Without Niedermayer and Selanne, the Ducks got off to a slow start and were third in the Pacific Division with a 12-12-4 record heading into the game against Buffalo.

“Getting news like this and adding someone like that can be a huge boost to our confidence and our mental awareness, whatever you want to call it,” Ducks defenseman Sean O’Donnell said. “We welcome him back with open arms. Anything we can do to make our team better.”

Selanne, a 10-time All-Star who led the Ducks last season with 48 goals and 94 points, is still basking in the glow of his first Stanley Cup title in 15 NHL seasons. Unlike Niedermayer, Selanne is a free agent and couldn’t be suspended. He became a father for the fourth time on Wednesday, when his wife Sirpa delivered the couple’s first daughter.

When Niedermayer and Selanne were on hand for the unveiling of the team’s Stanley Cup championship banner early this season, the fans chanted, “One More Year!”

“We’d talked back and forth since then, but I didn’t want to ask him about it,” said O’Donnell, adding that Niedermayer will require a grace period to get back into the flow of things after the long layoff.

“We can’t expect a lot too quickly, but he’s a pretty well-conditioned athlete and he skates well, so I don’t think it will take him too long.”

Niedermayer won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman for the 2003-04 season when he was with the Devils. His captain’s “C” was given to another former Norris Trophy winner, Chris Pronger, when the season began and he will remain the captain.

Talking about the team’s struggles this season, O’Donnell said: “We have a good team in here. I think our problem right now is kind of between our ears. But if you can add a guy like Scott to give you a shot in the arm and a pick-me-up in those situations, It’s a huge addition.”

Niedermayer hoisted the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in June and won his first Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He previously won three Stanley Cup rings with the New Jersey Devils before coming to the Ducks in 2005, when he joined his brother in Anaheim.

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