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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; The NHL's return to Winnipeg has inspired hope that Teemu\u00A0Selanne\u00A0will come back, too. (TSN/Icon SMI)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Stu Hackel&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2011 inductees on Tuesday\u00A0and two future Hall of Famers -- Jaromir Jagr\u00A0and Teemu\u00A0Selanne -- will\u00A0make decisions\u00A0about their NHL futures\u00A0before\u00A0the beginning of the free agency season on \u00A0July 1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register\u00A0reported over the weekend that Ducks GM Bob Murray remained uncertain about whether\u00A0Selanne will return to the Ducks for another season or choose retirement. Apparently, what's preventing\u00A0the Finnish veteran\u00A0from deciding is lingering concern over his left knee, which was reconstructed in 2005.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"His knee acted up a bit,\" Murray said. \"Doctors have looked at it. I think as soon as he's pretty sure that his knee is fine ... I think he wants to play hockey again. We're just trying to see how the knee goes.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The euphoria in Winnipeg, where Selanne\u00A0began his career, over getting NHL hockey again has now extended to dreaming that\u00A0Teemu will play his last season where he started. &lt;em&gt;The Winnipeg Free Press&lt;/em&gt;\u00A0turned\u00A0a quote from someone who knows but does not represent Selanne\u00A0into a story speculating that\u00A0it might happen. But seven paragraphs into the story, Selanne's agent slapped the dreamers awake.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I just don't see a scenario unfolding where that would happen,\" said Don Baizley. \"He's having a hard enough time deciding whether he's even going to play again next season, let alone uprooting his family.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"He talks fondly about Winnipeg. We've talked about Winnipeg but never about him leaving southern California. He has a tremendous affection for the city and he's really pulling for it to do well. He's told me 10 days ago that he knew Anaheim plays in Winnipeg on Dec. 17,\" Baizley added.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As for Jagr, Ted Kulfan of &lt;em&gt;The Detroit News&lt;/em&gt;\u00A0reported\u00A0Jagr's\u00A0agent, former NHL defenseman Petr Svoboda, said the former NHL star would also\u00A0make a decision by Friday and perhaps sooner. The Red Wings, Penguins and Canadiens\u00A0have been mentioned as possible destinations, although Svoboda told Kulfan that\u00A0none of these teams had yet made a formal offer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 39-year-old Jagr\u00A0played the past three seasons in the KHL\u00A0for Avangard\u00A0Omsk. There are questions about whether he can skate with the current pace of the NHL (he wasn't the greatest backchecker in the NHL even as a youngster), but his hands are still good. As a power play specialist and someone who can inject some offense into an attack, he'd probably still be valuable to some teams.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Together Again:&lt;/strong&gt;\u00A0For years, the Sabres had their AHL affiliate in Rochester, only 70 miles away, which was not only convenient for the club, but also for fans who followed the NHL team, and it\u00A0effectively expanded the Sabres' market. For the last few seasons, Sabres farmhands have played in Portland, Maine. Now, the Buffalo-Rochester connection has been reestablished.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The AHL approved Sabres owner Terry Pegula\u00A0as new owner of the Rochester Americans and he will resume the their affiliation. The Panthers had been Rochester's NHL\u00A0affiliate, but\u00A0Florida's poor player development history led to some weak teams that turned off Rochester fans. This is\u00A0another smart move by Pegula. Buffalo is the smallest NHL city (although well over a million people live in its larger area from the Niagara region through Western New York) and re-connecting with Rochester helps build the Sabres brand to the larger vicinity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original Sabres owners Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox bought the Amerks\u00A0in 1979 but sold them to a Rochester-based group in 1995. Previous Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano\u00A0wanted to buy the Amerks\u00A0in the mid-2000s, but could not make a deal and the Sabres moved their minor-league team to Portland beginning\u00A0for\u00A02008-09. In the 29 seasons of the\u00A0Buffalo-Rochester partnership, the Americans reached the Calder Cup Finals nine times, and won three (1983, 1987 and 1996).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pegula\u00A0approached the current Rochester ownership in May and the deal was approved by the AHL last week. Pegula, Sabres President Ted Black and GM Darcy Regier will speak at a press conference at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester on\u00A0Wednesday\u00A0about the Sabres' plans for the club.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And in another AHL affiliation, the Canucks, who lost their Manitoba Moose team when the Jets returned to Winnipeg, have made an agreement with the AHL Chicago Wolves, a somewhat ironic twist considering the enmity between the Canucks and the Blackhawks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Staying and going:&lt;/strong&gt; With free agent season approaching (and here's the SI.com list of pending unrestricted and restricted free agents and signings; bookmark it and consult it hourly) the ranks of the free swelled Monday as the deadline passed for NHL teams to deliver qualifying offers to potential restricted free agents or lose them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here's an unofficial list compiled on the HFBoard.com\u00A0of those who were and were not qualified. Some notable names did not get offers and will become\u00A0unrestricted free agents on July 1. They include the Blues' Matt D'Agostini\u00A0(who scored 21 goals last season), the Penguins' Tyler Kennedy (who some think will end up staying\u00A0with a restructured contract), the Flyers' rambunctious Dan Carcillo, the Canadiens' Benoit Pouliot\u00A0(a former fourth overall draft pick of Minnesota), Avalanche goalie Brian Elliott (the Avs' other\u00A0netminder, Peter Budaj, is a UFA), Oilers\u00A0tough guy J.F Jacques, Rangers defenseman Matt Gilroy (an exceptional skater who was\u00A0once on their first power play unit), the Panthers' Nicklas\u00A0Bergfors\u00A0(once a rising star with the Devils and traded to Atlanta in the Ilya Kovalchuk\u00A0deal), the Jets' Robbie Schremp\u00A0(a very skilled playmaker), and the Lightning's Mike Lundin (who had won a regular job on the Tampa Bay defense corps). They all now do the free agent dance.\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nhl/home-ice/2011/06/28/decision-time-looms-for-selanne-jagr-free-agent-ranks-swell-more-notes>