4 Nations Roster Remix: 2010 Finland team

The top NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will go head-to-head at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament that will be held from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

Though this is the first tournament of its kind to feature these four countries, NHL.com and NHL.com International have put together what the rosters and line combinations for each country would have looked like in the past, going backwards in five-year intervals. The rosters will follow the same format as the current 4 Nations teams: 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies.

The stories will run each Sunday through Feb. 9.

Today, NHL.com/fi writer Varpu Sihvonen reveals what her Team Finland roster would've looked like in 2010.

Forwards (13)

Jussi Jokinen -- Valtteri Filppula -- Teemu Selanne

Tuomo Ruutu -- Saku Koivu -- Jere Lehtinen

Niklas Hagman -- Mikko Koivu -- Antti Miettinen

Jarkko Ruutu -- Olli Jokinen -- Sean Bergenheim

Lauri Korpikoski

Filppula rarely was a top scorer for the Detroit Red Wings, but in 2009-10 he once again was an ideal complementary player who filled various roles -- scoring-line center, checking-line forward, and quarterbacking the power play. Filppula won a bronze medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, two years after winning the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings. Later he led Finland to a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2022 IIHF World Championship, which made him the first, and still only, Finnish member of the Triple Gold Club. Jussi Jokinen led the Carolina Hurricanes with 30 goals and was second in points with 65, while also tied for 10th in the League with six game-winning goals. Selanne won the Stanley Cup in 2006-07 with the Anaheim Ducks, and even though he may not have been the “Finnish Flash” he used to be, he still had 27 goals and 48 points in 54 games. Filppula, Jokinen and Selanne would have made an experienced and productive top line.

Lehtinen, who won the Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive forward three times (1998, 1999, 2003), retired in December of 2010 but still had a lot to offer. The Montreal Canadiens traded Saku Koivu to Anaheim prior to the 2009-10 season, where he had 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) in 71 games and was plus-14. Koivu, Lehtinen and Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu would have formed an excellent second line. Saku’s brother, Mikko, had his best NHL season in goals (22), assists (49) and points (71), and he averaged 20:45 of ice time for the Minnesota Wild. He would have centered the third line with Wild teammate Miettinen, who scored an NHL career-high 20 goals, and Hagman, who was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Calgary Flames and had an NHL career-high 44 points. The fourth line would have featured Olli Jokinen, traded from the Flames to the New York Rangers, Jarkko Ruutu (Ottawa Senators) and Bergenheim (New York Islanders). Korpikoski (Phoenix Coyotes) would have been the 13th forward.

Defensemen (7)

Joni Pitkanen -- Sami Salo

Kimmo Timonen -- Toni Lydman

Sami Lepisto -- Anssi Salmela

Ville Koistinen

The 2009-10 season was Pitkanen’s best in assists (40) and points (46), and he averaged 27:23 of ice time for the Hurricanes. Pitkanen and Salo of the Canucks (nine assists, 28 points) with his hard shot would have likely formed the top pair. Timonen was a consistent offensive contributor and helped the Philadelphia Flyers advance to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Timonen and Lydman (Buffalo Sabres) would have been a reliable second pair. The third pair would likely have included Lepisto, a rookie with the Coyotes, and Salmela, who started the season with the Atlanta Thrashers but was later traded to the New Jersey Devils. Koistinen (Panthers) was in his last NHL season but would have made the team as the seventh defenseman.

Goalies (3)

Antti Niemi

Pekka Rinne

Miikka Kiprusoff

Niemi had a strong 2009-10 season for the Blackhawks, finishing 26-7-4 with a 2.25 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and seven shutouts in 39 games (35 starts). Niemi (16-6) started all 22 postseason games and had a .910 save percentage and 2.63 GAA. He became the first Finnish-born goalie to win the Stanley Cup. Niemi would have started for Finland; Rinne was in his second full season with the Nashville Predators, and he finished 32-16-5 with a 2.53 GAA, .911 save percentage and seven shutouts in 58 games (54 starts). He would have likely been the backup. Kiprusoff finished 35-28-10 with a 2.31 GAA, .920 save percentage and four shutouts in 73 games. Kiprusoff won a bronze medal with Team Finland at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, but the Flames missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. He would have been the third goalie.