1996–97 New Jersey Devils season

The 1996–97 New Jersey Devils season was the team's 15th in the National Hockey League since the franchise relocated to New Jersey. The Devils captured the Atlantic Division title and finished first in the Eastern Conference, but fell in the second round of the playoffs to their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers.

1996–97 New Jersey Devils
Atlantic Division champions
Division	1st Atlantic
Conference	1st Eastern
1996–97 record	45–23–14
Home record	23–9–9
Road record	22–14–5
Goals for	231
Goals against	182
Team information
General manager	Lou Lamoriello
Coach	Jacques Lemaire
Captain	Scott Stevens
Alternate captains	John MacLean Ken Daneyko
Arena	Continental Airlines Arena
Team leaders
Goals	John MacLean and Bill Guerin (29)
Assists	Bobby Holik (39)
Points	Bobby Holik (62)
Penalty minutes	Lyle Odelein (110)
Plus/minus	Dave Andreychuk (+38)
Wins	Martin Brodeur (37)
Goals against average	Martin Brodeur (1.88)

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority was contractually obligated to install a new US$600,000 sound system in Continental Airlines Arena prior to the start of the season.[1]

Offseason

The Devils' head coach Jacques Lemaire expressed his disappointment following the team's loss to the Ottawa Senators in the final game of the 1995–96 season, the first time since 1970 that the defending Stanley Cup champion missed the playoffs in the following season. Lemare was quoted as saying that the team lacked confidence. He also felt that the media, the fans, and some players, misread his commitment to defensive hockey as a detriment to offensive creativity, stating that he never stopped his players from being creative in the offensive zone. He ended up needing to repair his relationship with Devils team captain Scott Stevens due to his comment following the Ottawa game that the team suffered from a "lack of leadership". Stevens reportedly saw the remark as a personal attack, and so himself and Lemare ended up sitting down together in order to discuss the comment. Lemare later stated to the media that the remark was intended to be an indictment of the entire team, himself included.[2]

The 1996 NHL free agent market officially opened on July 1, 1996, following the passing of the June 30 deadline for teams to file contracts with the league. The largest name to become a free agent on July 1 was Wayne Gretzky, who was released from the St. Louis Blues after the team failed to reach an agreement with Gretzky's agent. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers (who eventually signed him) were reported to have expressed interest in signing Gretzky, but New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello told reporters Gretzky did not fit with the team's financial plan. Lamoriello did express a desire to retain Phil Housley, an offensive-minded defenseman who was acquired by the Devils late in the 1995–96 season but who had been released by the team after failing to be signed prior to the deadline.[3] The Devils were unable to sign Housley though, who signed a US$7.7 million three-year deal that included a no-trade clause with the Washington Capitols on July 22, 1996. Lamoriello stated that the team didn't want to make a long term offer, and would not consider a no-trade clause. He reportedly felt that Housley's previous $2.2 million salary was "astronomical".[4]

Speculation the Devils would trade for all-star center Jeremy Roenick, 26 years old at the time, began following the Ranger's signing of Gretzky. In late August, Lou Lamoriello confirmed to the media he was attempting to bring Roenick, a restricted free agent, to the Devils via a trade. Any team signing Roenick out from the Phoenix Coyotes would be required to give the Coyotes five first-round draft picks in compensation, and Lamoriello was quoted as saying, "I have no intentions right now of giving up draft picks."[5] Rumors were reported in the media that Lamoriello considered dealing forwards Bill Guerin, Brian Rolston, Mike Peluso and defenseman Scott Niedermayer for Roenick.[6] Reports the next day reiterated Lamoriello's interest in Roenick, both for the Devils and as a player for Team USA, also included the possibility of including Stephane Richer in a potential trade.[7] However, Richer was traded back to the Montreal Canadiens the following day in exchange for 28-year-old Lyle Odelein, whom the Devils immediately signed to a three-year contract at approximately $1.5 million per season.[8] Roenick eventually signed with the Coyotes, despite interest from the Devils and Capitols, among others.

