Anaheim Ducks Mount Rushmore

[Regal]

Selanne, Getz, Perry, and Giguere. All four won the Cup as Ducks.

The Twins of Getz and Perry should always be together for how long they played together, which was 14 years. Teemu put in 15 years with the Ducks, 6 years with Kariya and 9 years without Kariya. Giguere and Kariya played 9 years with the Ducks.

As for accolades (excluding HoF)

Selanne: Cup, Calder, Richard, Masterson​

Getzlaf: Cup​

Perry: Cup, Richard, Hart​

Giguere: Cup, Smythe​

Kariya: Byng​

When Kariya did see the playoffs, it was because Giguere broke his back carrying the team to game 7 of the Cup finals and won the Smythe for it. Kariya decided to pursue his own goals after that Cup final run by signing with the Avs for $1.2 mil. That $1.2 mil low contract allowed Kariya to be free agent after that season. Giguere eventually won the Cup with Ducks.

I ended up voting for Kariya, but I agree he’s not nearly as automatic as I think it’s being made out to be by some. He has significantly fewer games played than Perry, a worse playoff resume and doesn’t have the Hart. And Giguere’s Smythe and cup winning playoffs are more important for the team’s success than Kariya’s regular season resume. I think there’s definitely an argument for both above Kariya, and Getzlaf and Selanne are givens.

I’d say the arguments for Kariya would be that he was simply a better player than Perry and Giguere, and was the first star and face of the franchise. I think for many, him and Selanne are the first things people think of when they think of the Ducks, even all these years later.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I ended up voting for Kariya, but I agree he’s not nearly as automatic as I think it’s being made out to be by some. He has significantly fewer games played than Perry, a worse playoff resume and doesn’t have the Hart. And Giguere’s Smythe and cup winning playoffs are more important for the team’s success than Kariya’s regular season resume. I think there’s definitely an argument for both above Kariya, and Getzlaf and Selanne are givens.

I’d say the arguments for Kariya would be that he was simply a better player than Perry and Giguere, and was the first star and face of the franchise. I think for many, him and Selanne are the first things people think of when they think of the Ducks, even all these years later.

For the older crowd, it's PK-Selanne combo. But that was only for six seasons. Selanne cemented himself in Anaheim lore without PK.

For the contemporary crowd, it's the Twins. Anaheim fans called Getzlaf and Perry the Twins b/c they were inseparable. They were together for 14 seasons, which is more than double the Selanne-PK duo. They both won a Cup together, which the Selanne-PK duo did not. In fact, the Ducks were set on re-acquiring Selanne after the Cup run to reunite the duo, but Kariya really wanted out of Anaheim and wanted to be a FA, which is why Kariya took a massive pay cut for one year of $1.2 mil. Where PK went that off-season was where Selanne went too. It is as if Kariya was biding his time to get out of Anaheim whenever possible, even after going to seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals with the Ducks.

This isn't about "simply better player", but the better Duck representatives. But Kariya didn't win a Hart Trophy nor a Richard Trophy. Perry won both. Perry has been a part of three consecutive Stanley Cup Final teams, all different teams in the past three seasons outside of the Ducks. Kariya, not so much.

Perry, Getz, Selanne, and Giguere won a Cup with Anaheim. Kariya has no cup, doesn't have NHL accolades like Selanne, Perry, or Giguere, and doesn't have the captaincy longevity of a Getzlaf (12 years for Getz and 7 years for Kariya).

 

[Paul4587]

Would having Pronger + Niedermayer for being so good in 2007 be ridiculous? Not gonna tell Ducks fans how to feel but that was a really impressive level of play from those two. It was legendary and IMHO trumps whatever longevity based legacy you’d get from some of the other mentions. The 2007 Ducks team is frequently referenced as one of the better or sometimes best post lockout team, Pronger and Niedermayer were a huge reason.

They just weren’t here long enough for me. Nieds is kind of a special case because he came in and turned around the perception of this team completely and he led us to our first cup but he was only here for 4 and a bit seasons, the last of which I think he played purely to play in the Olympics.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

lol whats with North Americans obsession with Mt Rushmore and making versions of everything out of it

 

[Albatros]

This isn't about "simply better player", but the better Duck representatives. But Kariya didn't win a Hart Trophy nor a Richard Trophy. Perry won both. Perry has been a part of three consecutive Stanley Cup Final teams, all different teams in the past three seasons outside of the Ducks. Kariya, not so much.

Perry is indeed an incredibly mediocre player for his trophy cabinet, two seasons above ppg and a Ducks career average most similar to Bobby Ryan.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Selanne, Kariya, Pronger, Giggy

 

[blundluntman]

Kariya, Selanne, Giguere, Getzlaf

 

[Boreal01]

Giguere, Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne