ANA Ducks

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company. The franchise was awarded by the NHL in December 1992, alongside the rights to a Miami team founded by Wayne Huizenga that would become the Florida Panthers. An entrance fee of $50 million was required, half of which Disney would pay directly to the Los Angeles Kings in order to "share" the Los Angeles media market. On March 1, 1993, at the brand-new Anaheim Arena, the team's name was announced. The name was inspired by The Mighty Ducks, a 1992 Disney film about a struggling youth hockey team that, with the help of their new coach, become champions. Philadelphia-arena management specialist Tony Tavares was chosen to be team president, and Jack Ferreira, who previously helped create the San Jose Sharks, became the Ducks' general manager. The Ducks selected Ron Wilson to be the first head coach in team history. The Ducks and Florida Panthers filled out their rosters in the 1993 NHL expansion draft and the 1993 NHL entry draft. In the former, a focus on defense led to goaltenders Guy Hebert and Glenn Healy being the first picks, followed by Alexei Kasatonov and Steven King. In the latter, the Ducks selected Paul Kariya with the fourth overall pick, who began playing in 1994 and would turn out to be the face of the franchise for many years. The resulting roster had the lowest payroll of the NHL at only $7.9 million.

Led by captain Troy Loney, the Ducks finished the 1993–94 season 33–46–5, a record-breaking number of wins for an expansion team, which the Florida Panthers also achieved. The Ducks sold out 27 of 41 home games, including the last 25, and filled the Arrowhead Pond to 98.9% of its season capacity. The Ducks licensed merchandise shot to number one in sales among NHL clubs, helped by their presence from Disney's theme parks and Disney Stores.

The lockout-shortened 1994–95 season saw the debut of Kariya, who would play 47 games that year, scoring 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points. For his efforts, he was named a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy for the top rookie of the year. The Ducks went 16–27–5, missing the playoffs.

During the 1995–96 season, Kariya was chosen to play for the Western Conference in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game as the lone Ducks representative, playing in place of Pavel Bure, who was out with a knee injury. Following the All-Star Game, the Mighty Ducks completed a mid-season blockbuster deal with the Winnipeg Jets. The Ducks sent Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky, and a third-round pick to the Jets in return for forward Marc Chouinard, a fourth-round draft pick, and right winger Teemu Selanne. Following the trade, Ducks center Steve Rucchin commented, "Paul [Kariya] had a lot of pressure on him... He single-handedly won some games for us this year... Now that we have Teemu, there's no way everybody can just key on Paul." These three players formed one of the most potent lines of their time. However, the Mighty Ducks lost the eighth spot in the Western Conference to the Winnipeg Jets based on the number of wins.

During the 1996–97 season, Kariya became team captain following Randy Ladouceur's retirement in the off-season. The Ducks qualified for the postseason after recording the franchise's first winning record of 36–33–13, good enough for home ice in the first round as the fourth seed against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Ducks trailed 3–2 in the series going into Phoenix for game six. Kariya scored in overtime to force the franchise's first game seven, which they won. However, in the second round, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings, in a four-game sweep. After the season, Ron Wilson was fired for philosophical differences. Pierre Page succeeded him. The Ducks started out slowly in 1997–98, in part because Kariya missed the first 32 games of the season in a contract dispute. He came back in December, but on February 1, he suffered a season-ending concussion when Gary Suter of the Chicago Blackhawks cross-checked him in the face. With Kariya playing only a total of 22 games that season, the Ducks missed the playoffs and fired Page. The Ducks followed that season up by finishing sixth in the Western Conference in 1998–99 with new head coach Craig Hartsburg. However, they were swept by Detroit again, this time in the first round.

At training camp prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Ducks made a motto, "Take the next step," going into the season. However, due to a much more competitive Western Conference, they missed the playoffs by four points behind rival San Jose Sharks. In the following season, 2000–01, the Ducks ended up performing worse, as Kariya and Selanne's point production significantly declined from the previous season – Kariya went from 86 points to 67 points and Selanne went from 85 points to 57 points. Selanne was subsequently dealt to San Jose at the trade deadline for Jeff Friesen, Steve Shields and a second-round draft pick, while head coach Craig Hartsburg was fired during the season. The team ended up with a losing record and last place in the Western Conference that season. Without Selanne, Kariya's numbers continued to drop in the 2001–02 season with new coach Bryan Murray. The Mighty Ducks finished in 13th place in the Western Conference.

