Anaheim Ducks Tales: The Past Reminds Us to be Thankful for the Present

When The Mighty Ducks Became Mighty

Most people who are fans of the Anaheim Ducks remember the early days of the franchise. From 1993-96  the Ducks didn’t make the playoffs. Finally, they did, beating the Phoenix Coyotes to win their first playoff series in franchise history before moving on and getting swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings. Two years late, they’d make it to the playoffs again, before Detroit swept them once more. From 2000-02 they didn’t make the playoffs, and people started to wonder if they could ever return.

Then the magical, miraculous 2003 season arrived, and that is when things started to shift. The Mighty Ducks changed things up behind the bench, hiring, who was an unproven coach at the time, Mike Babcock. The team wasn’t filled with star-studded power, except for J.S. Giguere and, of course, Captain Paul Kariya. The team started out slowly, having an 8-7-6-3 season record at the end of November.

They hovered around .500 heading into the year, and it wasn’t until a pivotal win against the Colorado Avalanche in early January that the Mighty Ducks started to pick up steam, winning seven of thirteen games in January, eight of fourteen in February, and then, ten of seventeen between March and April to finish the season strong with a record of 40-27-9-6. That gave the team 95 points, enough for seventh place in the West.

Most people remember the story of how the Mighty Ducks became Mighty. They upset the perennial Cup favorite in Detroit, they defeated the top-seed Dallas before sweeping Minnesota. They had made it to their first Stanely Cup Final. They would push the New Jersey Devils to Game 7, winning 2 overtime games (Ruslan Salei in Game 3 and Steve Thomas in Game 4) because the captain, Paul Kariya, scored the most indelible playoff goal in Anaheim Ducks history during Game 6.

What I really want to focus on is the fact that, outside of Kariya and Giguere, the Ducks didn’t have a lot of stars that year. Not a lot of players on the ’03 team wowed a lot of fans. Yes, they had the experienced Adam Oates, Petr Sykora, and a few trades in-season. However, for the most part, there wasn’t a player who was a “mega-star” that led the way. The team built on grit, hard work, and the belief that they could beat any team, any time, anywhere.

That attitude was the reason they flew all the way to Game 7 of the SCF before succumbing to New Jersey. The mixture of youth and experience, a coach willing to be a taskmaster, and an inner belief that they could win, those three aspects were the reason that team, in particular, is remembered by myself, and those who were there for the ride, as one of the most special teams in Anaheim Ducks history.

The Rise of the Dawn

The 2005-06 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were much like the ’03 team. They struggled early in the season, going 11-11-4 in the first twenty-six games of the season. A big difference though was the roster, as Randy Carlyle was the coach of the team, and Scott Niedermayer, a hallmark defenseman from New Jersey, was the new team captain. It was also the first year of former Duck, Corey Perry, as well as Ryan Getzlaf, the current team captain for the Anaheim Ducks. There were some holdovers from the ’03 team, such as Giguere, Samuel Pahlsson, and Rob Niedermayer, just to name a few.

Some notes about that team were that they were a top-notch defensive team, finishing eighth in the league in goals-against while finishing fifteenth in the league in goals scored. That year, along with the following year, were some of Randy Carlyle’s best years as the Anaheim Ducks coach, as they were even better on both sides of the ice, seventh on defense and sixth in scoring.

The leading scorer was, of course, the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne with ninety points (40g, 50a.) Right behind him was Andy McDonald with eighty-five points and Scott Niedermayer with sixty-three. Even Ryan Getzlaf (thirty-nine points), and Corey Perry (twenty-five points), finished in the top ten that year, which proved that there were a lot of contributors to their success.

While the team struggled early, just like ’03, the Ducks turned up the intensity later in the season, winning sixteen of the last twenty-five games to finish the year third in the Pacific division, and sixth in the Western conference with ninety-eight points, a slight uptick from the ninety-five points they got in ’03 when they finished second in the division and seventh in the West.

In the playoffs, they faced the Northwest division champion Calgary Flames, seeded third, and beat them in seven games. They then swept the Colorado Avalanche, a team that knocked out their old rival Dallas Stars in the first round, winning the series in five games. In that series, they shutout the Avs at home, outscoring them eight to nothing. After an overtime win in Game 3 on the road, it was a convincing road win to complete the four-game sweep, advancing them to the Western Conference Finals.

It was there that they lost to the Edmonton Oilers, the eighth seed. Edmonton had just knocked out the top seed President’s Trophy winners, the Detroit Red Wings, and the San Jose Sharks. This earned them a one-way ticket to the Conference Finals. The Oilers finally ended the Ducks’ run in five games.

