Stanley Cup Champion Ducks

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 7, 2007

Stanley Cup Champion Ducks

Brian Burke, general manager

Imported from the Vancouver Canucks' organization before the 2005-06 season, Burke and Carlyle put the finishing touches on a formidable, physical squad that fell in last season's Western Conference Finals before battling their way to the top of the NHL mountain.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Acquired from Calgary for a second-round draft pick in 2000, the 2003 Conn Smythe-winner had another stellar season (36-10-8, 2.26 GAA, .918) and nearly duplicated his award-winning effort by going 13-4, 1.97 in the playoffs.

Ilya Bryzgalov

A second-round pick in 2000, Giguere's capable back-up saw only five games worth of postseason action in the postseason, but was solid insurance (3-1, 2.25 GAA).

Scott Niedermayer

A key free-agent signing in August 2005, the fleet captain had a Norris-worthy 2006-07 season, leading all defenseman in scoring (69 points) and capturing the fourth Stanley Cup of his illustrious 14-year career while winning the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in the process.

Chris Pronger, defenseman

Niedermayer's towering backline partner was the major offseason acquisition, coming from Edmonton in a trade, The 6-6 Pronger was often center of firestorms for his skull-rattling hits (he was suspended twice during the playoffs), but his second successive trip to the Stanley Cup Final ended with his name on the chalice.

Teemu Selanne

A sentimental favorite, the Finnish Flash continued his resurgence with yet another superb season (48 goals, 04 points) at age 36 and finally lifted the Cup for the first time in his 14-season career. The big question now: will he skate off into retirement?

Andy McDonald

An undrafted free agent out of Colgate in 2000, the diminutive McDonald (5-11, 185) centered for Teemu Selanne and Chris Kunitz on the Ducks' top line, scoring 27 goals and 78 points during the regular season. He was particularly hot late in the Cup Final, with 6 points in the last three games.

Chris Kunitz

An undrafted gem signed as a free agent in 2005, the feisty playmaker was a 25-goal scorer during the regular season before being slowed by a broken hand and abdominal injury in playoffs, where he missed eight games.

Ryan Getzlaf

Anaheim's first-round pick (19th overall) in 2003, the sizeable (6-3, 213) 22-year old emerged as one of the NHL's top young players by scoring 25 goals during the 2006-07 regular season and leading the Ducks in scoring (7 goals, 17 points in 21 games) during the playoffs.

Samuel Pahlsson

Acquired from Boston in a 2000 trade, the hard-checking Pahlsson's shutdown game made him a bona fide Conn Smythe candidate. He scored only three goals in the playoffs, but one of them won Game 2 of the Cup final.

Travis Moen

An assuming farm boy from Stewart Valley, Saskatchewan, Moen, age 25, was acquired from Chicago in July 2005. He blossomed in the playoffs, scoring 12 points, including two goals in Anaheim's Cup-clinching Game 5 win, while playing on the Ducks' smothering checking line with Samuel Pahlsson and Rob Niedermayer.

Rob Niedermayer

Captain Scott's younger brother was acquired from Calgary in 2003. He finally hoisted the Cup for the first time in his 12-year career, making the Niedermayers the first siblings to win the Cup since Brent and Duane Sutter of the 1983 New York Islanders.

Corey Perry

A first-round pick in 2003, the 22-year old winger is another member of the Ducks' Kiddie Korps that should ensure the team's contention for years to come. Perry scored 44 points during the regular season and added 15 more in 21 playoff games.

Dustin Penner

Yet another undrafted gem who signed on as a free agent in 2004, the hulking (6' 4", 245) 24-year old scored was a 29-goal-scorer during the regular season. Relatively quiet in the playoffs (8 points), two of his three goals were game-winners, including his tally off a pretty feed from Teemu Selanne in Game 4 of the Cup final.

Francois Beauchemin

Acquired from Minnesota in a trade for Sergei Fedorov in November 2005, the 27-year old with the booming slapper gave the Ducks a third excellent defenseman.

Todd Marchant

The 12-year veteran was an inspirational figure, supplying his teammates with postseason t-shirts that bore the message: Destiny is heart, sacrifice and passion.

Sean O'Donnell

Another 12-year veteran, O'Donnell was acquired from Phoenix in March 2005 and provided a reliable 20 minutes per game stay-at-home presence on the backline.

George Parros

The Ducks' erstwhile enforcer saw only 34 regular-season and five postseason games worth of action and scored a grand total of one point, but still became a fan favorite for his stylish moustache, replicas of which are available at Honda Center concession stands.

Joe DiPenta, D | Kent Huskins, D | Ric Jackman, D | Brad May, LW

Huskins (40) and DiPenta (33), 28, were unsung contributors to a rock-ribbed defense. Jackman (5) was an unlikely hero of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals when he scored the first goal of his seven-year career to help the Ducks beat the Red Wings without the suspended Chris Pronger. May (24), a 15-year veteran acquired from Colorado during the season, supplied added muscle on a team that racked up a league-leading 71 fighting majors.

Ryan Shannon, RW| Ryan Carter, C| Drew Miller, LW| Shawn Thornton, LW

Thornton (45), a July 2006 free-agent signing, appeared in 14 playoff games and Shannon (38) (an undrafted 2005 free agent) appeared in 11, but if you blinked, you missed new kids Miller (58) and Carter (52), who logged less than five games of regular- and postseason ice time, but nevertheless qualified to get their names engraved on Lord Stanley's mug.