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Teemu Selanne rips former coach Bruce Boudreau in new book

Teemu Selanne ripped his former coach Bruce Boudreau in his new biography, saying he would still be playing for the Anaheim Ducks if Boudreau were not the coach there.
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Teemu Selanne ripped his former coach Bruce Boudreau in his new biography, saying he would still be playing for the Anaheim Ducks if Boudreau were not the coach there.

Selanne’s book, Teemu, has been released in Finland. It reveals his upbringing and dives into his differences with Boudreau. Several media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and Sportsnet, obtained copies of the book. 

“If we had any other coach, I’d still play,” said Selanne, who is scheduled to have his No. 8 jersey retired in January. “It would have been wrong if we had won the Stanley Cup with a coach like that."

In the book, Selanne says he confronted Boudreau during the team’s Western Conference Quarterfinal playoff series against the Dallas Stars this season, asking him why Boudreau “was not appreciative of me one iota.” 

Selanne was also a healthy scratch for the Game 4 of the series and told Boudreau that “that if you want to win some in the playoffs, you need me.”

Anaheim went on to beat Dallas in six games, but fell to the Los Angeles Kings in the conference semi-finals, four games to three.

Selanne retired after the season, finishing with 684 goals and 773 assists in 21 seasons with the Ducks, Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche.

- Scooby Axson