Anaheim: Cradle of NHL coaches

There are four head coaches left in the Stanley Cup playoffs. All have been this far before, but three are tied together by one franchise.

The Ducks.

It is what links the Ottawa Senators’ Bryan Murray, the Detroit Red Wings’ Mike Babcock and the Ducks’ Randy Carlyle.

Call it the Anaheim Connection, one that extends to Ron Wilson, the first head coach of the Ducks, whose San Jose Sharks were eliminated Monday night by Babcock’s Red Wings.

“I guess everything good starts from here,” quipped Ducks forward Teemu Selanne, referring to Anaheim.

The connection bemuses David McNab, the Ducks’ longtime assistant general manager.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not sure what it means. It’s a neat thing, I suppose.”

The Ducks are making their fifth playoff appearance in their 13 seasons. Their track record pales in comparison to that of the Red Wings, an Original Six franchise with 10 Stanley Cups and the Ducks’ opponent in the Western Conference finals that begin here Friday night.

And while Murray was a veteran head coach when he was hired by the Ducks -- in 1990 he took the Washington Capitals to the East finals -- Wilson, Babcock and Carlyle were rookies.

All four share something else. They know how to win.

Babcock, in his second season here, has the Red Wings back in the third round for the first time since Detroit won the Cup in 2002. Yet, he is forever tied to the Ducks. Any mention of his name transports fans to 2003, when Anaheim shocked the hockey world by advancing to the Cup finals before losing in seven to the New Jersey Devils.

Now Babcock, 44, will try to keep the Ducks from making a return trip.

The current Anaheim team, however, barely resembles the one led by Babcock, who left for Detroit in 2005 after rejecting a one-year deal offered by General Manager Brian Burke. Only Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Rob Niedermayer, Andy McDonald and Samuel Pahlsson are left from that 2003 team.

Nearly everything else has changed: the “Mighty” nickname is gone; owner Walt Disney Co. is gone; the uniforms with the duck mask logo are gone; and the Arrowhead Pond has become the Honda Center.

Babcock’s memories haven’t changed, however.

“I think it was a fantastic team,” he said. “We were a group of guys that really fit together. We had guys like Jiggy, Keith Carney and [Paul] Kariya, [Adam] Oates and Steve Rucchin. And then we brought in Robby Niedermayer and Steve Thomas who really solidified our lineup.”

It was the Ducks’ greatest success to that point, and Giguere, whose remarkable play in goal became the focal point of those playoffs, holds a lot of respect for his former coach.

“If anything, he’s helped me with preparation,” Giguere said. “Babcock will never be caught off guard with what he does. When I was younger, watching him, it made you want to be prepared too. If you prepare the right way, things will go your way.”

Babcock wants things to go his way now, in this conference series, yet 2003 will always be there. He added fondly: “I’m looking at a portrait of that Mighty Ducks team that’s hanging in my den.”

Carlyle, of course, is the current leader. And with several core players signed though the 2008-09 season, most notably defensemen Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, this playoff appearance is unlikely the last.

But when Babcock sees Carlyle’s team, he is quick to think of Bryan Murray.

Murray, 64, has been a coach or general manager in the league for 27 years but spent only three full seasons with the Ducks, beginning in 2001. His impact has been lasting, and not because of his coaching. The indelible thumbprint is from his two years as the Ducks’ general manager.

“Murray did a wonderful job of getting that team some good young players,” Babcock said.

Murray’s legacy includes rising stars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, both first-round draft picks in 2003, and Joffrey Lupul and Ladislav Smid, the Ducks’ No. 1 picks in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Lupul and Smid enabled Burke to get Pronger from the Edmonton Oilers.

The signings of wingers Dustin Penner and Chris Kunitz, who combined for 54 goals this season, also occurred under Murray’s watch.

Burke, the Ducks’ GM, has been steadfast in crediting Murray for laying a solid foundation.

“Brian has been very gracious and has almost gone beyond what he had to say or do,” Murray said. “He’s obviously a real good GM. He’s put things in great order there.”

Murray said he hated to leave but he couldn’t resist an opportunity to coach again near the place he grew up.

