But for the native of Tampere, the second leg of the 2022 Global Series between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche will be the first real NHL home game he'll be a part of, albeit not as a player.
The 54-year-old former defenseman, who had 637 points (117 goals, 520 assists) in his NHL career, will drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff on Saturday (2 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSOH, ALT, SN1, SN NOW).
It's a big honor for Numminen, who lives near Nokia Arena.
"It's a huge event for everybody here," he said. "Tampere is a legendary hockey city. We had the first outdoor rink here and the first arena built in Finland. And now we have this, the latest building, Nokia Arena, which was built last year.
"There's a lot of history here with our teams too. We have two Finnish League teams here, Tappara and Ilves, so hockey's the main thing in our town. That being the case, everybody's been so excited about this NHL event being here."
None more so, he said, than the Finland-born players involved in the Global Series: forwards Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen of Colorado, and forward Patrik Laine and goalie Joonas Korpisalo of Columbus.
"Well, I think as a player you are proud of where you are from and you want to show your home country what you can do," Numminen said. "And to do it at home, that's just so huge. I can't say it enough.
"This is where you grew up. Your friends and family are here. They aren't watching on TV in the middle of the night when you're playing in North America. You are doing it here."
Numminen made those comments well before the Avalanche and Blue Jackets took to the ice on Friday for the opener of the two-game set. His words proved prophetic nonetheless when Rantanen scored a hat trick in a 6-3 victory for Colorado.
"It's rare to have all the big guns and star players here," Numminen said. "It's going to help Finnish hockey and encourage kids to play.
"It's a great event and I'm just happy to be at it."