Amid rumors that the Devils were interested in dealing with the Detroit Red Wings for hold-out center Keith Primeau, Devils center Bobby Holik did not show up to training camp in what was described as a surprising decision on his part to not report to the team. Speculation among teammates and the media was that he wanted a trade.[9] Neal Broten, who was considering retirement at the time, and Mike Peluso, who had been benched by Lemaire during the 1995–96 season and thought that he would be traded over the summer, did report to training camp along with 60 other players. Several regular players who were involved with the 1996 World Cup of Hockey tournament were scheduled to report to camp late.[10]

Draft

The New Jersey Devils were 10th[11] in order of selection at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, held June 22, 1996, in St. Louis. In a move interpreted to be an affirmation of their commitment to a defense-first philosophy, the Devils chose 6–3, 195-pound Lance Ward of the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels, who had not been ranked anywhere near the tenth seed to observers, with their first pick.[12]

"I was a bit surprised to go early because there are a lot of great players [here], but I'm a pretty happy kid right now," Ward said. "I was hoping to go in the first round but you never know what's going to happen. It was a pretty open field and I guess [the Devils] liked me. They flew me to Toronto for a physical test and an interview [last month] and I guess I did well." Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello was impressed with Ward's potential to be yet another hard-hitting New Jersey defenseman, stating, "We liked [Ward's] potential as far as his upside is concerned," Lamoriello said. "We have guys like Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko on our team and this young man [is like them]. He's strong now, he's mean, and he's got skills."[12]

During the draft, the Devils traded backup goaltender Corey Schwab to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for their backup goalie Jeff Reese along with their second-round (47th overall) and eighth-round (198th overall) picks in the draft. The Devils then traded their original second round pick (28th overall) to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the Penguins' two second-round picks (41st and 47th overall).[12]

Rd #	Pick #	Player	Nat	Pos	Team (League)	Notes
1	10	Lance Ward	Canada	D	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)	[Draft 1]
2	38	Wes Mason	Canada	LW	Sarnia Sting (OHL)	[Draft 2]
2	41	Josh DeWolf	United States	D	Twin Cities Vulcans (USHL)	[Draft 3]
2	47	Pierre Dagenais	Canada	LW	Moncton Alpines (QMJHL)	[Draft 4]
2	49	Colin White	Canada	D	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)	[Draft 3][Draft 5]
3	63	Scott Parker	Canada	RW	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)	[Draft 6]
4	91	Josef Boumedienne	Sweden	D	Huddinge IK (Allsvenskan)
4	101	Josh MacNevin	Canada	D	Vernon Vipers (BCJHL)	[Draft 7]
5	118	Glenn Crawford	Canada	LW	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
6	145	Sean Ritchlin	United States	RW	University of Michigan (CCHA)
7	173	Daryl Andrews	Canada	D	Melfort Mustangs (SJHL)
8	199	Willie Mitchell	Canada	D	Melfort Mustangs (SJHL)
8	205	Jay Bertsch	Canada	RW	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)	[Draft 4][Draft 8]
9	225	Pasi Petrilainen	Finland	D	Tappara (SM-liiga)

Notes

1. Never reported for the Devils; was subsequently redrafted by Florida in the third round (63rd overall) of the 1998 Draft.
2. The Devils acquired the 1996 second-round pick (Mason) from Vancouver for Esa Tikkanen on November 23, 1995; Tikkanen had been acquired from St. Louis just 22 days earlier.
3. The Devils acquired two 1996 second-round picks, DeWolf (originally Toronto's) and White, from Pittsburgh for San Jose's 1996 second-round pick (used on Pavel Skrbek) on June 22, 1996. The Devils had originally received the pick from San Jose in exchange for Chris Terreri on November 15, 1995.
4. The Devils traded Corey Schwab to Tampa Bay in exchange for Jeff Reese, Chicago's 1996 second-round pick (Dagenais), and Tampa Bay's 1996 eighth-round pick (Bertsch), on June 22, 1996.
5. Although the Devils made four picks in the second round of the 1996 Draft, none were originally their picks; the Devils' original pick (used on Marek Posmyk) was traded to Toronto in exchange for Dave Andreychuk on March 13, 1996.
6. Parker never reported for the Devils; he was subsequently redrafted by Colorado in the first round (20th overall) of the 1998 Draft.
7. No source exists to indicate why the Devils made two selections this round.
8. Bertsch had previously been drafted by Quebec in the eighth round (191st overall) of the 1994 Draft.

