1995–96 NHL season

The 1995–96 NHL season was the 79th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche (formerly the Quebec Nordiques), who, in their first year as the Avalanche, swept the Florida Panthers in the finals, in four games.

1995–96 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 6, 1995 – June 10, 1996
Number of games	82
Number of teams	26
Draft
Top draft pick	Bryan Berard
Picked by	Ottawa Senators
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Detroit Red Wings
Season MVP	Mario Lemieux (Penguins)
Top scorer	Mario Lemieux (Penguins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Joe Sakic (Avalanche)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Colorado Avalanche
Runners-up	Florida Panthers

League business

The 1995–96 season was the first season in Denver for the Avalanche, who had relocated from Quebec City where they were previously known as the Quebec Nordiques. Prior to the season, Colorado was assigned to the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They played at McNichols Arena, the building that the New Jersey Devils played in from 1976 to 1982 when they were known as the Colorado Rockies. The Avs would play in that building until they moved to the Pepsi Center in 1999.

It was also the final season for the original Winnipeg Jets, as they announced that they would be moving from Manitoba to Arizona and become the Phoenix Coyotes at season's end. The NHL would not return to Manitoba until the Atlanta Thrashers moved there to become the "new" Winnipeg Jets following the 2010–11 season.

This season would mark the last season the Buffalo Sabres would play in the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, the Philadelphia Flyers at the CoreStates Spectrum, the Senators at the Ottawa Civic Centre, and the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. The Sabres made their new home at the Marine Midland Arena, the Flyers at the CoreStates Center, the Senators at the Corel Centre, and the Canadiens at the Molson Centre. The latter two arenas opened before the end of this season. With the Montreal Forum closed, Maple Leaf Gardens was the last remaining arena from the Original Six era at the time. The Boston Bruins played their first season at Fleet Center after spending the last 67 at the old Boston Garden, and the Vancouver Canucks played their first game at General Motors Place.

During the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, each team played 84 games (including two neutral site games). Starting in the 1995–96 season, the neutral site games were eliminated, which reduced the regular season to 82 games per team where it remains to this very day.

Regular season

The Detroit Red Wings had a spectacular season, finishing with the second-highest regular-season point total in NHL history (131 points), and setting the NHL record for most wins ever in the regular season (62). However, they fell to the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, the sixth game of which marked the beginning of the heated Detroit-Colorado rivalry, which would last for years to come. Jaromir Jagr broke the record for assists and points by a right winger in a single season . Mario Lemieux had the NHL's last 150+ point season with 161 points in 70 games. This would be the last season in which at least one player would score at least 60 goals (Jagr and Lemieux) until 2008.[1] The New Jersey Devils became the first team since the 1969–70 Montreal Canadiens to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division No. GP W L T GF GA Pts 1 Philadelphia Flyers 82 45 24 13 282 208 103 2 New York Rangers 82 41 27 14 272 237 96 3 Florida Panthers 82 41 31 10 254 234 92 4 Washington Capitals 82 39 32 11 234 204 89 5 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 38 32 12 238 248 88 6 New Jersey Devils 82 37 33 12 215 202 86 7 New York Islanders 82 22 50 10 229 315 54 Northeast Division No. GP W L T GF GA PTS 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 49 29 4 362 284 102 2 Boston Bruins 82 40 31 11 282 269 91 3 Montreal Canadiens 82 40 32 10 265 248 90 4 Hartford Whalers 82 34 39 9 237 259 77 5 Buffalo Sabres 82 33 42 7 247 262 72 6 Ottawa Senators 82 18 59 5 191 291 41 Eastern Conference[2] R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts 1 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 45 24 13 282 208 103 2 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 49 29 4 362 284 102 3 New York Rangers ATL 82 41 27 14 272 237 96 4 Florida Panthers ATL 82 41 31 10 254 234 92 5 Boston Bruins NE 82 40 31 11 282 269 91 6 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 40 32 10 265 248 90 7 Washington Capitals ATL 82 39 32 11 234 204 89 8 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 38 32 12 238 248 88 9 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 37 33 12 215 202 86 10 Hartford Whalers NE 82 34 39 9 237 259 77 11 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 33 42 7 247 262 73 12 New York Islanders ATL 82 22 50 10 229 315 54 13 Ottawa Senators NE 82 18 59 5 191 291 41 Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast bold – Qualified for playoffs

