Favorite playoff memory: Selanne recalls whiteout as Jets fan in 1990

NHL.com is looking ahead to the Stanley Cup Playoffs by having former players discuss their favorite postseason game each Sunday and Monday. Today, Hockey Hall of Fame forward Teemu Selanne recalls his introduction to the whiteout in Winnipeg, as a fan at Game 3 of the Smythe Division semifinals when the Winnipeg Jets played the Edmonton Oilers at Winnipeg Arena on April 8, 1990.

Teemu Selanne has an extensive list from which to choose his favorite Stanley Cup Playoffs game, having played in 130 of them during his 21 NHL seasons and winning the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. Instead, the Finnish Flash said a game he attended but didn't play was the one that stands out most.

Selanne witnessed Game 3 of the 1990 Smythe Division semifinals between the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, who selected him with the No. 10 pick in the 1988 NHL Draft. That playoff game, a 2-1 win by the Jets at Winnipeg Arena on April 8, 1990, was more than two years before he signed with and played his first game for the Jets.

"It was the season I broke my leg at home [in Finland], and I came to watch Winnipeg play against the Oilers," Selanne said. "That whiteout, that was incredible. I had never faced anything like that in my life. Even though I was not part of that on the ice, I always remember how I felt after seeing that. I was shaking, there was so much energy."

Selanne, a rookie with Jokerit that season, broke his leg in the 11th game of the season and didn't play again in 1989-90. That allowed him plenty of time for the trip to watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which Selanne said was insisted upon by his agent, Don Baizley.

He also said it was instrumental in his preparation for a career in North America, which started in 1992-93 with an NHL rookie-record 76 goals for the Jets in 1992-93 and being named winner of the Calder Trophy voted as NHL rookie of the year.

"[That game] was so tough on the ice ... and I had obviously been in Finnish playoffs, but this was just another level I had never seen," Selanne said. "Honestly, it became a motivation for me, that when I went back (to Finland), I told myself, 'I've got to be ready. This is the real deal.' So I used that as a motivation to go back and get stronger and smarter, mentally tougher.

"That for sure was a wake-up event for me, but I count it as a favorite playoff game. I told young guys that I knew, and I told my agent Don Baizley, that you know what, before you go [to North America], invite your [European] players to watch the playoff series, a game or two, and I guarantee you when they go home they'll be more honest about asking themselves if they are ready."

Selanne, who turns 50 on July 3, scored 1,457 points (684 goals, 773 assists) in 1,451 games over 21 seasons for the Jets, Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. He scored 88 points (44 goals, 44 assists) in the playoffs.

In addition to the 1990 Oilers-Jets game, Selanne said there were two more playoff games for him that are a cut above.

"Sorry, I have three," Selanne said. "The second one is my first home playoff game, Winnipeg against [the Vancouver Canucks on April 23, 1993] and I scored the hat trick and we won the game (5-4) and the white noise was incredible for that.

"And then my third one is the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, Game 5 when we won the Cup."

Selanne played 20:24 in Game 5, a 6-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Honda Center on June 6, 2007, to win his first Stanley Cup championship.

"So those three were the most memorable, and I can't leave any of them out," Selanne said. "And honestly, that first one, when I didn't even play, was the most important to my career."