Established
1993
City
Anaheim
League History
1993 – Present / National Hockey League
Team History
2006 – Present / Anaheim Ducks
1993 – 2005 / Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Nickname
Ducks – If you’re a fan of the Anaheim Ducks, then you know that they are named after Disney's 1993 animated movie "The Mighty Ducks." But did you ever wonder how this nickname came to be?
In 1993, The Walt Disney Company purchased the NHL franchise in Anaheim and wanted to create a unique name for their team. They decided on “Mighty Ducks” as it was based on their popular movie from that same year. It was also chosen because ducks symbolize courage and strength—two qualities associated with hockey players.
At first, many people thought the name would not last due to its association with children's entertainment. Still, it soon became an iconic part of sports culture in Southern California and beyond! The logo features an angry-looking duck wearing a hockey helmet, reinforcing that these athletes are brutal competitors who will not back down from any challenge.
In 2006, when Honda Center (formerly known as Arrowhead Pond) took over ownership rights for the team, they changed its official name from “Mighty Ducks” to simply “Ducks” while keeping all other elements such as colors and logos intact, thus completing one more step towards establishing this beloved franchise into professional sports history books!
As we can see today—the legacy of Mighty Duck lives on through every game played by our beloved Anaheim Duck teams, both at home or away games across North America!
Championship
Stanley Cup 1
2007
Arena
2007 – Present / Honda Center
1993 – 2006 / Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
1993 / Pond of Anaheim
1990 – 1993 / Anaheim Arena
Owner
2005 – Present / Henry and Susan Samueli
1993 – 2005 / The Walt Disney Company
- 2005
- 2006
- 2007
-
New Owner Samueli
In June 2005, Henry Samueli and his wife Susan bought the NHL’s Mighty Ducks of Anaheim from the Walt Disney Company for $75 million. The deal also included Anaheim Arena Management, the company that operates the city-owned Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, the home of the Ducks. -
New Name “Anaheim Ducks”
On January 27, 2006, Samueli announced that the team would be renamed as simply the “Anaheim Ducks” as of the following season. The change became official on June 22. The Ducks were reportedly worth $188 million in 2011. -
Stanley Cup Winner 2007
The 2007 Stanley Cup Final was the best-of-seven championship series of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs contested between the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks and the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators. It was the second appearance in the Final for Anaheim since 2003 (then known as the Mighty Ducks) when they lost to the New Jersey Devils. It was the ...
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
History of the Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional NHL hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The team was founded in 1993 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and was part of the expansion teams that entered the league that year. They won their first Stanley Cup championship in 2007, becoming only the second California-based franchise to do so after their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Kings.
The early years for Mighty Ducks were marked by success on and off the ice; they made it to playoffs three times during their first four seasons and became one of the most popular franchises among fans due to its unique name (inspired by Disney’s 1992 movie “Mighty Duck”) and a logo featuring an anthropomorphic duck wearing a hockey helmet with crossed sticks behind him. In the 2006–07 season, they went all way through Western Conference Finals before finally winning Stanley Cup against Ottawa Senators 4-1 series victory; this win also marked the end long drought without any significant sports title being won city since the Angels baseball team had last done it 2002 American League Championship Series Game 7 victory over New York Yankees.
In recent years, despite not having much playoff success since then (they have yet another trip back to finals in 2013), the Ducks remain a competitive force NHL thanks primarily to core group players like Ryan Getzlaf, who has been around almost the entire tenure franchise including both runs cup final appearances – something which speaks volumes about loyalty organization has shown towards its star players even when results haven't always matched expectations set forth them pre-season training camp each year!
Sports Fan Products
Retired Number
8 / Teemu Selänne
9 / Paul Kariya
27 / Scott Niedermayer
99 / Wayne Gretzky
*Blue is this team’s history