Western Conference

Central Division No. GP W L T GF GA Pts 1 Detroit Red Wings 82 62 13 7 325 181 131 2 Chicago Blackhawks 82 40 28 14 273 220 94 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 34 36 12 247 252 80 4 St. Louis Blues 82 32 34 16 219 248 80 5 Winnipeg Jets 82 36 40 6 275 291 78 6 Dallas Stars 82 26 42 14 227 280 66 Pacific Division No. GP W L T GF GA Pts 1 Colorado Avalanche 82 47 25 10 326 240 104 2 Calgary Flames 82 34 37 11 241 240 79 3 Vancouver Canucks 82 32 35 15 278 278 79 4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 82 35 39 8 234 247 78 5 Edmonton Oilers 82 30 44 8 240 304 68 6 Los Angeles Kings 82 24 40 18 256 302 66 7 San Jose Sharks 82 20 55 7 252 357 47 Western Conference[3] R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts 1 p – Detroit Red Wings CEN 82 62 13 7 325 181 131 2 Colorado Avalanche PAC 82 47 25 10 326 240 104 3 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 82 40 28 14 273 220 94 4 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 82 34 36 12 247 252 80 5 St. Louis Blues CEN 82 32 34 16 219 248 80 6 Calgary Flames PAC 82 34 37 11 241 240 79 7 Vancouver Canucks PAC 82 32 35 15 278 278 79 8 Winnipeg Jets CEN 82 36 40 6 275 291 78 9 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 82 35 39 8 234 247 78 10 Edmonton Oilers PAC 82 30 44 8 240 304 68 11 Dallas Stars CEN 82 26 42 14 227 280 66 12 Los Angeles Kings PAC 82 24 40 18 256 302 66 13 San Jose Sharks PAC 82 20 55 7 252 357 47 Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

Stanley Cup Final

The Colorado Avalanche swept the final series over the Florida Panthers in the minimum four games. Both teams were making their first appearance in the Final. For Colorado, it followed the team's first season in Denver, Colorado after moving from Quebec City. Joe Sakic won the Conn Smythe Trophy.

June 4	Florida Panthers		1–3		Colorado Avalanche	McNichols Sports Arena	Recap
Tom Fitzgerald (4) - 16:51		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			10:32 - Scott Young (3) 12:21 - Mike Ricci (6) 14:21 - Uwe Krupp (3)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 27 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 25 saves / 26 shots

June 6	Florida Panthers		1–8		Colorado Avalanche	McNichols Sports Arena	Recap
Stu Barnes (6) - pp - 07:52		First period			04:11 - Peter Forsberg (8) 10:43 - pp - Rene Corbet (2) 13:46 - pp - Peter Forsberg (9) 15:05 - pp - Peter Forsberg (10)
No scoring		Second period			04:37 - Rene Corbet (3) 05:08 - Valeri Kamensky (10) 10:03 - Jon Klemm (1)
No scoring		Third period			17:28 - pp - Jon Klemm (2)
Mark Fitzpatrick 15 saves / 19 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 7 saves / 11 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 27 saves / 28 shots

June 8	Colorado Avalanche		3–2		Florida Panthers	Miami Arena	Recap
Claude Lemieux (5) - 02:44		First period			09:14 - pp - Ray Sheppard (8) 11:19 - Rob Niedermayer (5)
Mike Keane (3) - 01:38 Joe Sakic (18) - 03:00		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 32 saves / 34 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 19 saves / 22 shots

June 10	Colorado Avalanche		1–0	3OT	Florida Panthers	Miami Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Uwe Krupp (4) – 04:31		Third overtime period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 63 saves / 63 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 55 saves / 56 shots

