When Teemu Selanne entered the NHL, way back in 1992 as a rookie with the Winnipeg Jets, not only did he score a whopping 76 times, he played in a league where 15 of the 24 teams cracked the 300-goal mark during the 84-game regular season.
In fairly stark contrast, Selanne’s current team, the Anaheim Ducks, led the NHL in 2013-14, scoring a relatively paltry 263 times in 82 games.
Not surprisingly, the 43-year-old kinda misses the old days.
From TSN’s Mark Masters:
Selanne: "There’s no secrets. It’s so controlled. I wish we still played, like time when I came into league, where there was no videos."
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) May 12, 2014
Selanne jokes: "In 10 years everything will be done from upstairs by joystick. There's no players anymore!”
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) May 12, 2014
Of course, the notion that the NHL is over-coached nowadays is nothing new. Where people disagree is if it’s a problem. Some are just fine with a series like the Ducks-Kings one, which Selanne says is now “all about grinding"; others think the NHL should do more to encourage scoring and scoring chances.
One thing’s for sure -- NHL coaches aren’t going anywhere, so it’s up to the league to decide if the relative dearth of goals (compared to back in the day) is a problem that’s worth addressing.
Teemu Selanne is allowed to retire, but only if he becomes NHL commissioner and bans coaches.
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) May 12, 2014