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Selanne wishes hockey wasn’t so structured these days

Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry

Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf, left, and Teemu Selanne, center, congratulate Corey Perry on his goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 23, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

AP

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:

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.