| Nick Obergan. 2nd December, 2010 - 3:44 am
 This past August in an interview with a Helsinki newspaper, current Anaheim Duck Teemu Selanne confirmed that this will be his last year in the NHL. The decision shouldn?t be a surprise to anyone, as the 40-year-old winger from Finland has been flirting with the concept of retirement ever since winning the 2007 Stanley Cup (his first). To show appreciation, let us recap his career, which will ultimately wind up at the Hall of Fame.
Selanne was the 10th overall player selected in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets, and would make his debut in 1992. His first NHL goal was scored on Jeff Hackett of the San Jose Sharks, and he would go on to score 75 more in his rookie season, establishing NHL records for goals (76) and points (132) by a rookie; Selanne and Alexander Mogilny (also 76 goals that year) became the first Europeans to lead the league in goals. Obviously this historic season earned Selanne the Calder Memorial Trophy.
After playing parts of four seasons in Winnipeg, Selanne spent the next four full seasons and two half seasons (1996-2001) in Anaheim, back when they were the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He enjoyed a great deal of success here teaming with Paul Kariya. Selanne lead the league in goals again in 1998 and 1999, and was the first European to be named All-Star MVP in 1998 after becoming the first European to score a hat trick in the mid-season contest.
Selanne finished out the 2000-01 season with San Jose, and played an additional two seasons there, followed by a one year stint in Colorado, where he once again teamed with Kariya with a hope to get both of their careers back on track and win a Stanley Cup. But these three seasons saw the downslope of Selanne?s career coming to the forefront, as he went from 54 to 64 down to 32 points while only missing four games in his season in Colorado.
But then came the lockout, and Selanne seemed rejuvenated by a year off (he signed in Finland, but only played in the playoffs because he was rehabbing a surgery). He went back to Anaheim, where he was still a fan favourite, and at 35-years-old scored 40 goals and dished out 50 assists for 90 points in 80 games. During the season, he became the seventh European to reach the 1,000 point plateau. His peers recognized his return to prominence by awarding him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given to the player excelling in perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
In 2006-07 Selanne led the Ducks with 48 goals and 94 points, becoming the first player 35-years-old and over to record back-to-back 40-goal seasons. He also scored his 500th goal this year, becoming the second Fin ever to do so ? Jari Kurri of course was the first. In December of that year he played in his 1,000th game. In February of 2007 he passed his old friend Kariya to take possession of the franchise record for goals (Kariya had 300 with the Ducks). He also led the league in power play goals (25) and game winning goals (10).
But it was the spring of 2007 that brought Selanne the ultimate reward for his extraordinary career, as he was an integral part of the Ducks? 2007 Stanley Cup victory over the Ottawa Senators. He had 15 points in 21 games during the playoffs, and even set the new franchise playoff points record. After finally getting to lift hockey?s Holy Grail, the retirement talk first began, both internally and outwardly.
But Selanne kept playing, and kept setting milestones: In February 2008 he passed Kariya for most points in franchise history; that same month he notched his 20th career hat trick and his 600th assist; in October 2008 he scored his 21st hat trick, and set a new Ducks? franchise record; in March of 2010 he became the 18th player to score 600 goals and on April 2nd, 2010 he passed Kurri for most goals by a Finnish-born player; and this season he has set the new franchise mark for career assists.
After eclipsing Kurri?s scoring mark, many believed that the end of Selanne?s reign was definite now. But after posting back-to-back 27-goal seasons, he was still playing at a high level. And now in his last season, he is on track to go out with a bang; through the first 23 games this year, Selanne has 8 goals and 24 points, placing inside the top-20 in the league. At this moment, he has played 1,209 games, and has scored 614 goals, 670 assists and 1,284 points in his career, putting him in sole possession of 32nd place in NHL history; the next player to jump is Gilbert Perreault at 1,326.
Away from the NHL, Selanne has also answered the call every time his home country wanted his skills and leadership: 124 International games played for Finland, scoring 131 points in the process, many as a 5-time Olympian, which he is the world record holder for career points in the Winter Olympic Games (38 points in 32 games), and three Olympic medals go with his Stanley Cup.
While you could argue that Selanne is the greatest Finnish born player in the history of the NHL (the argument being: Kurri got to play with some guy named Wayne Gretzky for the majority of his career, what if Teemu did too?), you can?t argue the fact that he is headed straight to the Hall of Fame in Toronto in 2014 if he does indeed retire at season?s end. And with nine of the franchise?s career records, and four single-season records, there is little doubt that Selanne will be the very first player to be enshrined as a Duck.
Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan
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