Finland’s Olympic semifinal loss to Canada sparked a heated exchange between former NHL teammates after the final whistle.
The Finnish national team, the Lions, saw a two-goal lead slip away as Canada mounted a comeback to win 3–2. However, much of the post-game discussion centered on the officiating by the Canadian referees.
Selänne did not hold back in his criticism, taking to social media platform X to voice his frustration. He referred specifically to the late penalty assessed to Niko Mikkola, who struck Nathan MacKinnon in the face with a high stick. MacKinnon had emphasized the contact, and during Mikkola’s penalty, it was MacKinnon who ultimately scored the game-winning goal.
“Beating the best hockey nation and Canadian referees on the same night seems to be impossible… An unbelievably embarrassing penalty with 90 seconds left in an Olympic semifinal. What a joke,” Selänne wrote.
The post quickly gained significant attention — and drew a response from Selänne’s former Anaheim Ducks teammate, Chris Pronger.
“I understand you, Teemu, but you know very well you can’t spend over 30 minutes in your own zone in a tournament like this without something bad happening. Just saying,” Pronger commented.
Selänne agreed in part but doubled down on his point about the decisive penalty.
“I hate when we stop playing and focus only on defending. Usually bad things happen, like today. Canada was better, but that’s not my point. If you got that kind of penalty in an Olympic semifinal a couple of minutes before the end, would you be OK with it? I know the answer,” Selänne replied.
Pronger then fired back with a sharp reminder from the past.
“Well technically, you should have gotten a penalty in the semifinal when you hit me from behind with less than three minutes left. But I digress. It’s unfortunate that a late penalty decided the game, but his (Mikkola’s) stick hit the face. We can hug soon,” Pronger quipped.
Selänne and Pronger were teammates with the Anaheim Ducks from 2006 to 2009. Pronger represented Canada in four Olympic Games, winning two gold medals. Selänne, meanwhile, played in six Olympics during his career, earning one silver medal and three bronze medals.
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