Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Since their inception, the Ducks have played their home games at the Honda Center.

The club was founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a name based on the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks. Disney sold the franchise in 2005 to Henry & Susan Samueli, who changed the name of the team to the Anaheim Ducks before the 2006–07 season. In their 17 year existence, the Ducks have made the playoffs seven times, winning one Pacific Division title (2007), two Western Conference Championships (2003 and 2007), and one Stanley Cup Championship (2007).

The Walt Disney Company era (1993-2005)
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company. The team's original name was chosen from the 1992 Disney movie The Mighty Ducks, based on a group of misfit kids who turn their losing youth hockey team into a winning team. Disney subsequently made an animated series called Mighty Ducks, featuring a fictional Mighty Ducks of Anaheim team that consisted of anthropomorphized ducks led by the Mighty Duck Wildwing.

The team was the first tenant of the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (currently named the Honda Center), a brand-new arena in Anaheim located a short distance east of Disneyland and across the Orange Freeway from Angel Stadium. The arena was completed the same year the team was founded, with the naming rights originally being held by Arrowhead Water.

The Ducks selected Ron Wilson to be the first coach in team history. The Ducks selected Paul Kariya fourth overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He would turn out to be the face of the franchise for many years. The team selected Steve Rucchin second overall in the 1994 Supplemental Draft. In the middle of their third year, on February 7, 1996, the team made a blockbuster deal with the Winnipeg Jets. 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. These three players became one of most potent lines of their time. The franchise's first game was played at home on October 8, 1993 versus the Detroit Red Wings. The Ducks lost 7-2. Two games later, on October 13, 1993, also on home ice, the Ducks won the first game in franchise history 4-3 versus the Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks pitched the first shut out in team history on December 15, 1993, 1-0 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Ducks reached the post-season for the first time during the 1996-97 NHL season. The Ducks finished with a 36-33-13 record, the franchise's first winning record, good enough for home ice in the first round as the number four seed against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Ducks trailed 3-2 going into Phoenix for game six. Kariya scored in overtime to force the franchises first game 7 which they won. In the second round, however, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Red Wings in a four game sweep. After the season, Wilson was fired after saying he would like to coach the Red Wings. The Ducks missed the playoffs in 1998 with Pierre Page at the helm. The Ducks followed that season up by finishing 6th in the Western Conference in 1998-99 NHL season with new head coach Craig Hartsburg. However, they were swept by the Red Wings again, this time in the first round.

In the 1999-00 NHL Season, the Ducks finished with a winning record, but missed the playoffs by 4 points as the rival San Jose Sharks took 8th place that year with 87 points while the Mighty Ducks took 9th place with 83 points. In the 2000-01 NHL Season, the Ducks ended up doing even worse as Kariya and Selanne substantially dropped points production from the previous season. Kariya went from 86 points to 67 points and Selanne went from 85 points to 57 points. Selanne was dealt to San Jose at the trade deadline for Jeff Friesen, Steve Shields, and a second round draft pick and 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 2001-02 NHL season with new coach Bryan Murray. The Mighty Ducks finished in 13th place in the Western Conference.

The Mighty Ducks did not reach the postseason again until the 2002-2003 NHL season with coach Mike Babcock. They entered the playoffs in 7th 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 Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup Champions. They shocked the hockey world by sweeping the Red Wings in four games. Rucchin scored the series winning goal in overtime in game four. In the second round, the Ducks faced the President's Trophy winners the Dallas Stars. Game one turned out to be the fourth longest game 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 six at home. In the team's first trip to the Western Conference Finals, they were matched up against another Cinderella team, the sixth seeded 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 had some interesting story lines. Anaheim forward Rob Niedermayer was playing against his brother, defenseman for the New Jersey Devils, Scott Niedermayer and Giguere faced off against fellow French Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur. The series began with the home team winning the first five games. In game six at home, Kariya was knocked out by Devils defenseman Scott Stevens. Kariya would return in the third period and score the fifth goal of the game to send the series back to New Jersey for game seven. Anaheim could not complete their Cinderella run, though, as they lost a hard-fought game 7 to the Devils 3-0. For his brilliant play during the post-season, Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player 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 GAA, a .945 Sv. Pct. and a record 168 minute, 27 second shutout streak in overtime.

