Teemu Selänne
Teemu Ilmari Selänne is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. Playing as a right winger, he began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and later played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Colorado Avalanche. Nicknamed "the Finnish Flash", Selänne is the highest-scoring Finn in NHL history, and one of the highest overall; he retired in 2014 11th all-time with 684 goals and 15th with 1,457 points. He holds numerous team scoring records for both the Winnipeg/Arizona franchise and the Anaheim Ducks. His jersey number 8 was retired by the Ducks in 2015. In 2017, Selänne was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. On June 26, 2017, Selänne was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as the second Finn after Jari Kurri.
Selänne was a first-round selection of the Jets, 10th overall, at the 1988 NHL entry draft, but initially remained in Finland. He led the SM-liiga in scoring as part of Jokerit's Kanada-malja winning team in 1991–92 before moving to North America. He broke into the NHL by recording 76 goals and 132 points in 1992–93. It remains the league record for most goals and points by a rookie and earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top first-year player in the NHL. He has scored 50 goals in a season three times and topped 100 points on four occasions. He played in 10 NHL All-Star Games, was named to four postseason All-Star teams and won the inaugural Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 1998–99 as the league's leading goal scorer. He was named recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2005–06 for perseverance and dedication to the game and was a member of the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup championship team.
Internationally, Selänne was a long-time member of the Finland national team. He played in five World Championships, winning a silver and bronze medal, and in three Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey tournaments. A six-time Olympian, Selänne helped Finland win three bronze medals and, in 2006, a silver medal. He is the all-time leader in scoring at the Olympic men's ice hockey tournament with 43 points. A national star in his native country, Selänne is the subject of a top-grossing biographical documentary in Finland. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2017.
Early life
Selänne was born on July 3, 1970, in Helsinki, Finland. He has a twin brother, Paavo, and another brother, Panu. He was raised by his mother Liisa Viitanen and father Ilmari Selänne until they divorced in the late 1980s. The family lived for a time in Rauma before settling in Espoo around the time Teemu was 5 years old.Selänne played three sports as a youth: hockey, bandy and association football. He played hockey and football with and against Paavo, though his brother ultimately gave up on both sports in favour of field hockey, where he was a member of numerous Finnish and European championship teams. Teemu was small as a youth, creating in him a competitive spirit and drive to improve his skills. Focusing on hockey, he eventually joined the junior squad of Jokerit in Helsinki.
As a young adult, Selänne attended business school for two years and served a mandatory one-year stint with the Finnish Defence Forces. During his tenure with Jokerit, he also spent three years as a kindergarten teacher. His experiences visiting kids at Helsinki's children's hospital led to him co-founding the Godfathers' Foundation, an organization that raises money for ill children.
Playing career
Jokerit (1989–1992)
Selänne played three years of junior hockey in Jokerit's development program, culminating in 1987–88 with a 43-goal, 66 point season in 33 games and a Finnish Junior A championship. His performance prompted the National Hockey League 's Winnipeg Jets to select him with their first-round pick, tenth overall, at the 1988 NHL entry draft. Selänne attended training camp with the Jets, but returned to Finland owing to his military service.After graduating from junior hockey, Selänne joined Jokerit's senior team in the 1. Divisioona in 1988–89 and scored 69 points in 35 games. Jokerit moved up to the SM-liiga in 1989–90, and while Selänne missed the majority of the season due to a leg injury, he scored 12 points in 11 games played. Playing a full season in 1990–91, Selänne scored 33 goals and 58 points in 42 games. He was named the recipient of the Raimo Kilpiö trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player. Selänne's best season in the SM-liiga came in 1991–92 when he recorded 62 points in 44 games. With 39 goals, he won the Aarne Honkavaara trophy as top goal scorer. He added 17 points in ten playoff games, and scored the winning goal as Jokerit won the Kanada-malja as SM-liiga playoff champion.
