Selanne Thrown to the Sharks

For Mighty Duck fans, this day is sad more than anything else.

They also are angry, of course.

Teemu Selanne, a hockey player of great talent, a man of considerable charm and immeasurable optimism, a clubhouse leader and future NHL Hall of Famer, was traded by the Ducks on Monday for a talented young player named Jeff Friesen and an experienced goalie named Steve Shields.

This also means that an original Duck, goalie Guy Hebert, is no longer wanted either. Hebert was put on waivers and is available to other NHL teams. His disappearance has not raised the pulse of the fans so much though. The loyal Duck fans have noticed Hebert’s performance deteriorate. They may be sentimental about Selanne, but they aren’t without some practicality.

Maybe in a couple of years we will look at this trade as a watershed, as the day the Ducks began to move forward, but that day was not Monday. Maybe General Manager Pierre Gauthier was really smart and not grimly blowing smoke when he kept saying this trade was about “moving forward,” and that there was no point in “looking back.”

But by the time the Ducks move forward, they may be towing an empty bandwagon.

That the Ducks could not make it work by pairing Selanne and Paul Kariya, two of the most creative scorers in the game, that Gauthier could not find, or was not given the money to sign talented players just a level below Selanne and Kariya so the Ducks could be playoff perennials and Stanley Cup contenders, leaves a sense of moroseness.

“We are getting many calls,” frazzled Ducks switchboard operator says Monday. Yes, the operator says, some are canceling Duck season tickets. That’s all the operator will say. She is not allowed to talk, she says, and besides, the phone keeps ringing.

“I think they should trade their GM. He’s obviously made some bad decisions over and over and over again . . . they can kiss my season tickets goodbye next year,” writes ENuber, a Ducks fan, on an Internet Ducks message board.

Writes Mikey1219: “Sell the team. You obviously don’t know what you’re doing. Anyone with brains will see that you are just being cheap and trying to reduce your payroll. How many left wings do you need? Which line is Friesen going to play on? Your best scorer for a guy who’s never scored more than 31 goals and a back-up goaltender? I’m glad I got to see your faces last night at the game so I know who the village idiots are. Have fun with a cheap payroll and no fans in the seats.”

Someone named Kariya984 says that “I am so mad at the Ducks’ GM now. Why in the world would u get rid of Teemu Selanne? That’s all I have to say.”

That is enough. It was being said over and over Monday. On the Internet, on the phone, on radio talk shows, through e-mails.

Within minutes of the trade being announced, an e-mail was received at The Times. It was written by Randy Johnson, a Huntington Beach resident and five-year Duck season ticket holder. Johnson, who called the Ducks to say he would not be renewing his tickets and who called the trade “despicable,” wrote that “I hear the Duck organization feels the team is better now than with Teemu. I wonder what the Sharks think?

“It is slightly reminiscent of an old kids’ story where a destitute farmer is down to only having one cow (in this case Teemu). So the old farmer sends his son (Pierre Gauthier) to town to see what he can trade for. The son comes home and is very proud that he got a handful of beans. Only Disney would believe that the beans would grow a magic bean stalk (a playoff team).”

Here’s the problem so well illustrated in Johnson’s clever parable: The Ducks have lost the goodwill of their fans. On all these forums--Internet, radio, e-mail--there was almost no support for this trade.

Wendi Rothman, a five-year suite holder from Seal Beach, said she called Gauthier’s office and told a secretary: “This was a dumb move that is going to cost the Ducks a lot of money. They’re going to be competing with the [Long Beach] Ice Dogs for fans.”

No one is giving the Ducks the benefit of the doubt. No one is talking about whether Friesen, who is six years younger than Selanne, might be a better investment in the future.

What the public has noticed is that the Ducks let go of a great player who wanted to stay in Anaheim. What the public can’t understand is how Selanne, who has never demanded more money or better players and who has never complained about the lack of support around him and Kariya, is gone.

Even worse, he is gone to San Jose, a division rival that is going to the playoffs, that is trying to get better now and not build for the future.

For all you angry fans, for all you disappointed fans, for all you sad, distraught, fed-up, giving-up fans, here is a suggestion:

The Ducks will end their dreadful season with a home game April 8 against San Jose.

Come to the Pond. Welcome Selanne back to town. Send a message to Anaheim ownership. Speak loudly about your feelings. Cheer for the team you admire. The one headed to the playoffs. The one with Teemu. If you never buy another Duck ticket, even if you have already canceled your season plan, show up once more. With feeling.

Diane Pucin can be reached at her e-mail address: diane.pucin@latimes.com

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Numbers Game

Statistics of Teemu Selanne, who was traded Monday to the San Jose Sharks.

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Regular Season Playoffs Season Team GP G A Pts PIM GP G A TP PIM 1992-93 Winnipeg 84 76 56 132 45 6 4 2 6 2 1993-94 Winnipeg 51 25 29 54 22 0 0 0 0 0 1994-95 Winnipeg 45 22 26 48 2 0 0 0 0 0 1995-96 Winnipeg 51 24 48 72 18 0 0 0 0 0 Ducks 28 16 20 36 4 0 0 0 0 0 1996-97 Ducks 78 51 58 109 34 11 7 3 10 4 1997-98 Ducks 73 52 34 86 30 0 0 0 0 0 1998-99 Ducks 75 47 60 107 30 4 2 2 4 2 1999-00 Ducks 79 33 52 85 12 0 0 0 0 0 2000-01 Ducks 61 26 33 59 36 NHL totals 625 372 416 788 233 21 13 7 20 8

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