The next step was skating at Anaheim Ice. “After skating at Anaheim Ice for the last few weeks, I feel the passion again to play hockey,” said Selanne. “Anaheim is the only place I wanted to play and I’m very happy that the Samuelis and Brian Bruke have welcomed me back.” Selanne acknowledged that there were lots of other teams who tried to call his agent, but “he knew this was the only place I’d play.” Even good friend and former teammate Paul Kariya tried to persuade Teemu to play elsewhere. No luck. Anaheim is his “happy place,” something Selanne reiterated once again at his press conference this afternoon.

General Manager Brian Burke did not give Selanne a deadline to make a decision. “It took Teemu several months to determine if he had the passion and determination to return to the NHL, and we are thrilled to have him back,” Burke commented.  The contract, completed this morning, is for $1.5 million, prorated, and will pay $570,000 for the remainder of the season. Selanne will also earn a bonus of $1.2 million if he plays 10 games for the Ducks or the team makes the playoffs. With this contract, the Ducks are $1.7 million under the salary cap with no tagging issues for next year.

Although Selanne will not be ready to be inserted in the lineup on Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild, he is going to travel with the team on this two-week road trip. It will be a good opportunity to bond with teammates, old and new. Carlyle said that he will let Selanne tell him when he is ready to go and will trust his decision. While he joked that “we’ve got to skate his butt off one day; exact our pound of flesh,” Carlyle acknowledged that Selanne is a “Special player, an elite athlete.” Not everyone can jump back into the line up and be successful, as Scott Niedermayer has done. The hope is that Selanne can make that transition seamlessly as well.

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2008 Western Hockey Network