TAMPERE, Finland -- Jere Lehtinen received a thunderous ovation when he helped drop the ceremonial puck before the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland presented by Fastenal between the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers at Nokia Arena on Friday.
Lehtinen, who was joined by former NHL player Teppo Numminen for the honors, is a larger-than-life figure in Finland, a mainstay on the country's national teams from an appearance at the 1991 IIHF World Junior Championship to his fifth appearance in the Olympics in 2010.
Today, he manages the national team and will oversee the selection of Finland's team that will compete in the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20.
But Lehtinen is also a legend for the Dallas Stars, who were the home team for the first of the two games here. The second game is Saturday (Noon ET; NHLN, SN1, Victory+, SCRIPPS).
"He's got Dallas Stars tattooed on his heart," Dallas general manager Jim Nill said.
Lehtinen joined the Stars for the 1995-96 season and never left until he retired after the 2009-10 season. He played in 875 regular-season games with the Stars logo on his chest, with 514 points (243 goals, 271 assists).
He was a member of the 1999 team that won the Stanley Cup, won the Selke Trophy, awarded to the League's best defensive forward, three times, and had his No. 26 retired by the Stars in 2017.
"As everyone knows, he was a great player for Dallas," Nill said "I was in Detroit [with the Red Wings] in those days and he was a big, big part of their team.
"People recognize him [here], understand who he is and it really is how he is as a person and how he conducts himself away from the rink. I think that is what makes him special. Everyone knew he was a good player, but it's how he treats people away from the rink and he's a good human."