Barkov, Rantanen, Selanne among writers' picks from past 25 years
The 4 Nations Face-Off will take place in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20. It is a best-on-best tournament with teams from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States featuring NHL players only.
To get fans ready for the 4 Nations Face-Off and to help celebrate the past quarter-century, NHL.com will be naming Quarter-Century Teams for each of the four nations.
Today, we present the First and Second Quarter-Century Teams for Finland, as selected by the NHL.com/fi writers. The players, listed in alphabetical order, were judged based on their NHL stats and international contributions from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2024.
Forwards
Aleksander Barkov
Mikko Rantanen
Teemu Selanne
Defensemen
Sami Salo
Kimmo Timonen
Goalie
Pekka Rinne
Forwards: Barkov became the first Finland-born captain in the NHL to hoist the Stanley Cup as a member of the 2023-24 Florida Panthers. He’s won the Selke Trophy, given to the best defensive forward in the NHL, twice (2021 and 2024), and the 2019 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, presented to the player that exhibited the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. He led his country in the quarter century in plus/minus (plus-126) and was second in points (745). Rantanen is in a league of his own with his regular season points-per-game average of 1.10 with Barkov (0.97) a distant second. He was better in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 1.25 points per game and won the Cup with the 2021-22 Colorado Avalanche.
Selanne is first in regular-season points (780) and scored the most goals (356) and game-winning goals (65). He won the Stanley Cup with the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks and became the second Finland-born player after Jari Kurri to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame (Class of 1017). Selanne was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2006, given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. In the past quarter century, he won one Olympic silver medal (2006), three bronze (1998, 2010, 2014), silver at the 1999 IIHF World Championship and bronze in 2008.
Defensemen: Timonen was first among defensemen in games played (1,024), goals (107), assists (428) and power-play points (314). He also played 105 postseason games (35 points; four goals, 31 assists), most among his countrymen. The reliable and excellent puck-moving defenseman retired after 16 seasons when he lifted the Stanley Cup as a member of the 2014-15 Chicago Blackhawks. Salo was second in goals (90) and had the second-best rating (plus-108) after Esa Lindell (plus-114). He was first in game-winning goals (23) and played 98 postseason games.
Goalie: Rinne was selected by the Nashville Predators in the eighth round (No. 258) of the 2004 NHL Draft and became a diamond in the rough. He was first during the quarter century in games played (683), starts (667), wins (369) and shutouts (60), and he scored into an empty net against the Blackhawks on Jan. 9, 2020. Rinne was named a Vezina Trophy finalist four times and won the 2018 award given to the best goalie. He helped Nashville to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2017, a six-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and retired after the 2020-21 season, when he awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy that honors an NHL player for leading on the ice and off it with humanitarian work.
Forwards
Valtteri Filppula
Olli Jokinen
Mikko Koivu
Defensemen
Miro Heiskanen
Olli Maatta
Goalie
Tuukka Rask
Forwards: Among Finland-born forwards in the past quarter-century, Jokinen was first in regular-season games (1,122), second in goals (310), third in points (723) and power-play goals (93), and scored the most goals at even strength (205). Koivu was third at his position in games (1,035), first in assists (505) and fourth in points (711). Filppula was second in games (1,056), first among all Finland-born skaters in playoff games (166) and second to Rantanen (101) in playoff points (86). He won the Stanley Cup with the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings and gold at the 2022 World Championship and the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first (and so far, only) Finnish member of the Triple Gold Club.
Defensemen: Heiskanen outshined his countrymen at his position with 0.60 points per game. Pitkanen (0.53) and Timonen (0.52) were second and third, and he’s only been in the League since 2018-19. Among Finland-born defensemen, Heiskanen is fourth in goals (57) and fifth in assists (218) and points (275) and won gold at the 2022 Worlds. Maatta played the fifth-most regular season games (718) and has the third-best rating (plus-80). He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins (2016 and 2017).
Goalie: Rask won the Stanley Cup with the 2010-11 Boston Bruins and was voted winner of the 2014 Vezina Trophy. He was first in save percentage (.921) and goals-against average (2.28) among Finland goalies who played a minimum 200 games.
