Ryan Getzlaf was instrumental for the Anaheim Ducks from 2006 to 2022, before retiring this summer.
In the last decade of his career, he played with a C on his chest, and fans, teammates, and, well, pretty much everyone appreciated him.
Only 93 players in league history have succeeded in scoring 1000 points, and Getzlaf is one of them.
Playing in the NHL for so many years is almost a unique achievement, and if you accomplish that, you’re sure to create a lot of memories.
And as Getzlaf reached 1000 points, Ducks legend Teemu Selanne shared his favorite memory with him.
It took place just before the Stanley Cup final, in 2007.
“We have the press conference and then we’re leaving (at) the same time from the rink. I always did some donuts in the parking lot. And he said, ‘Teemu, now that there’s nobody here, can you show me how to do the donuts?’ So, I jumped in my Ferrari, and we do maybe ten donuts in the lot. There’s nothing but smoke everywhere. Then we tried it again in his Mercedes, and he was struggling a little, but he got the idea. So, then I showed him one more time with my car. Well, then there’s two people walking to us, and we’re like, ‘Uh-oh.’ It’s two policemen. They showed their badges, and they said they were doing inspections for tomorrow,” Selanne told The Athletic.
“I’m like, ‘Jesus, what if they arrest us? We can not play tomorrow or something. Somebody’s going to have to bail us out. ‘We were joking about it after. But think about it? If the Ducks, in a few hours, have to get Selanne and Getzlaf out of jail, and they can not play Game 1. The first game of the Stanley Cup Final.”
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Fortunate enough, everything ended well for both Getzlaf and Selanne.
“At first, the police were very serious. But then they obviously realized they knew who we were. They were like, ‘OK, guys. Just be a little smarter next time.’ But Getzy was so happy and excited. He was like, ‘This is awesome.’ He tried to do that with his car, and then the police came.”
Everything ended well for the Ducks as well, as they won the Stanley Cup just a few weeks later.
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