Anaheim Ducks

Lore & Background

The franchise was awarded by the NHL in December 1992, alongside the rights to a Miami team that would become the Florida Panthers. An entrance fee of $50 million was required, half of which Disney paid directly to the Los Angeles Kings to share the Los Angeles media market. The team's name was announced on March 1, 1993, at the brand-new Anaheim Arena. Philadelphia arena management specialist Tony Tavares was chosen as team president, and Jack Ferreira became general manager. The Ducks selected Ron Wilson as the first head coach. In the 1993 NHL expansion draft, the team focused on defense, picking goaltenders Guy Hebert and Glenn Healy first, followed by Alexei Kasatonov and Steven King. In the 1993 NHL entry draft, the Ducks selected Paul Kariya with the fourth overall pick, who began playing in 1994 and became the face of the franchise. The resulting roster had the lowest payroll in the NHL at $7.9 million. Led by captain Troy Loney, the Ducks finished the 1993–94 season 33–46–5, a record-breaking number of wins for an expansion team. The Ducks sold out 27 of 41 home games, including the last 25, and filled the Arrowhead Pond to 98.9% of its season capacity. Licensed merchandise shot to number one in sales among NHL clubs, helped by Disney's theme parks and Disney Stores.

During the 1995–96 season, the Mighty Ducks completed a mid-season trade with the Winnipeg Jets, sending Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky, and a third-round pick for Marc Chouinard, a fourth-round pick, and Teemu Selänne. Kariya, Selänne, and Steve Rucchin formed one of the most potent lines of their time. In the 1996–97 season, Kariya became team captain, and the Ducks qualified for the postseason for the first time with a 36–33–13 record. They defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in seven games in the first round before being swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings, in the second round. After the season, Ron Wilson was fired and replaced by Pierre Pagé. The 1997–98 season saw Kariya miss the first 32 games in a contract dispute, then suffer a season-ending concussion from a cross-check by Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Gary Suter. The Ducks missed the playoffs and fired Pagé. In 1998–99, under new head coach Craig Hartsburg, the Ducks finished sixth in the Western Conference but were swept by Detroit again in the first round. The team missed the playoffs in 1999–2000 and declined further in 2000–01, leading to Selänne being traded to San Jose and Hartsburg being fired. The Ducks finished last in the Western Conference that season and 13th in 2001–02 under new coach Bryan Murray.

Prior to the 2002–03 season, Bryan Murray was promoted to general manager and hired Mike Babcock as head coach. The Mighty Ducks made the postseason as the seventh seed with a 40–27–9–6 record. In the first round, they swept the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, with Steve Rucchin scoring the series-winning goal in overtime in game four. In the second round, they faced the Dallas Stars; game one became one of the longest games in NHL history, with Petr Sýkora scoring in the fifth overtime. The Ducks won the series in six games. In the Western Conference finals, they swept the Minnesota Wild, with Jean-Sébastien Giguère recording three consecutive shutouts and allowing only one goal in the series. In the 2003 Stanley Cup Final against the New Jersey Devils, the home team won the first five games. In game six, Kariya was knocked unconscious by a hit from Devils captain Scott Stevens but returned in the second period to score the fourth goal in a 5–2 win, forcing game seven. The Ducks lost game seven 3–0. Giguère won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, becoming only the fifth player in NHL history to win the award as a member of the losing team.

Reader's Guide

The Anaheim Ducks hold a distinctive place in NHL history as the first California-based team to win the Stanley Cup, achieving this in 2007. Their origins as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, created by the Walt Disney Company and named after a 1992 film, gave the franchise a unique identity and immediate commercial success, with licensed merchandise becoming the top seller in the league. The team's early years were defined by the arrival of Paul Kariya, who became the face of the franchise, and the acquisition of Teemu Selänne, forming a potent offensive line. The Ducks' first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2003 was marked by a remarkable playoff run as a seventh seed, including a sweep of the defending champion Detroit Red Wings and a five-overtime victory over the Dallas Stars. Goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère's Conn Smythe Trophy win despite the loss highlighted the team's resilience. The franchise's rebranding to the Anaheim Ducks under new ownership in 2006 preceded their championship victory the following season. The team has won six Pacific Division championships and continues to compete in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, affiliated with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL and the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL.

Did You Know?

• The Ducks were the first of the three California-based NHL teams to win the Stanley Cup, doing so in 2007.
• Jean-Sébastien Giguère won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003 as playoff MVP despite the Ducks losing the Stanley Cup Final.
• The Ducks' first head coach was Ron Wilson, and their first captain was Troy Loney.