2007 Stanley Cup Final

The 2007 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2006–07 season, and the end of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. It featured two teams trying to win their very first Stanley Cup: the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks and the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators.

Anaheim had been close before, losing in the Finals back in 2003 when they were called the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. For Ottawa, this was their first ever trip to the Finals since joining the NHL in 1992. After a great battle, Anaheim won in five games, earning their first Stanley Cup. This made them the eleventh team added after 1967 to win the famous trophy, and the very first team from California to lift it.

This was only the second time in history that both teams in the Finals had never won the Cup before. It also marked the first time since 1967 that a team from Ontario had reached the big game. An interesting family moment happened too—brothers Scott and Rob Niedermayer both helped the Ducks win, the first brothers to share a Stanley Cup victory since Duane and Brent Sutter with the New York Islanders in 1982 and 1983.

Paths to the Finals

Further information: 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators both worked hard to reach the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. Anaheim, the second seed, beat the Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings to get to the final. They were known for their strong defense and were led by players like Scott Niedermayer and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Ottawa, the fourth seed, defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, and Buffalo Sabres. They were led by players like Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and goalie Ray Emery. Anaheim had home ice advantage because they finished the regular season with more points than Ottawa. Many fans hoped the Stanley Cup would return to Canada after many years, but the Ducks were ready to defend against Ottawa's strong offense.

Game summaries

The 2007 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's 2006–07 season. It featured the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks and the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators. This was Anaheim's second appearance in the Finals since 2003, when they were known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Only four players from Anaheim's 2003 team remained, including Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The general manager from that 2003 team, Bryan Murray, was now the head coach of Ottawa. This was the first time the two teams had ever faced each other in the playoffs.

Historical facts

This was a historic moment as it was the first time since 1925 that a team from the west coast of North America had won the Stanley Cup. The Ducks were the fourth west coast team to win the Cup and the first from California.

Ottawa's captain, Daniel Alfredsson from Sweden, was the first European-born captain to lead his team to the finals. Previously, only Canadian or American captains had led teams in the finals. The Ducks, led by Canadian Scott Niedermayer, had more Canadian players than Ottawa.

As of the end of the 2021 playoffs, Ottawa remained the only Canadian team to represent the East in the finals since 1993. This was also the first finals since 1999 where neither team had won the Stanley Cup before.

Sens Mile

Ottawa fans celebrated their team's success by taking to the streets, similar to celebrations in Calgary and Edmonton during their recent Cup runs. The idea began as a grassroots campaign on Facebook by Ottawa residents before game four of the Eastern Conference Finals. Fans gathered on Elgin Street to celebrate after games. For the Stanley Cup Final, large video screens were set up at Ottawa City Hall. After Ottawa won game three, fans celebrated on Elgin Street again, and the street was closed down by police.

Game one

The game began with a festive atmosphere at Honda Center in Anaheim, with Hollywood celebrities and then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger dropping the puck for the ceremonial face-off. Ottawa scored first, but Anaheim took over and tied the game. Ottawa took a brief lead, but Anaheim came back to win the game 3–2.

Game two

Defensive play kept scoring low until Samuel Pahlsson scored the game-winning goal for Anaheim. Anaheim again led in shots, and Ottawa's goalie Ray Emery played his best game of the series.

Game three

The game moved to Ottawa for the first Stanley Cup Final game there in 80 years. Despite an energetic crowd, Ottawa started tentatively, and Anaheim took an early lead. The game was tied several times, but Ottawa eventually won 5–3, their only win in the series.

Game four

Anaheim's Chris Pronger was suspended for this game after an incident in game three. Ottawa took an early lead, but Anaheim came back to win 3–2, taking a 3–1 series lead.

Game five

The final game was dominated by Anaheim. They scored early and often, with Andy McDonald and Rob Niedermayer leading the way. Despite a strong effort from Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa could not catch up, and Anaheim won the game 6–2 to clinch their first Stanley Cup. Every member of the Ducks franchise, except Scott Niedermayer, won their first Stanley Cup.

Team rosters

The 2007 Stanley Cup Final featured two hockey teams: the Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators. Each team had players who were part of this exciting championship series.

Ottawa Senators

Stanley Cup engraving

The 2007 Stanley Cup was given to Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after the Ducks won 6–2 against the Senators in game five.

Here are the Ducks players and staff whose names were engraved on the Stanley Cup:

2006–07 Anaheim Ducks

Coaching and administrative staff

• Henry Samueli (Governor/Owner), Susan Samueli (Owner), Michael Schulman (Chief Executive Officer/President)
• Brian Burke (Vice President/General Manager), Tim Ryan (Vice President/Chief Operating Officer), Bob Wagner (Vice President),
• Bob Murray (Vice President-Hockey Operations), David McNab (Asst. General Manager), Al Coates (Sr. Advisor to General Manager), Randy Carlyle (Head Coach),
• Dave Farrish (Asst. Coach), Newell Brown (Asst. Coach), Francois Allaire (Goaltending Consultant), Sean Skahan (Strength-Conditioning Coach),
• Joe Trotta (Video Coordinator), Tim Clark (Trainer), Mark O'Neill (Equipment Manager), John Allaway (Assistant Equipment Manager),
• James Partida (Massage Therapist), Rick Paterson (Director of Pro Scouting), Allan Chainey (Director of Amateur Scouting)

Engraving notes

• #16 George Parros (RW) played in 32 regular season games and 5 playoff games for Anaheim. Anaheim asked to have his name added, and it was allowed even though he didn’t meet the usual rules. He played the whole season with Anaheim.
• Henry and Susan Samueli’s last name was listed once for both of them. Also, they were listed together as owners.
• Four other non-players were listed with their jobs like CEO, GM, COO, and Head Coach. This was the first time since 1993–94 that any jobs besides players were included on the cup.
• Only 47 names were added to the Stanley Cup in 2007, which is fewer than the maximum of 52.
• Four players on the team during the Final didn’t get their names on the Stanley Cup because they didn’t qualify. Sebastien Caron and Tim Brent didn’t play in any playoff games.

Left off the Stanley Cup, but included in team picture

• #13 Mark Hartigan (C) – 6 regular season games for Columbus, 6 for Anaheim, and 1 playoff game for Anaheim
• #34 Aaron Rome (D) – 1 regular season game and 1 playoff game
• #29 Sebastien Caron (G) – 1 regular season game
• The NHL said no to Anaheim’s request to include Hartigan and Rome on the Stanley Cup, because they mostly played in smaller leagues and didn’t play in the last two rounds. Anaheim didn’t ask to add Caron’s name.

Left off the Stanley Cup, and not in team picture

• #47 Tim Brent (C) – 15 regular season games. Anaheim didn’t ask to have his name added.

Television and ratings

The 2007 Stanley Cup Final had very low television ratings in the United States. The first two games were shown on the cable channel Versus, which was not very well known at the time. These games had very few viewers, making them among the least watched programs that day.

When the games moved to NBC, the ratings did not improve much. NBC was having a difficult time with ratings during that period. The third game on NBC had the lowest rating ever for a prime-time show on the network. Even compared to other sports events, like a game from the NBA Eastern Conference Finals shown at the same time, the Stanley Cup Final did not attract many viewers. Overall, the 2007 finals were the least watched in the United States up to that point.

In Los Angeles, where the Anaheim Ducks are based, the early games on Versus had limited reach because the channel was not available in many homes. However, when the final game was shown on NBC, it drew more local viewers than a regular season game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

In Canada, the games on Hockey Night in Canada had good viewership, with hundreds of thousands of people watching each game. This was the last year that announcer Bob Cole and commentator Harry Neale worked together for the finals.