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The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company. The franchise was awarded by the NHL in December 1992, along with the rights to a Miami team that would become the Florida Panthers. An entrance fee of $50 million was required, half of which Disney would pay directly to the Los Angeles Kings to “share” the Los Angeles media market(1). On March 1, 1993, at the brand-new Anaheim Arena – located a short distance east of Disneyland and across the Orange Freeway from Angel Stadium – the team’s name was announced. The team’s name was inspired by the 1992 Disney film The Mighty Ducks, about a struggling youth hockey team who, with the help of their new coach, became champions(2). Philadelphia-arena management specialist Tony Tavares was chosen to be team president(2), and Jack Ferreira, who previously helped create the San Jose Sharks, became the Ducks’ general manager(3). The Ducks selected Ron Wilson as the first head coach in team history(4). The Ducks and the expansion Florida Panthers team filled out their rosters in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft and the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. In the former, a focus on defense led to goaltenders Guy Hubert and Glenn Healy being the first picks, followed by Alexei Kasatonov and Steven King(5). In the latter, the Ducks selected as the fourth overall pick Paul Kariya, who only began play in 1994 but would turn out to be the face of the franchise for many years(6). The resulting roster had the lowest payroll of the NHL at only $7.9 million(7).
Led by captain Tony Loney, the Ducks finished the season 33-46-5, a record-breaking number of wins for an expansion team, which the Florida Panthers also achieved. 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. Ducks licensed merchandise shot to number one in sales among NHL clubs(8), helped by their presence in Disney’s theme parks and Disney Stores(9). The lockout-shortened 1994-1995 NHL season saw the debut of Paul Kariya, who would play 47 of the team’s 48 games that year, scoring 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points. The Ducks had another respectable season, going 16-27-5.
Paul Kariya era (1996-2003)
During the 1995-1996 season, Paul Kariya was chosen to play for the Western Conference in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game as the lone Ducks representative. At the time of his selection (January 1996) Kariya was ranked 14th in the league scoring with 51 points (23 goals and 28 assists) over 42 games, although the Ducks were a low-scoring team. Then a mid-season blockbuster deal with the Winnipeg Jets improved the franchise. The Ducks sent Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky, and a third-round pick to the Jets in return for Marc Chouinard, a fourth-round draft pick, and right winger Teemu Selanne. Following the trade, Ducks center Steve Rucchin, commented, “Paul [Kariya] had a lot of pressure on him…He single-handedly won some games for us this year…Now that we have Teemu, there’s no way everybody can just key on Paul.(10)” These three players formed one of the most potent lines of their time(11). Although the trade proved to be an important effort in the team, they still finished short of the playoffs, losing the eighth spot in the Western Conference to the Winnipeg Jets based on the number of wins(12).
During the 1996-1997 season, Kariya became team captain following Randy Ladouceur’s retirement in the off-season(14), and led the Ducks to their first post-season appearance after recording the franchise’s first winning record of 36-33-13, good enough for home ice in the first round as the fourth seed against the Phoenix Coyotes(14). The Ducks trailed 3-2 going into Phoenix for Game 6. Kariya scored in overtime to force the franchise’s Game 7, which they won. However, in the second round, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions the Detroit Red Wings in a four-game sweep. After the season, Ron Wilson was fired after saying he would like to coach the Washington Capitals(15). Pierre Page succeeded him. The Ducks started out slowly in 1997-1998, in part because Kariya missed the first 32 games of the season in a contract dispute. He came back in December, but on February 1st, he suffered a season-ending concussion when the Chicago Blackhawks’ Gary Suter cross-checked him in the face. With Kariya playing only a total of 22 games that season, the Ducks missed the playoffs and fired Page(16). The Ducks followed that season up by finishing sixth in the Western Conference in 1998-1999 with new head coach Craig Hartsburg. However, they were swept by Detroit again, this time in the first round.
In the 1999-2000 season, the Ducks finished with the same number of points as the previous season, but a much more competitive Western Conference had them miss the playoffs by four points behind rival San Jose Sharks(17). Despite this, the Mighty Ducks scored more goals than the conference-champion Dallas Stars. In the following season, 2000-2001, the Ducks ended up performing worse, as Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne’s point production significantly declined from the previous season – Kariya went from 86 points to 67 points and Selanne went from 85 points to 57 points. Selanne was subsequently dealt to San Jose at the trade deadline for Jeff Friesen, Steve Shields, and a second-round draft pick, while head coach Craig Hartsburg was fired during the season. The team ended up with a losing record and last place in the Western Conference that season. Without Selanne, Kariya’s numbers continued to drop in the 2001-2002 season with new coach Bryan Murray. The Mighty Ducks finished in 13th place in the Western Conference.
