TAMPERE, Finland -- Teppo Numminen's smile has not diminished in the nine years since one of the NHL's smartest and most reliable defensemen retired.

In fact, the 50-year-old native of Tampere, Finland has a brighter grin this week because the NHL and his former team, the Winnipeg Jets, are in his home country for the 2018 NHL Global Series.

The Jets and Florida Panthers are playing two NHL regular-season games at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on Thursday (2 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN3, NHL.TV) and Friday.

Adding to Numminen's excitement is the fact that another Finland-born star, Patrik Laine, will play for the Jets.

The 20-year-old wing, in his third NHL season, is so popular in his home country he's drawing comparisons to Finland's greatest NHL player.

"He's almost like Teemu Selanne," Numminen said. "He's well-known, well-respected and well-followed. Everything started when they won the World Junior Championship here in Finland (in 2016). That was a huge deal."



Selanne, elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017, set NHL rookie records with the Jets in 1992 with 76 goals and 132 points.

That performance helped solidify the connection with Finland and the Jets that began in the 1970s, when the Jets of the World Hockey Association featured Finland-born players like forward Veli-Pekka Ketola, defenseman Heikki Riihiranta and goalie Markus Mattsson.

The Jets and Tappara, Numminen's home club, played a 3-3 tie in an exhibition game at Tampere Ice Stadium, the first indoor hockey stadium in Finland, on Sept. 11, 1975.

The connection became even stronger in 1992 thanks to Selanne, who was in the Jets lineup with Nummien during the four-team preseason Nike International Challenge in Helsinki on Sept. 9, 1994.

"Winnipeg has always been a well-known city and team in Finland," Numminen said. "If you ask Finnish people, I don't know if they know exactly where Winnipeg is, but they think Winnipeg is almost the capital of Canada. That's how well-known it is.

"They know a lot about the Jets and their history because there's always been a connection."

There is buzz, Numminen said, because of Laine's presence, and that of another Tampere native and Tappara product, Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

"There's been a lot of talk and interest, especially now that it's a real game and not an exhibition game," Numminen said. "Everybody realizes the difference of the play and the importance. Everybody is really excited about the event. We've got two of the best talents from Finland playing, so it's a huge thing here."

Numminen had 637 points (117 goals, 520 assists) in 1,372 games over 20 NHL seasons with the Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres, and spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Sabres (2012-14). He and his family have moved back to his hometown, nestled between two lakes, Nasijarvi and Pyharjarvi, 100 miles north of Helsinki.

He was happy to show it off Monday, taking a couple of hockey writers around the city landscape and to landmarks like the historic Tampere Cathedral and its famous frescoes, the Hockey Hall of Fame Finland and the Ice Stadium, which is home to Liiga clubs Tappara and Ilves.

"From growing up here, you feel proud," Numminen said. "I was proud to show you the buildings and the history. The older you get, you kind of understand and respect the past and the history of the game and your city and your teams and your culture.

"The older you get, the more you get into history, anyway."

Numminen has made some of his own with his hockey career. He and his father Kalevi, a former defenseman and coach with Tappara, are the only father and son inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Finland. Kalevi was inducted in 1986, Teppo in 2009.

The reconnection with Tampere and Finland ultimately became a priority for Numminen and his wife, Ann-Maarit, and their three children, Bianca, 17, Erica, 16 and Niklas, 12.

"Before we moved back three years ago, we were living in Buffalo for 10 years," Numminen said. "It was a decision with the family (whether) to move back to Finland or stay in North America. We decided to try it for a year and see how it goes, and now we've been here for three years and things are going well.

"The children are learning Finnish and Finnish culture. They can spend time with their grandparents. In that way, it has been a good move. Now they know more about Finnish culture and European thinking, so it's been pleasant for everybody."

Numminen, who will be assisting at a special Global Series kids' hockey clinic Wednesday and joining other Jets alumni for a variety of activities in Helsinki this week, is helping coach his son's youth team at Tappara. But with his family a priority, he's put a hold on other hockey paths.

For now.

"The game interests me," he said. "I don't know if I miss coaching. I miss playing. Coaching comes from the interest of hockey. I don't know if missing is the right word. But that's the way you can get really close to the thing that you care (about) and you're interested in."

Numminen plans to soak up Global Series week and down the road, he said, he will be connected to the game.

"I would be doing something in hockey for sure," he said. "I tried to get away, but I can't."