NHL Trade Rumors: Acquiring Teemu Selanne Is a No-Brainer for Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets are three points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and there is no player that could help them secure a postseason berth more than Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne.

The 41-yead-old forward has been mentioned in trade rumors this season, with many of them pointing toward a possible return to Winnipeg, and Selanne has yet to rule out an exit from Anaheim.

Per the Calgary Sun:

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While Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray has said the 41-year-old and Finnish teammate Saku Koivu are the only two untouchables on his squad, Selanne refused to confirm his plan is to end his career with the Ducks or that he’d turn down a chance to be a Jet again.

“We still have time to go,” said Selanne, whose team will likely be all but eliminated from the playoff race before the Feb. 27 trade deadline. "We’ll see.”

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Selanne came into the NHL as a rookie from Finland with the old Winnipeg Jets in the 1992-93 season and is one of the most admired sports players in the city's history. His 76 goals as a rookie is an NHL record that will probably never be broken.

Winnipeg has been extremely supportive of the Jets this season, but the team still needs a spark that can ignite a strong playoff push, and there's no better player for that role than Selanne.

The Jets are ranked just 22nd in the NHL in goals scored per game, so they could certainly use another forward like Selanne who can create offense.

The Jets have depth on defense which they could use to pry Selanne from Anaheim. They also have first-round picks to offer the Ducks.

Selanne has 15 goals and 28 assists on a struggling Ducks team that has almost no shot at making the playoffs this season. It would be in the best interest of the Ducks to trade Selanne now, because at his age, his trade value won't ever be any higher.

On Winnipeg, Selanne's stats would make him the team's leader in points, the top assist man and second-leading scorer, but his impact on the Jets would go beyond the stat sheet. Selanne would bring veteran leadership and the experience of having won a Stanley Cup championship to a relatively young Jets roster.

The fact that Selanne already has a Stanley Cup title, and isn't chasing one like Calgary Flames star Jarome Iginla, allows him to end his career on a Jets team that is not contending for a championship right now.

Selanne coming back to Winnipeg would be a perfect ending to his career, but beyond the storybook element to the situation, this trade scenario actually makes sense to both the Ducks and Jets.

Returning to the city that gave him his NHL start and leading them to the playoffs would be a wonderful story for Selanne and the league, and it would add one final chapter to the storied career of the "Finnish Flash."

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Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.