After the season, Kariya promised to bring the Mighty Ducks back to the Stanley Cup Final the following year. Kariya, however, left the Ducks in the summer and joined Selanne on the Colorado Avalanche. The 2003-2004 NHL season was a season to forget as Giguere could not repeat his amazing play from the previous year. The team finished in 12th place in the standings with a 29-35-10-8 record. Giguere's stats subsequently went down from the previous season as he only won half the games he did the year before, his goals against average went up from 2.30 to 2.62, his save percentage went down from .914% to .907%, and he went from 8 shutouts to just three. The team also went from 203 goals to 174.

Post-Disney and 2007 Stanley Cup Championship era (2005-present)
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. 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 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 the latter had coached the Manitoba Moose from 1996–2001 (International Hockey League) and 2004–05 (American Hockey League); the Moose had been the Canucks farm club since 2001. Carlyle replaced Babcock, who later signed on to coach the Red Wings.

On August 4, 2005, free agent defenseman Scott Niedermayer signed with the Ducks to play with his brother Rob. Niedermayer was almost immediately named team captain. The 2005-06 NHL Season saw the emergence of rookies Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Chris Kunitz. On November 15, 2005, the Ducks traded Sergei Fedorov, and a 5th round draft pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Francois Beauchemin and Tyler Wright. The Ducks finished the season with a 43-27-12 record good enough for 98 points and the sixth seed. The Ducks faced the Calgary Flames in the quarterfinals and forced a seventh game in Calgary. The Ducks shut out the Flames to reach the semifinals. In an interesting playoffs, all the bottom seeds won in the first round so the Ducks faced the seventh seed Colorado. Ilya Bryzgalov shined as the Ducks swept the Avalanche. In the franchise's second Western Conference Finals appearance, they faced the eighth seeded Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks would ultimately lose the series in five games.

Before the 2006-2007 NHL Season, the Ducks traded Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid and a first round draft pick to the Oilers for defenseman Chris Pronger. With this trade, solid scoring lines, a shut down line featuring Rob Niedermayer, Samuel Pahlsson and Travis Moen and an enviable defense the Ducks were considered by many to be the Cup favorite. On November 9, 2006, the Ducks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6–0 at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia to improve their season record to 12–0–4. The win set an NHL open era record by remaining undefeated in regulation for the first 16 games of the season, eclipsing the previous mark set by the 1983–84 Edmonton Oilers. They were subsequently shut out by the Flames the following game, 3–0, ending their streak. On January 16, 2007, the Ducks played in their franchise's 1000th regular season game, and on March 11, the Ducks recorded their franchise's 1000th point with a 4–2 win over the Canucks, which improved their franchise all-time record to 423–444–155, 1001 points. On April 7, the Ducks won their first Pacific Division title in franchise history, when the Canucks defeated the second-place Sharks in the final game of the season. The Ducks ended the regular season with a 48-20-14 record, good enough for second place with 110 points. The Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild in the quarterfinals in five games and the Canucks in the semifinals in five games as well. Once again, the Ducks faced the Detroit Red Wings in the franchise's third trip to the Western Conference Finals. In game three Pronger elbowed Tomas Holmstrom and received a one game suspension. The Ducks won game four without Pronger and game five in Detroit as Selanne scored in overtime. The Ducks finished out the Red Wings in game six to advance to their second Stanley Cup Finals.

In the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, the Ducks won the first two games at home against the Ottawa Senators. The Ducks lost game three and Pronger received his second one game suspension, this time for elbowing Dean McAmmond. The Ducks were again able to win without Pronger, beating the Senators in game four to have a chance to win the Cup on home ice in game five. On June 6, the Ducks defeated the Senators 6–2 at Honda Center to claim their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Moen was credited with the Stanley Cup game winning goal. Scott Niedermayer won the second Conn Smythe Trophy in Ducks history. The Ducks became the first California team, and the first west coast team since the 1925 Victoria Cougars to win the Stanley Cup.

