Canadian legend Chris Pronger fires back at Teemu Selanne over referee nationality controversy
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Daniel Lucente
Feb 20, 2026 (2:55 PM)
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Photo credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Chris Pronger pushes back on Teemu Selanne’s Canadian referees rant, and Finland’s Olympic semifinal loss suddenly feels even messier.
Selanne pointed right at the stripes after Canada beat Finland 3-2 in Milano-Cortina.
His anger centered on a late penalty call with the game on edge.
The officials were Eric Furlatt and Dan O’Rourke, both Canadians, and that detail poured gas on everything.
Then Pronger, a Canadian legend, jumped in with a cold reminder about momentum and survival hockey.
"I hear ya Teemu but you know as well as I do you cannot sit back for 30+ mins in this type of tournament and not expect bad things to happen. Just sayin."
- Chris Pronger
- Chris Pronger
Pronger’s point was simple, you cannot sit back for 30-plus minutes in this tournament and expect mercy.
And if you watched the flow, Finland spent long stretches chasing pucks and dumping out under pressure.
Chris Pronger says Team Finland invited the chaos
Finnish fans are furious right now, but there’s also that sinking feeling you get when your team looks scared to hold the puck.
Canada tilted the ice in the second period, and the shot share told the story.
Finland’s 2-0 lead was real, Mikko Rantanen scored, and Erik Haula struck shorthanded.
But Canada kept loading the zone, shift after shift, until Finland’s structure started to crack.
Sam Reinhart got Canada on the board, then Shea Theodore tied it to wake the building.
The ending came on Niko Mikkola’s high stick, and Nathan MacKinnon ripped the power-play winner with 35.2 seconds left.
Selanne hates that the refs were Canadian, and plenty of Finns agree.
Pronger is basically saying, fine, but Finland still had the wheel and chose to coast.
Sunday’s gold medal game will move on without them, and that’s the part that stings most for Finland.
Also read on HockeyLatest :
Teemu Selanne fumes as nationality of referees spark outrage in Finland loss to Canada
Teemu Selanne fumes as nationality of referees spark outrage in Finland loss to Canada
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FEVRIER 20|429 ANSWERS Canadian legend Chris Pronger fires back at Teemu Selanne over referee nationality controversy Was Chris Pronger right to call out Teemu Selanne’s referee comments? | ||
| Yes | 400 | 93.2 % |
| No | 29 | 6.8 % |
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