PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Teemu Selänne is one of Finnish hockey’s greatest icons.
But now the legend is furious at the situation in his beloved homeland.
– It is a total disaster, he says to the newspaper Ilta Sanomat.
With an impressive 1,406 points in 1,341 games in the NHL and above all a Stanley Cup title is Teemu Selanne undoubtedly one of Finland’s best hockey players of all time. But now the former NHL great player is furious at what is happening in his home country.
Selänne angry
It is the protracted process with the favorite club Jokerit that causes Selänne’s emotions to swell. The 52-year-old started his hockey career in Jokerit and the team still has a warm place in his heart.
However, since 2013, Jokerit has belonged to the KHL and this has resulted in a lot of trouble in recent months due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Recently, Jokerit has therefore tried to return to Finnish hockey again.
Hope extinguished
Selänne, together with several others, has tried to buy the club and bring Jokerit back to the Finnish hockey league again. But now a decision from the league has changed everything.
They have decided not to allow any new clubs until the 2023/24 season and thus the hope for Jokerit is extinguished.
– It is time to calm down the situation. The shareholders feel that under the current circumstances there is a need and an obligation to look after the interests of the league and Finnish top ice hockey, said the chairman of the board Heikki Hiltunen in an official press release.
“Disaster”
The new announcement has aroused a strong anger in Selänne, who earlier during this process also attacked the hockey icon Jari Kurri. As the decision means that Jokerit will have to wait another year to return to Finnish hockey again.
– The return is now postponed by at least a year and it is a total disaster. This was the worst scenario that we feared would happen, when things started to get dirty behind the scenes, Selänne told the Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat.
According to the newspaper’s information, Jokerit’s application was not approved because “the game behind the scenes was so insidious that the league closed its doors”. Selänne has also expressed his dissatisfaction that the purchase of Jokerit did not go through by directing strong criticism at the club’s board.
“Admit your mistake and resign!”, writes the 52-year-old on Twitter.
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