1995–96 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1995–96 Winnipeg Jets season was the team's 24th and their final season in Winnipeg before the franchise was moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and renamed the Phoenix Coyotes (now the Arizona Coyotes). The NHL returned to Winnipeg following the 2010–11 season, when the Atlanta Thrashers became the "new" Winnipeg Jets.

1995–96 Winnipeg Jets (1972–96)
Division	5th Central
Conference	8th Western
1995–96 record	36–40–6
Home record	22–16–3
Road record	14–24–3
Goals for	275
Goals against	291
Team information
General manager	John Paddock
Coach	Terry Simpson
Captain	Kris King
Arena	Winnipeg Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Keith Tkachuk (50)
Assists	Keith Tkachuk (48) Teemu Selanne (48)
Points	Keith Tkachuk (98)
Penalty minutes	Jim McKenzie (202)
Wins	Nikolai Khabibulin (26)
Goals against average	Nikolai Khabibulin (3.13)

The Jets managed to qualify for the eighth and final playoff Western Conference playoff berth in their final season in Winnipeg. The Jets were eliminated in the first round in six games by the President's Trophy winners, the Detroit Red Wings.

Relocation to Phoenix

As the National Hockey League (NHL) expanded into the United States, the team operating costs and salaries grew rapidly; this development put a high strain on the League's Canadian teams. As Winnipeg was the League's second-smallest market (eventually becoming the smallest market after the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1995), the Jets were unable to retain their best players. Various schemes were devised to save the team through a tremendous grassroots effort and government funds, but in the end, the efforts were not enough.

Despite strong fan support, the Winnipeg Jets were at a financial disadvantage with many American franchises. The team was sold to Phoenix businessmen Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke, and in 1996, the club moved to Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes. In the summer that the move took place, the franchise saw the exit of Jets stars like Teemu Selanne and Alexei Zhamnov, while the team added established superstar Jeremy Roenick from the Chicago Blackhawks. Roenick teamed up with power wingers Keith Tkachuk and Rick Tocchet to form a dynamic 1–2–3 offensive punch that led the Coyotes through their first years in Arizona. Also impressive were young players Shane Doan (who was the last remaining original Jet active in the NHL), Oleg Tverdovsky and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, whom the fans nicknamed the "Bulin Wall."

Off-season

The Jets picked Shane Doan of the Kamloops Blazers as their first-round pick, seventh overall.

Due to contractual disagreements, Keith Tkachuk is replaced as captain by Kris King.

Regular season

Their 36 wins were the highest since the Jets won 40 games during the 1992–93 season.

Season standings

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

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference[1]

