Mighty Ducks Re-Sign Selanne for 1 Year

Associated Press

Published: June 14, 2006

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Anaheim re-signed leading scorer Teemu Selanne to a one-year deal Tuesday, keeping the right winger who helped the Mighty Ducks make a surprising run to the Western Conference finals.

Selanne proved a unifying force in the dressing room for the Ducks, who lost to Edmonton in five games.

"This is a player who wanted to stay. He made some concessions financially to do that and we're grateful," said Ducks general manager Brian Burke, who took a chance and signed Selanne last August when he was coming off knee surgery.

Selanne had 40 goals and 50 assists in 80 games this season. He led the Ducks in goals, points (90), power-play goals (18), power-play points (40) and plus/minus (plus-28). His 90 points were the most he had scored in a single season since he had 107 in 1998-99 with Anaheim.

In 16 playoff games, he led the Ducks with 14 points (six goals and eight assists). He struggled against Edmonton, with one goal, and didn't contribute on the power play.

Selanne turns 36 in July, and Burke said both sides were interested in a one-year deal. Terms were not disclosed, although it was expected that he would receive a sizable raise from the $1 million he earned this season.

"The money wasn't the issue," Selanne said by phone from his offseason home in Helsinki, Finland. "I was so happy they gave me the opportunity to come back there last year and the whole year was so much fun."

Selanne, who could have become a free agent, said he signed for less than he might have been able to earn elsewhere.

"This is an opportunity for Brian to make some other moves," he said. "It's all about winning right now. I'm very happy what has happened with our team. That's why I wanted to sign so early. They see the whole picture a little earlier."

The Ducks have a bright future with talented youngsters Francois Beauchemin, Chris Kunitz, Joffrey Lupul and the rookie trio of Dustin Penner, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry.

Their rookies accounted for 36 points in the team's three playoff series against Calgary, Colorado and Edmonton.

"The youngsters are going to be a year older and they're going to be better," Selanne said. "I feel so strong about this team. It was a very easy decision for me."

Ruslan Salei is another impending free agent, and goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere has been the subject of trade rumors.

"We're trying to keep the group together by and large that put the run together this year, and do more next year," Burke said.

At the same time, Burke said the Ducks lost "somewhat north of $15 million" under first-year owners Henry and Susan Samueli.

The NHL's new collective bargaining agreement requires a portion of revenue from playoff games be returned to the league, he said.

"Every time we played a home game, the net to us was significantly, significantly, significantly lower to us than in years past," Burke said, adding that the Ducks were losing more money before the Samuelis bought the franchise from The Walt Disney Co.

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