Selanne won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 and had his No. 8 retired by Anaheim in 2015. He started his career in Winnipeg and had two stints with Anaheim, finishing his NHL career with the Ducks after playing parts of three seasons with the San Jose Sharks and one with the Colorado Avalanche. The career numbers: 1,451 games played, 684 goals and 1,457 points in 21 seasons.
"I'm joking to my friends that if I would know how much fun it is, I would have retired a couple of years earlier," he said, laughing.
"The greatest thing is there is no schedule. Over 30 years with a certain schedule, and now I don't have it. One thing also people don't realize is how disciplined a life you have to live or you want to live when you play. When it comes to eating and resting, in many ways it's a selfish life too if you have family.
"I remember many times the family wanted to do something and rollerblading or biking … I had to rest. We went with my schedule. Now I don't have it. I enjoy golf trips, tennis trips, ski trips. We go to Finland once in a while; [we] went to Russia also."
Selanne is putting in some time at his restaurant in Laguna Beach and one of his sons is working there. His other two sons play hockey, and Selanne said Eetu Selanne, who is playing with the Madison Capitals of the USHL, has committed to Northeastern University. Daughter Veera, 9, is playing soccer and tennis.
Another project occupying his time has been a Finnish sports reality show called "Superstars." Selanne finished taping the second season, during which he served in more of a hosting role. One of the second-season participants was Sami Hyypia, a Finnish soccer star who played 10 seasons for Liverpool in England's Premier League.
Each athlete on the show gets a day when he decides what the group will do. It appeals to Selanne's adventurous spirit and daredevil side. Just as important to Selanne, however, were the candid conversations around the dinner table at the end of the day.
"All the fans know about what the athletes have done," he said. "But they don't know how it happened and what kind of stuff people went through. All the battles. Sometimes [the athletes] start crying because there's something so emotional. …. When you have 12, 14, 16 days together you start trusting so much with each other. It's so easy to talk athlete to athlete."
Selanne seems just as eager to talk about Finnish rookie forward Patrik Laine, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Laine, who has 21 goals and 16 assists, looks nicely positioned to accept the baton of stardom from Selanne.
"It's amazing how good he has been," Selanne said. "We all knew he was going to be great. You never know how long it takes. He's so young. I think he's still 18. If I compare myself at that age, I would not be at that rate. But that's the way how the system works now. The players are ready earlier and earlier.
"For me, it's a more special thing that he got drafted by Winnipeg. I see a lot of similarities there. I knew he's going to make a big impact with the fans.
"He's been fun to watch. I've been waiting a long time when we get a superstar status player for Finland. We have a lot of good players. But … finally we have."
