Mighty Ducks trade youth for big name: [FINAL Edition]
Matheson, Jim. Edmonton Journal [Edmonton, Alta] 08 Feb 1996: D.3.
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Teemu Selanne for Oleg Tverdovsky and Chad Kilger; a 25-year-old forward who scored 76 goals two years ago and is seventh in NHL scoring right now for a 19-year-old Russian defenceman who was the No. 2 pick in the '94 draft and a 19-year-old centre in Chad Kilger, who was No. 4 last July when the amateur lottery was at the Coliseum.
``We get lots of newspaper clippings at our office and I kept reading about Selanne being shopped in Winnipeg. I finally said `I guess I better get in on this,' '' said Anaheim GM Jack Ferreira. ``Believe me, we had to really discuss giving up two kids, but Teemu Selanne doesn't come along often.''
And Ferreira covered his tracks a little bit by also getting the Jets' second pick in the '95 draft, centre Marc Chouinard.
``Look, it takes 10 years to build a team through the draft today,'' said Bob McCammon, who interviewed for the Anaheim GM job several years back and now is an Edmonton Oiler assistant coach. So, the Mighty Ducks gave up two drafts for a proven 25-year-old winger.
Selanne, one of the nicest guys in hockey, was so upset Wednesday that he ripped the nameplate off his locker.
He didn't deserve this, but he's gone because: (1) Keith Tkachuk makes $6 million and the Jets can't trade him; (2) Alexei Zhamnov has a bad rep around the league for firing agents and he's been sulking this year because he's making half of what Selanne's getting and a quarter of what Tkachuk's getting, but he's the Jets' first-line centre and (3) Jets GM John Paddock, who said last summer he couldn't have his best three players all forwards and on the same line, got the most interest for Selanne.
He thought he had a deal with the New York Islanders for Kirk Muller, Mathieu Schneider and Wade Redden for Selanne and another player a few weeks back but it fizzled.
Tverdovsky, who was billed as the Russian Bobby Orr at the '94 draft in Hartford, skates like Paul Coffey but has a tendency to think like Michel Petit. OK, he's only 19 but he's been more flash than real substance so far; he has 22 points in 51 games and reportedly wasn't coach Ron Wilson's favorite.
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Now, Kilger and Tverdovsky. This goes against the grain in Anaheim, where Ferreira has always been big on the draft, but it's pretty much a wash on salaries. Kilger makes $850,000, Tverdovsky is averaging $1.4 million for his three-year contract and if you throw in Bob Corkum ($550,000) who was dealt to Philadelphia Tuesday, it comes to about the $3 million a year Selanne makes.