Teemu Selanne

Teemu Selanne charmed a media throng, while teammates handled a post-practice meal Monday. He strolled through the Ducks' lobby, stopping to chat with those working the front desk. He stepped into the Southern California sun, where more than a dozen fans waited, ranging from a 5-year-old boy to a woman in her 60s, who squealed, "Teemu!" In the group, pen and camera ready, was Karl Hedlin, a 59-year-old man wearing a Winnipeg Jets jersey who came from Edmonton to see Selanne.

Arm-twisting or even the fine art of persuasion was not part of Bruce Boudreau's arsenal in Teemu Selanne's exit meeting Monday at Honda Center. After all, the Ducks' Selanne doesn't need to be told that his coach would like to have him come back for another season. Selanne, who will turn 42 in July, said his pending decision was not part of the conversation in their morning chat. It was suggested, jokingly, that the Ducks let Selanne skip training camp. "Maybe just home games," Selanne said, also joking.

Arm-twisting or even the fine art of persuasion was not part of Bruce Boudreau's arsenal in Teemu Selanne's exit meeting Monday at Honda Center. After all, the Ducks' Selanne doesn't need to be told that his coach would like to have him come back for another season. Selanne, who will turn 42 in July, said his pending decision was not part of the conversation in their morning chat. It was suggested, jokingly, that the Ducks let Selanne skip training camp. "Maybe just home games," Selanne said, also joking.

This may not have been the end, the final turn on Anaheim ice for Teemu Selanne. But the Honda Center fans were unwilling Sunday night to risk letting the beloved Finn skate away without sharing some emotion. With about five minutes remaining, they gave the 41-year-old a prolonged standing ovation, unprompted by any scoreboard urgings. The applause and their message couldn't have been more clear-cut about Selanne's NHL future. One more year. "It's unbelievable. It's almost funny they are chanting that for an old guy like me," said Selanne, sitting in the dressing room, not long after the Oilers beat the Ducks, 2-1, in Anaheim's home finale.

Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne will be out four to six weeks after undergoing surgery Friday to repair a fractured bone in his left hand. Selanne was struck by a shot from Karlis Skrastins during the second period of the Ducks' 3-1 loss Thursday at Dallas. He flew back to California after the game and underwent the procedure at the Kerlan-Jobe Surgery Center in Los Angeles. Selanne shared the team lead with 14 goals and was third in points, with 21. The Ducks recalled right wing Dan Sexton from Manitoba of the American Hockey League.

Teemu Selanne was a teenager who already had a need for speed when he first got to know Jari Kurri, the first great Finnish NHL star. "I remember he was really interested in my car," said Kurri, who handed the keys to his Saab to the 17-year-old phenom who was helping out with his hockey school in Finland. "I was kind of worried. I said, ‘Take it easy with that car. Don't spoil my tires.' " Selanne, a racing enthusiast, laughed at the memory. "I said, ‘Jari, can I borrow the car?

This may not have been the end, the final turn on Anaheim ice for Teemu Selanne. But the Honda Center fans were unwilling Sunday night to risk letting the beloved Finn skate away without sharing some emotion. With about five minutes remaining, they gave the 41-year-old a prolonged standing ovation, unprompted by any scoreboard urgings. The applause and their message couldn't have been more clear-cut about Selanne's NHL future. One more year. "It's unbelievable. It's almost funny they are chanting that for an old guy like me," said Selanne, sitting in the dressing room, not long after the Oilers beat the Ducks, 2-1, in Anaheim's home finale.

One goal from 600 in his NHL career, Teemu Selanne was down on the ice Sunday, getting up excruciatingly slowly after slamming into the boards. On Tuesday morning, the 39-year-old Finn was back on the ice with a slightly sprained left shoulder, and he is likely to be in the lineup Tuesday night when the Ducks play the Chicago Blackhawks. Selanne has had a broken hand, a broken jaw and a sprained shoulder this season. "It has been unbelievable," he said. "How to even describe it, injury after injury."