Despite falling short, the fact that they rallied after a hard start and even made the playoffs was a story to remember. The next year, the Ducks would move all the way to first place in the Pacific Division and second in the Conference. They’d pave a path to the SCF through Minnesota, Vancouver, and their old rivals, the Detroit Red Wings. The Ottawa Senators waited for them in the Stanely Cup Finals, and the Ducks would win the Cup. However, it was the ’06 team laid all the groundwork for such an incredible run.

The Cardiac Quack Attack Strikes Back

Two years after the Anaheim Ducks won their lone Stanley Cup, they ran into a new problem: early success and struggling late to make the playoffs. Early in the season, the Ducks went 19-15-4 heading into January. The roster had some new wrinkles: Ryan Getzlaf and Chris Pronger were now the alternate captains, and some of the guys from the Cup teams were getting older.

Getzlaf and Corey Perry, the dynamic duo, combined for 163 points together, finishing one-two on the team. Bobby Ryan, a former Duck, finished fifth on the team with points. Meanwhile, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne rounded out the top 5 in the points category, showing that their experience was not making them obsolete.

Despite winning only twelve of twenty-five games in January and February, the Ducks came back strong in March and April, winning eleven of sixteen games to make the playoffs, finishing with 91 points, second in the Pacific Division and eighth in the Conference, just making the playoffs. The most memorable part of that season was their playoff shocker against the San Jose Sharks, who were the President’s Cup Trophy winners, and their divisional rival. Though seeded eighth, that didn’t deter the Ducks from pulling off another playoff upset, knocking out the Sharks in six games, winning convincingly in the close-out game.

Again, the Detroit Red Wings proved to be a thorn in Anaheim’s side, as they knocked out the Ducks in a grueling seven-game series, the back-breaker was game 7 when Jonas Hiller lost sight of the puck, giving up the game-winning goal in the latter minutes of the deciding game.

Bent but Not Broken

While the previous examples of how resilient the Anaheim Ducks have been are remarkable, the most recent example of their resiliency is by far the most remarkable and most daunting. For starters, Patrick Eaves, who came over via a trade with the Dallas Stars, would play only 2 games the following season before he was sidelined with Guillan Barre Syndrome. Ryan Kesler, a mainstay in the lineup after being acquired from the Vancouver Cancusk, only played 44 games before he was done for the season.

Those two guys were key in the previous years’ success, as they went all the way to the Conference Finals against the Nashville Predators. Losing two key players was a big hit to the roster, and it showed, as the Anaheim Ducks went 11-10-4 in the first two months. Some people thought that the Ducks were done and that they should hit the showers early, not wanting the team to keep going on.

Despite the early season struggles and injuries, the Ducks surprisingly won fourteen of the next twenty-six games, finishing seventh by the all-star break. That was huge considering where they started, and they continued that momentum in the second half of the season, winning nineteen of the last thirty-one games to finish second in the division and fifth in the conference. Leading the way in goals and points was Rickard Rakell, while Ryan Getzlaf led in assists with fifty. John Gibson led the team with thirty-one wins, and those three became the main forces behind the second-half push to the playoffs.

The season ended shortly after, losing in a four-game sweep to their divisional rivals from San Jose. The Ducks were gassed from having to climb out of the gutter to finish second, and not having much to play with. However, the Ducks, once again, refused to wave the white flag and surrender the remainder of the season, but instead, fight until the end.

So, What Now?

So, you guys must be wondering why I am revisiting the past to talk about the present. Well, here we go: yes, so far, this season hasn’t gone according to plan. We’re not firing at all cylinders and we’re not in the top half of the division.

More from History

• Anaheim Ducks Tales: When Paul Kariya Almost Came Back
• Anaheim Ducks: The Franchise All-Time Bracket Matchup
• Anaheim Ducks: Top 5 Goals in the Stanley Cup Finals
• Anaheim Ducks: The Series that Defined the Decade
• Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf’s Best Moments in Honor of Game 1,000

Nevertheless, history has shown that early-season struggles don’t mean that the season is lost, rather, they finish strong. Even last year, when they didn’t make the playoffs, they didn’t finish dead last in the division, and that season was ravaged with injuries.

This team is young, so mistakes are bound to happen. Even the veterans are learning how to work alongside them, so it’s going to take a while. However, barring anything crazy like a slew of injuries, I think this team will turn the corner and make some noise heading into the all-star break.

Whether it will be enough to make a second-half push, time will tell. Even still, despite the struggles that this team is going through, we fans should be thankful that this franchise has been through the fire and have learned from past experiences to come out on the other side.

I won’t go out on a limb and say we’ll win the Stanley Cup. That moment is likely far into the future. But, what can I say? I believe in this team, in the captain, and the leaders that will help navigate the team through the season’s ups and downs. It’s up to us fan to stay the course and be thankful that we’re not the NHL’s version of the Cincinnati Bengals, winless so far.

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