After 15 years, Selanne gets trip to Stanley Cup finals

	Calling Anaheim his "happy place," Teemu Selanne (left) has the Ducks just four wins away from hoisting Lord Stanley. Robert Laberge/Getty Images
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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Teemu Selanne had to look down at his shirt to confirm what had just happened. After 14 years of disappointment and setback, he just wanted to touch it and make sure it wasn't a dream.

"I have been watching these things on TV so many times where they put the shirts and the hats on and I've been dreaming about getting this chance too and finally it happened," said Selanne, who has recorded two goals and four assists in the past three games. "It took 15 years to do it, but I finally did it."

Standing in the center of the Ducks' locker room moments after a 4-3 Game 6 win over the Red Wings which put Anaheim into the Stanley Cup finals, Selanne got nostalgic looking around the locker room he first stepped in over a decade ago.

It was Selanne, who along with Paul Kariya, put the Ducks on the hockey map. But Selanne was traded away in 2001 -- right before the Ducks finally reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2002-03. It was a bittersweet moment for Selanne as he watched the team from his home in Finland. He had always figured he would be the one to lead the Ducks to their first Cup finals. Now he has the chance to lead them to their first Cup victory.

"I was cheering for them all the way because I know how much those guys had been through as a franchise and as individuals," he said. "I wasn't feeling bad. I woke up every morning and watched their games and cheered for them. They came so close and now I think its time to take the next level."

After short stints in San Jose and Colorado, Selanne came back to Anaheim last season. The decision was based more on his overall happiness than going to the team with the best chance to win the Cup.

"This has always been my happy place," he says. "I love this place. I love Orange County. I will always be proud to say I played for the Mighty Ducks and now the Anaheim Ducks. They've always treated me so well and I think it's time for me to give back something."

While Selanne's mind drifted toward playing in his first Stanley Cup at the beginning of the third period, he was nearly hyperventilating toward the end of the game as the Wings rallied back to make it a 4-3 game.

"It was the first time in my life that I would love to have had some relaxing pills or something," he said. "I was so nervous out there especially when I was on the bench. That was the scariest 20 minutes in my career."