Selanne Not Keen on Role as Fill-In

Snubbed for the NHL All-Star team, Teemu Selanne said Friday he isn’t sure he’ll accept if asked to fill in for an injured player.

“I’ll have to think about that,” Selanne said, raising his eyebrows. “Pride, you know.”

Selanne, the sixth-leading scorer in the NHL and the third-leading scorer in the Western Conference, fell victim partly to the NHL’s rule that each team must have at least one representative. Paul Kariya was voted a starter by fans.

But how much of an All-Star game is it if the league’s sixth-leading scorer isn’t among more than 40 so-called “all-stars?”

“Every team has to have a player,” NHL spokesman Arthur Pincus said, adding “There’s no thought to change that rule. We think it’s important.”