Ducks pair make hockey Hall of Fame via 2017 ballot

Anaheim Ducks now have two of their former players in the Hall of Fame after this week.

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced their inductees for 2017 today. Included is a pair of Ducks teammates that have come to define a franchise.  The teammates Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya.

Kariya was the first NHL drat pick for the Ducks in 1993. He would start his rookie season in the strike shortened season of 1994-95.

By the time Kariya leaves the club in the summer 2003, the slick left wing would hold a number of franchise records. Those include games played (606), goals (300), assists (369), points (669),[119] short handed goals (16) and shots (2,455).

The man who would break Kariya’s records, Selanne, would joined him in a trade in 1996. In 1997, they would finish second and third in the NHL scoring race. Kariya finished second in the MVP race that year.

Selanne and Kariya led the Ducks to their first playoff series win as well.

Down three to two in the series, Kariya won Game 6 in overtime and the Ducks triumphed at home in game seven.  Together, the pair would combine for 10 goals and 17 points in the series.

Head injuries to Kariya that would plague him the rest of his career limited the pairings’ effectiveness. Anaheim would only make the playoffs one more time while the pair were teammates in 1999; easily being swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

Eventually, in 2001, Selanne would be traded to the San Jose Sharks. Kariya would lead the Ducks to a game seven loss in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003.

That summer both players entered free agency and decided to join up again, signing with the Colorado Avalanche.  Their lone season with the Avalanche did not lead to success. Both players dealt with injuries and lackluster play as the Avalanche lost in the second round of the playoffs.

The pair would never play on the same team again.

Additionally, it was during his second stint with the Ducks where Selanne solidified his legacy with the team.  In his first year back, Selanne would score 40 goals leading the Ducks to the Western Conference Finals.

The next year, Selanne and the Ducks would raise the first and only Stanley Cup to date in franchise history.

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Finally, by the time Selanne retired in 2014 he would break all of his friend Kariya’s franchise records and he would be the first Ducks player to have his jersey number retired.