Prior to the 2002–03 season, Bryan Murray was promoted to general manager. He hired Mike Babcock to be the head coach. The Mighty Ducks made the postseason as the seventh seed with a 40–27–9–6 record, good enough for 95 points. In the first round, the Ducks were once again matched up with the Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup champions. They swept the Red Wings in four games. Steve Rucchin scored the series-winning goal in overtime in game four. In the second round, the Ducks faced the Dallas Stars. Game one turned out to be the one of the longest games in NHL history, with Petr Sykora scoring in the fifth overtime to give the Mighty Ducks the series lead. The Ducks would finish off the Stars in game six at home. In the team's first trip to the Western Conference finals, they were matched up against the sixth-seeded, three-year-old Minnesota Wild. Jean-Sebastien Giguere strung together three consecutive shutouts and allowed only one total goal in the series in an eventual sweep.

The 2003 Stanley Cup Final was played against the New Jersey Devils. The series began with the home team winning the first five games. In game six at home, Kariya was knocked unconscious from a hit by Devils captain Scott Stevens. However, Kariya would return in the second period and score the fourth goal of the game. The Mighty Ducks defeated the Devils 5–2 to send the series back to New Jersey for game seven. Anaheim was unable to win on the road in New Jersey, as they lost game seven to the Devils 3–0. For his play during the postseason, Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player (MVP) of the playoffs. He became only the fifth player in NHL history to win the trophy as a member of the losing team.

After the 2002–03 season, Kariya promised to bring the Mighty Ducks back to the Stanley Cup Final the following year. However, Kariya left the Ducks in the summer and joined former teammate Teemu Selanne on the Colorado Avalanche. During the 2003–04 season, the team regressed to a 29–35–10–8 record, finishing fourth in the division.

During the 2004 off-season, Bryan Murray, who had wished to coach again, left the Ducks to join the Ottawa Senators. As the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA)'s labor dispute was headed towards a long lockout, Disney tried to sell the team but received a low offer of US$50 million, less than the franchise's original price. In 2005, Broadcom Corporation co-founder Henry Samueli of Irvine, California, and his wife Susan bought the Mighty Ducks from The Walt Disney Company for a reported US$75 million. Henry Samuelis, whose family was already managing Arrowhead Pond said of the sale, "Since we manage the Pond ... it seemed natural to purchase the team since Disney had it up for sale for quite a while." Brian Burke, former Vancouver Canucks general manager and president, was appointed general manager and executive vice-president of the Mighty Ducks on June 20, 2005. Shortly after, Babcock rejected an extension to stay with the Ducks, signing with Detroit instead. Thanks to a weighted draft lottery in which the Ducks had a 4.16% chance at first overall, they were able to get the second pick, which they used to select Bobby Ryan.

On August 1, 2005, former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Randy Carlyle was hired as the seventh head coach in team history. Burke was familiar with Carlyle's coaching ability, as the latter had coached the Manitoba Moose from 1996 to 2001 (International Hockey League) and 2004–05 (American Hockey League); the Moose had been the Canucks' farm club since 2001. On August 4, 2005, free-agent defenseman Scott Niedermayer signed with the Mighty Ducks to play with his brother Rob; Scott Niedermayer was almost immediately named team captain. On August 22, Selanne returned to Anaheim after undergoing knee surgery. He led the team in scoring during the season with 40 goals and 50 assists for 90 points. He would also record his 1,000th NHL point on January 30, 2006. The 2005–06 season also saw the emergence of rookies Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry. On November 15, 2005, Anaheim traded Sergei Fedorov and a fifth-round draft pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Francois Beauchemin and forward Tyler Wright.

The Ducks finished the season with a 43–27–12 record, good enough for 98 points. The Ducks faced the Calgary Flames in the conference quarterfinals and forced a seventh game in Calgary, shutting out the Flames to reach the conference semifinals. In the conference semifinals, the Ducks swept the Avalanche in four-straight games;, during which Ilya Bryzgalov broke Giguere's scoreless streak record from the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. In the franchise's second conference finals appearance, they faced the eighth-seeded Edmonton Oilers, a series the Ducks would ultimately lose in five games.