Regular season

During the regular season, the Devils allowed the fewest goals (182), the fewest power-play goals (28), took the fewest penalties (235) and had the best penalty killing percentage (88.09%) in the league. Coincidentally, they also had the fewest power-play goals (40) and the fewest short-handed goals (4) in the league.[13] Devils goaltenders combined to record 12 shutouts, the most in the NHL and 5 of those shutouts came in the final 10 games of the season.[14][15]

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New Jersey Devils	82	45	23	14	231	182	104
2	3	Philadelphia Flyers	82	45	24	13	274	217	103
3	4	Florida Panthers	82	35	28	19	221	201	89
4	5	New York Rangers	82	38	34	10	258	231	86
5	9	Washington Capitals	82	33	40	9	214	231	75
6	11	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	32	40	10	217	247	74
7	12	New York Islanders	82	29	41	12	240	250	70

Eastern Conference[16]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	45	23	14	231	182	104
2	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	40	30	12	237	208	92
3	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	45	24	13	274	217	103
4	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	35	28	19	221	201	89
5	New York Rangers	ATL	82	38	34	10	258	231	86
6	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	38	36	8	285	280	84
7	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	31	36	15	226	234	77
8	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	31	36	15	249	276	77
9	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	33	40	9	214	231	75
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	82	32	39	11	226	256	75
11	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	32	40	10	217	247	74
12	New York Islanders	ATL	82	29	41	12	240	250	70
13	Boston Bruins	NE	82	26	47	9	234	300	61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

