Teemu Selanne still waiting for knee to get stronger

Sports Columnist

Sept. 6, 2011 10:12 AM PT

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Ducks General Manager Bob Murray said Tuesday that winger Teemu Selanne “wants to come back and play from a mental perspective,” but the 41-year-old Finn wants to fortify his surgically repaired knee before deciding whether to return for another season.

“He is working out on and off the ice and trying to strengthen his knee. It’s not quite where he wants it yet,” Murray said Tuesday via email. “He wants to make a decision prior to training camp.”

Camp will open next week for teams across the NHL. The Ducks are due to report for medical tests on Sept. 16 and take to the ice on Sept. 17.

Murray said Selanne’s eagerness to play is “definitely a positive,” but the knee must improve before he makes a decision. In the meantime, Selanne is skating and doing off-ice conditioning work. “I’m optimistic, but certainly understand him not wanting commit unless the knee is straightened out,” Murray said. “I’m going to talk to him again later this week and see how he is progressing.”

Selanne underwent surgery on his left knee after scoring 31 goals and 80 points in 73 games last season. He’s an unrestricted free agent but has repeatedly said he would play only for the Ducks if he returns for the upcoming season.

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-- Helene Elliott

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Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.