Winnipeg Jets (1992–1996)
The Jets' organizational philosophy at the time was to allow their European draft picks to develop in their native countries, but by 1991, the franchise was working to bring him to Winnipeg. As Selänne had not yet signed a contract when he chose to play in North America for the 1992–93 season, he was considered a restricted free agent. The Calgary Flames signed him to an offer sheet on a three-year contract worth $2.7 million, $1.5 million higher than what the Jets had been offering. Though concerned about paying such a high salary, Winnipeg exercised its right to match the offer. Selänne made his NHL debut on October 6, 1992, and recorded two assists in a 4–1 Jets victory over the Detroit Red Wings. He scored his first career NHL goal two nights later against goaltender Jeff Hackett of the San Jose Sharks.Selänne scored his first career hat trick in his fifth contest and had 11 goals in his first 12 NHL games. He finished the season with 16 multi-goal games, including four hat-tricks and a four-goal game, en route to breaking the NHL record for goals by a rookie. He surpassed Mike Bossy's record of 53 goals on March 2, 1993, against the Quebec Nordiques and on March 23, scored his 110th point, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, to break Peter Šťastný's rookie points record. Selänne finished the season tied for fifth in scoring with 132 points, and his 76 goals tied with Alexander Mogilny for the League lead. His offensive exploits helped pull the Jets into the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, where they lost a first-round matchup to the Vancouver Canucks. In recognition of his season, Selänne was voted the recipient of the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, was named to the first All-Star team and played in his first of ten career NHL All-Star Games.
Unable to maintain a similar pace in 1993–94—indeed, his rookie totals in goals and points would both prove his career-high by more than 20—Selänne's offensive production declined by 30 percent midway through the season. He scored his 100th career goal on January 12, 1994, against the Buffalo Sabres, reaching the milestone in his 130th game, the second-fastest in NHL history and only one game later than Bossy. Selänne finished the season with 54 points in 51 games, but missed the final 33 games of the season after suffering a severed Achilles tendon in a January 26 game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The 1994–95 NHL lockout resulted in Selänne splitting the season between Jokerit and the Jets. While playing in Finland, Selänne was named to the tournament all-star team as Jokerit won the 1994 European Cup.
Selänne's future in Winnipeg, a small, often cash-strapped market came into question several times during this career, to the extent that pundits reported at the 1995 NHL entry draft that he may be traded out of Winnipeg around the time of the draft. While a trade in the off-season never materialized, Selänne's career in Winnipeg came to an end midway through the following 1995–96 season. He was leading the Jets with 72 points when, on February 6, 1996, he was traded to Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks sent first-round draft picks Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky, along with a third-round selection at the 1996 NHL entry draft, in exchange for Selänne, Marc Chouinard and a fourth-round draft pick. Selänne was upset when notified of the deal during practice and left the Winnipeg Arena without speaking to anyone.
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–2001)
Following a period of adjustment, Selänne gained an appreciation for his new team; he quickly came to call the deal the best thing that ever happened to him. He was paired with Paul Kariya, whom he met at the 1996 NHL All-Star Game, and the duo were counted on to lead the young franchise to a postseason berth for the first time. Selänne scored 36 points in 28 games with the Ducks, and combined with his Jets totals, finished the 1995–96 season with 108 points. He followed it up with a third 100-point season in 1996–97, finishing with 109, including 51 goals. He was named to the first All-Star team for a second time, while he and Kariya led the Mighty Ducks into the franchise's first playoff appearance in 1997. Despite being criticized as being a "one-line team", Anaheim defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round before being eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings.The 1998 All-Star Game was Selänne's fifth, and after scoring a hat-trick, he became the first European player to be named the MVP in the All-Star Game's 46-year history. He finished the 1997–98 season with his third career 50-goal season; his total of 52 tied Peter Bondra for the NHL lead, and he scored his 500th career point on January 12, 1998, with an assist against the Los Angeles Kings. He was a finalist for both the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's MVP and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly conduct, and was named to the second All-Star team. The NHL created the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 1998–99 to be presented to the League's leading goal scorer; Selänne became its inaugural winner following a 47-goal season.