 Hämäläinen's record was broken 18 February 2012 when Jan Latvala played his 1002nd game.Hämäläinen played his last season during the 2007-08 SM-liiga season.Hämäläinen played his 1000th SM-liiga career game and after the season ended he announced his retirement from playing

Shortly after his announcement regarding his retirement, Hämäläinen was contracted to a 2+2 year contract by Lukko.