The Ducks began their title defense in the 2007-2008 NHL Season season without two fan favorites, Scott Niedermayer and Selanne, who were contemplating retirement. To offset those losses, Burke signed forward Todd Bertuzzi and defenseman Mathieu Schneider. During the season Burke put Bryzgalov on waivers and he was picked up by the Phoenix Coyotes. Free agent signee Jonas Hiller then became the back-up to Giguere. Both Selanne and Niedermayer would ultimately return and the team finished with a 47-27-8 record good enough to earn home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs finishing as the 4th seed in the Western Conference. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals in six games by the Stars. During the off-season Burke bought out the remaining year on Bertuzzi's contract and traded Schnieder to the Atlanta Thrashers.

After an extremely slow start to the 2008-2009 NHL Season, the team struggled to make the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. A bevy of trade deadline deals saw the departure of some mainstays from the Cup team such as Kunitz, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Ryan Whitney, Pahlsson, who was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman James Wisniewski and Moen, who was traded to the San Jose Sharks for two prospects. The trades gave the Ducks new life as a hot streak to end the season launched the Ducks into the playoffs. Hiller emerged as the new number one goalie during the stretch drive. The Ducks defeated the number one seed and President's Trophy winner, the Sharks, in six games in the first round before being eliminated in the conference semifinals by the eventual Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings in seven games. Before the 2009-10 NHL Season the Ducks traded Pronger to the Philadelphia Flyers for Lupul, Luca Sbisa and two first round draft picks. Beauchemin and Rob Niedermayer also left via free agency for Toronto and New Jersey respectively. The Ducks signed free agent center and former Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu to a one year deal.

Another slow start would doom the Ducks. Before the trade deadline the Ducks traded Giguere to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala after signing Hiller to a contract extension. The trade deadline saw the Ducks trade Whitney to Edmonton for offensive defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, as well as the acquisitions of defenseman Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes and goalie Curtis McElhinney from the Flames. The Ducks played through frequent injuries and picked up play in the second half of the season, but struggled coming out of the Olympic break. For the first time since the lockout the Ducks failed to make the playoffs with a 39-32-11 record. The 2010 off-season was also busy for the Ducks, as Scott Niedermayer announced his retirement in a June press conference. Niedermayer decided to stay a member of the Ducks as a team consultant. The Ducks resigned Koivu for two years and signed free agent defenseman Toni Lydman to a three year contract. In addition to Lydman, the Ducks were able to get defenseman Cam Fowler via the draft, and 35 year old strong-willed defenseman Andy Sutton signed to a two year deal. Restricted free agent Bobby Ryan was signed to a five year deal.

In January 2011, the Ducks were named in a lawsuit by attorney Keith Fink on behalf of draft choice Jason Bailey, alleging "a barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks regarding his Jewish faith" during his time with the Duck's former minor-league affiliate Bakersfield Condors. On January 27, ESPN.com released details of court documents filed by Fink. The attorney also claimed that Bailey brought his concerns to Ducks assistant general manager David McNab and GM Bob Murray, and was told by management the team would "do the right thing" and fire Raymond and Pederson. ESPN.com also reported that NHL is itself investigating the allegations to attempt to determine the validity of Bailey's allegations and examine the actions of the Ducks in handling this matter.

Logos
The Ducks' logo features a webbed foot forming a "D" followed by the other letters in the word "Ducks" in upper-case letters. The text itself is gold (which sometimes may appear as bronze as well) with orange and black accents (forming a three dimensional appearance). The entire logo is in turn outlined by silver. The city of Anaheim's name appears in smaller upper-case print, above the team name. The Ducks are one of four NHL teams to feature their team name spelled out in a scripted form on the front of their jersey rather than a logo. The New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals. and the Toronto Maple Leafs are the other three. This does not include alternate jerseys or throwback jerseys worn by other teams.

The old logo of the Ducks prior to the name change featured an old-style goaltender mask, shaped to form the appearance of a duck bill. Behind the mask are two intersecting hockey sticks, a black circle and a triangle (the color of the triangle is either green or gray, depending on how the logo is used).

