With their first-ever draft pick, the Mighty Ducks selected Paul Kariya fourth overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Kariya quickly become a fan favorite and the cornerstone of the young Mighty Ducks franchise. As team captain, he brought them the glory of Stanley Cup in 2003.
On February 7, 1996, the Mighty Ducks made a blockbuster deal with the Winnipeg Jets. The Ducks sent Chad Kilger, Tverdovsky, and a third-round pick to the Jets in return for Marc Chouinard, a fourth-round draft pick, and, most notably, star right winger Teemu Selanne. On a line with Steve Rucchin and Kariya, Selanne's chemistry with the latter made them one of the highest-scoring tandems in the league.
After missing the playoffs in their first three seasons, the Mighty Ducks finished 1996–97 fourth in the Western Conference, earning home-ice advantage with the Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes initially took a lead, but the Ducks won their inaugural playoff series. The Ducks lost in four to the Red Wings in a more convincing manner than in 1997 ending with a 3–0 loss on home ice, this time in the Western Quarterfinals.
After a three-year playoff hiatus, Anaheim qualified for the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the third straight post-season in which they participated, the Mighty Ducks met the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings. This time, however, Anaheim shocked the hockey world. The Ducks then defeated the #1-seeded Dallas Stars in the Conference Semifinals, which was noted for Game 1 being the fourth longest game in NHL history, with the Ducks winning in the fifth overtime period. In the Conference Finals, the Ducks made a quick work of the upstart Minnesota Wild to earn their first-ever Western Conference championship and berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The 2003 Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils was a battle between two elite goaltenders, Martin Brodeur for New Jersey and Jean-Sebastien Giguere for Anaheim. Anaheim could not complete their Cinderella run, though, as they lost a hard-fought Stanley Cup Final in seven games to the Devils. Ducks goaltender Jean Sebastien Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. He became only the fifth player, and fourth goaltender, in NHL history to have won the trophy as a member of the losing team.
After losing Paul Kariya to the Colorado Avalanche, the Ducks signed star Sergei Fedorov from Detroit and Vaclav Prospal from Tampa Bay. Still, 2004 was a major disappointment for the Ducks as they missed the playoffs completely, and suffered low attendance figures despite their magical playoff run of the previous year.
Yet the team went through a series of turmoil and successes thus winning the titles and making notable players worthy of respect and honor in the eyes of sports lovers.
During the 15 years of sports history of the club, it has made six playoffs and has won the Stanley Cup for one time, while having Western Conference Championship trophy for two times. As its original name was Mighty Ducks, and there was an animated series made by the Disney productions, carrying the characters from the team. The team used to play at the Arrowhead Pond, which has a present name of Honda Centre. It is a state of the art stadium, built to catch all the respective situation of a good arena. It is interesting to know that the stadium was finished in the same year of the inception of the team.
The team had entered into the world of sports with a great player named Paul Kariya. His performance had immediately won him the praise and fan following. He had been the captain of the team, to win Stanley Cup in the year of 2003. The next year, in 2004, they had been at the fourth position for the same cup. They have set a record, to be one of the team, which had seen a great success, even in the very first year of the formation. The Ducks had made a great deal with the Winnipeg Jets, in the start of the year of 1996, as they sent Chad Kilger, Tverdovsky, and a third-round pick to the Jets in return for a great player named Marc Chouinard and Teemu Selanne. Seleanne proved to of great worth having a grerat on the ground chemistry with with Steve Rucchin and Kariya, which had caused a highest level of score for the league.
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