J.S. Giguere deserves to have his Anaheim Ducks # 35 shirt placed on the rafters next to the # 8 solitaire of Teemu Selanne? Let's take a look at what Jiggy meant to the Ducks.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere is a hero for fans of the Anaheim Ducks. He was the outstanding goalkeeper of the 2007 Stanley Cup Championship of the team. "Jiggy" deserves to have his number removed by the ducks?
J.S. Giguere switched to Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 2000 off-season for a second-round selection. That was a robbery of a deal for Anaheim. The choice became Matt Pettinger. If you know him without looking, you're a big hockey fan.
Jiggy spent the beginning of the following season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL. He was called to Anaheim later in the season. By the end of the season, Anaheim had relinquished the only real goalkeeper they had ever had, Guy Hebert. Giguere had earned her place quickly.
That team was not full of top-notch NHL talent as the 2006-07 team was. After captain Paul Kariya, the team's next three leading scorers were Petr Sykora, Steve Rucchin and Adam Oates, 40. Okay, Mike Babcock was behind the bank, but that team had nothing to do with the playoffs. What happened next is what J.S. recorded. Giguere in the pantheon of Anaheim athletes forever.
Anaheim began the 2003 playoffs against the team that had finished its only two postseason appearances, Detroit Red Wings. Detroit presented an alignment full of stars. Hall of fame inductee Steve Yzerman was the captain. Other forwards who now occupy the Hockey Hall of Fame include Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, Igor Larionov and Luc Robitaille. They even had Niclas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios on the blue line. Those two are in the Hall of Fame now as well.
The Mighty Ducks were the seventh seed in the Western Conference, Detroit was the second seed. All Giguere did in game one was set a record for most saves in a playoff debut with 63 in a 2-1 triple-overtime thriller. Giguere and the Mighty Ducks swept the Red Wings in four games. Jiggy only allowed six goals in the series, winning each of the games with only one goal.
Speaking of style points, Giguere is your man. Maybe you remember his miraculous salvation in the Western Conference Final. The rescue was more miraculous because he was so out of position in that play. In the final of the Minnesota Wild Conference, Giguere set the NHL record for the longest winning streak in the playoffs at 217 minutes 54 seconds. Allowed a single goal in the series, an early goal in the power play in the fourth game. That was a record for a best-of-seven series as well.
Giguere almost made the Cinderella team one for all ages. He and the Mighty Ducks fought the eventual New Jersey Devils champion for seven games in the Stanley Cup Final. Giguere posted two more overtime wins and finished the undefeated postseason in seven overtime games. He set the record for the longest winning streak in overtime. For his effort, he was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the postseason, even though Anaheim lost in the final. He was only the fifth player to do that. It was a testament to how special that postseason was.
Giguere deserved a Stanley Cup in 2003. But that did not happen. He stayed with Anaheim and had another great career in the playoffs in 2007. After posting a regular season record of 36-10-8, Giguere was again spectacular in the playoffs. He finished with 1.97 goals against the average and .922 saves percentage.
That the Anaheim Ducks team was frankly full of talent and won the Cup in just 21 games. Giguere played in only 18 of those games because her son was born with a persistent fetal vasculature syndrome, a deformity of his eye. Thank God Ilya Bryzgalov could hold the fort until Giguere could return to the ice. Even with all the distractions, Giguere won 13 of 17 postseason decisions to give Anaheim his only Stanley Cup.
Giguere played two and a half seasons in Anaheim before being traded to Toronto in January 2010. He was never as good as he had been with the Ducks, and retired with Colorado in 2014. Fittingly took a final turn with Teemu Selanne as they fired to the Anaheim crowd. His legend solidified during a magical period more than a decade ago in Anaheim.
Giguere did not start his career in the NHL with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, but he supported them for their best seasons. He also did not finish his career with the Anaheim Ducks, but he dominated his position when it mattered most.