Colorado won series 4–0

Playoff bracket

	Conference quarterfinals					Conference semifinals					Conference finals					Stanley Cup Final
	1	Philadelphia	4			2	Pittsburgh	4
	8	Tampa Bay	2			3	NY Rangers	1
	2	Pittsburgh	4							Eastern Conference
	7	Washington	2
											2	Pittsburgh	3
										4	Florida	4
	3	NY Rangers	4
	6	Montreal	2
	4	Florida	4			1	Philadelphia	2
	5	Boston	1			4	Florida	4
																E4	Florida	0
		(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
																W2	Colorado	4
	1	Detroit	4			1	Detroit	4
	8	Winnipeg	2			5	St. Louis	3
	2	Colorado	4
	7	Vancouver	2
											1	Detroit	2
										2	Colorado	4
	3	Chicago	4
	6	Calgary	0								Western Conference
	4	Toronto	2			2	Colorado	4
	5	St. Louis	4			3	Chicago	2

• During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

Awards

Presidents' Trophy:	Detroit Red Wings
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Eastern Conference playoff champion)	Florida Panthers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Western Conference playoff champion)	Colorado Avalanche
Art Ross Trophy:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Gary Roberts, Calgary Flames
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
Frank J. Selke Trophy:	Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jack Adams Award:	Scotty Bowman, Detroit Red Wings
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks
King Clancy Memorial Trophy:	Kris King, Winnipeg Jets
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Lester B. Pearson Award:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy:	Jim Carey, Washington Capitals
William M. Jennings Trophy:	Chris Osgood/Mike Vernon, Detroit Red Wings
Lester Patrick Trophy:	George Gund III, Ken Morrow, Milt Schmidt

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Jim Carey, Washington Capitals	G	Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings
Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks	D	Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins	D	Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins	C	Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers
Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins	RW	Alexander Mogilny, Vancouver Canucks
Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	LW	John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Regular season

Playoffs

Player Team GP G A Pts Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh 70 69 92 161 Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh 82 62 87 149 Joe Sakic Colorado 82 51 69 120 Ron Francis Pittsburgh 77 27 92 119 Peter Forsberg Colorado 82 30 86 116 Eric Lindros Philadelphia 73 47 68 115 Paul Kariya Anaheim 82 50 58 108 Teemu Selanne Winnipeg/ Anaheim 79 40 68 108 Alexander Mogilny Vancouver 79 55 52 107 Sergei Fedorov Detroit 78 39 68 107 Source: NHL.[4]

Player Team GP G A Pts Joe Sakic Colorado 22 18 16 34 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh 18 11 16 27 Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh 18 11 12 23 Valeri Kamensky Colorado 22 10 12 22 Peter Forsberg Colorado 22 10 11 21 Petr Nedved Pittsburgh 18 10 10 20 Steve Yzerman Detroit 18 8 12 20 Sergei Fedorov Detroit 19 2 18 20 Sandis Ozolinsh Colorado 22 5 14 19 Dave Lowry Florida 22 10 7 17 Mike Ricci Colorado 22 6 11 17 Adam Deadmarsh Colorado 22 5 12 17

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Leading goaltenders

Regular season

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
Ron Hextall	Philadelphia	53	3102	112	4	2.17
Chris Osgood	Detroit	50	2933	106	5	2.17
Jim Carey	Washington	71	4069	153	9	2.26
Mike Vernon	Detroit	32	1855	70	3	2.26
Martin Brodeur	New Jersey	77	4433	173	6	2.34
Jeff Hackett	Chicago	35	2000	80	4	2.40
Daren Puppa	Tampa Bay	57	3189	131	5	2.46
Mike Richter	New York Rangers	41	2396	107	3	2.68
John Vanbiesbrouck	Florida	57	3178	142	2	2.68
Ed Belfour	Chicago	50	2956	135	1	2.74

[5]

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1995–96 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres
• Jarome Iginla*, Calgary Flames
• Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
• Miroslav Satan, Edmonton Oilers
• Ed Jovanovski, Florida Panthers
• Jeff O'Neill, Hartford Whalers
• Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens
• Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens
• Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils
• Petr Sykora, New Jersey Devils
• Steve Sullivan, New Jersey Devils
• Bryan McCabe, New York Islanders
• Todd Bertuzzi, New York Islanders
• Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators
• Daymond Langkow, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Andrew Brunette, Washington Capitals
• Shane Doan, Winnipeg Jets

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1995–96 (listed with their last team):

