1996–97 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 4, 1996 – June 7, 1997
Number of games82
Number of teams26
TV partner(s)CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada)
ESPN, Fox (United States)
Draft
Top draft pickChris Phillips
Picked byOttawa Senators
Regular season
Presidents' TrophyColorado Avalanche
Season MVPDominik Hasek (Sabres)
Top scorerMario Lemieux (Penguins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVPMike Vernon (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsDetroit Red Wings
  Runners-upPhiladelphia Flyers

The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years.

The regular season saw a decline in scoring and rise in the number of shutouts to an all-time record of 127.[1] This trend continued into the playoffs, during which an all-time record of 18 shutouts were recorded.[2] Only two players, Mario Lemieux and Teemu Selanne, reached the 100-point plateau during the regular season[3] (compared with 12 who reached the plateau in 1995–96[4]). Many regulatory factors, including ruling changes that resulted in fewer power plays, more calls of the skate-in-the-crease rule, fewer shots on goal and more injuries to star players than the season before, contributed to the reduction in scoring and skyrocketing in shutouts.

This was the first time in 30 years—and in the entire expansion era—that the Boston Bruins had a losing record and missed the playoffs, ending a still-unsurpassed North American professional sports streak of 29-straight seasons in the playoffs.

League business

This was the first season for the Phoenix Coyotes, who had relocated from Winnipeg and had previously been known as the first incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets. They would remain in the Central Division.

On March 26, 1997, the Hartford Whalers announced that they would move from Connecticut following the 1996–97 season. On May 5, they announced that starting in the 1997–98 NHL season, they would be known as the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 1996–97 season marked the retirement of Craig MacTavish, the last active NHL player who played without a protective helmet. MacTavish had been grandfathered under the old rule requiring them to be worn because he had signed a pro contract before the rule was established on June 1, 1979. The first player to ever wear a helmet was George Owen in the 1928–29 season.

Regular season

The Boston Bruins recorded the League's worst record, missing the playoffs for the first time in 30 seasons and ending the longest consecutive playoff streak ever recorded in the history of North American professional sports.

On November 16, 1996, the eight-sided scoreboard at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo crashed to the ice during a maintenance check. The accident occurred only 90 minutes after the visiting Boston Bruins players had conducted their morning practice. No-one was injured, but the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Bruins was postponed.[5]

Final standings

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11New Jersey Devils82452314231182104
23Philadelphia Flyers82452413274217103
34Florida Panthers8235281922120189
45New York Rangers8238341025823186
59Washington Capitals823340921423175
611Tampa Bay Lightning8232401021724774
712New York Islanders8229411224025070
Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Buffalo Sabres8240301223720892
26Pittsburgh Penguins823836828528084
37Ottawa Senators8231361522623477
48Montreal Canadiens8231361524927677
510Hartford Whalers8232391122625675
613Boston Bruins822647923430061
Eastern Conference[6]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1New Jersey DevilsATL82452314231182104
2Buffalo SabresNE8240301223720892
3Philadelphia FlyersATL82452413274217103
4Florida PanthersATL8235281922120189
5New York RangersATL8238341025823186
6Pittsburgh PenguinsNE823836828528084
7Ottawa SenatorsNE8231361522623477
8Montreal CanadiensNE8231361524927677
9Washington CapitalsATL823340921423175
10Hartford WhalersNE8232391122625675
11Tampa Bay LightningATL8232401021724774
12New York IslandersATL8229411224025070
13Boston BruinsNE822647923430061

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Western Conference
Central Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Dallas Stars8248268252198104
23Detroit Red Wings8238261825319794
35Phoenix Coyotes823837724024383
46St. Louis Blues8236351123623983
58Chicago Blackhawks8234351322321081
611Toronto Maple Leafs823044823027368
Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11Colorado Avalanche8249249277205107
24Mighty Ducks of Anaheim8236331324323185
37Edmonton Oilers823637925224781
49Vancouver Canucks823540725727377
510Calgary Flames823241921423973
612Los Angeles Kings8228431121426867
713San Jose Sharks822747821127862
Western Conference[7]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Colorado AvalanchePAC8249249277205107
2Dallas StarsCEN8248268252198104
3Detroit Red WingsCEN8238261825319794
4Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPAC8236331324523385
5Phoenix CoyotesCEN823837724024383
6St. Louis BluesCEN8236351123623983
7Edmonton OilersPAC823637925224781
8Chicago BlackhawksCEN8234351322321081
9Vancouver CanucksPAC823540725727377
10Calgary FlamesPAC823241921423973
11Toronto Maple LeafsCEN823044823027368
12Los Angeles KingsPAC8228431121426867
13San Jose SharksPAC822747821127862

