22 Facts About Jere Lehtinen

Jere Kalervo Lehtinen was born on June 24,1973 and is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward.

Jere Lehtinen played in the 1987 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a youth team from Espoo.

Jere Lehtinen started his professional career with his hometown team, Kiekko-Espoo.

Jere Lehtinen spent another year with Kiekko-Espoo, but the team struggled, and after one season, Lehtinen received an offer from one of the biggest clubs in Finland at the time, TPS in Turku.

Jere Lehtinen signed with TPS in the summer of 1993 and once the season started, he soon blossomed offensively.

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Jere Lehtinen was immediately paired with another future NHLer, Saku Koivu, and the two formed an integral part of TPS's great season.

Jere Lehtinen was part of the renowned Finnish top line, dubbed by Finnish fans as the "Ankkalinnan pojat" with Saku Koivu and Ville Peltonen, another future NHLer.

Jere Lehtinen saw only one game in the minors and was part of the Dallas Stars organization instantly.

Jere Lehtinen was part of the bronze-winning Finnish team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

That year, Jere Lehtinen set career-high statistics and captured the Selke Trophy, becoming just the third player in NHL history to win the award in consecutive seasons.

Jere Lehtinen played in only 17 regular season games due to ankle problems, fracturing it early in the season and sidelining for 30 games.

Jere Lehtinen was again voted to the NHL All-Star Game, but was unable to play due to injury.

Jere Lehtinen ranked seventh in Lady Byng Memorial Trophy voting and was again nominated for the Selke Trophy, though he came in short; Michael Peca was honored with the award for second time in his career.

Jere Lehtinen led the Stars in goals with 31, a new career high, as well as in plus-minus, which ranked fourth in the NHL.

Jere Lehtinen recorded his second career NHL hat-trick, coming against the Los Angeles Kings.

Jere Lehtinen was again a nominee for the Selke Trophy, but ultimately finished third in voting.

Jere Lehtinen was again a vital part of Team Finland's journey to the gold medal game.

Jere Lehtinen returned on February 1,2008, in a game against the Edmonton Oilers after a 33-game layoff.

Jere Lehtinen marked his return with an assist on a Jussi Jokinen goal in the game.

Jere Lehtinen is one of only seven ice hockey players who have appeared in at least five Olympic games.

On December 8,2010, Jere Lehtinen officially announced his retirement from professional hockey, finishing with 243 goals and 271 assists and a career plus-minus rating of +176 in 875 NHL games, all with the Stars.

Jere Lehtinen met his wife, Jaana, at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.