History of the Anaheim Ducks

The history of the Anaheim Ducks begins when the team joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1993 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Founded as an expansion team in 1993 along with the Florida Panthers, the Ducks were originally owned by The Walt Disney Company, which named the franchise after its film The Mighty Ducks. Since their inception, the team has played at the Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond), located in Anaheim, California, close to both Disneyland and Angel Stadium.

After initially struggling in their first two seasons, the Mighty Ducks improved under the leadership of center Paul Kariya, who led the team to their first two Stanley Cup playoffs appearances in 1997 and 1999 while forming a potent line with Teemu Selanne, and later rode the strong goaltending of Jean-Sebastien Giguere to a Cinderella run to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2003, losing to the New Jersey Devils in seven games. Once Disney sold the franchise in 2005 to Henry and Susan Samueli, the team's name was changed to the Anaheim Ducks before the 2006–07 season, where the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in five games over the Ottawa Senators.