Teemu Pulkkinen has joined Sergei Fedorov and Marian Hossa on a unique list of former Detroit Red Wings players.
Each has been booed every time they touched the puck on their first return to play against their old team.
For Fedorov and Hossa, it happened to each when they played their first game at Joe Louis Arena as visitors. In 2003, the boo birds welcomed back Fedorov after he’d left as a UFA to sign with the Anaheim Ducks.
Six years later, it was Hossa getting the hostile greeting upon his return with the Chicago Blackhawks. He’d also left Detroit that summer as a UFA.
In the case of Pulkkinen, the abuse came courtesy of the fans of Jokerit, his old Finnish team. He played with Jokerit from 2008 to 2013 before signing with the Red Wings organization.
Pulkkinen is back playing in his homeland this season, but he’s been under attack for playing in Russia’s KHL following that country’s invasion of Ukraine. Pulkkinen was the only Finnish player who kept playing in Russia following the outbreak of the war.
Ex-Red Wings Player Target Of Abuse
Pulkkinen scored a goal in the game as his club Kiekko-Vantaa lost 3-2. In fairness, some Jokerit fans did welcome him back. He even signed a few autographs upon entering the rink.
Teemu Pulkkinen tapasi pitkäaikaisia Jokeri-faneja ennen eilistä peliä🤝#KVantaa #Mestis #LohiMäärää pic.twitter.com/jobfpAExV8
— Kiekko-Vantaa (@KiekkoVantaa) September 6, 2025
“There’s nothing special about it,” Pulkkinen told Finnish website Ilta-Sanomat of the booing. “It’s part of the game that there’s emotion.”
Still, it can’t be debated that the decision to sign Pulkkinen is costing Kiekko-Vantaa. The club has lost three sponsors since adding him to the lineup.
“We used very careful consideration when hiring Pulkkinen,” Kiekko-Vantaa chairman Anssi Aura said. “The individual phenomena or issues it caused have not surprised us. However, the volume and scale of this uproar have been a bit larger than we expected.
“We are strongly behind Pulkkinen, and the boat has not rocked regarding the decision.”
Pulkkinen is trying to keep his focus on playing hockey.
“Nothing but working every day,” Pulkkinen said. “I feel that even though I have had a few bad seasons, I can still produce good numbers as a player.
“I have just tried to shut out the noise and develop myself and this team at the same time.”
Congrats to Teemu Pulkkinen on his first @NHL career goal! pic.twitter.com/txBuzAl8Bj
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 21, 2015
A 2010 draft pick of the Red Wings, Pulkkinen, 33, played 70 games with Detroit from 2013 to 2016, scoring 11 goals. He also spent three seasons in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Pulkkinen was the first player in franchise history to post back-to-back 30-goal seasons.