1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season

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1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Division6th Pacific
1997–98 record26–43–13
Goals for205
Goals against261
Team information
General managerJack Ferreira
CoachPierre Page
CaptainPaul Kariya
Teemu Selanne (interim)
ArenaArrowhead Pond of Anaheim

The 1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season was the fifth season in franchise history. The Ducks finished sixth in the Pacific and missed the playoffs.

Off-season[]

Even though improving and making the PlayOffs into the second round getting swept by the Detroit Red Wings, the Mighty Ducks fired Head Coach Ron Wilson on May 20, 1997 replacing him with Pierre Page.

During the summer only a few changes were made, since the team underwent changes before the trading deadline in March. The Ducks signed Tomas Sandstrom on August 2 and acquired Scott Young from the Colorado Avalanche for a 1998 3rd round draft pick on September 17, 1997. Brent Severyn joined the Ducks as a free agent from Colorado.

Ruslan Salei earned a regular roster spot on the team. Rookies Matt Cullen, Jeremy Stevenson, Jeff Nielsen and Pavel Trnka also joined the Mighty Ducks.

Regular season[]

The Mighty Ducks and Vancouver Canucks made NHL history, being the first teams ever to play a regular season game outside the USA or Canada, facing each other back to back in Tokyo splitting the series.

The season would prove to be a roller coaster ride : many players dressed for the team through the first twenty games as the lines looked different almost every night. On November 24, 1997, Shawn Antowski was involved in a serious car accident which left him with a compressed skull fracture. They also started the season without Paul Kariya due to a contract dispute, but played well without him as the Ducks were 11-12-6 until December 2, 1997, but by then the team was on a downturn going 3-10-2 until Kariya returned on December 12, 1997. That night had everybody excited as the Ducks came back from being down 3–0 and Kariya scored two goals and an assist helping the Ducks to win after going winless in their last 6 games for the second time.

Despite his great performance the Mighty Ducks continued to struggle going 4-10-2 by January 14, 1998. Having a week off, the Mighty Ducks looked to bounce back starting a nice run with a 8–3 win against the Florida Panthers going 4-2-1 in their next seven games. On February 1, 1998 hopes of a turnaround in the second half of the season were shattered as Kariya was hit in the head by Gary Suter resulting in Kariya missing the remainder of the season, playing only 22 games. In hopes of adding some more scoring due to Kariya's injury the Ducks acquired Travis Green along with Doug Houda in exchange for J.J. Daigeneault, Joe Sacco and Mark Janssens on February 6, 1998. The team lost seven games in a row in early March but made a push for the post season in late March being undefeated in five games after the team came together following the infamous game against Dallas on March 13, but without their captain and losing Guy Hebert on March 8 due to a severe shoulder injury the team went 7-15-4 after the Olympic break thus missing the Play Offs.

Mikhail Shtalenkov played very well replacing Hebert, appearing in 18 of the last 21 games of the season. It was the first time he was the Ducks' number one for a longer stretch since playing three games in last year's Play Offs. The Ducks allowed too many goals that season and scored 40 less than last year. The drastic decrease in goals was a result of Kariya's absence, players like Sandstrom, Young, Rycchel, Pronger and Drury scoring less as well as the trade with the Islanders: it saw them losing reliable bottom six scoring from all players and speed from Sacco, gritty play of Janssens and the experience of Daigeneault on Defense who was important to their Powerplay. Though Travis Green played quite well for the Ducks, the deal was very lopsided and had many wondered at the time as the deal did not pay off at all. Late season acquisition Josef Marha had Anaheim hoping for next season as he had the most impact after the trading deadline. Several prospects also dressed for the Mighty Ducks showing a lot of scoring talent such as Cullen, Nielsen and late season call-up Banham but none them made an impact that was needed. Their Defense got some young blood as well with Salei and Trnka fulfilling management expectations.

The Mighty Ducks were shut out a league high 11 times, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning.[1]

Final standings[]

Pacific Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Colorado Avalanche 82 39 26 17 231 205 95
2 Los Angeles Kings 82 38 33 11 227 225 87
3 Edmonton Oilers 82 35 37 10 215 224 80
4 San Jose Sharks 82 34 38 10 210 216 78
5 Calgary Flames 82 26 41 15 217 252 67
6 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 82 26 43 13 205 261 65
7 Vancouver Canucks 82 25 43 14 224 273 64

