The Closing of a Story Book Career

Selanne always possessed the heart

of a champion.

The Anaheim Ducks are coming off a disappointing loss Friday night at home, dropping Game 5 of their first-round series to the Nashville Predators.

The Ducks find themselves on the brick of elimination, but longtime right wing and future Hall of Famer, Teemu Selanne seems timeless. Selanne is enjoying one of the greatest postseasons in his glorious career.

Now, at the age of 40, Selanne had one of his most productive seasons in the last five years of his career.

Selanne recorded 31 goals and 49 assists during the regular season, accumulating to 80 points for the Ducks. He helped lead the Ducks to the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a record of 47-30.

Anaheim was able to win seven of their last 10 regular season games to land such good postseason position. With the Ducks facing a 3-2 series deficit, Selanne has done his best to keep Anaheim afloat.

Selanne has recorded a point in all five of the Ducks playoffs games this season and scored a goal in four of them.

In games one and two, Selanne scored a goal in each of them, as the Ducks spilt the first two games at home with the Predators. Then, in Game 3, Selanne scored two goals in a 30-second window in the second period of a 4-3 loss in Nashville.

In Game 4, Selanne would find the back of the net yet again, becoming only the third player in NHL postseason history to score five goals at age 40 or older in a single postseason. The last player to do so was Boston Bruin Mark Recchi, who did it in last year's postseason, lighting the lamp six times.

Even though Selanne did not score Saturday night in Anaheim, he did record a point via the assist. At the 14:16 mark of the third period, Selanne assisted teammate Jason Blake's second goal of the series, giving the Ducks a temporary 3-2 lead. The Ducks would go on to lose the game in overtime and find themselves in the predicament they are in now.

With Anaheim's season hanging in the balance, so does the fate of Selanne's career, who has hinted he may retire at season's end, no matter the result.

Selanne is a former first-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets back in 1988 and experienced so many wonderful feats in what will be an eventual Hall of Fame career.

During his 1992-93 rookie season, Selanne set the NHL rookie record for goals and points scored in a single season with 76 goals and 132 total points. The 10-time All-Star was the first European to be named the NHL All-Star Game MVP after recording a hat trick in 1998.

Selanne would go on to lead the NHL in goals that season as he did two other times in his career. He became only the second Duck in franchise history to be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy in 1997-98, following the lead of teammate Paul Kariya, who was named a finalist the year before.

After being traded to the San Jose Sharks in March of 2001 and then playing a one season for the Colorado Avalanche, Selanne would return to Anaheim for the 2005-06 season in grand fashion.

In a 2006 game against the Avalanche, he would score the 500th goal of his career against his former team. In 2007, Selanne would spark a deep playoff run for Anaheim, bringing home their first Stanley Cup in franchise history after dismantling the Ottawa Senators in five games.

Most recently on March 21, 2011, Selanne became the 18th member in NHL history to join the 600 goal club by scoring, once again, in a game against Colorado.

Whether or not Sunday night in Nashville is the final game of a illustrious 20-year career, many have had the privilege to watch a hockey legend and a true Mighty Duck.