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

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 7, 1995	7–5	Dallas Stars (1995–96)	1–0–0
2	W	October 9, 1995	4–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	2–0–0
3	L	October 11, 1995	4–6	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	2–1–0
4	L	October 12, 1995	1–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	2–2–0
5	T	October 15, 1995	5–5 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	2–2–1
6	W	October 17, 1995	5–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	3–2–1
7	T	October 19, 1995	3–3 OT	San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	3–2–2
8	L	October 22, 1995	2–6	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	3–3–2
9	W	October 25, 1995	6–1	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	4–3–2
10	L	October 27, 1995	5–7	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	4–4–2
11	W	October 28, 1995	4–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	5–4–2
12	W	October 30, 1995	3–2	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	6–4–2
13	L	November 1, 1995	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	6–5–2
14	L	November 3, 1995	2–5	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	6–6–2
15	W	November 5, 1995	4–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	7–6–2
16	L	November 10, 1995	2–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	7–7–2
17	W	November 14, 1995	6–5 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	8–7–2
18	W	November 17, 1995	6–3	New York Rangers (1995–96)	9–7–2
19	L	November 18, 1995	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	9–8–2
20	L	November 21, 1995	4–5	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	9–9–2
21	W	November 22, 1995	3–1	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	10–9–2
22	W	November 26, 1995	4–0	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	11–9–2
23	W	November 28, 1995	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	12–9–2
24	L	November 30, 1995	1–4	St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	12–10–2
25	T	December 2, 1995	2–2 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	12–10–3
26	W	December 3, 1995	5–2	Calgary Flames (1995–96)	13–10–3
27	L	December 6, 1995	3–6	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	13–11–3
28	L	December 7, 1995	3–5	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	13–12–3
29	L	December 10, 1995	1–6	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	13–13–3
30	L	December 12, 1995	5–6	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	13–14–3
31	W	December 15, 1995	9–4	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	14–14–3
32	L	December 17, 1995	1–3	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	14–15–3
33	L	December 19, 1995	3–6	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	14–16–3
34	L	December 21, 1995	1–6	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	14–17–3
35	W	December 23, 1995	2–1	St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	15–17–3
36	L	December 28, 1995	3–4	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	15–18–3
37	W	December 29, 1995	5–3	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	16–18–3
38	L	December 31, 1995	3–5	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	16–19–3
39	W	January 3, 1996	5–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	17–19–3
40	L	January 5, 1996	4–5	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)	17–20–3
41	W	January 8, 1996	6–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	18–20–3
42	W	January 10, 1996	4–1	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	19–20–3
43	L	January 12, 1996	2–3	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	19–21–3
44	L	January 14, 1996	4–6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	19–22–3
45	T	January 16, 1996	1–1 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	19–22–4
46	W	January 17, 1996	4–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	20–22–4
47	L	January 24, 1996	5–6	St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	20–23–4
48	L	January 27, 1996	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	20–24–4
49	W	January 29, 1996	2–1	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)	21–24–4
50	L	February 1, 1996	4–6	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	21–25–4
51	L	February 4, 1996	2–4	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	21–26–4
52	W	February 8, 1996	6–2	Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	22–26–4
53	W	February 10, 1996	3–2	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)	23–26–4
54	L	February 13, 1996	4–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	23–27–4
55	L	February 16, 1996	0–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	23–28–4
56	L	February 18, 1996	0–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	23–29–4
57	L	February 21, 1996	3–5	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	23–30–4
58	W	February 23, 1996	1–0 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	24–30–4
59	W	February 26, 1996	4–3	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	25–30–4
60	W	February 28, 1996	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	26–30–4
61	W	March 1, 1996	5–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	27–30–4
62	W	March 3, 1996	7–5	@ New York Islanders (1995–96)	28–30–4
63	L	March 5, 1996	4–9	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	28–31–4
64	W	March 7, 1996	5–3	Florida Panthers (1995–96)	29–31–4
65	L	March 9, 1996	2–4	New York Islanders (1995–96)	29–32–4
66	L	March 10, 1996	2–5	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	29–33–4
67	L	March 12, 1996	2–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	29–34–4
68	T	March 13, 1996	3–3 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	29–34–5
69	L	March 16, 1996	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	29–35–5
70	L	March 20, 1996	1–7	San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	29–36–5
71	W	March 22, 1996	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	30–36–5
72	L	March 24, 1996	2–5	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	30–37–5
73	W	March 26, 1996	8–2	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)	31–37–5
74	W	March 27, 1996	3–1	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	32–37–5
75	L	March 29, 1996	2–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	32–38–5
76	W	March 31, 1996	4–1	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)	33–38–5
77	W	April 3, 1996	3–1	Dallas Stars (1995–96)	34–38–5
78	W	April 6, 1996	4–3	Calgary Flames (1995–96)	35–38–5
79	T	April 8, 1996	2–2 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	35–38–6
80	L	April 10, 1996	2–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	35–39–6
81	W	April 12, 1996	5–3	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	36–39–6
82	L	April 14, 1996	2–5	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	36–40–6

[2]

Playoffs

The Jets lost their first round series 4–2 to the Detroit Red Wings. Winnipeg played their last-ever game on April 28, 1996, a home playoff loss to the Red Wings, 4–1. Norm Maciver scored the last goal in original Jets history.

