DUCKS HOPING A SELANNE RERUN IS WORTH WATCHING FORWARD, COMING OFF KNEE SURGERY, SIGNS A ONE-YEAR DEAL TO RETURN TO ANAHEIM.Byline: A.J. Perez Staff Writer The post-Mighty Ducks portion of Teemu Selanne's career had been marred by a steady scoring decline, three knee operations and his worst season in the NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there . Take all that into account, and it was easy to see why the nine-time All-Star forward wanted back into the Pond. ``Anaheim was my first option'' said Selanne, an unrestricted free agent who signed a one-year, $1 million deal Monday with the Ducks. ``I know they will play up-tempo hockey, and that will be good for me. The decision was easy.'' Selanne, the second-leading scorer in Ducks history to former linemate Paul Kariya Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), is a professional ice hockey player who plays for the St. Louis Blues. Personal life , has scored 452 goals - second only to Jaromir Jagr (478) - since 1992, the first year of Selanne's 12-season NHL career. During that 12th season, while playing in Colorado, the speedy Finnish star questioned his future in the sport. ``The passion, the fun of the game had disappeared ...,'' Selanne said during a conference call from his native Helsinki, Finland. ``I couldn't enjoy the game.'' An ailing left knee had a lot to do with that. During the 2003-04 season with the Avalanche, Selanne endured a 19-game stretch without a point; he finished the season with a career-low 16 goals and 16 assists. Last September, Selanne, 35, underwent the most dramatic of his three knee surgeries and used the lockout-canceled season to rehab. ``My knee is as good as when I started in the NHL,'' said Selanne, who will undergo a physical as part of the deal. ``Over the last couple years, every time I stepped onto the ice, it was hurting.'' Ducks general manager Brian Burke For the hockey executive, see . Brian Thomas Burke (born in Perth, 25 February 1947) was premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988. In 1994, Burke was imprisoned for seven months after being convicted of rorting travel expenses. said he's not overly concerned about Selanne's health, although he does want to see how Selanne performs before committing to him long-term. ``I made it clear to his agent we're certainly not looking at this as a one-year thing,'' Burke said. He added that he expects Selanne to excel under the NHL rules changes that are expected to lead to more scoring chances. Selanne broke into the NHL during the 1992-93 season with Winnipeg, where he was a teammate of new Ducks coach Randy Carlyle Randy Carlyle (born April 19, 1956 in Sudbury, Ontario) is a former hockey defenceman and currently the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He was raised in a town called Azilda, just northwest of Sudbury. . Selanne scored a career-high 76 goals and 132 points during his rookie campaign and won the Calder Memorial Trophy <onlyinclude>The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League."[1] The award has been awarded 70 times since its beginnings in 1937. as the league's top rookie. He was traded to the Ducks in February 1996, and during his six seasons with the Ducks scored 225 goals and 257 assists. He was traded to the San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). in March 2001 for Jeff Friesen Jeff Friesen (born Jeff Daryl Friesen on August 5, 1976 in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a professional hockey player, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. Playing career , Steve Shields Steve Shields could refer to any of the following people:
He signed a one-year deal before the 2003-04 season to join Kariya in Colorado. Selanne's signing puts the salaries committed to the upcoming season to about $36 million - just $3 million under the new salary cap. The Ducks have 18 players on the roster, but Burke said some might be on the trading block. A.J. Perez, (562) 499-1338 a.j.perez(at)presstelegram.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Finnish forward Teemu Selanne scored 225 goals and had 257 assists in six seasons with the Ducks before being traded to San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. in 2001. He spent 2003-04 with Colorado. Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images |
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