In January 2006, Samueli announced the team would be renamed as simply the "Anaheim Ducks" as of the following season.

Prior to the 2006–07 season, the Ducks adopted a completely new look to go along with their new name; their team colors became black, gold and orange, and the logo of a duck-shaped goalie mask was dropped in favor of the word "Ducks", with a webbed foot in place of the "D".

The Ducks traded Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid and a first-round draft pick to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Chris Pronger. On November 9, 2006, the Ducks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6–0 at General Motors Place in Vancouver to improve their season record to 12–0–4. The win set an NHL record by remaining undefeated in regulation for the first 16 games of the season, eclipsing the previous mark set by the 1983–84 Edmonton Oilers. On April 7, the Ducks won their first division title in franchise history when the Canucks defeated the second-place San Jose Sharks in the final game of the season. The Ducks ended the regular season with a 48–20–14 record and 110 points. Although they had three fewer wins than the Nashville Predators, the Ducks won the second seed in the West by virtue of winning the Pacific Division title; the Predators finished second in the Central Division behind the Detroit Red Wings (the top seed in the West).

In the 2007 playoffs, the Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild in the conference quarterfinals and the Canucks in the semifinals, both in five games. The Ducks faced the Detroit Red Wings in the franchise's third trip to the conference finals. In game three, Pronger elbowed Tomas Holmstrom and subsequently received a one-game suspension for the illegal check. However, the Ducks won game four without Pronger and game five in Detroit, with Selanne scoring the latter game's overtime winner. The Ducks then finished off the Red Wings in game six for their second Stanley Cup Final appearance.

In the Final, the Ducks won the first two games at home against the Ottawa Senators. However, the Ducks lost game three and Pronger received his second one-game suspension, this time for elbowing Dean McAmmond. The Ducks were again able to win without Pronger, defeating the Senators in game four for an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup on home ice in game five. On June 6, the Ducks defeated the Senators 6–2 at Honda Center to claim their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Moen was credited with the Cup game-winning goal after Senators defenseman Chris Phillips put the puck in off of goaltender Ray Emery into their own net. Scott Niedermayer was awarded the second Conn Smythe Trophy in Ducks history. The Ducks became the first California team and the first NHL West Coast team to win the Stanley Cup.

The Ducks began their title defense in the 2007–08 season without Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne, who were both contemplating retirement. To offset those losses, Burke signed forward Todd Bertuzzi and defenseman Mathieu Schneider. Chris Pronger was also named captain with Niedermayer's absence. The team began the season in London for the 2007 NHL Premiere and split their two games with the Los Angeles Kings. The team began slow out of the gate, going 4–7–2 to begin the season. During the season, Burke put goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers, where he was picked up by the Phoenix Coyotes. Free-agent signee Jonas Hiller then became the back-up to starter Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Both Selanne and Niedermayer would return mid-season and the team finished with a 47–27–8 record, good enough to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs finishing as the fourth seed in the Western Conference. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals in six games by the Dallas Stars. In the off-season, Burke bought out the remaining year on Bertuzzi's contract and traded Schneider to the Atlanta Thrashers.

The Ducks began the 2008–09 season with another slow start, going 1–5–0. On November 12, 2008, Burke resigned to take the same position for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bob Murray replaced him as general manager, but the team struggled to make the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. A bevy of trade deadline deals saw the departure of some mainstays from the Cup team, including Chris Kunitz, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Ryan Whitney, Samuel Pahlsson, who was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman James Wisniewski, and Travis Moen, who was traded to the San Jose Sharks for two prospects. The Ducks defeated the first-seeded, Presidents' Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks in six games in the first round before being eliminated in the conference semifinals by the eventual Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings in seven games. Before the 2009–10 season, the Ducks traded Chris Pronger to the Philadelphia Flyers for Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and two first-round draft picks. Francois Beauchemin and Rob Niedermayer also left via free agency for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils, respectively. The Ducks then signed free agent center and former Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu to a one-year deal.