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Dallas Stars CEN 82 49 22 11 242 167 109
2 x – Colorado Avalanche PAC 82 39 26 17 231 205 95
3 Detroit Red Wings CEN 82 44 23 15 250 196 103
4 St. Louis Blues CEN 82 45 29 8 256 204 98
5 Los Angeles Kings PAC 82 38 33 11 227 225 87
6 Phoenix Coyotes CEN 82 35 35 12 224 227 82
7 Edmonton Oilers PAC 82 35 37 10 215 224 80
8 San Jose Sharks PAC 82 34 38 10 210 216 78
9 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 82 30 39 13 192 199 73
10 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 82 30 43 9 194 237 69
11 Calgary Flames PAC 82 26 41 15 217 252 67
12 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 82 26 43 13 205 261 65
13 Vancouver Canucks PAC 82 25 43 14 224 273 64

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy


Schedule and results[]

Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 3, 1997 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 0–1–0
2 W October 4, 1997 3–2 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 1–1–0
3 T October 10, 1997 1–1 OT Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 1–1–1
4 L October 13, 1997 0–3 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 1–2–1
5 T October 15, 1997 2–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 1–2–2
6 W October 17, 1997 2–1 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 2–2–2
7 L October 19, 1997 2–5 New York Islanders (1997–98) 2–3–2
8 W October 21, 1997 4–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 3–3–2
9 L October 22, 1997 1–4 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 3–4–2
10 W October 25, 1997 4–2 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 4–4–2
11 T October 26, 1997 3–3 OT @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 4–4–3
12 T October 28, 1997 2–2 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 4–4–4
13 W October 30, 1997 3–0 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 5–4–4
14 L November 2, 1997 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 5–5–4
15 W November 5, 1997 5–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 6–5–4
16 W November 7, 1997 4–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 7–5–4
17 W November 8, 1997 3–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 8–5–4
18 L November 10, 1997 4–6 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 8–6–4
19 L November 12, 1997 3–4 OT Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 8–7–4
20 T November 14, 1997 3–3 OT Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 8–7–5
21 L November 16, 1997 0–4 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 8–8–5
22 L November 18, 1997 2–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 8–9–5
23 L November 19, 1997 0–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 8–10–5
24 W November 22, 1997 2–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 9–10–5
25 L November 24, 1997 0–5 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 9–11–5
26 W November 26, 1997 2–0 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 10–11–5
27 W November 28, 1997 3–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 11–11–5
28 L November 29, 1997 2–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 11–12–5
29 T December 2, 1997 3–3 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 11–12–6
30 L December 3, 1997 0–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 11–13–6
31 L December 6, 1997 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 11–14–6
32 L December 10, 1997 0–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 11–15–6
33 W December 12, 1997 6–4 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 12–15–6
34 L December 17, 1997 2–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 12–16–6
35 L December 19, 1997 2–6 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 12–17–6
36 L December 21, 1997 2–4 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 12–18–6
37 W December 22, 1997 5–1 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 13–18–6
38 T December 27, 1997 5–5 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 13–18–7
39 L December 28, 1997 0–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 13–19–7
40 L December 30, 1997 1–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 13–20–7
41 L January 1, 1998 2–3 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 13–21–7
42 W January 3, 1998 4–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 14–21–7
43 T January 4, 1998 3–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 14–21–8
44 L January 7, 1998 2–3 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 14–22–8
45 L January 9, 1998 1–5 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 14–23–8
46 W January 11, 1998 2–1 OT Dallas Stars (1997–98) 15–23–8
47 L January 12, 1998 2–3 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 15–24–8
48 L January 14, 1998 0–2 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 15–25–8
49 W January 21, 1998 8–3 Florida Panthers (1997–98) 16–25–8
50 W January 22, 1998 4–3 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 17–25–8
51 T January 24, 1998 3–3 OT Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 17–25–9
52 L January 27, 1998 2–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 17–26–9
53 L January 28, 1998 2–5 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 17–27–9
54 W February 1, 1998 4–3 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 18–27–9
55 W February 4, 1998 3–2 New York Rangers (1997–98) 19–27–9
56 L February 7, 1998 2–5 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 19–28–9
57 L February 25, 1998 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 19–29–9
58 W February 27, 1998 4–0 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 20–29–9
59 L March 1, 1998 2–6 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 20–30–9
60 L March 4, 1998 0–2 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 20–31–9
61 L March 6, 1998 0–3 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 20–32–9
62 L March 8, 1998 1–3 Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 20–33–9
63 L March 9, 1998 3–4 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 20–34–9
64 L March 11, 1998 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 20–35–9
65 L March 13, 1998 3–6 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 20–36–9
66 W March 15, 1998 5–3 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 21–36–9
67 L March 18, 1998 0–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 21–37–9
68 T March 19, 1998 3–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 21–37–10
69 W March 21, 1998 5–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 22–37–10
70 W March 22, 1998 5–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 23–37–10
71 W March 25, 1998 3–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 24–37–10
72 T March 26, 1998 3–3 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 24–37–11
73 L March 28, 1998 3–5 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 24–38–11
74 L April 1, 1998 1–5 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 24–39–11
75 L April 3, 1998 3–6 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 24–40–11
76 T April 5, 1998 3–3 OT Calgary Flames (1997–98) 24–40–12
77 W April 8, 1998 4–2 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 25–40–12
78 L April 9, 1998 2–5 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 25–41–12
79 T April 13, 1998 2–2 OT Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 25–41–13
80 L April 15, 1998 3–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 25–42–13
81 W April 18, 1998 4–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 26–42–13
82 L April 19, 1998 3–5 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 26–43–13

[3]

Playoffs[]

The Mighty Ducks did not make the playoffs.

