Winger- Teemu Selanne
Yes, Selanne was also part of the 90’s All-Decade team, but is there any argument that he shouldn’t be part of both? It’s actually a very difficult question to answer on whether Selanne was more important to the 1990’s Ducks or the 2000’s Ducks. It’s easy to say the Stanley Cup gives it to the 2000’s.
However, would Kariya the player he is without Selanne? Is Ducks hockey the same if he never came to SoCal in the 90’s? Would he have even come here to be part of the 2005-06 team if he hadn’t been here before? The questions go on and on.
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When you play almost 1000 games with a team, lead them in every offensive category except for assists, and are the first number retired by the team, your influence is carried across multiple decades. Even with the high numbers he put up for the Ducks during his first stint, his second was just as good.
With the lock-out letting him rehab and get his new knee, Selanne was racing by guys 10 years younger than him. Of his 988 total Ducks points, 309 of them came between 2005-2009. That’s a crazy total for a guy who looked like the game had passed him by before the 2004-05 work stoppage.
Those points included full season 90 and 94 point campaigns respectively in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Selanne was a key reason the Ducks hoisted the Cup in 2007 and even with Giguere, Niedermayer, and Pronger, I think taking Selanne out of the equation takes a Cup away too.
He made others around him better and was absolutely lethal on the ice. There is maybe only one player on the current Ducks roster that will leave the sort of legacy that Selanne has. In order for him to do that, he will need to bring a second Cup to Anaheim.
Selanne is a name that will never be forgotten in Anaheim. A name that will carry the same weight that Orr does in Boston and Howe in Detriot. Selanne is Ducks hockey and he is a key member to the fabric of them as an organization.
Who do you think should make the 2000’s Ducks All-Decade team? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook/Twitter!