Temmu Selanne Rumors: The Finnish Flash in Phoenix?

The likelihood of this happening is slim to none. I am not going to make it sound like this is actually going to happen considering it probably won't. But a rumor was whispered that the Coyotes may be in the hunt for the services of former Winnipeg Jet Teemu Selanne. 

Yes, the man who set the franchise for goals and points in a season, and the record for most points and goals by a rookie in NHL history with 76 goals and 132 points. Selanne has scored 40 or more goals in a season seven different times, and has broken the century mark in points on four separate occasions. 

So why would Phoenix want him? Don Maloney has a self-imposed age cap on the team of somewhere in the low 30s—which Selanne is way past, at 38. If signed, he would be the oldest player on the team.

But an even bigger question would be—why would Selanne want Phoenix?

Teemu has won his Stanley Cup so it isn't going to be for that reason. Does he want to be a mentor to a young team? That is definitely a possibility, and Phoenix is a good suitor in that regard.

A one-year contract for Teemu wouldn't hurt the Coyotes in their salary cap, considering they are barely at the floor. His signing might also put a few more butts in the seats, which is never a bad thing. 

Not to mention the Coyotes just acquired fellow Finn Olli Jokinen, who could be some kind of lure for his countryman. 

So is this a realistic possibility? If you take in all the conditions above, I could certainly see it happen. I would be absolutely shocked if it did—but thinking about it, the move souldn't be unexpected for Selanne. It would be more of a shock for the Coyotes to spend past their self-imposed caps.

The fact can't be ignored that Teemu would certainly add leadership to one of the youngest teams in the league, where the average player is 26 years old. Obviously Selanne would drive that up a tad, but his value to the team could not be ignored off the ice and on the ice. Before this past shortened season, he had two consecutive 90-plus point seasons, and was almost at a point per game pace in the shortened campaign. 

So like I said, I am not expecting anything to happen with this. In fact I am willing to guess that this is never mentioned by anyone ever again. But it is always interesting to look at how players will affect a team if they do indeed sign with them. Selanne would certainly have a profound effect on the Coyotes and would bring his career full circle. 

Now if he could break those totals he set in his rookie year...