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The Anaheim Ducks (formerly known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The club announced the name change January 26, 2006, and formally changed its name five months later on June 22. Franchise history When founded in 1991, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were owned by The Walt Disney Company. The team's original name was chosen from the Disney movie The Mighty Ducks, based on a group of misfit teens who turn their losing youth hockey team into a winner. Disney subsequently made an animated series called The Mighty Ducks, featuring a fictional Mighty Ducks of Anaheim team that consisted of anthropomorphized ducks. Disney had wanted to cross-merchandise the team even further by having every player have a "Mighty" preceding his surname on the back of the uniform (i.e. "Mighty Kariya"), but this idea was swiftly met with major negative reaction. With their first draft pick, the Mighty Ducks selected Paul Kariya fourth overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Kariya would quickly become a fan favorite and the cornerstone of the young Mighty Ducks franchise. As team captain he would guide them to within a game of Stanley Cup glory in 2003. On February 7, 1996, a trade was made between the Mighty Ducks and the Winnipeg Jets. The Ducks sent Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky, and a third-round pick in return for Marc Chouinard, a fourth-round draft pick and most notably Teemu Selänne, who had a remarkable first season the year before the Mighty Ducks came into existence, scoring 76 goals as a rookie, which is still a record to this day. The addition of Teemu helped the ducks make the playoffs for the first time. On a line with Steve Rucchin and Kariya, his chemistry with Paul made them one of the deadliest duos in the league during their seasons together in Anaheim. After missing the playoffs in their first three seasons, the Mighty Ducks finished 1996-97 fourth in the West, earning home-ice advantage for a first-round playoff series with the Phoenix Coyotes. After winning the series in seven games, Anaheim was swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. The Ducks returned to the playoffs in 1998-99, but once again lost in four to the Wings, this time in the Western Quarterfinals. After a three-year playoff hiatus, Anaheim qualified for 2003 playoffs. For their third straight postseason, the Mighty Ducks met the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings. Anaheim shocked the hockey world when they swept Detroit, with Steve Rucchin's series-clincher coming in overtime of game four. The Ducks would then defeat the After losing Kariya to the Colorado Avalanche via free agency shortly after the Final, the Ducks signed superstar Sergei Fedorov from Detroit. Still, Anaheim would end up missing the 2004 playoffs, and suffered low attendance figures despite their magical playoff run of the previous year. During the summer of 2004, as the NHL and the NHL Players Association's labor dispute was headed towards a long lockout, Disney tried to sell the team but received a low offer of $40-million US, less than the franchise's original price. Many quotes in the press from several well-paid Mighty Ducks players stated the Ducks were a safe franchise. However, those players were perceived as being completely out of touch with the NHL economic situation and the precarious state of the team. In 2005, Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli of Irvine, California and his wife, Susan, bought the Mighty Ducks from The Walt Disney Company for a reported $75 million (USD). The Samuelis have pledged to keep the team in Anaheim. Brian Burke, former Vancouver Canucks General Manager and President, was appointed GM and Executive Vice-President of the Mighty Ducks on June 20, 2005. On August 1, 2005, former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Randy Carlyle was hired as the seventh coach in team history. Burke was familiar with Carlyle's coaching ability, as he had coached the Manitoba Moose from 1996-2001 (IHL) and 2004-05 (AHL). The Moose had become the Canucks' farm club in 2001. Carlyle replaced Mike Babcock, who left the Ducks to coach the Wings. The Mighty Ducks brought back fan favorite Teemu Selänne, who’d been a star player for the team from 1996-2001. Selänne played the previous NHL season with the Avalanche. Burke made his first big splash as the team's general manager when he signed defenseman Scott Niedermayer, the 2003-04 Norris Trophy winner and older brother of Ducks centerman Rob, to a four-year contract, from New Jersey. 2006 saw the Ducks beat the Calgary Flames and Colorado on a run through the playoffs, only being stopped in the West finals by the Edmonton Oilers, who'd swept the Ducks in the regular season. The team banked on its youth, seeing Joffrey Lupul, Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz and Ilya Bryzgalov turn in stellar performances. But like the New York Rangers, a veteran superstar right-winger is the focus of the team — Selanne in Anaheim and Jaromir Jagr in New York. On January 26, 2006, the team announced, effective with the 2006-07 season, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would change their name to the Anaheim Ducks. This included logo and team color changes which were unveiled at a special ceremony five months later. Many Ducks fans successfully petitioned the Samuelis to keep Wildwing as the current mascot because of the team's recent success and as a link to the past. Along with the new name, their home ice was renamed the Honda Center as Arrowhead Water's naming rights had expired. On July 3, the Ducks traded young sniper Joffrey Lupul, prospect Ladislav Smid, a 2007 first-round draft pick, a second-round choice in 2008, and a conditional first-round selection to Edmonton in exchange for star defenseman Chris Pronger, who had publicly requested a trade from the Oilers ten days earlier citing personal reasons. Third jerseys
Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Records as of November 2, 2006. 1 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout. 2 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout. 3 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games tied after regulation will be decided in a shootout; SOL (Shootout losses) will be recorded as OTL in the standings. Current roster As of October 26, 2006. * Team captains Hockey Hall of Fame|Hall of Famers Retired numbers First-round draft picks Franchise scoring leaders These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; NHL awards and trophies Clarence S. Campbell Bowl Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Conn Smythe Trophy Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Rocket Richard Trophy Franchise individual records See also | |||||||||
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