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

Playoffs

Bracket

Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals Stanley Cup Finals
            
1 New Jersey 4
8 Montreal 1
1 New Jersey 1
5 NY Rangers 4
2 Buffalo 4
7 Ottawa 3
5 NY Rangers 1
Eastern Conference
3 Philadelphia 4
3 Philadelphia 4
6 Pittsburgh 1
2 Buffalo 1
3 Philadelphia 4
4 Florida 1
5 NY Rangers 4
E3 Philadelphia 0
W3 Detroit 4
1 Colorado 4
8 Chicago 2
1 Colorado 4
7 Edmonton 1
2 Dallas 3
7 Edmonton 4
1 Colorado 2
Western Conference
3 Detroit 4
3 Detroit 4
6 St. Louis 2
3 Detroit 4
4 Anaheim 0
4 Anaheim 4
5 Phoenix 3

Awards

The NHL Awards presentation took place on June 19, 1997.

Presidents' Trophy:Colorado Avalanche
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Eastern Conference playoff champion)		Philadelphia Flyers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:
(Western Conference playoff champion)		Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Trophy:Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:Tony Granato, San Jose Sharks
Calder Memorial Trophy:Bryan Berard, New York Islanders
Conn Smythe Trophy:Mike Vernon, Detroit Red Wings
Frank J. Selke Trophy:Michael Peca, Buffalo Sabres
Hart Memorial Trophy:Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
Jack Adams Award:Ted Nolan, Buffalo Sabres
James Norris Memorial Trophy:Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
King Clancy Memorial Trophy:Trevor Linden, Vancouver Canucks
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Lester B. Pearson Award:Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
NHL Plus/Minus Award:John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers
Vezina Trophy:Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
William M. Jennings Trophy:Martin Brodeur/Mike Dunham, New Jersey Devils
Lester Patrick Trophy:Bill Cleary, Pat LaFontaine, Seymour H. Knox III

All-Star teams

First Team  Position  Second Team
Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres G Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers D Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks
Sandis Ozolinsh, Colorado Avalanche D Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins C Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers
Teemu Selanne, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim RW Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim LW John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Regular seasonPlayoffs
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Mario LemieuxPittsburgh765072122
Teemu SelanneAnaheim785158109
Paul KariyaAnaheim69445599
John LeClairPhiladelphia82504797
Wayne GretzkyNY Rangers82257297
Jaromir JagrPittsburgh63474895
Mats SundinToronto82415394
Zigmund PalffyNY Islanders80484290
Ron FrancisPittsburgh81276390
Brendan ShanahanHartford/
Detroit		81474188

Source: NHL.[8]
PlayerTeamGPGAPts
Eric LindrosPhi19121426
Joe SakicCol1781725
Claude LemieuxCol17131023
Valeri KamenskyCol1781422
Rod Brind'AmourPhi1913821
John LeClairPhi1991221
Wayne GretzkyNYR15101020
Sergei FedorovDet2081220
Brendan ShanahanDet209817
Peter ForsbergCol1451217
Sandis OzolinshCol1741317

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

Leading goaltenders

Regular season

Player Team GP MIN GA SO GAA SV%
Martin BrodeurNew Jersey673838120101.88.927
Andy MoogDallas4827389832.15.913
Jeff HackettChicago4124738922.16.927
Dominik HasekBuffalo67403715352.27.930
John VanbiesbrouckFlorida57334712822.29.919
Chris OsgoodDetroit47276910662.30.910
Patrick RoyColorado62369814372.32.923
Mark FitzpatrickFlorida3016806602.36.914
Mike VernonDetroit3319527902.43.899
Garth SnowPhiladelphia3518847922.52.903

[3]

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1996–97 (listed with their first team, asterisk (*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1996–97 (listed with their last team):

Broadcasting

Canada

This was the ninth 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 third 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 March. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected games, while Fox 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, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: 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
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