2004–05 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season


The 2004–05 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season would have been the Mighty Ducks' 12th season of play in the NHL, however, the 2004–05 NHL lockout cancelled all of the games for the season.

Off-season

Along with the rest of the National Hockey League, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim entered the 2004 offseason with many questions. While most of the NHL was concerned with a possible lockout due to negotiations concerning a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Mighty Ducks had even more issues concerning the future ownership of the franchise and the future of the franchise in Orange County. The owners of the Ducks at the time, the Walt Disney Company was looking to sell the team and people in the community were not all too confident that the team would remain in Anaheim. On September 10, just a month before the 2004–05 season was scheduled to start, it was reported in the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, and the Associated Press that former Hartford Whalers and Pittsburgh Penguins owner Howard Baldwin was interested in purchasing the Mighty Ducks and moving them to Kansas City, Missouri to play in the then-under construction arena now known as Sprint Center. The lockout, however, began just six days later and extended well into what would have been the regular season and eventually causing the cancellation of the season entirely. With the Kansas City rumors circulating and the lockout already harming business at the Arrowhead Pond, Henry Samueli got into negotiations to purchase the team so the arena would not lose its primary tenant. Samueli eventually bought the team in 2005 and took over day-to-day operations of the club in June 2005.

Regular season

The season for the Mighty Ducks were scheduled to begin Wednesday, October 13 with a home game against Calgary. Their first road game was to be on Sunday, October 17 against cross-town rival Los Angeles. Their longest homestand was supposed to be from March 2-March 13, and their longest road trip was to be from January 29–February 10. Their final game of the regular season was scheduled on Sunday, April 10 against Columbus at the Arrowhead Pond.

Schedule

While the lockout led to the cancellation of the entire season, the Mighty Ducks had a schedule drawn up in case the season resumed at any time.

Preseason

Regular season

Transactions

The Mighty Ducks have were involved in the following transactions during the 2004 offseason. No transactions were made during the lockout.

Trades

Draft picks

The Ducks picks at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft in Raleigh, North Carolina:
Round#PlayerPositionNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
19Ladislav SmidDefenseBílí Tygři Liberec
239Jordan SmithDefenseCanadaSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
374Kyle KlubertanzDefenseUnited StatesGreen Bay Gamblers
375Tim BrentCenterCanadaToronto St. Michael's Majors
6172Matt AuffreyRight WingUnited StatesUS NTDP
7203Gabriel BouthilletteGoaltenderCanadaGatineau Olympiques
8236Matt ChristieCenterCanadaMiami University
9269Janne PesonenRight WingOulun Kärpät

Minor league affiliates

Other Anaheim–based teams in 2004–05