Jyrki Lumme

Jyrki Olavi Lumme (born July 16, 1966) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and SM-liiga.

Lumme began his professional career in with Ilves Tampere of the SM-liiga in 1985–86.

The Canadiens had selected Lumme two years prior in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft 57th overall.

In his second NHL season, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he spent the majority of his career and enjoyed the most success.

Following his rookie season in Finland, Lumme was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd round (57th overall) of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft.

He remained with Ilves Tampere for two seasons following his draft.

In his final year before transferring to the NHL, Lumme scored 8 goals and 30 points over 43 games to help Ilves to the best regular season record in the league.

After beginning his career in Finland, playing with Ilves Tampere for three seasons, he moved to North America to join the Montreal Canadiens in 1988.

In August 1988, Lumme signed a two-year contract with the Canadiens.

Playing his first season in North America, Lumme split the 1988–89 campaign between Montreal and their minor league affiliate, the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League (AHL).

He became the first Finnish player to compete for the Canadiens in team history.

While playing in an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings on December 5, 1988, he suffered a knee injury, sidelining him for some time.

He finished the season with 15 points over 26 AHL games, while registering 4 points over 21 NHL games within the Canadiens organization.

The following season, Lumme earned a full-time NHL roster spot with the Canadiens.

After scoring 20 points over 54 games with Montreal during the campaign, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on March 6, 1990.

In exchange for Lumme, Montreal acquired the St. Louis Blues' second-round selection in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft (previously acquired by Vancouver; Montreal selected Craig Darby).

In retrospect of the trade, Lumme recalls not fitting into the Canadiens' playing style and expecting to be dealt away.

Lumme proved to be a good fit in Vancouver as he quickly established himself as the Canucks' top offensive defenceman.

He was placed on a defensive pairing with Paul Reinhart immediately after the trade and scored 10 points in 11 games to finish the regular season.

In his first full season with Vancouver, Lumme improved to 32 points over 80 games.

The following season, he recorded his first of back-to-back 44-point seasons and earned his first of four Babe Pratt Trophies as the team's top defenceman.

In 1993–94, Lumme posted a career-high 55 points, second only to late-season acquisition Jeff Brown among team defencemen.

Over nine seasons with the Canucks, Lumme was named the club's annual top defenceman on four occasions, became the team's all-time top goal- and point-scoring defenceman, and was a part of the squad's run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.

Towards the end of his NHL career, he additionally played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs over the span of five seasons.

He added 13 points in 24 playoff games, helping Vancouver to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the New York Rangers in seven games.

Due to the subsequent 1994–95 NHL lockout, Lumme returned to Finland to play for Ilves Tampere.

He recorded 8 points in 12 games before NHL play resumed midway through the campaign, at which point he returned to the Canucks.

Lumme continued as one of the Canucks' standout defencemen for the duration of his time with the club, as his defensive game improved as well.

He fell only one point short of his career high during the 1995–96 season, scoring 54 points — first among team defencemen.

He also managed a personal best 17 goals.

The following season, he won his fourth and final Babe Pratt Trophy in 1997.

Lumme led the Canucks' defence in scoring his final two years in Vancouver before becoming an unrestricted free agent in July 1998 and signing with the Phoenix Coyotes.

On June 23, 2001, he was traded from Phoenix to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Tyler Bouck.

Lumme played 15 games with the club in 2001–02.

He left the Stars on October 29, 2001, to briefly visit his family in Finland after receiving permission from general manager Bob Gainey.

In 2005, Lumme returned to Ilves Tampere of the SM-liiga after a two-year playing hiatus.

He played two final campaigns in Finland before retiring, at which point he became a part-owner of Ilves Tampere.

He left Vancouver as the franchise's all-time leading scorer among defencemen in goals with 83 (surpassed by Mattias Öhlund on December 15, 2007) and points with 321 (tied Dennis Kearns and since surpassed by Öhlund).

Playing with his third NHL club, Lumme remained a prominent member on his team's blueline.

With 28-, 40- and 25-point seasons in Phoenix, Lumme finishing second among team defencemen in scoring behind Teppo Numminen in all three campaigns.