#	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	Oct 5, 1996	3–1	Detroit Red Wings	1–0–0
2	L	Oct 7, 1996	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers	1–1–0
3	L	Oct 12, 1996	2–4	Dallas Stars	1–2–0
4	W	Oct 15, 1996	3–2	Montreal Canadiens	2–2–0
5	T	Oct 18, 1996	2–2 OT	Ottawa Senators	2–2–1
6	L	Oct 19, 1996	2–6	@ Hartford Whalers	2–3–1
7	W	Oct 24, 1996	3–1	San Jose Sharks	3–3–1
8	W	Oct 26, 1996	4–1	@ Tampa Bay Lightning	4–3–1
9	L	Oct 29, 1996	2–5	@ Boston Bruins	4–4–1
10	L	Oct 30, 1996	1–6	New York Rangers	4–5–1
11	W	Nov 2, 1996	2–1	Tampa Bay Lightning	5–5–1
12	W	Nov 6, 1996	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings	6–5–1
13	W	Nov 7, 1996	4–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks	7–5–1
14	W	Nov 9, 1996	4–0	New York Islanders	8–5–1
15	W	Nov 12, 1996	3–2 OT	Washington Capitals	9–5–1
16	L	Nov 14, 1996	0–3	Vancouver Canucks	9–6–1
17	W	Nov 16, 1996	6–3	Tampa Bay Lightning	10–6–1
18	W	Nov 19, 1996	2–1	@ Ottawa Senators	11–6–1
19	L	Nov 22, 1996	1–5	Washington Capitals	11–7–1
20	L	Nov 23, 1996	3–4	@ Washington Capitals	11–8–1
21	W	Nov 27, 1996	3–2	@ Dallas Stars	12–8–1
22	L	Nov 28, 1996	3–4 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes	12–9–1
23	L	Nov 30, 1996	1–2	@ Colorado Avalanche	12–10–1
24	W	Dec 3, 1996	2–0	Florida Panthers	13–10–1
25	W	Dec 5, 1996	2–1	Calgary Flames	14–10–1
26	L	Dec 7, 1996	3–4 OT	Phoenix Coyotes	14–11–1
27	W	Dec 10, 1996	5–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	15–11–1
28	W	Dec 12, 1996	7–4	@ Boston Bruins	16–11–1
29	T	Dec 14, 1996	3–3 OT	Montreal Canadiens	16–11–2
30	W	Dec 16, 1996	5–0	@ Calgary Flames	17–11–2
31	W	Dec 18, 1996	2–1	@ Vancouver Canucks	18–11–2
32	W	Dec 20, 1996	3–2	@ Edmonton Oilers	19–11–2
33	T	Dec 23, 1996	0–0 OT	Buffalo Sabres	19–11–3
34	L	Dec 26, 1996	1–4	@ New York Islanders	19–12–3
35	W	Dec 28, 1996	5–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	20–12–3
36	L	Dec 31, 1996	5–6	@ Buffalo Sabres	20–13–3
37	L	Jan 2, 1997	1–6	Pittsburgh Penguins	20–14–3
38	W	Jan 3, 1997	1–0	@ Ottawa Senators	21–14–3
39	L	Jan 5, 1997	3–5	St. Louis Blues	21–15–3
40	T	Jan 8, 1997	1–1 OT	Colorado Avalanche	21–15–4
41	T	Jan 10, 1997	3–3 OT	Chicago Blackhawks	21–15–5
42	L	Jan 12, 1997	0–3	@ New York Rangers	21–16–5
43	W	Jan 14, 1997	4–2	Boston Bruins	22–16–5
44	W	Jan 21, 1997	4–1	@ Los Angeles Kings	23–16–5
45	L	Jan 22, 1997	1–3	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	23–17–5
46	W	Jan 24, 1997	3–1	@ San Jose Sharks	24–17–5
47	T	Jan 29, 1997	1–1 OT	Ottawa Senators	24–17–6
48	T	Jan 31, 1997	3–3 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	24–17–7
49	T	Feb 1, 1997	4–4 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens	24–17–8
50	W	Feb 5, 1997	4–1	New York Islanders	25–17–8
51	T	Feb 7, 1997	2–2 OT	Florida Panthers	25–17–9
52	W	Feb 8, 1997	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers	26–17–9
53	W	Feb 12, 1997	3–2	@ Hartford Whalers	27–17–9
54	W	Feb 13, 1997	4–0	Hartford Whalers	28–17–9
55	W	Feb 15, 1997	4–1	@ Montreal Canadiens	29–17–9
56	T	Feb 17, 1997	2–2 OT	@ New York Rangers	29–17–10
57	T	Feb 19, 1997	1–1 OT	New York Rangers	29–17–11
58	T	Feb 20, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Florida Panthers	29–17–12
59	L	Feb 22, 1997	1–3	@ Tampa Bay Lightning	29–18–12
60	W	Feb 26, 1997	5–3	@ New York Islanders	30–18–12
61	W	Feb 27, 1997	4–1	Buffalo Sabres	31–18–12
62	W	Mar 1, 1997	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	32–18–12
63	W	Mar 4, 1997	3–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	33–18–12
64	W	Mar 5, 1997	3–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers	34–18–12
65	L	Mar 8, 1997	1–5	@ New York Islanders	34–19–12
66	W	Mar 9, 1997	4–1	@ Buffalo Sabres	35–19–12
67	W	Mar 11, 1997	6–1	Edmonton Oilers	36–19–12
68	W	Mar 13, 1997	6–0	Hartford Whalers	37–19–12
69	W	Mar 15, 1997	3–2	Washington Capitals	38–19–12
70	L	Mar 17, 1997	1–4	Florida Panthers	38–20–12
71	T	Mar 19, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Washington Capitals	38–20–13
72	W	Mar 22, 1997	3–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	39–20–13
73	L	Mar 25, 1997	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers	39–21–13
74	W	Mar 27, 1997	4–0	New York Rangers	40–21–13
75	W	Mar 30, 1997	5–2	Los Angeles Kings	41–21–13
76	W	Apr 1, 1997	1–0	@ Washington Capitals	42–21–13
77	W	Apr 4, 1997	3–0	Tampa Bay Lightning	43–21–13
78	W	Apr 6, 1997	2–0	@ St. Louis Blues	44–21–13
79	T	Apr 8, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning	44–21–14
80	L	Apr 9, 1997	2–4	@ Florida Panthers	44–22–14
81	W	Apr 11, 1997	2–0	Boston Bruins	45–22–14
82	L	Apr 13, 1997	4–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers	45–23–14

