By Matt Vevoda
AnaheimDucks.com 

The top of the ring.

Months of waiting finally came to fruition for Ducks players on Monday night, as the members of last season’s Stanley Cup champions received their commemorative championship rings at a private event.

The rings, along with Wednesday night’s raising of the championship banners, are the two final remnants for celebration from last year’s illustrious Ducks team.

“It was good excitement for us to be around everybody again and see the happiness that it brings to the organization and the owners and how proud they are,” said Chris Kunitz. “I think that shows in definitely what the ring looks like, how much thought and process went into it.”

The right side.

Click here for pictures of the Ducks with their rings Watch the making of the Ducks rings and the team's private ring ceremony on The Element

The massive ring is made of 14K white gold, with 110 diamonds used to create the whole ring. The top of the ring spells our STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS down the left and right borders. A raised Stanley Cup is placed along the full length of the ring from top to bottom, filled with 16 diamonds representing the 16 playoff victories needed to win the Cup. Overlaying the Cup is the Ducks stylized “D” logo in 14K yellow gold with “D” bordered in yello diamonds and the webbed foot made from a custom cut black onyx stone. The remaining background of the top of the ring is covered with white diamonds.

While being a token of last season’s success, the ring also pays homage to past Ducks seasons on its left side, where under the player’s last name are 14 stones in three different colors. The first 11 are green to symbolize the 11 seasons of the Mighty Ducks under Disney ownership. The next stone is white, symbolizing the lockout, a canceled season and a period of change. Finally, the last two

A closeup of the left side.

stones are orange and represent the past two years of ownership by Henry and Susan Samueli and a change in name and colors. Also prominent on the right side of the ring is a representation of Honda Center and the old Mighty Ducks logo, which is flanked by ‘93 and ‘07 as the years in between the championship.

“The way they designed the ring and the thought they put behind it, I thought it was exceptional,” said Ducks goaltender J.S. Giguere, who has been with the Ducks since 2000. “I was talking to Teemu [Selanne] and we were pretty happy that they thought about the past. Although the past was not always pretty here, it’s still important to remember it and some of us had to go through a lot of dirt before we were able to see the sun.”

The top of the right portion of the ring commemorates the Stanley Cup title being “California’s First Cup.” A full Ducks logo dominates the middle and the Ducks' playoff record (16-5) and year of the win (2007) fill out the bottom of the left side.

The inside barrel of the ring below the top is inscribed “DESTINY IS HEART, SACRIFICE AND PASSION”, which became the team’s motto throughout the playoff run.

All of it left the players in awe during the ceremony.

“We were like little kids in there. You finally get that chance to put it on, it was something special,” said Ducks right winger Corey Perry on the unveiling of rings. “I like it. There are a lot of diamonds in it, a lot of ‘bling-bling.’ You’re never going to forget that you won a Stanley Cup when you see that.”

Said Kunitz, “It’s unbelievable. All the work and all the little hidden things in it that make it so special for us to look at are definitely fun. It’s going to be great stories to tell everybody.”

As for what to do with the rings, the Ducks are divided between wearing, displaying or storing them. Whatever the choice may be, the ring will always be a symbol of the excellence displayed on the ice by the Ducks in its 2006-07 championship season.

“All the hard work you put in, it’s a bit of a reward, something that nobody can take away from you,” Giguere said. No matter happens in your life, you can always say that you won a Stanley Cup and that’s not something that everybody can say.”

Added Perry, “It’s all the blood, sweat and tears, everything that came out of that year, every time you look at it you remember every guy on that team. It’s something to remember the year by.”