Sunday Editorial: Anaheim Ducks should retire Giguere’s #35 Jersey

Does J. S. Giguere deserve to have his Anaheim Ducks #35 jersey placed in the rafters beside Teemu Selanne’s lonely #8? Let’s take a look back at what Jiggy meant to the Ducks.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere is a hero to Anaheim Ducks fans. He was the standout goalie of the team’s 2007 Stanley Cup Championship. Does “Jiggy” deserve to have his number retired by the Ducks?

The Beginning

J.S. Giguere was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 2000 off-season for a second-round pick. That was a steal of a deal for Anaheim. The pick became Matt Pettinger. If you know him without looking, you’re a pretty big hockey fan.

Jiggy spent the beginning of the following season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL. He was called up to Anaheim later in the season. By the end of the season, Anaheim had waived the only real goalie they’d ever had, Guy Hebert. Giguere had earned his spot quickly.

A Star Is Born

After an average season in 2001-02, Giguere burst into stardom during the 2002-03 season. He went 34-22-6 in 65 games that season, leading Anaheim into the playoffs for only the third time, and the first time without legendary star Teemu Selanne.

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That team wasn’t filled with top-notch NHL talent like the 2006-07 team was. After captain Paul Kariya, the team’s next three top scorers were Petr Sykora, Steve Rucchin, and 40-year-old Adam Oates. Granted, Mike Babcock was behind the bench, but that team had no business sniffing the playoffs. What happened next is what etched J.S. Giguere into the pantheon of Anaheim athletes forever.

Vanquishing Duck Demons

Anaheim began the 2003 playoffs against the team that had ended their only two playoff appearances, the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit featured a star-studded lineup. Hall of fame inductee Steve Yzerman was the captain. Other forwards that now occupy the Hockey Hall of Fame included Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, Igor Larionov, and Luc Robitaille.  They even had Niclas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios on the blue line. Those two are in the Hall of Fame now as well.

The Mighty Ducks were the seventh seed in the Western Conference, Detroit was second-seeded. All Giguere did in game one was set a record for most saves in a playoff debut with 63 in a 2-1 triple overtime thriller. Giguere and the Mighty Ducks swept the vaunted Red Wings in four games. Jiggy gave up only six goals in the series, winning each of the games by a single goal.

What a Run!

Giguere wasn’t done with the magic that postseason. In Game 1 of the second round against the Dallas Stars, he won the longest game in Anaheim history, a five-overtime exhausting thriller 4-3. The Mighty Ducks won that series in six games, with Giguere posting two overtime wins and a shutout for style points.

Speaking of style points, Giguere is your man. Maybe you remember his miraculous save in the Western Conference Final. The save was more miraculous because he was so out of position on that play. In the Conference Final against the Minnesota Wild, Giguere set the NHL record for the longest playoff shutout streak at 217 minutes 54 seconds. He allowed a single goal in the series, an early power play goal in game four. That was a record for a best-of-seven series as well.

Giguere almost made that Cinderella team one for the ages. He and the Mighty Ducks battled the eventual champion New Jersey Devils for seven games in the Stanley Cup Final. Giguere posted two more overtime wins and finished the postseason undefeated in seven overtime games. He set the record for the longest playoff overtime shutout streak. For his efforts, he was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP even though Anaheim lost in the finals. He was only the fifth player to do that. It was a testament to how special he was that postseason.

Unfinished Business

Giguere deserved a Stanley Cup in 2003. But that didn’t happen. He stayed with Anaheim and had another great playoff run in 2007. After posting a 36-10-8 regular season record, Giguere was again spectacular in the playoffs. He ended up with a 1.97 goals against average and .922 save percentage.

That Anaheim Ducks team was admittedly stacked with talent and won the Cup in only 21 games. Giguere played in only 18 of those games because his son was born with persistent fetal vasculature syndrome, a deformity of his eye. Thank goodness Ilya Bryzgalov could hold down the fort until Giguere could return to the ice. Even with all the distractions, Giguere won 13 of 17 decisions that postseason to deliver Anaheim their only Stanley Cup.

Giguere played two-and-a-half more seasons in Anaheim before being traded to Toronto in January 2010. He was never as good as he had been with the Ducks, and he retired with Colorado in 2014. Fittingly he took a final lap with Teemu Selanne as they bid the Anaheim crowd farewell. His legend was solidified during a magical period over a decade ago in Anaheim.

The Answer

So we return to the original question: Does J.S. Giguere deserve to have his #35 jersey retired in Anaheim? The answer has to be yes.

Giguere did not start his NHL career with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, but he backstopped them to their best seasons. He didn’t finish his career with the Anaheim Ducks either., but he dominated his position when it mattered most.

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No one has worn #35 for the Anaheim Ducks since J.S. Giguere retired. No one ever will. His number will soon hang from the rafters so we can all remember his greatness.