Reporting from Nashville Teemu Selanne, the Ducks' Mr. Happy and a guy who savors putting the puck in the net as if he invented the technique, has never seemed so disgusted with a two-goal game. "It was wasted," Selanne said. Mincing words was not in Selanne's repertoire Sunday. Choosing them with harshness was after the Nashville Predators' 4-3 victory at Bridgestone Arena that left the Ducks down, 2-1, in the Stanley Cup playoff series. The abridged version: The Ducks stunk, and almost won. The Predators thoroughly dominated, and left wiping their brows.

Ducks tonight AT CHICAGO When: 4 PST. Where: United Center. On the air: TV: Channel 56; Radio: 830. Records: Ducks 19-19-7, Blackhawks 31-10-4. Record vs. Blackhawks: 1-1. Update: Teemu Selanne returned to the lineup Saturday at Nashville after missing 17 games because of a broken hand and picked up his 15th goal of the season. With seven goals on the power play, he should bolster the recently anemic Ducks attack with a man advantage.

Surely, there has to be a snappy nickname when you see Jason Blake, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne playing on the same line for the Ducks. Wait a minute. That means Koivu, at 37, happens to be the youngster on the line. Their line, formed again for the first time since last season, features a combined 116 years of age and experience. Coming through Wednesday was Blake, 38, who scored the winning goal with 5:54 remaining in the Ducks' 4-3 victory against the league-leading St. Louis Blues at Honda Center The special qualities of the three men have been well chronicled and go well beyond the confines of the rink.

Team Finland was shaping up quite nicely Wednesday night and, well, after all, the boss happened to be in town. Finnish legend Jari Kurri, now the general manager of Team Finland, watched the Ducks beat the Red Wings, 4-0, and his friend and countryman Teemu Selanne scored his 23rd goal of the season, No. 660 of his career, and his 1,400th point. Assisting on Selanne's goal was his countryman Saku Koivu, who was honored by the Ducks and the league with a pregame ceremony, receiving a standing ovation from the fans at Honda Center.

When: 7. Where: Honda Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 830 Records: Ducks 29-30-11, Red Wings 44-22-3. Record vs. Red Wings: 0-3. Update: Talk about a terrific sense of timing. Finnish legend Jari Kurri, by coincidence, will be at the Ducks game Wednesday tonight. The trip had been scheduled before his countryman and friend Teemu Selanne passed him on the NHL's all-time career scoring list on Monday at Colorado. That was not the only proud career moment for a Ducks player that night.

For once, the script played out exactly the way it was intended. One beleaguered and frustrated general manager called out his star players in the media. And two of them answered in emphatic fashion in the next game. Welcome to the Ducks' crazy, spinning world on ice. They beat the New York Islanders, 4-2, on Friday night at Honda Center, securing their first win in four games and their second in their last nine. Bobby Ryan scored twice, Teemu Selanne added a goal, Corey Perry had two assists, and captain Ryan Getzlaf scored the game-winner.

Angered by his team's continued wretched play, Ducks General Manager Bob Murray said he's prepared to make dramatic changes and underscored his point by saying only Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu are not available in trades. Both veteran forwards have no-trade clauses. But if Selanne were to ask to be traded to a Stanley Cup contender Murray surely wouldn't stand in his way, though Murray still wants Selanne to retire as a Duck. "And the rest of the players in that locker room, I thought they'd figure out when we changed coaches that time was running, the clock was running quickly here.

It is a splendid summer day in Finland and Teemu Selanne, wearing olive green shorts and a polo shirt with a Mighty Ducks logo, is talking about his cars. And so, it seems, is everyone else. Selanne opens a Finnish tabloid-style newspaper and shows a picture of a Toyota Corolla with a smashed front end. It is Selanne's car, the one he crashed four days earlier while practicing his second favorite sport, rally car racing.