Stars retire Jere Lehtinen's No. 26

[Plural]

does it make me weird that ive never heard of this guy before

Considering you've been a hockey fan for years, it really does.

 

[Huokaus]

Only in recent years I've realized how highly the people who actually watched him and knew what kind of player he was praise him. Even in Finland he's maybe not appreciated as much as he deserves. The only players to win the Selke 3 or more times alongside Lehtinen are Gainey (who the award was made for and is in HHOF), Carbonneau (who has relatively bad offensive stats for the era he played in and isn't in the HHOF), Datsyuk (who I think will definitely be in the HHOF) and Bergeron (who has the most Selkes with 4 and will also get elected into the HHOF imo). Pretty good company to be in.

It's great to at least see his jersey retired in Dallas. I laughed at the announcer pronouncing his name as Juri Lehtonen though

 

[Analyst365]

Instead of raising his number to the rafters they should just dump it into the O zone then just hang back and trap and clutch and grab in true Lehtinen/90s Stars fashion.

 

[TheAngryHank]

Is it possible to unlike a post?

 

[Jray42]

does it make me weird that ive never heard of this guy before

You've been a member of this board since 2006, how have you never heard of Jere Lehtinen?

But anyway, he was a great winger.

 

[Yarbles02]

This guy was wildly good.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

3 Selke
1 Stanley Cup
1 Olympic Silver
3 Olympic Bronze
1 World Championship Gold
3 World Championship Silver

Yet NHL.com, TSN, Sportsnet, Bob McKenzie, Freidman, Dreger, Button, etc. etc. can't post about his jersey number retirement.

The most underrated player potentially to EVER play the game and it continues on after his playing days are over.

Sad sad stuff from the media.

 

[HerculePoirot]

3 Selke
1 Stanley Cup
1 Olympic Silver
3 Olympic Bronze
1 World Championship Gold
3 World Championship Silver

Yet NHL.com, TSN, Sportsnet, Bob McKenzie, Freidman, Dreger, Button, etc. etc. can't post about his jersey number retirement.

The most underrated player potentially to EVER play the game and it continues on after his playing days are over.

Sad sad stuff from the media.

Yeah definitely not enough coverage BUT atleast on tsn's radio show (1050 Toronto) OverDrive they've been talking about it. Button was a guest one time talking about if a line needed fixing, Lehtinen would be moved to that line and it would be fixed. But yes I agree, too little coverage!

 

[Dr Pepper]

Took the Stars long enough to make this happen.

My only question is whether or not Pantera was in attendance.

 

[Plural]

Yeah, it is kind of weird how little exposure Lehtinen has always gotten. Especially considering how much coaches and analysts always complimented him with high praise. For a player with such a great reputation among peers and experts he somehow always flew under the radar. Well, not entirely under considering his Selke record.

 

[yangmang]

You've been a member of this board since 2006, how have you never heard of Jere Lehtinen?

But anyway, he was a great winger.

it seems like he was a career 4th line player. maybe thats why i havent heard his name

 

[Wo Yorfat]

it seems like he was a career 4th line player. maybe thats why i havent heard his name

 

[Halakitlikethat]

Well deserved

 

[Spotty 2 Hotty]

Took the Stars long enough to make this happen.

My only question is whether or not Pantera was in attendance.

 

[Refuse]

it seems like he was a career 4th line player. maybe thats why i havent heard his name

You're a 4th line hockey fan for not knowing who he is.

 

[RorschachWJK]

One of my favorite players all time. Incredibly versatile, super clutch, high IQ, perfect team player...had one hell of an international career in addition to a great NHL career. No winger has won the Selke since he did it...three times.

There are much worse players than him in the HHOF.

 

[Beville]

Must have been SO annoying to play against Jere, and he had a great wrister as well!

One of my first stocks was a Bauer with a Lehtinen curve... I loved it.

 

[Jugitsu]

it seems like he was a career 4th line player. maybe thats why i havent heard his name

Career 4th liner who played most of his career with Mike Modano, won 3 Selke awards and formed one of the best lines in hockey with Mike Modano and Brett Hull. You've heard about those guys, right?

Jere was the under the radar type of guy. If you weren't a die hard hockey fan absorbing as much hockey as you possible can, you probably haven't heard about him. He wasn't flashy, he didn't score a ton and was never really in any headlines. But if you ask his team mates about him, or Stars fans or players who had to play against him, he was very well known. And I believe that's how Jere likes it.

 

[bathdog]

Yeah, it is kind of weird how little exposure Lehtinen has always gotten. Especially considering how much coaches and analysts always complimented him with high praise. For a player with such a great reputation among peers and experts he somehow always flew under the radar. Well, not entirely under considering his Selke record.

That's usually how it goes unless you have a very high offensive upside as well. Defense is boring, and hard to measure.

Very good player.

 

[Harmonica1]

3 Selke
1 Stanley Cup
1 Olympic Silver
3 Olympic Bronze
1 World Championship Gold
3 World Championship Silver

Yet NHL.com, TSN, Sportsnet, Bob McKenzie, Freidman, Dreger, Button, etc. etc. can't post about his jersey number retirement.

The most underrated player potentially to EVER play the game and it continues on after his playing days are over.

Sad sad stuff from the media.

Don't forget 1 World Cup runner-up. Why he isn't on the media, he wasn't the type of player who sold to masses. If he was Matthews type of media darling, he would've been in the media weeks already, and there would be probably a 2 hour long documentary shown and couple memoirs written about it already.

 

[Binister]

Did he win a cup in Dallas?

Yep, and formed quite dangerous trio with Brett Hull and Mike Modano.

Jere deserved it. Congrats!

 

[Zalos]

*plays devil's advocate*

514 points in 875 games. Hall of Fame? No way. Even Plekanec has more points. The dude was a good player on a great team, that's about it. His number would have never been retired on a lot of other teams.

 

[Eisen]

514 points in 875 games. Hall of Fame? No way. Even Plekanec has more points. The dude was a good player on a great team, that's about it. His number would have never been retired on a lot of other teams.

Plekanec is missing the 3 Selkes. They are in no way comparable.

 

[Zalos]

Plekanec is missing the 3 Selkes. They are in no way comparable.

Selkes don't mean much. Bob Gainey won four of them. And he's not a player I'd rank high on any list of best ever. Just like Lehtinen he was on a great team and was known for his defensive skills.

In the end, this is why not many people here will have a clue about who Lehtinen is, even if they followed hockey when the guy was playing.

 

[Harmonica1]

*plays devil's advocate*

514 points in 875 games. Hall of Fame? No way. Even Plekanec has more points. The dude was a good player on a great team, that's about it. His number would have never been retired on a lot of other teams.

Why are there goalies in HoF? I don't know.