The Ducks would have another slow start, beginning 6–10–3 to the 2009–10 season. Before the trade deadline, the Ducks traded Giguere to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala after signing Hiller to a contract extension. The trade deadline saw the Ducks trade Ryan Whitney to Edmonton for offensive defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, as well as the acquisitions of defenseman Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes and goalie Curtis McElhinney from the Calgary Flames. The Ducks played through frequent injuries and picked up play in the second half of the season, but struggled coming out of the Olympic break. For the first time since the lockout, the Ducks failed to make the playoffs with a 39–32–11 record. The 2010 off-season was also busy for the Ducks, as Scott Niedermayer announced his retirement in a June press conference. Niedermayer decided to stay a member of the Ducks as a team consultant. The Ducks re-signed Saku Koivu and signed free agent defenseman Toni Lydman. In addition to Lydman, the Ducks were able to get defenseman Cam Fowler via the draft, and 35-year-old defenseman Andy Sutton signed to a two-year deal. Restricted free agent Bobby Ryan was signed to a five-year deal.

On October 4, 2010, Ryan Getzlaf was named team captain. The 2010–11 season did not begin well for the Ducks, who would lose their first three games and go 4–7–1 throughout October. They maintained a .500 throughout record through the first half of the season, but got better and finished 47–30–5, good for 99 points and second place in the Pacific Division. Corey Perry and Jonas Hiller represented the Ducks at the 2011 All-Star Game, and Perry went on to have a 50-goal, 98-point season, which won him the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy. He became the first-ever Duck to win the Hart, as well as the first Richard winner as a Duck since Teemu Selanne won the award in 1999. However, Hiller was injured at the All-Star Game and missed the rest of the season. In the 2011 playoffs, they lost in the first round to the fifth-seeded Nashville Predators.

Before the 2011–12 season began, former Mighty Duck Ruslan Salei died in a plane crash with several other former NHL players of Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The team wore a black patch with his former jersey number, 24, in current team numbering. The Ducks started the season with 2011 NHL Premiere games in Helsinki and Stockholm. This was the second time in franchise history that they started the regular season with games in Europe. They lost 4–1 to the Buffalo Sabres in Helsinki but defeated the New York Rangers 2–1 after a shootout in Stockholm. After a slow start to the season, the Ducks replaced head coach Randy Carlyle with former Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau. Although the team had a 17–3–4 run in the second half of the season, the Ducks ultimately failed to reach the playoffs in the 2011–12 season.

The 2012–13 season was shortened to 48 games due to a labor lockout. Due to the shortened season and the compacted game scheduling, all games were to be played against the Ducks' own Western Conference opponents, and no games were played against Eastern Conference teams. The Ducks finished the season with a 30–12–6 record and would win their second Pacific Division title in franchise history. In the conference quarterfinals, they ended up losing to the seventh-seeded Detroit Red Wings in seven games, despite holding a 3–2 series lead after game five.

Entering the 2013–14 season, the 20th anniversary of the franchise, it was announced that Teemu Selanne would be playing in his final NHL season. In the off-season, Bobby Ryan was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forwards Jakob Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen and Ottawa's first-round pick in the 2014 NHL entry draft, and the Ducks also signed center Mathieu Perreault, and a returning Dustin Penner. Despite a bad season opener suffering a 6–1 rout at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the Ducks followed the opener with seven-straight wins, a run which was repeated and surpassed twice more during the season, including a franchise-record setting ten consecutive wins from December 6 to 28, 2013. A 9–1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on January 15 saw Anaheim establish a 20–0–2 record at Honda Center, which matched the longest season-opening home points streak in 34 years. They would also play in their first outdoor game on January 25 at Dodger Stadium in the 2014 NHL Stadium Series against the Los Angeles Kings, which they won 3–0. The Ducks remained towards the top of the NHL standings for the entire season, ending the regular season with a franchise-best 54–20–8 record (116 points) and eventually finished one point behind the Boston Bruins in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. The Ducks secured a second consecutive Pacific Division title and the number one seed in the Western Conference. Goalie John Gibson also made his NHL debut, shutting out the Canucks 3–0. Anaheim faced the eighth-seeded Dallas Stars in the first round and were victorious in six games, marking the first time since 2009 that the Ducks had won a playoff series. In the Western Conference second round, the Ducks faced their geographic rival and eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings for the first time ever in the playoffs. However, the Ducks ultimately went down in seven games to their Southern Californian rivals, losing game seven by a score of 6–2 at Honda Center.