“I watch them as often as I can,” he said of the Ducks. “There’s a lot of pride that goes into seeing ... the development in these players.

“It was difficult leaving. I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been coming home and the opportunity to come back was something I thought I’d do at the end of my career. I think Brian has done a hell of a job there and I credit what Randy has done in developing those guys.

“It looks like they’re real, real serious about winning the whole thing,” said Murray, whose Senators will play the Buffalo Sabres tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Wilson, of course, started it all in 1993. He has since had success in Washington and San Jose. But it was what he did for the Ducks that is remembered best: he helped create a winning identity for an expansion team often derided for its Disney nickname taken from a hit movie.

Jack Ferreira, the Ducks’ first GM, said he was impressed by Wilson’s preparation and unconventional approach despite having no NHL head coaching experience.

“I just wanted someone that would be very adaptable to the type of players that we were going to get,” said Ferreira, now with the Kings’ organization.

“In the beginning, you get the players that everybody didn’t want.”

The Ducks set an expansion record with 33 victories and would win their first playoff series three years later before Wilson was fired after clashing with then-president Tony Tavares.

Ferreira remembers something else about Wilson.

“You couldn’t say the word expansion or you were supposed to be fined,” Ferreira said. “I don’t know if anyone ever collected on those fines, but that was one of the things that everybody kind of caught onto. What he was really saying is we weren’t going to accept that as an excuse.”

The no-nonsense Carlyle would appreciate that.

Times staff writers Lonnie White and Helene Elliott contributed to this report.

eric.stephens@latimes.com

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

NHL playoffs

Conference finals, best of seven; all times Pacific (*if necessary):

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

1. BUFFALO VS. 4. OTTAWA

* Buzz: The Sabres haven’t exactly rolled over the competition in the playoffs. In the first round, they had a tougher time putting away the New York Islanders than expected and then were pushed to six games by the New York Rangers in the conference semifinals. If it wasn’t for Chris Drury’s dramatic goal in the final seconds of Game 5 to force overtime, Buffalo might be answering questions about its stunning ouster. Still, the Sabres showed in the Game 6 clincher that their deep, high-powered attack is one to be feared. Ottawa, however, may be playing the best out of any team left. The Senators have shown more grit than in past seasons in taking care of Pittsburgh and New Jersey with relative ease and their big line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and captain Daniel Alfredsson smoked the Devils for nine goals and 14 assists.

Game 1: at Buffalo...Today, 4 p.m.

Game 2: at Buffalo...Saturday, 5 p.m.

Game 3: at Ottawa...Monday, 4 p.m.

Game 4: at Ottawa...Wednesday 4 p.m.

Game 5: at Buffalo...May 19, 11 a.m.*

Game 6: at Ottawa...May 21, 4 p.m.*

Game 7: at Buffalo...May 23, 4 p.m.*

--

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

1. DETROIT VS. 2. DUCKS

* Buzz: These teams have met in the playoffs in 1997, 1999 and 2003 with each series ending in a four-game sweep. A sweep in this series is doubtful given the play of both thus far in the postseason. The Ducks are 8-2 after five-game wins over Minnesota and Vancouver, but Detroit will be a tougher test. After winning three Stanley Cups in a six-year span, the Red Wings seem determined to shake their label of being a postseason failure in recent years. Anaheim might want to get the upper hand as Detroit has won 11 consecutive playoff games in which it had a chance to eliminate an opponent. At 45, Chris Chelios continues to amaze and the three-time Norris Trophy winner is logging heavy minutes now that fellow defenseman Mathieu Schneider is out for the playoffs because of a broken wrist.

-- ERIC STEPHENS

Game 1: at Detroit...Friday, 4:30 p.m.

Game 2: at Detroit...Sunday, 4:30 p.m.

Game 3: at Ducks...Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Game 4: at Ducks...May 17, 6 p.m.

Game 5: at Detroit...May 20, noon*

Game 6: at Ducks...May 22, 6 p.m.*

Game 7: at Detroit...May 24, 4:30 p.m.*