Jerseys
The Ducks have officially worn two unique regular jerseys and three unique third jerseys in their franchise history:

The original jerseys of the Ducks (then the Mighty Ducks) used jade green, aubergine (eggplant), white and gray as primary colors for both the home and away jerseys. The team's dark jerseys were dominantly eggplant in color with diagonal gray and white stripes; the jersey is jade green below the stripes, which appear on the arms and waist. The white jerseys were similar, except that the eggplant is replaced mainly with white. On the shoulders of both jerseys are patches featuring a forward-facing version of the main logo's "duck mask," surrounded by a circle reading "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim."
 * Original Mighty Ducks Jerseys

About a year after the team was purchased from the Walt Disney Company by the Samuelis, Brian Burke initiated a name change dropping the "Mighty", after consultation with the fans showed that the typical fan had a willingness to update the "Mighty Ducks" name and jersey and also a desire to keep part of the traditions of the franchise. Burke sought inspiration for the jersey from the United States Military Academy, ending up with diagonal gold, white, black and orange stripes down the arms and waist with the word "Ducks" on the front. The jersey is similar to the team's most recent third jersey prior to the name change. The orange pays tribute to Orange County, where Anaheim is located.
 * Ducks jerseys after 2006

The Ducks are not the first team from Southern California to win a title in the same year as a major uniform change. The Anaheim Angels won the 2002 World Series the same year that they changed to their current red-and-white uniforms.


 * 2007–08 jerseys

For the 2007–08 NHL season, the Ducks, like all NHL teams, changed over to new Rbk Edge jerseys. The new team jersey shows only minor modifications from 2006–07, including a small NHL crest just below the neck, and a smaller ducks logo on the chest. There are no third jerseys for this season.


 * Third jerseys

The third jerseys of the Mighty Ducks were created in 1995, 1997, 2003, and 2010. The 1995 jersey was jade green with eggplant and white stripes on the collar and on the end of the sleeves. The logo was of team mascot Wildwing wearing a Mighty Ducks jersey while breaking through a sheet of ice. The jersey was short-lived; as severe criticism encouraged management to retire the jersey at the end of the 1995 season.

The 1997 third jersey came with a rare fourth jersey partner. The third was a jade green-colored jersey with silver and eggplant stripes at the shoulders outlined in thin yellow, and a silver stripe at the bottom. It had the Mighty Ducks logo in the center of the chest. The fourth jersey was much like it. It was white with jade green, eggplant, and silver stripes at the shoulders of the jersey, but no bottom stripe. These jerseys saw action until the end of 1999–2000, when they stopped playing with their third jerseys, and used only the fourth. At the end of 2000–01, the fourth was also retired.

The 2003 third jersey was black with purple and gray stripes at the waist and on the sleeves. It had the alternate script logo of the present Mighty Ducks and old-style laces at the neck, as well as a shoulder patch displaying an interlocking "MD" (for "Mighty Ducks"). The popularity of this jersey amongst fans was so great it replaced the eggplant and jade jersey, serving as the home jersey for the last half of the 2005–06 season and playoffs. It was dropped following the season as the team went to a modified name, new uniforms, and color scheme; however, this popular jersey influenced the design of the new jerseys for 2006–07. It was the only time in the modern NHL days when a mainly black jersey was not worn with black pants; instead, the pants were purple.

The team has announced that designs for a new third jersey for the 2010-11 season have been completed, and was officially unveiled on November 26 against the Chicago Blackhawks, the day after Thanksgiving. The jersey features the webbed 'D' on the chest with the classic Mighty Ducks logo on each shoulder.

Mascot
The official mascot for the Anaheim Ducks is an anthropomorphized duck by the name of Wild Wing. He has been the team's mascot since its inaugural season, and his name was chosen through fan voting. He wears a Ducks jersey with the number 93 on the back, referring to the year the Ducks became an NHL team.

He regularly descends from the rafters of the arena when making his in-game entrances. In one such descent the rigging that lowered Wild Wing from the rafters malfunctioned leaving the mascot trapped fifty feet above the ice for several minutes. Another well known blunder occurred in October 1995 when Wild Wing, attempting to jump through a "wall of fire", accidentally tripped causing the mascot to land on the fire and set his costume ablaze.

His physical appearance is similar to the duck mask in the original Mighty Ducks logo. A bronze statue of Wild Wing is also located outside the team's arena (Located at the West side of the South Doors), Honda Center.

The mascot's name was also used for the leader of the Ducks, Wildwing Flashblade, in Disney's Mighty Ducks cartoon series.

During the same time in which the team announced a name change as well as change in jersey designs, there was an attempt by the team's owners to change or replace the mascot, Wild Wing, but was halted after a highly successful petition by fans.

