While the Anaheim Ducks entered the 2011 off-season with no major free agent challenges , the franchise did indeed have some question marks heading into the 2011 – 12 season . The biggest question on the ice was whether superstar Teemu Selanne would retire . The 40-year-old was incredibly successful in the 2010 – 11 season , averaging over a point per game , however , his age and length of his career ( 18 NHL seasons ) was a factor . The Ducks ' off-season started with the NHL Entry Draft , where Anaheim took Rickard Rakell in the first round ( 30th overall ) , John Gibson in the second round ( 39th overall ) and traded for Andrew Cogliano from the Edmonton Oilers , subsequently signing him to a three-year contract . Head coach Randy Carlyle also signed a contract extension of three years after guiding the Ducks to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2007 and into the playoffs every season since he took the helm , save for the 2009 – 10 season . On the retirement front , the Ducks lost long-time , third-line center Todd Marchant to retirement on June 29 , 2011 , and on the same day , former Ducks captain Paul Kariya announced his retirement , quelling any rumors that he may return to the franchise he helped build . Other than a few transactions , the summer for Anaheim was relatively quiet , with most of the talk concerning the health of goaltender Jonas Hiller and whether Teemu Selanne will return for another season . Hiller was reported to be symptom-free as of August 19 , and was expected to arrive at the Ducks ' training camp on time in September . Selanne announced his return on September 15 after undergoing successful knee surgery early in the summer . Early in September , tragedy rocked the hockey world when a plane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team of the Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) crashed . The team featured multiple NHL prospects and former NHL stars , including former Mighty Duck Ruslan Salei . Salei had been a mainstay in the Anaheim organization for many years and a small memorial was erected in front of Honda Center by Ducks fans to remember him immediately after news of his passing became public
tragedy
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash
2011–12 Anaheim Ducks season