On June 27, 2014, the Ducks acquired center Ryan Kesler and a third-round pick in 2015 from the Vancouver Canucks. In the following season, they won their third-straight Pacific Division title and finished as the top seed in the West with 109 points. In the 2015 playoffs, they swept the Winnipeg Jets in the first round and beat the Calgary Flames in five games to set up a conference final against the Chicago Blackhawks. After taking a three games to two series lead, the Ducks lost the final two games of the series, including game seven on home ice. This marked the third-straight season the Ducks had lost a series in game seven at home after leading the series three games to two.

On July 15, 2015, the Ducks signed Ryan Kesler to a six-year contract extension totaling a reported $41.25 million. Just prior to the 2015 NHL entry draft, the Ducks sent Emerson Etem and a draft pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for left-wing Carl Hagelin. They also traded for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa and added veterans Shawn Horcoff, Chris Stewart, and Mike Santorelli. Entering the 2015–16 NHL season, many analysts pegged the Ducks as Stanley Cup favorites. However, scoring struggles led to a slow start, with the team still out of a playoff spot in December. The team improved afterwards riding the goaltending of John Gibson. On March 6, 2016, the Ducks set a franchise record with an 11-game winning streak which ended the following night. On March 24, 2016, the Ducks clinched a playoff spot in a 6–5 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs. However, in the first round of the playoffs, they fell in seven games to the Nashville Predators, which led to the firing of head coach Bruce Boudreau. On June 14, 2016, the Ducks announced they re-hired former head coach Randy Carlyle.

Although the Ducks started the 2016–17 season 0–3–1, the team managed to finish first in the Pacific Division for the fourth consecutive season. In the first round, they swept the Calgary Flames. On May 10, 2017, the Ducks ended their game seven losing streak when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, winning the series 4–3 and advancing to the conference finals for the second time in three seasons. They would fall to the Nashville Predators in game six, ending their playoff run. In the offseason, the team acquired goalie Ryan Miller in free agency and re-signed Cam Fowler.

In the following season, the Ducks traded for Adam Henrique, giving Sami Vatanen to the New Jersey Devils. However, they failed to win the Pacific Division for the first time since the 2011–12 season. They clinched a playoff berth, but were swept by the San Jose Sharks in the first round.

During the 2018–19 season, the Ducks started the season 19–11–5, but then went on a 12-game losing streak and amidst a seven-game losing streak they fired Carlyle. Bob Murray replaced him as interim head coach; however, the Ducks missed the playoffs for the third time since the 2002–03 NHL season. In the 2019 draft, the Ducks selected Trevor Zegras at ninth overall.

On June 17, 2019, the team named Dallas Eakins as the franchise's tenth head coach. Corey Perry left the team in free agency, signing with the Dallas Stars. However, the team was unable to make the expanded 2020 playoffs due to multiple losing streaks throughout the season, missing the postseason for the second consecutive season.

The following season, the team did not fare better as they set an NHL record for the worst power play percentage in a season at 8.94%, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season. Ryan Miller retired at the end of the season. In the 2021 draft, the Ducks selected third overall Mason McTavish.

On November 9, 2021, Murray was placed on administrative leave by the Ducks pending the results of an ongoing investigation. The investigation was reportedly focused on Murray's alleged history of verbal abuse to players and staff members. Assistant general manager Jeff Solomon was initially named as acting general manager but was then named interim general manager when Murray resigned on November 10. Pat Verbeek was named general manager on February 3, 2022. At the end of the season, captain Ryan Getzlaf retired.

The Ducks fell to last place in the 2022–23 season, including a league worst 357 goals against and -129 goal differential. Following the end of the regular season, Eakins left as head coach. Though the Ducks finished last in the league during the 2022–23 season, the Chicago Blackhawks won the draft lottery and Anaheim's pick fell to second overall. The team hired Greg Cronin as the Ducks' eleventh head coach on June 5, 2023. At the 2023 NHL entry draft, the team selected Leo Carlsson second overall. The Ducks also signed Radko Gudas. The team missed the playoffs again, only gaining one point over the previous season. After the conclusion of the regular season Jakob Silfverberg signed a contract to play overseas in Sweden. Prior to the 2024–25 season, Radko Gudas was named team captain. With their failure to make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, Cronin was fired. Joel Quenneville, who had been reinstated to the NHL following an independent investigation into their role in the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal, was hired as the team's next head coach. In addition, both Trevor Zegras and John Gibson were respectively traded respectively to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Ryan Poehling and goalie Petr Mrazek.