| 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 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada) ESPN, Fox (United States) |
| 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 |
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.
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 Colorado Rockies played in from 1976 to 1982 before they were purchased and moved to become the New Jersey Devils. 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 Tampa Bay Lightning at the Thunderdome, 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 Lightning at the Ice Palace, 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). The 1994–95 NHL lockout had resulted in a shortened 48-game season and the cancellation of the planned 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 as of 2024.
Third jersey program
Improvements in dye-sublimation printing on modern uniform fabrics, having been featured in recent seasons on uniforms in the National Basketball Association and the Canadian Football League, had caught the interest of the NHL, which decided to allow alternate jerseys that could take advantage of this technology to produce new and unusual designs not possible under traditional jersey-making techniques. Six teams elected to participate in the process, but St. Louis Blues coach and general manager Mike Keenan vetoed the Blues' proposed third jersey, which would have featured blaring trumpets across the front. The five teams that did participate were the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vancouver Canucks.
The Ducks' and Kings' third jerseys proved unpopular at the time and were retired by the end of the season, while the Canucks underwent a complete rebrand for the 1997–98 season. The Penguins' third jersey was promoted to their primary road jersey for the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs through the 2001–02 season, and the Bruins retained their third jersey the longest, through the 2005–06 season.
Regular season
The Detroit Red Wings had a spectacular season, finishing with (131 points), at the time second only to the 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens, and setting the NHL record for most wins ever in the regular season (62). Neither mark was eclipsed until the 2022–23 Boston Bruins record-setting 65 wins and 135 points. However, they fell to the future Stanley Cup champion 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 161 points in 70 games, which stood as the NHL's last 150+ point season for 27 years, until Connor McDavid scored 153, also in 2022–23. 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast bold – Qualified for playoffs |
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
Bracket
| Conference quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Tampa Bay | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Florida | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Washington | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Florida | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Montreal | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | NY Rangers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Florida | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Florida | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Winnipeg | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Vancouver | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Calgary | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | St. Louis | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Awards
| Award | Recipient(s) | Runner(s)-up/Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| Stanley Cup | Colorado Avalanche | Florida Panthers |
| Presidents' Trophy (Best regular-season record) | Detroit Red Wings | Colorado Avalanche |
| Prince of Wales Trophy (Eastern Conference playoff champion) | Florida Panthers | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Western Conference playoff champion) | Colorado Avalanche | Detroit Red Wings |
| Alka-Seltzer Plus-Minus Award (Best plus-minus statistic) | Vladimir Konstantinov (Detroit Red Wings) | Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) |
| Art Ross Trophy (Player with most points) | Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) | Jaromír Jágr (Pittsburgh Penguins) |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Gary Roberts (Calgary Flames) | N/A |
| Calder Memorial Trophy (Best first-year player) | Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators) | Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators) Éric Dazé (Chicago Blackhawks) Ed Jovanovski (Florida Panthers) |
| Conn Smythe Trophy (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Joe Sakic (Colorado Avalanche) | N/A |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best defensive forward) | Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) | Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) Ron Francis (Pittsburgh Penguins) Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) |
| Hart Memorial Trophy (Most valuable player, regular season) | Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) | Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) Eric Lindros (Philadelphia Flyers) Mark Messier (New York Rangers) |
| Jack Adams Award (Best coach) | Scotty Bowman (Detroit Red Wings) | Scotty Bowman (Detroit Red Wings) Terry Crisp (Tampa Bay Lightning) Doug MacLean (Florida Panthers) |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best defenceman) | Chris Chelios (Chicago Blackhawks) | Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) Chris Chelios (Chicago Blackhawks) Brian Leetch (New York Rangers) |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy (Leadership and humanitarian contribution) | Kris King (Winnipeg Jets) | N/A |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and excellence) | Paul Kariya (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) | Paul Kariya (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) Adam Oates (Boston Bruins) Teemu Selänne (Winnipeg Jets/Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) |
| Lester B. Pearson Award (Outstanding player) | Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) | N/A |
| Vezina Trophy (Best goaltender) | Jim Carey (Washington Capitals) | Jim Carey (Washington Capitals) Chris Osgood (Detroit Red Wings) Daren Puppa (Tampa Bay Lightning) |
| William M. Jennings Trophy (Goaltender(s) of team with fewest goals against) | Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon (Detroit Red Wings) | N/A |
| Lester Patrick Trophy (Service to ice hockey in U.S.) | George Gund III, Ken Morrow, Milt Schmidt | N/A |
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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: NHL.[4] |
|
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Leading goaltenders
Regular season
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Hextall | Philadelphia | 53 | 3102 | 112 | 4 | 2.17 | .913 |
| Chris Osgood | Detroit | 50 | 2933 | 106 | 5 | 2.17 | .911 |
| Jim Carey | Washington | 71 | 4069 | 153 | 9 | 2.26 | .906 |
| Mike Vernon | Detroit | 32 | 1855 | 70 | 3 | 2.26 | .903 |
| Martin Brodeur | New Jersey | 77 | 4433 | 173 | 6 | 2.34 | .911 |
| Jeff Hackett | Chicago | 35 | 2000 | 80 | 4 | 2.40 | .916 |
| Daren Puppa | Tampa Bay | 57 | 3189 | 131 | 5 | 2.46 | .918 |
| Mike Richter | New York Rangers | 41 | 2396 | 107 | 3 | 2.68 | .912 |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | Florida | 57 | 3178 | 142 | 2 | 2.68 | .904 |
| Ed Belfour | Chicago | 50 | 2956 | 135 | 1 | 2.74 | .902 |
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 (Last active player to have been a member of the Colorado Rockies)
- Glenn Anderson, St. Louis Blues
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 |
Broadcasting
Canada
This was the eighth season that the league's Canadian national broadcast rights were split between TSN and Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. During the regular season, Saturday night games aired on CBC, while TSN primarily had Monday and Thursday night games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs was primarily on CBC, with TSN airing first round all-U.S. series.
United States
This was the second season of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals with Fox and ESPN. Both ESPN and ESPN2 aired weeknight games throughout the regular season, and Fox had the All-Star Game and weekly regional telecasts on six selected weekend afternoons between January and April. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected games, while Fox had Sunday regional telecasts. Each U.S. team's regional broadcaster produced local coverage of first and second round games (except for those games on Fox). Fox's Sunday telecasts continued into the Conference Finals, while ESPN had the rest of the third round games. The Stanley Cup Finals were also split between Fox and ESPN.
See also
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- 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
- ↑ "Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos".
- ↑ "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- ↑ "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
- ↑ Dinger 2011, p. 154.
- ↑ "1995-96 NHL Leaders".