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Teemu Selanne rips Anaheim Ducks head coach

By Cory Buck

May 12, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne (8) celebrates at the end of game five of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings at Honda Center. The Ducks defeated the Kings 4-3 to take a 3-2 series lead. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne (8) celebrates at the end of game five of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings at Honda Center. The Ducks defeated the Kings 4-3 to take a 3-2 series lead. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mere months after he retired from the NHL, Teemu Selanne has already released a biography and in at least one chapter, he doesn’t hold back in describing his professional relationship with Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, who Selanne contends held a grudge against him.

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“If we had any other coach, I’d still play,” Selanne claimed per a Sportsnet report by Chris Johnston, who writes that Selanne was ‘fed up’ with the Ducks by the time the team was eliminated in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs by the Los Angeles Kings. “It would have been wrong if we had won the Stanley Cup with a coach like that,” Selanne added.

Selanne’s source of contention seems stemmed in his playing time, which he claims in his biography was not what he wanted. “Everything started well, but then my ice time got smaller, just like the previous year,” said Selanne. “Anything Boudreau had said wasn’t true.”

While Teemu Selanne did acknowledge that Boudreau “is actually a nice man” that didn’t prevent him from candidly airing out his feelings about the man. In fairness, playing time issues aren’t as strong an indictment on a coach as maybe tactical issues.

If you want to read Selanne’s biography in full, you’ll need to understand Finnish first as it’s not available in English. Once it is though, look for more of these stories about Selanne’s time and trials in his Hall of Fame NHL career.

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