Jyrki Lumme

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
played_for = Ilves (FNL)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Dallas Stars
Phoenix Coyotes
Vancouver Canucks
Montreal Canadiens
league = NHL
position = Defence
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 1
weight_lb = 205
nationality = FIN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1966|7|16|mf=y
birth_place = Tampere, Finland
draft = 3rd round, 57th overall
draft_year = 1986
draft_team = Montreal Canadiens
career_start = 1988
career_end = 2006

Jyrki Olavi Lumme (born July 16, 1966, in Tampere, Finland) is a former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League from 1988 to 2003, primarily for the Vancouver Canucks. Lumme also played several seasons in the Finnish SM-Liiga with Ilves Tampere prior to and after his NHL career.

Playing career

Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd round (57th overall) in 1986, Lumme only played 75 games with the Canadiens over two seasons before his career took off with the Vancouver Canucks. Following a trade during the 1989–90 season, he quickly established himself as the Canucks' top offensive defenceman, recording career highs for goals, assists and points during his first full season in Vancouver. He would score 44 points each of the next two seasons, to lead Vancouver's defensive corps in scoring both years.

His career high of 55 points in 1993–94 was second only to late-season acquisition Jeff Brown, among team defencemen. Lumme followed up his strong regular season with 13 points in the playoffs, helping Vancouver take the New York Rangers to seven games in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals before losing.

Lumme continued as one of the Canucks' standout defensemen 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 — enough to lead the team's defencemen in scoring once more. He also managed a career-high 17 goals.

He continued to lead the Canucks' defence in scoring his final two years in Vancouver before becoming an unrestricted free-agent in 1998 and signing a deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. After leaving Vancouver, Lumme played three seasons for the Coyotes, then had a brief stint with the Dallas Stars before being sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs, in exchange for another veteran blue liner, Dave Manson. Nearing the twilight of his career, Lumme took a two-year hiatus from professional hockey after the 2002–03 season, before playing two more years in Finland for Ilves, a team from his hometown that he had previously played for before entering the NHL and briefly during the 1994–95 lockout.

Though Lumme's smooth skating and deadly-accurate wrist shot made him best known as an offensive defenceman, during the peak of his career he was reliable in his own end too, with an effective backhand that allowed him to clear the zone with ease. Playing on the west coast, many analysts felt that Lumme never received the kind of acclaim he might have in an NHL market with more media exposure. In this vein, Canuck broadcaster Tom Larscheid once called him "the best kept secret outside of British Columbia." Lumme's efforts were recognized by Vancouver Canuck fans and media, who in four seasons named him the recipient of the Babe Pratt Trophy as the team's most outstanding defenceman (1991–92, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97).

Awards & achievements

*Babe Pratt Trophy (Vancouver Canucks' best defenceman) - 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997
*Vancouver Canucks' franchise goals leader (defenceman) - 83 "(surpassed by Mattias Ohlund on December 15, 2007)"
*Vancouver Canucks' franchise assists leader (defenceman) - 238
*Vancouver Canucks' franchise points leader (defenceman) - 321

Career statistics

External links

* [http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/lummejy01.html Jyrki Lumme's career statistics at Hockey-Reference.com]
* [http://www.nhlfinns.com/players.aspx?pid=53 Jyrki Lumme at nhlfinns.com]