Anaheim Mighty Ducks Best Contracts (2005-2020)

The following is a condensed preview of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks chapter of my new book, Hunting Bargains in a Salary Cap World. If you purchase the book, you will receive a much more in-depth analysis of all these contracts, including year-by-year statistics, a customized “basket of comparables”, and memorable quotes from players, GMs, and coaches. Below is just a tiny sample of what’s in the book, with a few sentences clipped from the summaries. 

Entry level contracts not included. These are the graphics that appear in the book.

Anaheim Mighty Ducks

 

 

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks have made the playoffs 11 times in the last 15 years, advancing to the conference final 4 times, winning the Stanley Cup in 2007. Brian Burke only had his hands on the steering wheel for 3 years, but autographed a majority of their best contracts because those are the ones that won a championship. While Brian Burke did inherit some key roster pieces from predecessor Bryan Murray, Burkie was responsible for the two most critical acquisitions, Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer (who won the Conn Smythe trophy).

 

Had this been the top 25 best deals, Teemu Selanne would appear at least 5 times. Some had to be demoted so that I wouldn’t just be writing a 1500-word essay about the Flash.

 

 

The words Anaheim Mighty Ducks do not get engraved on the Stanley Cup without Scotty, the eventual playoff MVP. It’s very difficult to win the Cup in free agency, but this was one example. The contract did take a downturn after winning the championship, which can be forgiven considering he very nearly retired, sitting out until December the following season. Regardless of how he performed after the championship, the investment paid the ultimate dividend.

 

 

2- Adam Banks, 1992, terms undisclosed: Won a district Pee Wee hockey championship

 

This deal ranked above Getzlaf because Perry was voted league MVP in 2011 after a 50-goal season with 98 PTS. Anytime you can get a Hart Trophy winner, that’s a worthy investment, even if he stole the award from Daniel Sedin. The stat line is strong with 366 GP, 342 PTS, 1248 shots, averaging over 20 min per game of ice time.

 

 

If you did not count the Hart trophy, Getzlaf would have ranked more valuable than Perry. The big center scored 342 PTS in 340 GP, also adding 777 shots, 772 hits, and 2635 face off wins. That’s a nice haul for that money and one of the most physically dominant centers in the NHL. Two of these seasons were limited by injuries, but he was still fantastic on a per game basis (82 PTS per 82 GP).

 

 

Selanne signed a one-year contract for 79 cents on the dollar, and would go on to score 109 PTS (including playoffs) as they won the Stanley Cup. They needed this guy to climb that mountain.  Teemu played for 9 years after the 2005 lockout and 7 of them were on 1-year deals, most of those at below market price.

 

 

Johnny had some injury issues, but put up fantastic numbers when healthy, finishing the contract with 53 Goals Saved Above Average and a .922 SV%. In year three he was the runaway favourite to win the Vezina trophy before the Mighty Ducks season collapsed. He got a big contract when this one expired, but the jury is still out on whether that’s a good investment.

 

 

Bob Murray signed Fowler to a long-term extension after a disappointing 11-point season that was marred by injuries, allowing the team to get a discount. Cam would rebound, and over the final 2 years they got a 40-point defenseman playing nearly 25 minutes per game.

 

 

Teemu emerged from the lockout as a new man who had been shot out of a cannon. The Flash scored 40 goals and 90 PTS for $1M exactly. That’s one of the best bargains on one-year contracts in the salary cap era. Even adjusting for cap inflation, that is the cheapest price any team has ever paid on a non-entry level contract in the salary cap era for a season of 90 or more PTS.

 

 

8- Charlie Conway, 1992, terms undisclosed: Born leader, arguably a better coach than player.

 

In 138 GP Vatanen scored 75 PTS from the blueline (45 PTS per 82 GP), averaging over 21 minutes per game. It’s hard to get this much offense from a defenseman for such a low-price tag. Vatanen re-signed for a fair wage, but was traded to New Jersey in year one of that deal for Adam Henrique, as the exodus of good young defensemen from the Mighty Ducks roster continued.

 

 

The bet paid off, as Ricky climbed up to 51 PTS in year one, and 69 PTS in year two. There was some regression in year three, after the team’s offense struggled to score goals. His agent is Claude Lemieux, so it brings me pleasure to know that Rakell left money on the table.

 

 

Andy McDonald scored 92 PTS (including playoffs) and got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. His production slowed the following season, likely just a Stanley Cup hangover, when he was traded to the St. Louis Blues for Doug Weight, where he re-discovered his scoring touch. A broken leg would cost him half of the final season.

 

 

Before Bonino could even play a game on this contract, Bob Murray traded him to the Canucks as part of the Ryan Kesler deal. After one mediocre season, the Canucks flipped him to the Penguins for Brandon Sutter. It was in Pittsburgh where the magic happened, as Bonino played a significant supporting role helping the Pens win 2 Stanley Cups, scoring 25 PTS in 45 GP over those two playoff runs.

 

 

Kunitz would score 110 regular season PTS over these 2 seasons, also chipping in 6 playoff PTS in Anaheim’s Cup run and got his name carved into the trophy. He would later be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return for podcast star Ryan Whitney.

 

 

Jonas would soon overtake J.S Giguere on the depth chart, prompting management to trade Jiggy to the Leafs. Hiller provided the team with 105 games of above average goaltending for well below the average price of a starting goalie, finishing the deal with 25 Goals Saved Above Average. The Swiss netminder also recorded an impressive .943 SV% in 13 playoff games, even better than his .918 regular season mark.

 

 

14- Fulton Reed, 1992, terms undisclosed: The Mighty Ducks probably don’t win the championship without this mid-season acquisition.

 

The Mighty Ducks got a legit #1 goalie at a substantial discount. Freddy had a win-loss record of 57-21 with a 2.34 GAA and .916 SV%. But as John Gibson started to emerge as their goalie of the future, Murray shipped Freddy to the Leafs for a fantastic return (1st and 2nd round draft picks) that produced Sam Steel and Max Comtois.

 

 In year one Getzlaf finished 2nd in Hart trophy voting after scoring 87 PTS, coming in 6th on the MVP ballot in year two and 20th in year three. Anaheim did get 3 years of one of the best players in the league and 5 years of quality production. This did take a turn for the worse in year five, but the success on the front half (including multiple trips to the Conference finals) more than justifies any over-payment near the end.