A Look at the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks

I can't believe it. This upcoming season will mark the 30th anniversary of the debut of the then-named Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. I was eight years old when the team debuted, I was barely getting into hockey as a whole, but I definitely remember the buzz over the Mighty Ducks. A year prior, Disney's Mighty Ducks film hit theaters, and it was due to the big box office numbers that the team came to fruition. I've lived in Southern California since I was three years old; at the time, I was attending elementary school in Anaheim, and I fondly remember the Mighty Ducks' NHL debut being a huge moment for the city--a key part of the league's expansion wave in the 1990s.

It only took four seasons for the Mighty Ducks to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, and they won a series, defeating the Phoenix Coyotes (in their first season in Phoenix after playing 24 seasons--seven in the WHA and 17 in the NHL--as the original Winnipeg Jets) in a seven game Western Conference Quarterfinal series before being swept by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Detroit Red Wings. The team was swept out of the opening round by the Red Wings in 1999, but then came their memorable 2003 run, which saw them reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history (in only their 10th year). They fell one win short of the Stanley Cup, but despite this, their goaltender, Jean-Sebastien Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy, as his performance was just too great.

Speaking of great, we have to mention Teemu Selanne. Though the 2006-07 season saw the word "Mighty" removed from the team name, but Selanne remained mighty himself. The "Finnish Flash" led the team that year with 48 goals and 94 points, one of many great seasons for the legendary player. Andy McDonald was second in points with 78 (27 G/51 A), while veteran blue-liner Scott Niedermayer had 69 points (15 G/54 A). The aforementioned Jean-Sebastien Giguere went 36-10-8 in net for the Ducks, and racked up a .918 SV%, a 2.28 GAA, and four shutouts. The Ducks went 48-20-14 during the 2006-07 season, totalling 110 points. They finished second in the Western Conference, three points behind the Detroit Red Wings and the Presidents' Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres.

The Anaheim Ducks breezed through the first two rounds of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, beginning with ousting the Minnesota Wild in five games. This was a rematch of the famous 2003 Western Conference Final, which not only saw the Ducks sweep the Wild, it saw Giguere give up only one goal total. The first four games were started by backup goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who won the first three before dropping Game Four, though Giguere took the net for Game Five and clinched the series. The Ducks would only need five games in the Western Conference Semifinals as well, this time defeating the Vancouver Canucks, and winning the final two games past regulation. The Ducks reached the Western Conference Final for the second straight year, this time facing the Red Wings. They fell behind two games to one, but they would take the next three over the top-seeded Wings, clinching their second appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Ducks faced off against the Ottawa Senators, who were in their first-ever Stanley Cup Final, while 2007 marked the third straight year that a Canadian team reached the Cup Final. In addition, this was the first Cup Final since 1999 to feature two teams looking to win their first Stanley Cup, and (as of 2022) the only one to feature two teams who debuted in the 1990s or later (the Senators joined the NHL one year before the Ducks did). Entering that year, the previous three Cup Finals (including the Ducks' appearance in 2003) went the full seven games. This one, however, wouldn't. The Ducks had no problem with the Senators, only needing five games, with Game Five being a blowout win--6-2--to bring the Stanley Cup to Southern California.

Ryan Getzlaf led the team with 17 points (7 G/10 A) in 21 playoff games, while Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry, and Chris Pronger each had 15 points. However, the main story of the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup championship: the brothers Niedermayer--Scott and Rob. Older brother Scott spent most of his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, winning all three of the team's Stanley Cups--including defeating younger brother Rob's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. Scott ended up joining the Ducks in the 2005-06 season, putting the brothers on the same team. Their Stanley Cup win came during their second year together with Anaheim, and regarding Scott, he had 11 points (3 G/8 A), and won the Conn Smythe Trophy. As for Rob, he had 10 points (5 G/5 A). This was Scott's fourth Cup, while Rob enjoyed his only one of his career. Scott retired in 2010 and was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013. Rob played two more seasons in Anaheim before heading to his brother's former team, the Devils, in 2009-10. He played his final NHL season (2010-11) with the Buffalo Sabres, and was part of the team's last playoff appearance to date.

I remember how shocked I was when Game Five ended and the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup. This was five years after the then-named Anaheim Angels won the World Series, so it was another big sports celebration in Orange County, California's largest city. The Ducks came along way from that team who struggled through their first few years as a franchise, and in only 14 years, they achieved greatness and captured the NHL's holy grail. Despite a few close calls, the Ducks have yet to get back to the Cup Final, and they have since seen SoCal's elder statesmen hoist the Cup twice, but that 2007 Cup run was definitely one for the books. The Ducks went 16-5, never lost back-to-back games, and never needed a Game Seven. This was one of the best Cup runs from any team in the last 20 years, and it's one that's definitely deserving of a lot of pomp and circumstance.