Playoffs

(E1) New Jersey Devils vs. (E8) Montreal Canadiens

In the first game of the series against Montreal, on April 17, 1997, with the Devils up by two goals late in the game, Martin Brodeur fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 5–2 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored in the playoffs, and the fifth time overall.[17] In the game 2, the Devils were victorious by a score of 4-1. Games three and four were played at Molson Centre. The Devils won game 3 6-4. However, in game 4, Montreal was victorious by a score of 4-3 in the third overtime. Game 5 shifted back to New Jersey where the Devils shut out Montreal 4-0 and won the series 4-1.

(E1) New Jersey Devils vs. (E5) New York Rangers

The series opened at the Meadowlands. The Devils won 2–0 in Game 1, but New York got revenge in Game 2 by winning 2–0 on their own. Games 3 and 4 were played at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers won Game 3, 3–2, and Game 4, 3–0. Game 5 was back at the Meadowlands. New York won 2–1 in overtime and the series four games to one on a wraparound goal by Adam Graves.

Media

This was the final season of television broadcast coverage on SportsChannel New York as the channel would rebrand itself to Fox Sports Net New York the following season.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Bobby Holik	C	82	23	39	62	54	24	5	0	6
Dave Andreychuk	LW	82	27	34	61	48	38	4	1	2
John MacLean	RW	80	29	25	54	49	11	5	0	6
Bill Guerin	RW	82	29	18	47	95	-2	7	0	9
Brian Rolston	C/RW	81	18	27	45	20	6	2	2	3
Valeri Zelepukin	LW	71	14	24	38	36	-10	3	0	2
Scott Niedermayer	D	81	5	30	35	64	-4	3	0	3
Steve Thomas	LW	57	15	19	34	46	9	1	0	2
Denis Pederson	C/RW	70	12	20	32	62	7	3	0	3
Randy McKay	RW	77	9	18	27	109	15	0	0	2
Scott Stevens	D	79	5	19	24	70	26	0	0	1
Steve Sullivan	RW	33	8	14	22	14	9	2	0	2
Doug Gilmour	C	20	7	15	22	22	7	2	0	0
Shawn Chambers	D	73	4	17	21	19	17	1	0	0
Bobby Carpenter	C	62	4	15	19	14	6	0	1	0
Lyle Odelein	D	79	3	13	16	110	16	1	0	2
Jay Pandolfo	LW	46	6	8	14	6	-1	0	0	1
Ken Daneyko	D	77	2	7	9	70	24	0	0	0
Dave Ellett	D	20	2	5	7	6	2	1	0	1
Kevin Dean	D	28	2	4	6	6	2	0	0	0
Patrik Elias	LW	17	2	3	5	2	-4	0	0	0
Sergei Brylin	LW	29	2	2	4	20	-13	0	0	0
Martin Brodeur	G	67	0	4	4	8	0	0	0	0
Reid Simpson	LW	27	0	4	4	60	0	0	0	0
Jason Smith	D	57	1	2	3	38	-8	0	0	0
Petr Sykora	RW	19	1	2	3	4	-8	0	0	0
Peter Zezel	C	18	0	3	3	4	4	0	0	0
Mike Peluso	LW	20	0	2	2	68	0	0	0	0
Pascal Rheaume	C	2	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Neal Broten	C	3	0	1	1	0	-1	0	0	0
Mike Dunham	G	26	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Krzysztof Oliwa	LW	1	0	0	0	5	-1	0	0	0
Ricard Persson	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Reese	G	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vadim Sharifijanov	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Martin Brodeur	3838	67	37	14	13	120	1.88	10	1633	1513	.927
Mike Dunham	1013	26	8	7	1	43	2.55	2	456	413	.906
Jeff Reese	139	3	0	2	0	13	5.61	0	65	52	.800
Team:	4990	82	45	23	14	176	2.12	12	2154	1978	.918

