Looking back at Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf's glorious career in Anaheim
Written by KCBS/KCAL Sports Reporter Jill Painter Lopez
It's the end of an era Sunday as Ryan Getzlaf will hang up his skates and retire after 17 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.
What a rarity in sports to be with the same organization for an entire career, but Getzlaf's marriage with the Ducks and the Southern California community was so strong that the end couldn't have happened any other way.
It's fitting he'll retire with the same team that drafted him. He helped win the Stanley Cup in 2007, flourished with linemate and friend Corey Perry and mentored the new generation of young stars in Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras.
He's a true ambassador for hockey and one that will be missed. Someone who did things the right way. He dazzled with his playmaking skills (735 assists and 1,017 points) and did it all with a humble attitude, not surprising for someone who grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. He was steady and consistent, playing in 1,155 games. His leadership is why he was the captain for 12 years. As he went, so did his teammates.
I had the pleasure of covering Getzlaf as a Ducks reporter with Fox Sports West (now Bally Sports West) for four years. I needed an apple box to do interviews with the 6-foot-4 center, which always made for a good laugh.
What you see with Getzlaf is what you get. He's generous with his time with media, teammates and the community in Orange County.
Watching him with people was my favorite thing. He always had time for autographs, whether it was Glendale, Ariz. on his walk from the hotel to the arena or Calgary on the way to the team bus on a frigid January day. Watching the video of him get down on one knee on the ice with 21st Duck Michael Lu, a young man battling Parkinson's Disease, brings me to tears every time. When Lu fell to the ice when Getzlaf surprised him, Getzlaf told him "I got you" and helped him put on his Ducks jersey.
Getzlaf shies away from attention, and that's certainly one of the reasons you didn't see a final season retirement tour around the NHL, even if it's well deserved.
The Ducks will pull out all the stops to send him out Getzlaf - a certain Hall of Famer - on Sunday. The Ducks calendar showed two more road games on the schedule, but Getzlaf knew the fans in Anaheim needed his final game and so Sunday will be it. He'll be adored by family, friends and fans. All the attention might make him a tad uncomfortable, but he should enjoy it.
He's given so much time to everyone, especially children, and his annual golf tournament that benefits Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. He'll continue to be impactful in childrens' lives.
Getzlaf loves fast cars, and he told me he's actually thought about getting a minivan. It's a practical vehicle for taking his kids around. He and his wife, Paige, met in Orange County. They have four children - Ryder, Gavin, Willa and Mac - and they'll continue to make their home in Southern California. He recently missed one of Willow's recitals, and he'll now have time to be there for hockey games, recitals and cooking dinner.
Getzlaf will play more golf - surely getting more rounds in with his friend and former Ducks teammate Teemu Selanne - and he's got a new pizza oven to hone his cooking skills.
It will be fun to see what his next adventures have in store for the 36-year-old Getzlaf.
He's got one last game before takes his sweater off for the last time, and it will be a special one, ending an awesome era.
