After 26 years of ups and downs, we look at the top teams in Anaheim Ducks’ franchise history and how they compare to one another.
At this point, if you’re an Anaheim Ducks fan, you know there isn’t much for us to be excited about. As teams are now preparing to get back to the ice and practice for the 24-team qualifying playoff series, the Ducks are one of seven teams who will be watching from home. In that case, fans don’t have a lot to look forward to, aside from maybe predicting who the team will get to pick with their 6th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
So, what do us Anaheim Ducks fans do in the meantime? One of the best parts about cheering for any team is that you can always look back and remember the good times. Whether it was a championship game or a great player, fans will always have those moments to hold onto during the down times. It’s not hard for most Ducks fans to remember how the team won 5 straight Division Championships between 2013-2017.
Before we get into the meat of this article, we must give credit where credit is due. We would like to thank our friends from Call to the Pen, who came up with this great idea and applied it to each MBL team (including our neighbors, the Los Angeles Angels.) Their articles turned out so well, that it got the team at Pucks of a Feather thinking about how it would look for the Anaheim Ducks. In their 26-year history, which team is the best of the best?
To answer this question, the bracket will work as such:
- 8 teams will be seeded based on their finish in the playoffs
- 7 games, each game being represented by a stat
- Teams are reseeded after each round
Throughout their history, the Anaheim Ducks franchise has seen many highs and many lows. Some teams were obvious to have in the bracket, including the two finalists, the 2003 and 2007 teams. Ironically enough, the team had only made it past the first round 8 times in their history, giving us a comfortable idea of who each qualifier would be. The decision to seed the teams was based on how far the team made it in the playoffs, as success in the season rarely determined how well the team did in the postseason.
The teams and their seedings are as follows:
- 2006-07 (Won the Stanley Cup 4-1)
- 2002-03 (Lost in the Stanley Cup Finals 4-3)
- 2014-15 (Lost in the Conference Finals 4-3)
- 2016-17 (Lost in the Conference Finals 4-2)
- 2005-06 (Lost in the Conference Finals 4-1)
- 2013-14 (Lost in the Second Round 4-3)*
- 2008-09 (Lost in the Second Round 4-3)
- 1996-97 (Lost in the Second Round 4-0)
*Tiebreaker went to 2013-14 116 points vs 2008-09 91 points in the regular season.
Finally, the series structures are based on major stats of the season. With the difference of eras and gameplay, the statistics varied from team to team and were not as well indicative of how the team performed:
Game 1: Regular Season Winning % (strictly wins, ties or OT losses are excluded)
Game 2: Playoff Winning %
Game 3: Goals For per Game
Game 4: Goals Against per Game
Game 5: Team Point Leader
Game 6: Hall of Famers (Only current as of 2020)
Game 7: Best Moment of the season (a subjective list compiled by the writers at Pucks of a Feather)
With the criteria of each game decided, let’s get to the first matchup!