Date	Away team	Score	Home team
April 17	Winnipeg Jets	1–4	Detroit Red Wings
April 19	Winnipeg Jets	0–4	Detroit Red Wings
April 21	Detroit Red Wings	1–4	Winnipeg Jets
April 23	Detroit Red Wings	6–1	Winnipeg Jets
April 26	Winnipeg Jets	3–1	Detroit Red Wings
April 28	Detroit Red Wings	4–1	Winnipeg Jets

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Keith Tkachuk	LW	76	50	48	98	156	11	20	2	6
Teemu Selanne	RW	51	24	48	72	18	3	6	1	4
Alexei Zhamnov	C	58	22	37	59	65	-4	5	0	2
Teppo Numminen	D	74	11	43	54	22	-4	6	0	3
Igor Korolev	C	73	22	29	51	42	1	8	0	5
Ed Olczyk	C	51	27	22	49	65	0	16	0	1
Dallas Drake	RW	69	19	20	39	36	-7	4	4	2
Darren Turcotte	C	59	16	16	32	26	-3	2	0	2
Dave Manson	D	82	7	23	30	205	8	3	0	0
Norm Maciver	D	39	5	25	30	26	-6	2	0	0
Mike Eastwood	C	80	14	14	28	20	-14	2	0	3
Mike Stapleton	C	58	10	14	24	37	-4	3	1	0
Darrin Shannon	LW	63	5	18	23	28	-5	0	0	1
Kris King	LW	81	9	11	20	151	-7	0	1	2
Craig Janney	C	13	7	13	20	0	2	2	0	1
Deron Quint	D	51	5	13	18	22	-2	2	0	0
Shane Doan	RW	74	7	10	17	101	-9	1	0	3
Darryl Shannon	D	48	2	7	9	72	5	0	0	0
Oleg Tverdovsky	D	31	0	8	8	6	-7	0	0	0
Jim McKenzie	LW	73	4	2	6	202	-4	0	0	0
Jeff Finley	D	65	1	5	6	81	-2	0	0	0
Randy Gilhen	C	22	2	3	5	12	1	0	0	0
Chad Kilger	LW	29	2	3	5	12	-2	0	0	0
Neil Wilkinson	D	21	1	4	5	33	0	0	1	1
Craig Muni	D	25	1	3	4	37	6	0	0	0
Jason Doig	D	15	1	1	2	28	-2	0	0	0
Iain Fraser	C	12	1	1	2	4	1	0	0	0
Craig Mills	RW	4	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Stewart Malgunas	D	29	0	1	1	32	-10	0	0	0
Brent Thompson	D	10	0	1	1	21	-2	0	0	0
Denis Chasse	RW	15	0	0	0	12	-4	0	0	0
Tim Cheveldae	G	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tom Draper	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dallas Eakins	D	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Michal Grosek	LW	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Ravil Gusmanov	LW	4	0	0	0	0	-3	0	0	0
Nikolai Khabibulin	G	53	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	0
Scott Langkow	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rob Murray	C	1	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0
Ed Ronan	RW	17	0	0	0	16	-3	0	0	0
Dominic Roussel	G	7	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Nikolai Khabibulin	2914	53	26	20	3	152	3.13	2	1656	1504	.908
Tim Cheveldae	1695	30	8	18	3	111	3.93	0	948	837	.883
Dominic Roussel	285	7	2	2	0	16	3.37	0	134	118	.881
Tom Draper	34	1	0	0	0	3	5.29	0	14	11	.786
Scott Langkow	6	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	2	2	1.000
Team:	4934	82	36	40	6	282	3.43	2	2754	2472	.898

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Dave Manson	D	6	2	1	3	30	0	0	1
Alexei Zhamnov	C	6	2	1	3	8	0	0	0
Craig Janney	C	6	1	2	3	0	0	0	0
Ed Olczyk	C	6	1	2	3	6	0	0	0
Keith Tkachuk	LW	6	1	2	3	22	0	0	0
Igor Korolev	C	6	0	3	3	0	0	0	0
Chad Kilger	LW	4	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
Norm Maciver	D	6	1	0	1	2	0	0	0
Darrin Shannon	LW	6	1	0	1	6	0	0	0
Mike Eastwood	C	6	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
Kris King	LW	5	0	1	1	4	0	0	0
Craig Muni	D	6	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
Oleg Tverdovsky	D	6	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Shane Doan	RW	6	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
Dallas Drake	RW	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Finley	D	6	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
Iain Fraser	C	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nikolai Khabibulin	G	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jim McKenzie	LW	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Craig Mills	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Teppo Numminen	D	6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Mike Stapleton	C	6	0	0	0	21	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Nikolai Khabibulin	359	6	2	4	19	3.18	0	214	195	.911
Team:	359	6	2	4	19	3.18	0	214	195	.911

