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Jari Kurri’s in the “Don’t retire Teemu!” club; Selanne reaches 1,400 points

Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne

Anaheim Ducks center Saku Koivu (11), of Finland, hugs teammate right wing Teemu Selanne, right, of Finland, after he scored and broke Jari Kurri’s record with 602 carrier goals during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Friday, April 2, 2010, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

AP

PHT’s own Joe Yerdon has become known for spearheading the "#TeemuForever” campaign, but he’s far from the only person hoping that Teemu Selanne sticks around as long as possible. Fellow famous Finn Jari Kurri had a simple message that relayed to Jeff Miller of the OC Register: “Why stop now?”

“I’m hoping he keeps playing,” Kurri said. “Why stop? I know he wants to win. He wants to do well and he’s playing well. I don’t see any reason for him to stop.”

Selanne scored his 23rd goal of the season as the Anaheim Ducks currently hold a 3-0 lead against the Detroit Red Wings. That tally places him at a tidy 1,400 points, just nine shy of Dale Hawerchuk for 18th all-time. In fact, as PHT discussed earlier this week, Selanne is breathing down the necks of many greats - which would make another campaign that much more compelling.

Here are the players he’s within shouting distance of, points-wise:

14. Stan Mikita (1,467)
15. Bryan Trottier (1,425)
16. Adam Oates (1,420)
17. Doug Gilmour (1,414)
18. Dale Hawerchuk (1,409)
19. Selanne (1,400)
20. Kurri (1,398)

And from a goal-scoring standpoint:

7. Mark Messier - 694 goals
8. Steve Yzerman - 692
9. Mario Lemieux - 690
10. Luc Robitaille - 668
11. Jaromir Jagr - 664
12. Selanne - 660

Selanne could jump into the top 10 in goal-scoring (Jagr or not) and the top 15 in point scoring if he came back for one more year.

If thousands (if not millions) of fans aren’t enough to convince him, what about his idol?

(Hey, it’s worth a shot.)