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When founded in 1993, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were owned by The Walt Disney Company. The team's original name was chosen from the Disney movie The Mighty Ducks, based on a group of misfit teens who turn their losing youth hockey team into a winner. Disney subsequently made an animated series called The Mighty Ducks, featuring a fictional Mighty Ducks of Anaheim team that consisted of anthropomorphized ducks. Disney had wanted to cross merchandise the team even further by having every player have a "Mighty" preceding his surname on the back of the uniform (e.g. "Mighty Kariya"), but this idea was swiftly met with major negative reaction.
With their first ever draft pick, the Mighty Ducks selected Paul Kariya fourth overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Kariya would quickly become a fan favorite and the cornerstone of the young Mighty Ducks franchise. As team captain he would guide them to within a game of Stanley Cup glory in 2003.
On February 7, 1996, a major trade was made between the Mighty Ducks and the Winnipeg Jets. The Ducks sent Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky and a third round pick to the Jets in return for Marc Chouinard, a fourth round draft pick and most notably Teemu Selänne. The addition of Selanne helped the Ducks make the playoffs for the first time. On a line with Steve Rucchin and Kariya, his chemistry with the latter made them one of the deadliest duos in the league during their seasons together in Anaheim.
After missing the playoffs in their first three seasons, the Mighty Ducks finished 1996-97 fourth in the West, earning home ice advantage for a first-round playoff series with the Phoenix Coyotes. After winning the series in the full seven games, Anaheim was swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. The Ducks returned to the playoffs in 1998-99, but once again lost in four to the Red Wings, this time in the Western Quarterfinals.
After a three year playoff hiatus, Anaheim qualified for the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs. For their third straight postseason, the Mighty Ducks met the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings. This time, Anaheim shocked the hockey world when they swept Detroit, with Rucchin's series clincher coming in overtime of game four. The Ducks would then defeat the #1 seeded Dallas Stars in six games and make quick work of the upstart Minnesota Wild, only allowing one goal in the Western Conference Final. Anaheim could not complete their Cinderella run, though, as they lost a hard fought series in seven games against the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final. For his heroics, Ducks goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.
After losing Kariya to the Colorado Avalanche (he joined Selänne, who also signed with Colorado after two seasons with the Sharks) via free agency shortly after the season ended, the Ducks signed superstar Sergei Fedorov and from Detroit and Vaclav Prospal. Still, 2004 was a major disappointment for the Ducks as they missed the playoffs completely, and suffered low attendance figures despite their magical playoff run of the previous year.
During the summer of 2004, as the NHL and the NHL Players Association's labor dispute was headed towards a long lockout, Disney tried to sell the team but received a low offer of $40 million US, less than the franchise's original price.
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