Teemu Selanne pondering KHL option
It wouldn't be summer without will-he-or-won't-he buzz surrounding the plans of future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne.
While the NHL door is firmly closed—that victory lap with former teammate J-S Giguere left us all a bit verklempt-—he might not be ready to put his gear into storage just yet.
It's been rumored for months that the transfer of Jokerit, Selanne's old Finnish SM-Liiga club, to Russia's KHL might convince him to put retirement on hold for one more year. Now he's told Russian website Sports.ru that he’s considering an offer from Jokerit's Russian owner, Roman Rotenberg, to play for the club next season.
“Yes, we've had discussions. And yes it would be nice to go back on the ice again, but it's not an easy choice," Selanne said. "I'll make my decision over the next three weeks.”
That decision probably comes down to commitment more than money. Although the KHL has a salary cap, Selanne can pretty much name his price. The make-or-break issue is thought to be travel. Playing in the K requires some brutal road hauls, and Russian air travel has a reputation for being a downright scary proposition. It was initially thought that Selanne would only play home games in Helsinki, but the team may be looking for him to make a few specially selected appearances in Mother Russia along with a road commitment in the playoffs.
The betting here is that they come to an agreement. We can only hope the confirmation will be as epic as this one.