Teemu Selanne: ‘I’d still be playing’ if Bruce Boudreau wasn’t my coach

Teemu Selanne would still be playing in the NHL if Bruce Boudreau was not the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. At least that’s the way Selanne is portraying it in his new book, Teemu, which was released Thursday in Finland.

While the book is currently limited to those fluent in Finnish, the wonders of the Internet in tandem with bilingual hockey reporter Juha Hiitelä has brought the most salacious excerpts to the rest of us.

Hiitelä explains that the context and tone are not as bitter as the words at face value portray. But, this is the NHL, which typically produces typically NHL responses (aka booooring), so to see a player, especially the caliber of Selanne, being this candid is a wonderfully exciting development.

Selanne’s main gripe appears to be with the way Boudreau utilized him, with the primary emphasis being a limited role on the power play. Hiitelä translates that Boudreau promised Selanne would play on both power-play units and would play 15 minutes a night. Selanne says the season started off fine but then his ice time diminished and Boudreau failed to follow through on his promises.

Selanne met with Boudreau and explained that he would need to be used differently if he was to succeed. Selanne says Boudreau paired him with captain Ryan Getzlaf in four games after the Olympics, which Selanne says resulted in his scoring two goals and four points (looking at the game splits, Selanne registered those totals over a four-game span from March 14-23).

Boudreau then removed Selanne from Getzlaf’s wing and his productivity dipped back down along with his role on the team. Selanne also became frustrated with Getzlaf and was surprised he didn’t speak up for him:

Selanne was furious about being scratched from Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal and apparently had a shouting match with Boudreau after morning skate.

Selanne says he waited for the rest of the team to leave the ice before questioning Boudreau about the decision. He “yelled” in Boudreau’s face and asked what the coach had against him. Boudreau explained the decision was not his alone and involved general manager Bob Murray in addition to the scouting staff.

Selanne found it ridiculous that Boudreau didn’t have final decision over his starting roster.

Selanne apparently had reservations about returning to play for Boudreau and considered a return to the Winnipeg Jets. Selanne started his career with the Jets and considered closing out his career there. But he also was interested in potentially joining up with the Los Angeles Kings.

Despite all the vitriol that Selanne apparently had with Boudreau, he explains it as merely a difference of opinion in hockey style. Hiitelä translates that Selanne thinks Bruce is a very nice man and that nothing is wrong with his relationship with Boudreau.

Ok, Teemu.

If you have time, it’s worth it to check out Hiitelä‘s Twitter feed for the entirety of the excerpts.