I caught Teemu Selanne today as he ran out of Anaheim Ice. He didn’t have a ton of time, but when I asked if he was any closer to a decision, he gave me this:”I’ll take this week and next week and we’ll see how it goes. I feel pretty good.”
It’s the most specific time frame Selanne has offered for ending his unofficial retirement. He began his skating program earlier this month, said he would have a decision sometime in January, and Burkie has not pressed him to make a decision.
He looked good, too. The three guys he was practicing with were rec players, but still, it looked likethe same Teemu that hoisted the Cup.
More from the morning skate…
But he’s even more excited to fill the Ducks’ roster with both George Parros (knee) and Samuel Pahlson (abdomen) on injured reserve.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to come up as quickly as possible,” he said after the morning skate. You don’t ever want to go down but you can’t be upset. You try to find the positives. For me, that was trying to find more offense.”
Miller was sent to Portland on Jan. 3 after the Ducks traded defenseman Shane Hnidy to Boston for forward Brandon Bochenski. Randy Carlyle said that Miller’s role will be different in Anaheim than it was in Portland.
“Our expectations are not to put a lot of pressure on a young player to provide offense,” Carlyle said. “The offense is a bonus.”
Carlyle also said that Rob Niedermayer will be a game-time decision with an unspecified leg injury.
“Something that happened in the last game or in practice before the last game,” Carlyle said.
Niedermayer was the only Duck who didn’t take part in the morning skate, although he skated briefly on his own before practice.
