This Day in Hockey History – March 3, 2002 and 2004 – Numminen’s Numbers

Mar 3, 2020

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Born in Tampere, Finland, July 3, 1968, Teppo Numminen had an international and NHL career that lasted until he turned 41. As he collected milestones, he just so happened to play two numerically important games against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 3. In 2002, he reached his 1,000th NHL game, and in 2004, he set a record for most games played by a European-born defenseman.

Though drafted (29th overall) in 1986, Numminen took an extra two years skating in Finland. That allowed him to participate in the 1988 Olympics at Calgary, where Finland won silver, their first ever medal for hockey. (His father, Kalevi Numminen, had coached Finland at the 1980 Olympics.) Numminen then reported to the Winnipeg Jets and remained with them when they relocated to become the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996. He became the 12th European named an NHL captain at the start of the 2001-02 season. Looking for a change, he was traded to the Dallas Stars in July 2003 and played there just one season.

For the March 3, 2002 showdown with Columbus, Phoenix’s America West Arena hosted 11,564 fans. The home team, led by Captain Numminen, led 2-0 from the first period until Columbus managed one goal at 9:07 of the third period. Numminen had a chance at the empty net as the game ended, but he passed saying, “It would have been too sweet. Maybe next time.” As Coach Bobby Francis summarized, “It was an outstanding effort. We pretty well shut their options down and what options we did give them were perimeter shots.”

Having played in his 1,000th NHL game, Numminen was the 20th player to have reached the milestone with the same franchise. He was the first in the Phoenix franchise to get there. Numminen told the local press, “It’s been great for me, a dream come true. I never thought I’d be in this situation, ever. If it all ended tomorrow, it would have ended happy. I’ve had a great time already and it was more than I ever could have expected.” He finished, “And now I’m looking at 1,000 games on top of it all. It’s been a great ride, something I never could have expected.” His wife, Ann-Maarit, threw a party for him at a Scottsdale dinner club and invited the whole staff and team. Even former teammates contributed to the video tribute in his honor.

At the time, Numminen claimed, “But this is my home. I feel comfortable here. It was the same thing in Winnipeg. I think it all goes back to that homesickness thing. I don’t know if I could ever leave.” However, he changed his mind in the summer of 2003 and asked to be traded to Dallas. His 1,098 games set a Winnipeg-Phoenix franchise record, and the Coyotes raised his No. 27 in 2010.

On March 3, 2004, the American Airlines Center hosted the Blue Jackets. Again, Numminen’s home team came out the victor, winning 4-2. Even though Columbus scored first and last, Dallas’ Bill Guerin had a hat trick in between. This was Numminen’s 1,149th NHL game. He had surpassed Borje Salming to have played more NHL games than any other European-born defenseman. Numminen would go on to set a record for most games (1,252) of any European-trained player when he surpassed Jari Kurri on November 13, 2006.

After his only season in Dallas, the NHL lockout gave Numminen a rest that he probably needed considering his heart trouble. On August 4, 2005, he signed with the Buffalo Sabres and played with them until he retired a day after his fourth anniversary of the signing. However, he missed most of the 2007-08 season when he underwent heart surgery. Numminen retired after 1,372 regular-season games, which ranks him 48th for most games played in NHL history. He was the last of his draft class still active, and he momentarily held the record for most games by a European-born player.

Meanwhile, Numminen returned to the Olympics by playing in the first three featuring NHL participants (1998, 2002, and 2006). Finland won bronze in the first and silver in the last of these. For his international career, in 2013 Numminen was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. He and his father were the first father-son pair in the hall.