• Cam Neely, Boston Bruins
• Troy Murray, Colorado Avalanche
• Bob Kudelski, Florida Panthers
• Jimmy Carson, Hartford Whalers
• Joe Cirella, Ottawa Senators
• Glenn Anderson, St. Louis Blues

Trading deadline

Trading deadline: March 20, 1996.[6]

• March 20, 1996: C Jesse Belanger traded from Florida to Vancouver for Vancouver's third round pick in 1996 Entry Draft and future considerations.
• March 20, 1996: LW Ken Baumgartner traded from Toronto to Anaheim for Winnipeg's fourth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft (previously acquired).
• March 20, 1996: D J. J. Daigneault traded from St. Louis to Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh's sixth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
• March 20, 1996: LW Kevin Miller traded from San Jose to Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh's fifth round choice in 1996 Entry Draft and future considerations.
• March 20, 1996: LW Pat Conacher and Calgary's sixth round pick in 1997 Entry Draft traded from Calgary to NY Islanders for C Bob Sweeney.
• March 20, 1996: RW Kirk Maltby traded from Edmonton to Detroit for D Dan McGillis.
• March 20, 1996: D Jaroslav Modry and Ottawa's eighth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft traded from Ottawa to Los Angeles for RW Kevin Brown.
• March 20, 1996: LW Patrick Poulin, D Igor Ulanov and Chicago's second round pick in 1996 Entry Draft traded from Chicago to Tampa Bay for D Enrico Ciccone and Tampa Bay's second round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
• March 20, 1996: LW Yuri Khmylev and Buffalo's eighth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft traded from Buffalo to St. Louis for D Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Ottawa's second round pick in 1996 Entry Draft (previously acquired) and St. Louis' third round pick in 1997 Entry Draft.
• March 20, 1996: C Dave Hannan traded from Buffalo to Colorado for Colorado's sixth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
• March 20, 1996: RW Alek Stojanov traded from Vancouver to Pittsburgh for RW Markus Naslund.
• March 20, 1996: RW Ravil Gusmanov traded from Winnipeg to Chicago for Chicago's fourth round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
• March 20, 1996: RW Joe Kocur traded from NY Rangers to Vancouver for G Kay Whitmore.

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Team	Coach	Comments
Boston Bruins	Steve Kasper
Buffalo Sabres	Ted Nolan
Florida Panthers	Doug MacLean
Hartford Whalers	Paul Holmgren	Replaced midseason by Paul Maurice
Montreal Canadiens	Jacques Demers	Replaced early in the season by Mario Tremblay
New Jersey Devils	Jacques Lemaire
New York Islanders	Mike Milbury
New York Rangers	Colin Campbell
Ottawa Senators	Rick Bowness	Replaced early in the season by Dave Allison, who would be replaced after 25 games by Jacques Martin
Philadelphia Flyers	Terry Murray
Pittsburgh Penguins	Eddie Johnston
Tampa Bay Lightning	Terry Crisp
Washington Capitals	Jim Schoenfeld

Western Conference

Team	Coach	Comments
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	Ron Wilson
Calgary Flames	Pierre Page
Chicago Blackhawks	Craig Hartsburg
Colorado Avalanche	Marc Crawford
Dallas Stars	Bob Gainey	Replaced midseason by Ken Hitchcock
Detroit Red Wings	Scotty Bowman
Edmonton Oilers	Ron Low
Los Angeles Kings	Larry Robinson
St. Louis Blues	Mike Keenan
San Jose Sharks	Kevin Constantine	Replaced early in the season by Jim Wiley
Toronto Maple Leafs	Pat Burns	Replaced late in the season by Nick Beverley
Vancouver Canucks	Rick Ley	Replaced late in the season by Pat Quinn
Winnipeg Jets	Terry Simpson

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1995 NHL Entry Draft
• 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1995 in sports
• 1996 in sports

References

• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
• Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.

Notes

1. https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2008032128&prov=ap
2. "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
3. "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
4. Dinger 2011, p. 154.
5. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1996_leaders.html
6. NHL trade deadline: Deals since 1980 | Habs Inside/Out Archived 2009-02-16 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Hockey Database
• http://nhl.com/