Moments later, Ryan interrupted our interview to say jokingly, "Did you tell him I'm going to center your line this year?"

"That would be some line," Selanne said, laughing.

Later, when defenseman Luca Sbisa, 20, walked past, I reminded Selanne that Luca was half his age.

"Yeah, he could be my son," Selanne said. "That's scary."

“The sort of about-turn that happened before will not happen again. I reckon this will be it”, Selänne says sternly.

“I have done this since I was a little boy, and with great passion. It is difficult to give up something that one enjoys.”

So, is there still some kind of back door lurking there?

“Nope. This is my last year on the ice.”