Teemu Selanne Will Retire After 2009-10 Season
Veteran Winger Will Play One More Season in Anaheim
Jul 5, 2009
When the 2010 offseason rolls around, Anaheim Ducks General Manager Bob Murray will have one less unrestricted free agent to think about for the following year. Celebrating his 39th birthday on July 3, 2009, Teemu Selanne told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that after wavering between retirement and returning the last few years, this time he is standing firm on his decision to call it quits after the 2009-10 campaign.
His final NHL season will be his 11th in a Ducks jersey. Selanne first joined the club via trade on February 7, 1996, after three and a half seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, the team that had selected him 10th overall at the 1998 Entry Draft. While in Anaheim, he and Paul Kariya formed one of the most dangerous duos in the league. The right-winger remained with the Disney-owned franchise until midway through 2000-01, when the then-Mighty Ducks shipped him to the San Jose Sharks.
After two seasons and a bit with the Sharks, Selanne signed on as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche, and once again found himself teammates with Kariya. The Helsinki native lasted just the one season in Colorado and, after the NHL lockout, returned to the Ducks in 2005-06, where he has been ever since.
Selanne’s NHL Career Highlights and Statistics
While some European players take time before adjusting to the North American game, Selanne was not one of them. His impact on his Jets team was immediate, exploding for 76 goals and 132 points in his rookie season in 1992-93; both numbers would set NHL freshman records that have yet to be broken.
Success just seemed to come Selanne’s way while with the Ducks. Despite a torn Achilles tendon that limited him to just 51 games in his sophomore season in 1993-94, he still managed to pile up 54 points.
While nothing has matched his sparkling debut, he has hit the 100-point plateau on two other occasions over the course of his career, notching 109 and 107 in 1996-97 and 1998-99, respectively. Selanne has topped the 20-goal mark all but twice, and only once has he failed to reach it when playing at least half a season.
He may have been on the downside of his career age-wise immediately after the lockout but his numbers on the scoresheet begged to differ. He enjoyed his most productive campaigns in nearly a decade in the first two years of the “New NHL”, amassing at least 40 goals and 90 points in each. Selanne piled up 94 points in the 2006-07 regular season before adding another 15 in the Ducks’ Stanley Cup Championship run.
International Career
Selanne hasn’t just made his mark in the NHL. He’s a four-time Olympian and World Championship participant, with a silver and bronze to show for each tournament; he’s also suited up for two World Cups. Skating alongside Saku Koivu and Jere Lehtinen for the better part of his Team Finland career, Selanne has racked up 43 goals and 81 points in 68 games on the international stage.
With the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games less than a year away, those numbers, as well his NHL totals, will only increase and further cement his place among hockey’s best.
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