Friends Don’t Let Friends Join the Same NHL team - Part 1 (of 3)

Sydney Crosby and Jack Johnson, this is a warning to you two long time school buddies and great hockey players. “Friends Don’t Let Friends Join the Same NHL team.”

If you’ve got enough clout with the management, if you’re a highly sought after free agent and the stars are alligned just right, you may get the opportunity to play on the same NHL team as your best hockey buddy. Better you should babysit for your best friend’s hot–to-trot teenage sister!  

Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull - St.Louis Blues, Paul Kariya Teemu Selanne -  Colorado Avs and now the Dynamic Finnish Duo Teemu and Saku as Ducks.  Are you kidding me ?  Better than Kristi Yamaguchi skating to live songs by Seal, Bocelli or Metallica for that matter.  A no brainer, match made in heaven, two peas in a pod, bet the house!  Hold it right there, the hockey gods say otherwise…..

I’ve been a Mighty Duck fan since I first laid eyes on their logo. (More on this later) I also immediately became a Paul Kariya fan. His name is Korea, but he’s half Japanese? Cool! He was so good in college the Ducks used their first round draft choice on Paul, eventhough he was gonna stay in school another year. 

I first heard of Teemu when I was playing pick-up hockey with Mark, a Winnipegian at Van Nuys Iceland (before it was “improved”). He came in the dressing room/front desk/snack bar one evening raving  about a guy on the Jets named Salami breaking Mike Bossy’s goal scoring record.  And by the way he (Mark) had just won the Green Card lottery.  (see Teemu's celebration in my blog below) When Teemu joined Paul with the Ducks my fandom was signed, sealed and delivered and the expectations for the Ducks' success and  great hockey watching skyrocketed.

They played  parts of 6 seasons together with the Mighty Ducks,  developed great chemistry on and off the ice and had several hundred point and 50 goals seasons between them, with great centering help from Steve Rucchin. But, they had  only 3 playoff rounds to show for their efforts; beating the Yotes and twice getting swept by Red Wings.

Teemu, an upcoming free agent was traded to the Sharks, who needed that extra scoring punch to get them over the hump. (sound familiar?) That didn’t work out too well. At the end of 2003 season he became a free agent again. 

Kariya, during the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, got his bell rung by Scott Stevens’ patented forearm shiv to the head, returned  to the ice and scored a goal. After losing in 7 games to the nuetral zone trapping left-wing locking New Jersey Devils, Kariya decided to Duck out of Aneheim.

Finding themselves free at the same time, Teemu and Paul decided that rather entertaining huge long term offers from several teams, they would reunite their skills and friendship and pursue Lord Stanley in Colorado. They signed for one year for just a million dollars each, because they felt the Avs plus the 2 of them had a great shot at the cup.

Av’s GM Pierre LaCroix thanked God for the manna from heaven bestowed upon him, but apparently forgot to make an offering to the hockey gods. That Avs team included the two million dollar buds plus  Forsberg, Sakic, Blake, Foote, Heyduk, Tanguay and so on (no Roy). Teemu had a piss poor 16 goal season, no goals and -2 in the playoffs. Kariya had a miserable injury filled 11 goal season, came back for the elimination playoff game, scored a goal but was minus -1. They were eliminated in the 2^nd round by  Selanne's ex-team, the Sharks.

The next season they went their separate ways. Selanna rejoined the Ducks who lost the "mighty" and won the cup in 2007.  (Thank you! TMu).  Korea resisted the temptation to reunite with his fowl weather friend  and became an oft injured Predator and now a veteran mostly healthy St. Louis Blue.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Join the Same NHL team!

(Part 2 - Gretzky & Hull - coming soon)