Nothing New on New Deal for Selanne

General Manager Jack Ferreira reported little progress in his effort to sign Teemu Selanne to a new contract. Selanne has two seasons left in the deal he signed before Ferreira acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets in 1996.

“I would like to get him signed soon to a long-term deal, but sometimes things go a little longer than you expect,” Ferreira said, referring to the 32-game contract squabble with Paul Kariya to start the season.

Ferreira is uncertain whether he will tack on additional seasons to Selanne’s current contract or simply tear it up and rewrite it.

“We have a few options,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to have him here for two more years [than his current contract].”

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Ferreira acquired one of the game’s top young goaltenders when he traded for Patrick Lalime last week. But don’t expect to see Lalime in a Duck uniform soon.

Lalime is an unsigned restricted free agent and the Ducks merely acquired his rights when they sent forward Sean Pronger to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Ducks still must sign Lalime, who is 8-9-9 with a 2.71 goals-against average in 28 games for Grand Rapids of the International Hockey League.

“We’ve had preliminary discussions, but it’s probably something we’ll address in the next two to three weeks,” Ferreira said.

Ferreira said the trade was not simply a way to give the Ducks options when it comes to protecting veteran goalies Guy Hebert and Mikhail Shtalenkov for the expansion draft in June.

“The primary reason for going after [Lalime] is he’s a good young goaltender,” he said. “It’s something we wanted to get for a long time, another young goalie.”

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Right wing Frank Banham missed Wednesday’s game against Phoenix to attend the funeral of a friend in Edmonton. Banham is expected to join the team Friday.