 Although the trade proved to be an important effort in the team, they still finished short of the playoffs, losing the eight spot in the Western Conference to the Winnipeg Jets based on the number of wins.During the 1996–97 season, Kariya became team captain following Randy Ladouceur's retirement in the off-season, and led the Ducks to their first post-season appearance after recording the franchise's first winning record of 36–33–13, good enough for home ice in the first round as the fourth seed against the Phoenix Coyotes.The Ducks trailed 3–2 going into Phoenix for Game 6.