After watching video of Teemu Selanne's golf game, it's easy to see why he is staying active in the NHL. In a humorous clip posted on the Anaheim Ducks' website Friday, a frustrated Selanne is seen throwing his golf bag in the water, then swimming after it to retrieve a cell phone. He calls Ducks general manager Bob Murray to let him know he is returning to the team for the 2013-14 season, his 21st in the NHL. According to the Orange County (Calif.) Register, Selanne signed a one-year, $2 million contract.
In the video, Selanne said, "I'm coming
back. This is it. This is my final one. I think it's good for people
to know it will be the last one, I haven't said that officially
before, and it will be easier for me to take advantage of every day
and enjoy. I think it's good for everybody, my family too. They've
asked questions over the years, and now it's a very clear
situation. "I had a good meeting with Bruce and I'm very happy
with how it turned out. He was very open. I wanted to know how I
would fit in his roster, and he said he was expecting a lot from me.
Those were good things, and that was the final thing I wanted to
hear. … I never wanted to get any promises because I know the coach
can't really do that. Obviously, we have a great group of guys.
Getting those guys in, I didn't want a situation where we pushed them
in no matter what happened. It's a competitive situation and everyone
has to earn their ice time and power play. I know I can do it. I just
needed to be on the same page with the coach. That's what happened.
I'm very happy about that. "I have high expectations about
myself. I haven't had any numbers, but I know how well I can play. I
don't think anybody can have more expectations for myself than
myself. I want to be a big part of it, otherwise I wouldn't have even
considered to keep playing. Hopefully the biggest thing for me is
staying healthy. That will give me the chance to succeed."
"It's great to have Teemu back. He clearly
still has passion for the game and can't wait to get started,"
GM Bob Murray
said in a statement. "We are so pleased that Teemu will end
his career where he belongs."
Selanne, 43 in July, had 12 goals and 12 assists
in 46 games last season, and enters 2013-14 with 675 goals and 1,430
points in 1,387 NHL games. He's 11th all-time in goals, six behind
No. 10 Jaromir
Jagr and 15 behind No. 9 Mario
Lemieux. Selanne is 15th all-time in points, 37 behind No. 14
Stan Mikita.
Known as "The Finnish Flash," Selanne has represented his
country five times in the Winter Olympics and expressed a desire to
make a sixth appearance on that stage for Finland at the 2014 Games
in Sochi, Russia.
"That's also a big bonus for the next
season," Selanne said. "This could be my sixth
Olympics, which I'm very proud of. We have a Finnish coach (Erkka
Westerlund) who will pick the team, but that's my goal for sure."
The Ducks won the Pacific Division and returned to
the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2012-13, but the Detroit
Red Wings defeated them in seven games in the first round.
Anaheim lost three games in overtime, and Game 7, 3-2 at home.
"If we had gone to the Finals or close,
you just leave everything out there, and it would have been a
different case," Selanne said. "I really felt, like
everybody else in our locker room, that there is unfinished business
and we have a better team than this. We have so many good things
going on right now, and we know we can do better, and that's a main
reason why I'm here. I'm still very hungry to win again. We have a
good team and a lot of good things going here. If we had a bad team
and bad season, it would be an easy situation to just say, 'Thanks
for everything,' and go on. But I felt we can do better and I can do
better, and everybody can do better. There's unfinished business for
sure."
Win or lose this season, Selanne said his time in
the NHL will be complete. "There is no handbook about how
you're going to feel when you retire. I've never gotten the feeling
that I'm done and this is enough. I'm just waiting for my body and my
mind to say, 'I'm done. I've been able to enjoy this game so much
that even on the tough nights and days, I still enjoy it. It's going
to end somewhere, and I decided now for my family and everybody that
it's going to be my last season. That's fair for everybody. But I
haven't yet had a moment where I felt, 'This is it.'
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