Jean-Sébastien Giguère – The Highs and Lows
By Eddy Jones
With Jean-Sébastien Giguère set to retire in the coming weeks, we take a look back at the high and lows of Giggy’s career.
Hartford Whalers
Jean-Sébastien Giguère was drafted 13th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry by the Hartford Whalers. He would go on to only play 8 games for Hartford before being traded to the Calgary Flames in 1997.
Calgary Flames
Jean-Sébastien Giguère’s move to Calgary would prove to be a significant low in his NHL career. Giguère would spend four seasons with the Calgary Flames, spending most of the time in the AHL with the Saint John Flames. He would only manage two short stints in the NHL with Calgary, making brief 15 game and 7 game appearances.
Anaheim Ducks
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Jean-Sébastien Giguère was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2000 for a second round pick. Giguère’s career started to pick up after joining the Ducks. He would start the season in the AHL with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and eventually would be called up from the AHL. He would take over the Ducks backup position behind Guy Hebert.
Jean-Sébastien Giguère would be re-signed in the offseason and would take over the starting job from the recently waived Guy Hebert. He would take full advantage of the opportunity and post two solid back-to-back seasons. The 2002-2003 season would be his first winning season and he would lead the Ducks into the playoffs.
Giguère would continue his improvement into the first round against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. In his playoff debut he would stop 63 shots leading Anaheim to a 2-1 win in triple overtime. The Ducks would end up sweeping the Red Wings in the first round.
They would continue their run to the Stanley Cup Finals by defeating the Dallas Stars in six games and sweeping the Minnesota Wild in the Conference Finals. We all know the story and the Mighty Ducks would end up losing in Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils. However, Giguère would win the Conn Smythe Trophy, only the 5th player to receive the trophy as part of the losing team.
Fast forward to the 2006-2007 season where Jean-Sébastien Giguère would once again find himself leading an Anaheim Ducks team to the playoffs. Coming off a career high 36 win season he would lead the Ducks past the Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and eventually the Ottawa Senators to earn Anaheim their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
From there on Giguère would slowly start to lose his starting job to upcoming goaltender Jonas Hiller. He would eventually be traded to Toronto in 2010.
Jean-Sébastien Giguère would make his final NHL start against the Anaheim Ducks, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche, where he would take a memorable victory lap around the ice with Teemu Selanne.
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