Teemu Selanne will be returning to the NHL this year. It’s unbelievable that this will be his 19th season and he will be playing for the Anaheim Ducks at 41 years old. He signed a one year $4 million contract to rejoin the team. Selanne was unsure whether or not he would return to play again after undergoing knee surgery this year. He is still strengthening and trying to get back to 100%.
Personally I don’t see why he shouldn’t play another year. I used to love it when I watched him score a goal, throw his glove high in the air and starts using his stick like a machine gun blasting it to pieces! The guy is amazing and even the numbers he put up last year were stellar. Why end a career when you still have what it takes? Speaking of careers, let’s recap some of the Finnish Flash’s amazing achievements.
Selanne began his career as the landslide winner of the Calder Trophy, awarded to the rookie of the year. He scored 76 goals (all-time rookie record) and 56 assists for a total of 132 points (all-time rookie record). He’s a three time winner of the Rocket Richard Award as top goal scorer and a 10 time all-star. He also holds the point record for men’s Olympic hockey.
Honestly it would take too long to list the many other records he holds but there’s one more notch to add to his belt before he’s done. The all-time NHL point leader from Finland. He is only 58 points behind Jari Kurri’s total of 1398. Kurri sits 19th in all-time points by a player in the NHL. Selanne is 27th and should easily bridge that gap this year making him the highest scoring fin ever. I hope Teemu can pull it off and make homeland history.
