If you ask the right person, Teemu Selanne’s farewell tour represents one of the biggest reliefs of the lockout’s end. The Finnish Flash seems intent on making the most of his last season, too.
Here’s his reaction to the general consensus that the Anaheim Ducks won’t be a contender, via the OC Register’s Eric Stephens:
“That can’t be the only motivation. But hopefully we’ll get pissed off here,” Selanne said.
Actually, there should be plenty of motivation to go around in Anaheim.
Potential franchise-altering contract years from Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf could push the Ducks to exceed expectations or fall into an awkward rebuild (more on that here). Beyond that, a slow start could force Bobby Ryan to fight off another slew of trade rumors while Jonas Hiller tries to prove last season’s health problems are behind him.
Still, those are individual concerns, so perhaps Bruce Boudreau can utilize this (somewhat cliched?) bulletin board material to inspire the Ducks to overachieve.
At the very least, season predictions encouraged Selanne to provide us with a little bit of salty language.