Hockey

Teemu Selanne tells Finnish TV his "career is over for sure"

Ten-times NHL All-Star Teemu Selanne tells Finnish MTV Monday that his career as a hockey player is over.
Teemu Selanne told the Finnish MTV station Monday that his career is definitely over. ( Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Ten-times NHL All-Star Teemu Selanne told Finnish MTV Monday that his career as a hockey player is over at the age of 44.

"The career is over for sure," Selanne told Finnish TV station MTV on Monday.

"I have distanced myself from ice hockey. I've been to some NHL games (and) I have followed my sons' games. It feels good to be living without a timetable."

He played his last game on May 16, 2014, as the Ducks were eliminated by Los Angeles in the playoffs.

Nicknamed "the Finnish Flash", Selanne was named MVP at this year's Sochi Olympics where he led Finland to a bronze medal.

After a successful career with Jokerit in Finland, the speedy right winger crossed the Atlantic to join the Winnipeg Jets in 1992.

By the time he played his last NHL game, a playoff defeat by the Los Angeles Kings in May this year, he had notched 684 goals and made 773 assists in the league.

He made 96 appearances for his country but never won a gold medal, settling for one Olympic silver and two bronzes and a silver and a bronze at the world championships.

-With files from CBC Sports