| The Teemu Tavern & Grill will be in Southern California. (Getty Images) |
If the NHL comes back this season, Teemu Selanne will be playing for the Anaheim Ducks in what is likely to be his farewell tour. Still, it already appears he's preparing for life after hockey.
The Finnish Flash and one of the NHL's most endeared players is opening a restaurant in Laguna Beach, Calif. The name of the restaurant, according to the Orange County Register, will be Teemu Tavern & Grill.
Selanne, who lives in Coto de Caza, told the Register it will be "tavern-style, great American food."
No word yet if Finnish Flash Fries would be a menu staple. At the same time, hopefully steaks won't be served up like pucks.
It's good to see that Selanne isn't overthinking it. Making sure Teemu is in the name of the restaurant was critical; it guarantees the hockey crowd will come. And considering Selanne's near cultlike status, it more or less becomes a pilgrimmage for hockey fans to eat at the Great Selanne's restaurant.
Am I overdramatizing it a bit? Perhaps. But Selanne is beloved for a reason. He's long been recognized as one of the game's great guys, and he has proven to be an amazing player who defies the laws of aging. Last season at age 41, Selanne led the Ducks in scoring with 26 goals and 40 assists. Mind you, that's a team with former Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf.
Is there any doubt his venture into the food business won't be a score?
It's certainly not unheard of for players to look into other business ventures, particularly at the tail of their careers. It's just usually not as cool as when a guy like Selanne does it because, well, just about everything he does is cool.
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