Thursday, July 12, 2012

One More Year...

The title is exactly what the Anaheim Ducks and NHL fans in general are getting from Teemu Selanne.  He's over 40, yet can still run circles around half of the NHL today, and given the uncertain future of Bobby Ryan and the consistency issues of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks could use some good news right about now.  With Selanne opting to sign for one more year, this is the good news that the Ducks desperately needed.  Depth on the front lines have been shallow for years since the 2007 Stanley Cup run, and given the team's failure to sign Justin Schultz from college, the Ducks, more than any other team, needed Selanne.  The NHL's elder statesman now that Nicklas Lidstrom has stepped into the Red Wings' scouting department office, Selanne entered the NHL with a bang (76 goals his rookie year), and has been one of the most consistent scorers, even as he pushes past 40.  The fact that he's annually in the top 3 on the Ducks in terms of scoring is not just an indictment on the Ducks' inability to develop secondary scoring, but also a credit to Selanne's work ethic on the ice.  It doesn't hurt that he's widely considered one of the top people off the ice, and that is where the Ducks will benefit the most.

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