Anaheim, Calif. – When Teemu Selanne played for Colorado three years ago, it seemed a safe bet that he would be out of the league by 2007.
Not only is Selanne still in the NHL, thanks to reconstructive knee surgery and a rehabilitation aided by the league’s dark season, but he finally got to feel what it’s like to lift the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night after the Anaheim Ducks finished off the Ottawa Senators with a 6-2 rout in Game 5 of the NHL Finals.
Selanne said he didn’t even mind that captain Scott Niedermayer didn’t hand him the Cup first, instead giving it to his brother, Rob, one of the Ducks’ assistant captains.
“No, I wanted to wait,” Selanne said. “Obviously, the captains, they do that first. What a great feeling to hold that Cup in my arms. It was heavier than I thought. I’ve been waiting and dreaming about that moment for so many times and years and finally it’s in my hands. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Selanne said he had about given up on it happening, especially when his season with the Avalanche – as part of the buddy tandem with Paul Kariya – went sour.
“For almost two years, when my knee was so bad, I couldn’t even enjoy hockey anymore,” he said. “Winning this Cup, it didn’t even come in my mind. I thought it was so far away. And after my knee surgery, when I finally realized that my knee is going to be 100 percent, and I can play like I played my first 10 years, it was an unbelievable feeling. It’s almost a feeling that somebody got glasses, when you can’t see very well, then all of a sudden, you can see the world so bright.
“I knew that there’s a chance again and, obviously I’m very happy and thankful that (general manager) Brian Burke gave me a chance to come back here. Because this is the happy place for me, and he built a winning team here and everything.”
