As we continue to celebrate the Anaheim Ducks 25th Anniversary season we bring our next installment. Today its the men up the middle’s turn.
The Anaheim Ducks have had franchise cornerstones, playoff heroes, and Hall of Famers in their short history. Teams need to be deep down the middle to win huge games and the Ducks have won their share of them thanks in part to the players listed below. Here are the Top 5 Centers in Ducks History.
Honorable Mention: Adam Oates and Sergei Fedorov
Adam Oates and Sergei Fedorov would both be on this list had their Ducks tenure been longer. Oates only season in SoCal was the Cinderella run of 2002-03. He provided a boost, no doubt, with 45 points in the regular season along with 13 more in the historic playoff run. However, Oates was already in his 21st NHL season when he suited up in the eggplant and jade. Too many big names centers ahead of him for this list.
Federov slots into a similar situation. Brought over from Detriot to start the 2003-04 season, Fedorov was meant to cushion the blow of losing “The Mighty Duck” Paul Kariya. Federov was a former 100 point scorer along with winning multiple Stanley Cups.
It showed the Ducks could still attract high-end talent and put fans in the seats after almost capturing the Cup the year prior. Playing only 85 total games for the Ducks Federov scored 31-35-66. His 31 goals all came in the full season he played for the Ducks as he was traded just 5 games into the following one.
Fedorov’s legacy ultimately helped the Ducks capture the Cup in 2007, though. The trade that sent him from Anaheim to Columbus brought the Ducks back defenseman Francois Beauchemin who was a pivotal player on the Cup winning team.