[3]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

Trades

September 20, 1995	To Philadelphia Flyers 7th round pick in 1997 (Andrew Merrick)	To Winnipeg Jets Andre Faust
October 6, 1995	To Hartford Whalers Nelson Emerson	To Winnipeg Jets Darren Turcotte
December 28, 1995	To Pittsburgh Penguins Neil Wilkinson	To Winnipeg Jets Norm Maciver
February 7, 1996	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Teemu Selanne Marc Chouinard 4th round pick in 1996 (Kim Staal)	To Winnipeg Jets Chad Kilger Oleg Tverdovsky 3rd round pick in 1996 (Per-Anton Lundstrom)
February 15, 1996	To Buffalo Sabres Michal Grosek Darryl Shannon	To Winnipeg Jets Craig Muni 1st round pick in 1996 (Daniel Briere)
February 15, 1996	To Washington Capitals Stewart Malgunas	To Winnipeg Jets Denis Chasse
February 27, 1996	To Philadelphia Flyers Tim Cheveldae 3rd round pick in 1996 (Chester Gallant)	To Winnipeg Jets Dominic Roussel
March 18, 1996	To San Jose Sharks Darren Turcotte 2nd round pick in 1996 (Remi Royer)	To Winnipeg Jets Craig Janney
March 20, 1996	To Chicago Blackhawks Ravil Gusmanov	To Winnipeg Jets 4th round pick in 1996 (Vladimir Antipov)

Waivers

October 1, 1995	From New York Islanders Jim McKenzie
March 20, 1996	From St. Louis Blues Dallas Eakins

Free agents

Player	Former Team
Parris Duffus	Undrafted Free Agent
Jason Simon	New York Islanders
Stewart Malgunas	Philadelphia Flyers
Chris Govedaris	Detroit Red Wings
Mike Stapleton	Edmonton Oilers
Iain Fraser	Edmonton Oilers
Ed Ronan	Montreal Canadiens
Tom Draper	New York Islanders

Player	New Team
Oleg Mikulchik	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Stephane Beauregard	San Francisco Spiders (IHL)

Draft picks

NHL Entry Draft

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	7	Shane Doan	Centre	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
2	32	Marc Chouinard	Centre	Canada	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
2	34	Jason Doig	Defence	Canada	Laval Titan College Francais (QMJHL)
3	67	Brad Isbister	Defence	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
4	84	Justin Kurtz	Defence	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5	121	Brian Elder	Goaltender	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
6	137	Sylvain Daigle	Goaltender	Canada	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
7	162	Paul Traynor	Defence	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
8	188	Jaroslav Obsut	Right Wing	Slovakia	Battlefords North Stars (SJHL)
8	189	Fredrik Lovén	Defence	Sweden	Djurgardens IF (SEL)
9	214	Rob DeCiantis	Centre	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

Roster

1995-96 Winnipeg Jets
Goaltenders 29 – Tim Cheveldae  31 – Scott Langkow  35 – Nikolai Khabibulin  37 – Tom Draper  37 – Dominic Roussel		Defensemen 2 – Neil Wilkinson  3 – Brent Thompson  4 – Dave Manson  5 – Deron Quint  6 – Dallas Eakins  20 – Oleg Tverdovsky  24 – Darryl Shannon  26 – Jeff Finley  27 – Teppo Numminen  28 – Craig Muni  36 – Stewart Malgunas  44 – Norm Maciver  55 – Jason Doig		Wingers 7 – Keith Tkachuk  8 – Teemu Selanne  11 – Dallas Drake  16 – Ed Olczyk  17 – Kris King  - C 19 – Shane Doan  21 – Denis Chasse  22 – Craig Mills  23 – Igor Korolev  30 – Ed Ronan  33 – Jim McKenzie  34 – Darrin Shannon  43 – Ravil Gusmanov  75 – Michal Grosek		Centres 10 – Alexei Zhamnov  12 – Rob Murray  14 – Mike Stapleton  15 – Randy Gilhen  18 – Chad Kilger  29 – Craig Janney  32 – Mike Eastwood  39 – Iain Fraser  89 – Darren Turcotte  GM: John Paddock Coach: Terry Simpson

References

• Jets on Hockey Database

1. "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
2. "1995–96 Winnipeg Jets Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
3. "1995-96 Winnipeg Jets Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.