Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Teemu Selanne is the 2014 Winter Olympics MVP

Sochi Olympics Ice Hockey Men

Finland forward Teemu Selanne celebrates with teammates after receiving their bronze medals after defeating the USA 5-0 in the men’s bronze medal ice hockey game at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Mark Humphrey

Teemu Selanne has been one of the most dominant hockey players to ever participate in the Winter Olympics and at the age of 43, he added one final accomplishment to the list.

After leading a battered Finnish squad to a bronze medal, Selanne has been named the most valuable player for the 2014 Winter Games, per the IIHF.

The Finnish Flash scored 24 goals and 43 points in 37 career Olympic contests and while 2014 wasn’t his most prolific tournament offensively, he certainly made his mark with four goals and six points in six games, including two markers in the bronze medal contest against the United States. Knowing this would be his last Olympics, Selanne also wore the ‘C’ for the first time.

“Usually I’m [alternate] captain and a lot of times if they have asked if I want to be captain, I don’t really need a letter to be a leader,” Selanne explained to NHL.com before the tournament started. “A lot of times it’s better if somebody else going to be [captain]. But now it’s my last one, this time I felt it’s time to be captain and I’m very honored.”

Selanne led a combination of veterans like Sami Salo and Kimmo Timonen and promising youngsters like Olli Maatta and Mikael Granlund. He also helped his nation whether quite a bit of adversity as they lost Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula before the Olympics started and then Aleksander Barkov after just two games.

He will walk away with four Olympic medals and the record of being the oldest medal winner in the history of men’s hockey.

A fitting end to a tremendous career on the international stage.

Follow @RyanDadoun