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
John MacLean	RW	10	4	5	9	4	2	1	1
Shawn Chambers	D	10	1	6	7	6	1	0	0
Scott Niedermayer	D	10	2	4	6	6	2	0	1
Brian Rolston	C/RW	10	4	1	5	6	1	2	0
Valeri Zelepukin	LW	8	3	2	5	2	1	0	1
Patrik Elias	LW	8	2	3	5	4	1	0	0
Bobby Holik	C	10	2	3	5	4	1	0	0
Lyle Odelein	D	10	2	2	4	19	1	0	0
Doug Gilmour	C	10	0	4	4	14	0	0	0
Scott Stevens	D	10	0	4	4	2	0	0	0
Bill Guerin	RW	8	2	1	3	18	1	0	1
Bobby Carpenter	C	10	1	2	3	2	0	0	0
Dave Ellett	D	10	0	3	3	10	0	0	0
Randy McKay	RW	10	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Steve Thomas	LW	10	1	1	2	18	0	0	0
Martin Brodeur	G	10	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Kevin Dean	D	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
Jay Pandolfo	LW	6	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Dave Andreychuk	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ken Daneyko	D	10	0	0	0	28	0	0	0
Denis Pederson	C/RW	9	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Reid Simpson	LW	5	0	0	0	29	0	0	0
Petr Sykora	RW	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Peter Zezel	C	2	0	0	0	10	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Martin Brodeur	659	10	5	5	19	1.73	2	268	249	.929
Team:	659	10	5	5	19	1.73	2	268	249	.929

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Awards

Regular Season
Player	Award	Awarded
Martin Brodeur	William Jennings Trophy	End of regular season
Martin Brodeur	NHL Second All-Star Team - Goaltender	End of regular season
Scott Stevens	NHL Second All-Star Team - Defense	End of regular season

Nominations

Regular Season
Player	Award	Place
Martin Brodeur	Vezina Trophy	Runner-Up

References

1. Calabrese, Joe (June 1, 1996). "Handel warns: Delaware slots threat to N.J." The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports p. 43. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
2. Wentworth, Bridget (June 24, 1996). "Lemaire: We'll be ready Devils coach still can't pinpoint what went wrong in - `96". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 56. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
3. The Associated Press (July 1, 1996). "The Great One to command great $". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 42. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
4. Chere, Rich (July 23, 1996). "Housley signs with Caps". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 53. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
5. Chere, Rich (August 20, 1996). "Devils want Roenick but they'll be picky about price". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 65. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
6. Chere, Rich (August 21, 1996). "Devils bid: swap 4 for Roenick?". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 73. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
7. Chere, Rich (August 22, 1996). "Lamoriello intensifies efforts to land Roenick". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 49. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
8. Chere, Rich (August 23, 1996). "Goodbye, Richer Devils obtain Odelein in swap with Canadiens". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 33. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
9. Chere, Rich (September 13, 1996). "Is Holik's absence tied to a desire to leave?". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Sports, p. 54. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
10. Ross, Sherry (September 9, 1996). "none". New York Daily News. Sports, p. 65.
11. "SPORTS". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. June 22, 1996. Sports, p. 40. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
12. Wentworth, Bridget (June 23, 1994). "Devils ' No. 1 pick a defensive one". The Star Ledger. Newswire. Sports, p. 4. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
13. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997.html
14. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NJD/1997.html
15. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NJD/1997_games.html
16. "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
17. "Martin Brodeur - Facts". MartinBrodeur.net. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2011.

External links

• Season statistics provided by "1996-97 New Jersey Devils Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.