The Mighty Ducks also used a secondary "mascot," a person (with no particular costume) called "The Iceman," during the team's first game in 1993. "The Iceman" appeared occasionally in the stands, played an electric guitar, and attempted to liven up the crowd. However, "The Iceman" was poorly received by fans and was quickly eliminated.

Season-by-season record
''This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Ducks. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Anaheim Ducks seasons.''

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

NHL awards and trophies
Stanley Cup
 * 2006–07

Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
 * 2002–03, 2006–07

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
 * Teemu Selanne: 2005–06

Conn Smythe Trophy
 * Jean-Sebastien Giguere: 2002–03
 * Scott Niedermayer: 2006–07

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
 * Paul Kariya: 1995–96, 1996–97

Rocket Richard Trophy
 * Teemu Selanne: 1998–99

Postseason All-Star Team
 * First Team
 * Teemu Selanne: 1996–97
 * Scott Niedermayer: 2005–06, 2006–07
 * Paul Kariya: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99
 * Second Team
 * Teemu Selanne: 1997–98, 1998–99
 * Paul Kariya: 1999–00, 2002–03
 * Chris Pronger: 2006–07

NHL All-Rookie Team
 * Paul Kariya: 1994–95
 * Bobby Ryan: 2008–09

Hall of Famers

 * Jari Kurri, RW, 1996–97, inducted 2001

First-round draft picks

 * 1993: Paul Kariya (4th overall)
 * 1994: Oleg Tverdovsky (2nd overall)
 * 1995: Chad Kilger (4th overall)
 * 1996: Ruslan Salei (9th overall)
 * 1997: Michael Holmqvist (18th overall)
 * 1998: Vitaly Vishnevsky (5th overall)
 * 1999: None
 * 2000: Alexei Smirnov (12th overall)
 * 2001: Stanislav Chistov (5th overall)
 * 2002: Joffrey Lupul (7th overall)
 * 2003: Ryan Getzlaf (19th overall) and Corey Perry (28th overall)
 * 2004: Ladislav Smid (9th overall)
 * 2005: Bobby Ryan (2nd overall)
 * 2006: Mark Mitera (19th overall)
 * 2007: Logan MacMillan (19th overall)
 * 2008: Jake Gardiner (17th overall)
 * 2009: Peter Holland (15th overall) and Kyle Palmieri (26th overall)
 * 2010: Cam Fowler (12th overall) and Emerson Etem (29th overall)

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; * = current Ducks player

Franchise individual records

 * Most goals in a season: Teemu Selanne, 52 (1997–98)
 * Most assists in a season: Ryan Getzlaf, 66 (2008–09)
 * Most points in a season: Teemu Selanne, 109 (1996–97)
 * Most penalty minutes in a season: Todd Ewen, 285 (1995–96)
 * Most goals in a season, defenceman: Fredrik Olausson, 16 (1998–99)
 * Most assists in a season, defenceman: Scott Niedermayer, 54 (2006–07)
 * Most points in a season, defenceman: Scott Niedermayer, 69 (2006–07)
 * Most goals in a season, rookie: Bobby Ryan, 31 (2008–09)
 * Most points in a season, rookie: Bobby Ryan, 57 (2008–09)


 * Most wins in a season: Jean-Sebastien Giguere, 36 (2006–07)
 * Most shutouts in a season: Jean-Sebastien Giguere, 8 (2002–03)

Team captains

 * Troy Loney, 1993–94
 * Randy Ladouceur, 1994–96
 * Paul Kariya, 1996–2003
 * Teemu Selanne, 1998
 * Steve Rucchin, 2003–04
 * No captain, 2004–05 ( Lockout )
 * Scott Niedermayer, 2005–07
 * Chris Pronger, 2007–08
 * Scott Niedermayer, 2008–10
 * Ryan Getzlaf, 2010–present

Coaches

 * Ron Wilson, 1993–97
 * Pierre Page, 1997–98
 * Craig Hartsburg, 1998–2000
 * Guy Charron, 2000–01
 * Bryan Murray, 2001–02
 * Mike Babcock, 2002–04
 * Randy Carlyle, 2005–present

Broadcasters

 * John Ahlers TV play-by-Play
 * Brian Hayward TV color analyst
 * Steve Carroll Radio play-by-Play
 * Dan Wood Radio color analyst