Player statistics[]

Regular season[]

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Teemu Selanne 73 52 34 86 30
Steve Rucchin 72 17 36 53 13
Dmitri Mironov 66 6 30 36 115
Scott Young 73 13 20 33 22
Paul Kariya 22 17 14 31 23
Matt Cullen 61 6 21 27 23
Sean Pronger 62 5 15 20 30
Joe Sacco 55 8 11 19 24
Tomas Sandstrom 77 9 8 17 64
J. J. Daigneault 53 2 15 17 28
Ted Drury 73 6 10 16 82
Travis Green 22 5 11 16 16
Ruslan Salei 66 5 10 15 70
Dave Karpa 78 1 11 12 217
Frank Banham 21 9 2 11 12
Josef Marha 12 7 4 11 0
Warren Rychel 63 5 6 11 198
Kevin Todd 27 4 7 11 12
Mark Janssens 55 4 5 9 116
Jeff Nielsen 32 4 5 9 16
Jason Marshall 72 3 6 9 189
Jeremy Stevenson 45 3 5 8 101
Pavel Trnka 48 3 4 7 40
Drew Bannister 27 0 6 6 47
Mike Crowley 8 2 2 4 8
Jean-Francois Jomphe 9 1 3 4 8
Brent Severyn 37 1 3 4 133
Darren Van Impe 19 1 3 4 4
Espen Knutsen 19 3 0 3 6
Doug Houda 24 1 2 3 52
Peter Leboutillier 12 1 1 2 55
Richard Park 15 0 2 2 8
Jamie Pushor 10 0 2 2 10
Shawn Antoski 9 1 0 1 18
Bobby Dollas 22 0 1 1 27
Guy Hebert 46 0 1 1 4
Mikhail Shtalenkov 40 0 1 1 0
Dan Trebil 21 0 1 1 2
Antti Aalto 3 0 0 0 0
Tom Askey 7 0 0 0 0
Mike Leclerc 7 0 0 0 6
Marc Moro 1 0 0 0 0
Barry Nieckar 1 0 0 0 2
Tony Tuzzolino 1 0 0 0 2
Bob Wren 3 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
Guy Hebert 2660 46 13 24 6 130 2.93 1339 1209 .903 3
Mikhail Shtalenkov 2049 40 13 18 5 110 3.22 1031 921 .893 1
Tom Askey 273 7 0 1 2 12 2.64 113 101 .894 0
Team: 4982 82 26 43 13 252 3.03 2483 2231 .899 4

[4]

Awards and records[]

Teemu Selanne set the franchise record for most goals in one season with 52 goals. The former record was held by Teemu Selanne and it was set the previous year.

Transactions[]

Traded Darren VanImpe to the Boston Bruins on November, 1997

Traded Bobby Dollas to the Edmonton Oilers for Drew Bannister on January 9, 1998

Traded J.J. Daigneault, Joe Sacco and Mark Janssens to the New York Islanders for Travis Green Doug Houda and Tony Tuzzolino on February 6, 1998.

Acquired Jamie Pushor from the Detroit Red Wings for Dimitri Mironov on March 24, 1998.

Traded Sean Pronger to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Patrick Lalime on March 24, 1998.

Traded Warren Rychel to the Colorado Avelanche in exchange for Josef Marha on March 24, 1998.

Draft picks[]

Anaheim's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 18 Michael Holmqvist  Sweden Djurgardens IF (Sweden)
2 45 Maxim Balmochnykh  Russia Lada Togliatti (Russia)
3 72 Jay Legault  Canada London Knights (OHL)
5 125 Luc Vaillancourt  Canada Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
7 178 Tony Mohagen  Canada Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
7 181 Mat Snesrud  United States North Iowa Huskies (USHL)
8 209 Rene Stussi   Switzerland HC Thurgau (Switzerland)
9 235 Tommi Degerman  Finland Boston University (Hockey East)

Farm teams[]

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

See also[]

Other Anaheim–based teams in 1997–98[]

*Played Occasional Games in Anaheim

References[]

  1. ^ "1997-98 NHL Summary".
  2. ^ "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  3. ^ "1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  4. ^ "1997-98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
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