockey’s highest honours on Friday as Team Finland defeated Team ROC 2–1 to win gold at the men’s hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Wearing the “C” as Finland’s captain, Filppula recorded two assists in six games during his second Olympic tournament. He previously represented the Finns at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
Filppula also served as Finland’s flag bearer at the Beijing 2022 opening ceremony. He adds Olympic gold to an impressive hockey résumé that also includes the 2008 Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings.
Team ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) did not feature any former Red Wings players. Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia won bronze in the men’s ice hockey tournament, defeating Team Sweden (featuring Jacob de la Rose and Mathias Brome) 4–0 in the consolation final.
Filppula played with the Red Wings from 2005–06 to 2012–13 and again from 2019–20 to 2020–21, scoring 287 points (112 goals, 175 assists) in 591 games over his two stints with the club. He also played with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Islanders during his 17-season NHL career.
More from WingsNation
- Evaluating four Red Wings prospects in the SHL who could follow Raymond and Berggren to North America
- Red Wings prospect Jonatan Berggren already seems destined for the NHL
- Jakub Vrana should provide a huge boost to the Wings upon his return
More must-reads: