Tribute "Once Upon A Time in Anaheim" - A Duckumentary; June 11th

[jiggsawpuzzle35]

Clippers? I think they played there for a bit but I could be wrong.

There were also talks of the Minnesota North Stars moving to Anaheim before Disney came into the picture. Wonder why they didn’t discuss that.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Funny thing is they called themselves Kings, albeit there is no resemblance whatsoever in Northern America with monarchies (I think), let alone in America. It's a totally made up name/feeling that they wanted to attach themselves to despite being a shitshow for decades (Kings of the bottom?), even with the best player in the World. Kings of cringe if they think that just because Disney they thought they were somewhat superior, lol.

Imagine if teams traded team names,
3 way trade: LA Kings become LA Stars, Dallas Stars become Texas Rangers, NY Rangers become NY Kings. NYC is pretty much the King city of America, Texas actually has Rangers, LA is known for its Hollywood Stars.

 

[Duck Off]

It was very surface stuff. Was hoping for more retrospection and deeper insight vs just a retelling of the story we all know.

Loved Teemu's subtle jab about the refs favoring the wings.

This was exactly my thoughts. I was hoping for a much deeper dive than it did. It was just regurgitating stuff that was all known already. Other than the few player interviews about it, it was disappointing to me.

 

[Kalv]

Imagine if teams traded team names,
3 way trade: LA Kings become LA Stars, Dallas Stars become Texas Rangers, NY Rangers become NY Kings. NYC is pretty much the King city of America, Texas actually has Rangers, LA is known for its Hollywood Stars.

That actually makes too much sense, ha.

Chicago could trade with Nashville but the Predator is meant in a sexual way. Too soon?

 

[FiveTacos]

Imagine if teams traded team names,
3 way trade: LA Kings become LA Stars, Dallas Stars become Texas Rangers, NY Rangers become NY Kings. NYC is pretty much the King city of America, Texas actually has Rangers, LA is known for its Hollywood Stars.

The Rangers were started by Tex Rickard, so they actually are "Tex's Rangers."

 

[Bender66]

the kariya goal in game 6 is still the most beautiful slapper i've ever seen. top corner right over brodeur's glove from a bad angle too. could watch it all day

That was the loudest i have ever heard the Pond in 30 yrs of being a ducks fan. Even louder than when they won the cup in 07
There was some asshat in a devils Friesen jersey that sat 3 rows in front of us. I heckled him all night and after Kariya scored his "off the floor and on the board" goal, the asshat promptly left. lol

 

[la patineuse]

There were also talks of the Minnesota North Stars moving to Anaheim before Disney came into the picture. Wonder why they didn’t discuss that.

Wouldn't have fit into their fairy tale Disney storyline. MIchael Eisner was lying when he said Anaheim didn't have a team for their new arena. Norm Green even picked out where his office was going to be in the Pond before McNall told him he could move his team anywhere but Anaheim and Florida.

Bruce Almighty

Before he went to prison for fraud, but after he became one of the most popular sports figures in Southern California, McNall helped create the Ducks

www.latimes.com

Then along came Norm Green. The owner of the Minnesota North Stars wanted to move his team to Anaheim for the 1993-94 season. McNall was overjoyed. The $25-million indemnification fee was in his sights. Green toured the Pond construction site and was sold.

“All of us felt it was very close to reality,” said Pond General Manager Tim Ryan, who was then assistant GM. “Norm Green made a number of trips to the facility and he was very serious right down to the last minute.”

Green even had a spot picked out for his office. What he didn’t know is that he had a rival.

One thing, about the LAT's article, I don't think McNall would have gotten the idemnification fee from Green. According to a NYT's article, McNall got $25m of the $50m expansion fee from Disney and he wouldn't have gotten that if the North Stars relocated to Anaheim. McNalla also got part of the expansion fee from the Panthers.

That was the loudest i have ever heard the Pond in 30 yrs of being a ducks fan. Even louder than when they won the cup in 07
There was some asshat in a devils Friesen jersey that sat 3 rows in front of us. I heckled him all night and after Kariya scored his "off the floor and on the board" goal, the asshat promptly left. lol

I hated Fish Face Friesen. He never wanted to play for the Ducks and had the worst attitude while he was here and then when he scored that goal in game 7 of the SCF, he skated by waving his glove around near the Ducks bench.

 

[la patineuse]

After watching, my question is how in the world does the city of Anaheim move forward with a publicly funded project like the pond a 17,000 seat venue (that at the time was a quarter billion dollar project) with out having a major tenant to occupy the building first??

They did have a team...Norm Green was going to relocate the North Stars to Anaheim:

The North Stars Move to Dallas

The move completed Dallas' portfolio of major-league sports teams.

www.dmagazine.com

We made a deal to move the North Stars to Anaheim, California, to become the L.A. Stars. Anaheim had a new building for hockey that was immediately available. My plans were canceled when Disney offered to put a team in Anaheim and use Disney talent to help market the NHL. In December 1992, the league asked me to allow Disney to come into the league. In return, I would have NHL approval to move the Stars wherever I could make the best deal. In January 1993, I selected Dallas, after encouragement from the only Texan I knew: Roger Staubach.

 

[la patineuse]

But the LA fans who mocked the Ducks as if they had become part of the old boys club was more funny to me than anything else. As someone who also follows an O6 team, I can assure them they were not seen that way, pre or post 90s expansion.

Having a new expansion team in their backyard allayed their feelings of inferiority. Up until the Ducks won the Stanley Cup, they acted like the Kings were the Montreal Canadiens and bragged about their "history" LOL. Well, the reality was the Kings didn't accomplish squat. Both teams had made it to the SCF exactly one time and the Ducks did it fewer years, and then four years later, the Ducks were Stanley Cup Champions. So what was there for them to brag about?

 

[Terry Yake]

I hated Fish Face Friesen. He never wanted to play for the Ducks and had the worst attitude while he was here and then when he scored that goal in game 7 of the SCF, he skated by waving his glove around near the Ducks bench.

yeah, f*** friesen forever. i hate that they've brought him back for alumni events and the "paint it orange" thing in the playoffs several years ago

 

[Sean Garrity]

yeah, f*** friesen forever. i hate that they've brought him back for alumni events and the "paint it orange" thing in the playoffs several years ago

Wait what's the hate for Friesen? I may have been too young to understand the nuances lol.

 

[Terry Yake]

Wait what's the hate for Friesen? I may have been too young to understand the nuances lol.

came over in the selanne trade and underperformed+didn't want to be here. then goes to NJ and scores some huge goals for them in the playoffs, including in game 7 of the SCF

 

[jiggsawpuzzle35]

came over in the selanne trade and underperformed+didn't want to be here. then goes to NJ and scores some huge goals for them in the playoffs, including in game 7 of the SCF

I think he’s a coach with the Junior Ducks or something. I use to see him a lot during Covid at GPI.

 

[FiveTacos]

yeah, f*** friesen forever. i hate that they've brought him back for alumni events and the "paint it orange" thing in the playoffs several years ago

The sad thing is even at his best he wasn't all that great. But at least he was a good two way forward with speed and a little grit, he just chose not to be that for us. The one time his whole career he half assed it was with the Ducks. Apparently he thought he was too good to play for a non playoff team.

Although sometimes I think back on it ... If Friesen doesn't help NJ beat Ottawa, the Sens were a much better matchup for us. Perhaps we win the Cup ... but then we're not in position to draft Getzlaf, Kariya probably doesn't bail, and we don't have the budget to get Nieds. Very possible those subsequent contending years never happen ... and Ottawa perhaps wins the Cup in 07 against a far less physical opponent.

Would people here trade the Getz era (all those playoff years including the Cup) to win in 03 instead?

 

[Terry Yake]

The sad thing is even at his best he wasn't all that great. But at least he was a good two way forward with speed and a little grit, he just chose not to be that for us. The one time his whole career he half assed it was with the Ducks. Apparently he thought he was too good to play for a non playoff team.

Although sometimes I think back on it ... If Friesen doesn't help NJ beat Ottawa, the Sens were a much better matchup for us. Perhaps we win the Cup ... but then we're not in position to draft Getzlaf, Kariya probably doesn't bail, and we don't have the budget to get Nieds. Very possible those subsequent contending years never happen ... and Ottawa perhaps wins the Cup in 07 against a far less physical opponent.

