DUCKS REACHED NEW HEIGHTS MORE SUCCESS EXPECTED AFTER RUN.

Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer

It would have been considered quite an accomplishment for the Mighty Ducks just to make the playoffs this season. But after reaching the edge of greatness, it was difficult for the Ducks to consider how far they did come without it ending with a feeling of emptiness.

The Ducks reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Being one victory from holding the Cup made it hard for the Ducks to feel anything but unfulfilled.

But in the span of one season, they accomplished more than anyone, including themselves, could have imagined.

``We came a million miles this year,'' Ducks first-year coach Mike Babcock said. ``People didn't know we were alive at the start of this year. They know we're alive now.''

Babcock and first-year general manager Bryan Murray shaped the Ducks into Stanley Cup finalists, forcing the rest of the hockey world to take notice. The Ducks were ignored even when they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, but they soon forced their way into the spotlight.

The Ducks finished 25 points out of the playoffs last season. Their last playoff appearance was in 1999. For years they've been not much more than a joke to the hockey world, the Mickey Mouse organization that couldn't do anything right.

The transformation began when Murray took over as general manager after a year as the team's coach. He named the fiery, straightforward Babcock as coach even though he had no NHL experience as a player or coach.

From the first day, Babcock willed the Ducks into competitors, believers (in him and in themselves) and, eventually, winners. That should all be there next season, though it will be hard to repeat the postseason accomplishments.

The Ducks now have a solid foundation that starts with goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and extends through an underrated group of defensemen and a group of forwards that fit together like a puzzle.

``We made big strides as an organization, and there's a lot of pieces of the puzzle there,'' Ducks captain Paul Kariya said. ``Starting at goal, and Bryan did an unbelievable job this season getting us to be a much improved team. Obviously, Mike did a great job by coaching us. We will be back.''

The Ducks kept longtime star Kariya around with a one-year contract and a promise to surround him with a better team. Now the franchise has shown dedication to winning, and he could have another chance to win a Stanley Cup with the Ducks.

``We know that we have to have a much better team to be back here again,'' Babcock said.

By that, he didn't mean a roster makeover or major offseason signing but the continued development of the team in place. He sold the Ducks on the approach he thought they needed to take to win, and it worked to the extent it should create more belief in the system next season.

``I think the way we are going to approach next year ... Game 1 is going to be the biggest game of the year and we'll go from that,'' Giguere said.

Brice Nixon, [phone]

brice.nixon(at)sgvn.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Paul Kariya said the Ducks will return to the Finals given their strong management and goaltending.

(2) The Ducks' run to the Finals mixed veterans such as Adam Oates (77) with overachieving rookies such as Kurt Sauer, background.

Paul Chiasson/Associated Press