Western Conference champions 2002-2003
The Mighty Ducks did not reach the post-season again until the 2002-2003 season with head coach Mike Babcock. They entered the playoffs in seventh place with a 40-27-9-6 record, good enough for 95 points. In the first round, the Ducks were once again matched up with the Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup champions. They shocked the hockey world by sweeping the Red Wings in four games. Steve Rucchin scored the series-winning goal in overtime in Game 4. In the second round, the Ducks faced the Dallas Stars. Game 1 turned out to be the fourth-longest in NHL history, with Petr Sykora scoring in the fifth overtime to give the Mighty Ducks the series lead. The Ducks would finish off the Stars in Game 6 at home. On the team’s first trip to the Western Conference Finals, they were matched up against another Cinderella team, the sixth-seeded, three-year-old Minnesota Wild. Jean-Sebastien Giguere strung together three consecutive shutouts and allowed only one total goal in the series in an eventual sweep.
The 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, to be played against the New Jersey Devils, had multiple interesting storylines. Anaheim forward Rob Niedermayer was playing against his brother Scott, while Giguere faced off against fellow French-Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur. The series began with the home team winning the first five games. In Game 6 at home, Kariya was knocked out from a hit by Devils captain Scott Stevens. However, Kariya would return in the second period and score the fourth goal in the game. In an exciting third period, the Mighty Ducks defeated the Devils 5-2 to send the series back to New Jersey for Game 7. Anaheim, however, could not complete their winning streak, as they lost a hard-fought Game 7 to the Devils 3-0. For his brilliant play during the post-season, Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the playoffs. He became only the fifth player in NHL history to have won the trophy as a member of the losing team. Giguere posted a 15-6 record, 7-0 in overtime, with a 1.62 goals against average, a .945 save percentage, and a record 168-minute, 27-second shutout streak in overtime.
Sources:
1. "NHL expands to Miami and Anaheim in
entertaining twist". The Washington Post.
December 11, 1992. Retrieved August
27, 2022.
2. "Disney Hopes 'Ducks' Make a Splash in
O.C. " Los Angeles Times. March 2, 1993.
3. Norwood, Robyn (October 21, 2004).
"Mighty Ducks Hire Ferreira as General
Manager". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved
May 1, 2014.
4. Norwood, Robyn (October 21, 2004).
"Mighty Ducks Hire Ferreira as General
Manager". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved
May 1, 2014.
5. Norwood, Robyn (May 30, 1991).
"Ducks Are Already Defensive : Hockey
: Goalies Hebert and Healy are first players
taken by Anaheim in expansion draft".
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
6. Norwood, Robyn (May 30, 1991). "Ducks
Are Already Defensive : Hockey: Goalies
Hebert and Healy are the first players taken by
Anaheim in expansion draft". Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
7. Penner, Mike (January 2, 1994). "1993: The Year
in Review. The Mighty Ducks Steal the Show :
Ducks: Diamond in a Rough Year". Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
8. Norwood, Robyn (August 16, 1996). "THE NHL
: Epilogue : The Kings and Mighty Ducks Have
at Least One Thing in Common-They Are Two of
the 10 Teams That Managed Not to Qualify for the
Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yet the Assessment of Their
Seasons Says a Lot About the Teams-One That
Surpasses All Expectations, and Another That
Lived Up to None. : MIGHTY DUCKS: They
Had to Climb a Matterhorn, but They Were a
Real NHL Team". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved
May 1, 2014.
9. Norwood, Robyn (August 16, 1996). "THE NHL:
Epilogue: The Kings and Mighty Ducks Have at
Least One Thing in common is Two of the 10
Teams That Managed Not to Qualify for the
Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yet the Assessment of
Their Seasons Say a Lot About the Teams-One
That Surpasses All Expectations and Another
That Lived Up to None. : MIGHTY DUCKS:
They Had to Climb a Matterhorn, but They
We're a Real NHL Team". Los Angeles Times.
Retrieved May 1, 2014.
10. Brown, Frank (February 12, 1996). "For
Ducks, There's No I in Teemu". Daily News.
New York. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
11. Farber, Michael (December 3, 2001).
"Stuck Duck". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved
July 28, 2011.
12. Farber, Michael (December 3, 2001). "Stuck
Duck". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 28,
2011.
13. "Ducks History – Captains and Coaches".
Anaheim Ducks. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
14. "Ducks entering unfamiliar waters". Sun
Journal. Associated Press. April 16, 1997.
Retrieved July 13, 2011.
15. "Ducks entering unfamiliar waters". Sun
Journal. Associated Press. April 16, 1997.
Retrieved July 13, 2011.
16. Jack Thompson (June 16, 1998). "Mighty
Ducks Change Again, Fire Coach Page
After 1 Season – tribunedigital-
chicagotribune". Chicago Tribune.
Retrieved September 27, 2016.
17. "Ducks' Failure to Pick Up the Pace Led to
a Stumble – times". Los Angeles Times.
April 10, 2000. Retrieved September 27,
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