Would people here trade the Getz era (all those playoff years including the Cup) to win in 03 instead?

he put up 60+ pts with SJ three times. maybe it was his linemates. after 03 he didn't do anything at the NHL level and only played a couple more seasons post lockout (including another stint with the ducks in 06)

and i would easily trade the 07 cup for 03. winning it all in 03 would have been one of the biggest underdog stories in sports history. 07 was amazing but they were expected to win it all the second they got pronger

 

[FiveTacos]

and i would easily trade the 07 cup for 03. winning it all in 03 would have been one of the biggest underdog stories in sports history. 07 was amazing but they were expected to win it all the second they got pronger

But would you trade 07 AND the run of good years for the one Cinderella Cup? Without Getzlaf we might have mostly continued to be mediocre at best unless we found a different star pivot.

 

[Terry Yake]

But would you trade 07 AND the run of good years for the one Cinderella Cup? Without Getzlaf we might have mostly continued to be mediocre at best unless we found a different star pivot.

so trade 07 and a bunch of game 7 losses for the 03 cup? yes

 

[FiveTacos]

so trade 07 and a bunch of game 7 losses for the 03 cup? yes

I dunno ... though they didn't end well, there were still a lot of good seasons and memorable moments there; I got more enjoyment out of those seasons than the ones where we were just inept.

Without Getz and some of those other moves that don't happen if we win in 03, those might have been some lean, miserable years to follow. And seeing Getzlaf go on to stardom with Edm, Van, or even LA all those years? I guess we'd have been picking a lot higher though, so maybe we'd have found someone else, but also no guarantees we aren't still sitting here today with the worst record, just on the heels of 20 years of crap with few good things to look back on.

A bad season ending doesn't invalidate the fact that our team was good enough to be playing in big games to begin with. It's like all those great moments from 03 aren't erased because of the game 7 loss in NJ.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I dunno ... though they didn't end well, there were still a lot of good seasons and memorable moments there; I got more enjoyment out of those seasons than the ones where we were just inept.

Without Getz and some of those other moves that don't happen if we win in 03, those might have been some lean, miserable years to follow. And seeing Getzlaf go on to stardom with Edm, Van, or even LA all those years? I guess we'd have been picking a lot higher though, so maybe we'd have found someone else, but also no guarantees we aren't still sitting here today with the worst record, just on the heels of 20 years of crap with few good things to look back on.

A bad season ending doesn't invalidate the fact that our team was good enough to be playing in big games to begin with. It's like all those great moments from 03 aren't erased because of the game 7 loss in NJ.

Winning in 07 under new ownership secured the franchises stability into becoming profitable and sustainable playoff appearances that expanded the brand. I remember alot of people pointing out that the team was operating at a loss and not profitable even during 07 and only years after it become a profit for samuellis.

Imagine them winning it in 03 and then go back to sucking and the team ends up relocated because it's operating at a a bad loss.

 

[FiveTacos]

Winning in 07 under new ownership secured the franchises stability into becoming profitable and sustainable playoff appearances that expanded the brand. I remember alot of people pointing out that the team was operating at a loss and not profitable even during 07 and only years after it become a profit for samuellis.

Imagine them winning it in 03 and then go back to sucking and the team ends up relocated because it's operating at a a bad loss.

Very possible. Best case scenario, Disney still sells and the Samuelis still step in. But by then you're probably talking about a full on rebuild with no Getz and very likely no Perry (as one of the 2nd rounders we used to trade up for him would have been much lower). It could easily have turned out very ugly for a long while.

 

[Leonardo87]

Would have been awesome if the Ducks won in 2003 and 2007. I love this organization and love the history. I really hope we are competing again soon.

 

[ohcomeonref]

Would have been awesome if the Ducks won in 2003 and 2007. I love this organization and love the history. I really hope we are competing again soon.

No doubt. It feels like forever since we sniffed the playoffs.

 

[Leonardo87]

No doubt. It feels like forever since we sniffed the playoffs.

I really want to go to a Ducks playoff game so badly. My mission is to attend a Rangers and Ducks playoff game in the same week. Lol

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

The ‘07 team was a team that could probably compete with any team in the history of the sport and the ‘03 team would’ve been by far the worst to ever win the cup. Yeah I’d much rather take the former.

 

[Terry Yake]

Very possible. Best case scenario, Disney still sells and the Samuelis still step in. But by then you're probably talking about a full on rebuild with no Getz and very likely no Perry (as one of the 2nd rounders we used to trade up for him would have been much lower). It could easily have turned out very ugly for a long while.

i mean, disney still sold the angels like 6 months after they won the world series. so i don't see why they wouldn't have still done the same with the ducks

disney wanted out of pro sports by that time