Saving Face: Anaheim Ducks

We all have players on our favourite team that we value, ones that we wouldn't give up for anything. But they didn't all start out that way, in fact many "Franchise" players weren't even drafted by the team that now finds them so valuable. Some are on their second team, some are on their fourth, but all of them have become extreme valuable hockey players. This series is intended to allow us to look closely at these so called "Faces of the Franchise" because sometimes stars are easy to see, sometimes it takes years to find diamonds in the rough, and sometimes you don't know what you got till it's gone.


First Up: Teemu Selanne-Anaheim Ducks

I know what you're saying; Corey Perry won the Hart last year! But the fact is when you think about the Anaheim Ducks, this is the name that jumps up at you. He is, as the French say "Poignant!". So let's take a look at how this all came to be.


Young Teemu was drafted 10th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1988 Entry draft, sandwiched between two eventual Hall-of-Famers, Rod Brind'Amour and some dude named Chris Govedaris. He then spent the next 4 years playing for Jokerit Helsinki of the Finnish SM-liiga. Then he went crazy.

1992-93: Teemu sets the NHL records for Goals by a Rookie(76) and Points by a Rookie(132) and most importantly, shows the world how much he wants to shoot Ducks. Can you believe that Teemu wasn't able to wear #8 because RANDY FREAKING CARLYLE WAS WEARING IT!? By season`s end, Teemu has won the Calder for best Rookie and was named to the All-Rookie Team and the First All-Star Team.


1993-94: Teemu BREAKS. He tears his Achilles tendon and only plays 51 games. The Jets lose to Vancouver in the Playoff Quarterfinals and begin their move south. So really, it's all Vancouver's fault.


1994-95: Teemu returns to the Finnish team Jokerit to ride out the NHL lockout. He plays with fellow Finn Jari Kurri and Jokerit wins some crazy trophy called "The European Cup"


1995-96: The Jets, known for their extremely competent management team, trade Teemu for the ridiculously named Oleg Tverdovsky, Chad Kroeger(now lead singer of Nickelback) and, yes, a bag of pucks. Making him the first player to be traded for a bag of pucks.

1996-97: Enraged, Teemu goes nuts, scoring 51 goals en route to a 107 point season. He is again named to the First All-Star Team. Also Disney contacts him, asking if they could produce a TV series based on his adventures.


1997-98: Teemu achieves another 50-goal season, this time with 52 and travels with the Finnish Olympic team to Nagano where he receives a Bronze metal. Teemu also attends the All-Star Game, where he scores a hat trick and is named MVP, which I think stands for Most Valuable Puck-Guy? Nope? OK I may be wrong.


1998-99: They create a new award for Teemu, but they name it after some french dude by accident. Teemu becomes the first winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals with 47.


1999-2000: Teemu under-performs and finishes the season with only 85 points. Many speculate he was distracted by living up to his "Finnish Flash" nickname all season and spent too much time in court and writing apology letters.


2000-01: The Ducks get all high and Mighty and throw Teemu to the Sharks.

2001-02: Teemu continues to under-perform despite playing all 82 games of the season. Possibly because his feelings are hurt, most likely because the San Jose Sharks are bad.


2002-03: Ends in disappointment again as Teemu scores only 28 goals and finishes with 64 points as the Sharks fail to make the playoffs, but we all know the Sharks so maybe that was a good thing?

2003-04: Confused about the term Mile High City Teemu signs with the Avalanche. But instead of getting nice and baked, his body just fails to attain enough oxygen and he produces the lowest PPG total of his career.


2004-05: Somebody pissed in the Owners' cereal. The 2004-05 lockout shuts down the NHL for a season. Teemu uses the time off to rehabilitate his knee and signs a contract with Jokerit, even though he never plays a game with them. It's all about money for Teemu.

2005-06: Glorious, Glorious Rebirth! In his first season back with Anaheim, where he signed as a Free-Agent, he records 40 goals and 90 points. The organization decides to honour him by showing him how small he is! AND WHAT A BIG HEAD!!?? He also wins a Silver Medal with the Finnish Olympic team. There is a revival in his ``Finnish Flash`` as he spends the off-season touring saunas in his homeland wearing on the medal.


2006-07: Teemu proves that last year wasn't a fluke. This is a big one for Teemu, he scores his 500th goal, his 600th point as a Duck and plays in his 1000th game. He racks up 48 goals en route to a Stanley Cup with Anaheim. Which is good for Anaheim because they've been waiting so long for this... Oh yeah did I mention that scored a hat trick for his friend that was dying of cancer? Yeah, he just does that kind of stuff on the reg'

2007-08: Teemu breaks Kariya's record of Most Points as a Duck. TEEMU SMASH!!


2008-09: Teemu continues to set records, for most hat tricks as a Duck and passes Guy TheFlower on the Career Goals list. Then, convinced no one can stop him but himself, he uses his own skate to sever his thigh muscle.


2009-10: Teemu announces that this will be his last season, stating "a man my age does not belong in a league like the NHL" and then he says " I AM NO MAN! I AM A GOD!" I think. Anyways, he passes Jari Kurri on the Most Goals by a Finn list. "How does that taste Jari! Does it taste like CURRY!"


2010-11: Teemu announces that, syke, he totally isn`t gonna retire. He proceeds to prove that his is better than 99% of the rest of the NHL and finishes 8th in league scoring. He also scores 6 goals in 6 games as the Ducks fall to the perverse Predators.


2011-12: Teemu fools everyone again and announces that he`s gonna give it "the ole college try" and comes back for one more year. But what is in store for him: he could pass Luc Robitaille(668) or Mario Lemieux (690) on the Most Career Goals list, he could pass Jari Kurri(1398) on the Most Career Points list and if he plays every game he could pass Adam Oates on the Most Games played list.

Teemu Selanne is a player that has been given up on several times over the course of his career. The Jets and the Ducks traded him away, The Sharks and the Avalanche decided not to re-sign him. And yet he continues to redefine the effectiveness of an older player. He is The Best Finnish player ever, and is one of the best Europeans to play the game. He is used primarily on the power-play now and continues to demonstrate his lethal shot and his excellent vision. He is the face of the Anaheim Ducks and they couldn`t ask for someone better, I mean, the guy won Sexiest Man in Finland. He races in his free time under the name Tommy Freakin`Lighting (I added the Freakin`) and he has a twin brother named Paavo, so, yeah, that`s pretty cool.....
Teemu is an excellent example that you should never give up on a player with character, just ask Zdeno Chara, who we will feature on the next Saving Face....... aw man, I didn`t even make one JOKERIT joke.