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1996–97 NHL season
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Everything about 1996 97 Nhl Season totally explained

The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. 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. Goaltenders dominated the regular season as never before, combining for an all-time record of 127 shutouts. This domination continued into the playoffs, during which an all-time record of 18 shutouts were recorded. Only two players, Mario Lemieux and Teemu Selanne, reached the 100-point plateau during the regular season.

League Business

This was the first season for the Phoenix Coyotes, who had relocated from Winnipeg, Manitoba and had previously been known as the Winnipeg Jets.
   On March 25, 1997, the Hartford Whalers announced that they'd move from Connecticut following the 1996–97 season. Starting in the 1997–98 NHL season, they were 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. He had been grandfathered under the old rule requiring them to be worn because he'd signed a pro contract before the rule was established on 1 June, 1979. The first player to ever wear a helmet was George Owen in the 1928–29 NHL season.

Regular season

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

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Northeast Division>
Team W L T GF GA Pts
Buffalo Sabres 40 30 12 237 208 92
Pittsburgh Penguins 38 36 8 285 280 84
Ottawa Senators 31 36 15 249 276 77
Montreal Canadiens 31 36 15 249 276 77
Hartford Whalers 32 39 11 226 256 75
Boston Bruins 26 47 9 234 300 61
Atlantic Division>
Team W L T GF GA Pts
New Jersey Devils 45 23 14 231 182 104
Philadelphia Flyers 45 24 13 274 217 103
Florida Panthers 35 28 19 221 201 89
New York Rangers 38 34 10 258 231 86
Washington Capitals 33 40 9 214 231 75
Tampa Bay Lightning 32 40 10 217 247 74
New York Islanders 29 41 12 240 250 70
Central Division>
Team W L T GF GA Pts
Dallas Stars 48 26 8 252 198 104
Detroit Red Wings 38 26 18 253 197 94
Phoenix Coyotes 38 37 7 240 243 83
St. Louis Blues 36 35 11 236 239 83
Chicago Blackhawks 34 35 13 223 210 81
Toronto Maple Leafs 30 44 8 230 273 68
Pacific Division>
Team W L T GF GA Pts
Colorado Avalanche 49 24 9 277 205 107
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 36 33 13 243 231 85
Edmonton Oilers 36 37 9 252 247 81
Vancouver Canucks 35 40 7 257 273 77
Calgary Flames 32 41 9 214 239 73
Los Angeles Kings 28 43 11 214 268 67
San Jose Sharks 27 47 8 211 278 62

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player Team GP G A PTS
Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh 76 50 72 122
Teemu Selanne Anaheim 78 51 58 109
Paul Kariya Anaheim 69 44 55 99
John LeClair Philadelphia 82 50 47 97
Wayne Gretzky NY Rangers 82 25 72 97
Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh 63 47 48 95
Mats Sundin Toronto 82 41 53 94
Zigmund Palffy NY Islanders 80 48 42 90
Ron Francis Pittsburgh 81 27 63 90
Brendan Shanahan Hartford/
Detroit 		81 47 41 88

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Montreal vs. New Jersey
Date Away Home
April 17 Montreal 2 5 New Jersey
April 19 Montreal 1 4 New Jersey
April 22 New Jersey 5 4 Montreal
April 24 New Jersey 3 4 Montreal 3OT
April 26 Montreal 0 4 New Jersey
New Jersey wins series 4–1
Ottawa vs. Buffalo
Date Away Home
April 17 Ottawa 1 3 Buffalo
April 19 Ottawa 3 1 Buffalo
April 21 Buffalo 3 2 Ottawa
April 23 Buffalo 0 1 Ottawa OT
April 25 Ottawa 4 1 Buffalo
April 27 Buffalo 3 0 Ottawa
April 29 Ottawa 2 3 Buffalo OT
Buffalo wins series 4–3
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia
Date Away Home
April 17 Pittsburgh 1 5 Philadelphia
April 19 Pittsburgh 2 3 Philadelphia
April 21 Philadelphia 5 3 Pittsburgh
April 23 Philadelphia 1 4 Pittsburgh
April 26 Pittsburgh 3 6 Philadelphia
Philadelphia wins series 4–1
NY Rangers vs. Florida
Date Away Home
April 17 NY Rangers 0 3 Florida
April 20 NY Rangers 3 0 Florida
April 22 Florida 3 4 NY Rangers OT
April 23 Florida 2 3 NY Rangers
April 25 NY Rangers 3 2 Florida OT
NY Rangers win series 4–1

Western Conference

Chicago vs. Colorado
Date Away Home
April 16 Chicago 0 6 Colorado
April 18 Chicago 1 3 Colorado
April 20 Colorado 3 4 Chicago 2OT
April 22 Colorado 3 6 Chicago
April 24 Chicago 0 7 Colorado
April 26 Colorado 6 3 Chicago
Colorado wins series 4–2
Edmonton vs. Dallas
Date Away Home
April 16 Edmonton 3 5 Dallas
April 18 Edmonton 4 0 Dallas
April 20 Dallas 3 4 Edmonton OT
April 22 Dallas 4 3 Edmonton
April 25 Edmonton 1 0 Dallas 2OT
April 27 Dallas 3 2 Edmonton
April 29 Edmonton 4 3 Dallas OT
Edmonton wins series 4–3
St. Louis vs. Detroit
Date Away Home
April 16 St. Louis 2 0 Detroit
April 18 St. Louis 1 2 Detroit
April 20 Detroit 3 2 St. Louis
April 22 Detroit 0 4 St. Louis
April 25 St. Louis 2 5 Detroit
April 27 Detroit 3 1 St. Louis
Detroit wins series 4–2
Phoenix vs. Anaheim
Date Away Home
April 16 Phoenix 2 4 Anaheim
April 18 Phoenix 2 4 Anaheim
April 20 Anaheim 1 4 Phoenix
April 22 Anaheim 0 2 Phoenix
April 24 Phoenix 5 2 Anaheim
April 27 Anaheim 3 2 Phoenix OT
April 29 Phoenix 0 3 Anaheim
Anaheim wins series 4–3

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference>
NY Rangers vs. New Jersey
Date Away Home
May 2 NY Rangers 0 2 New Jersey
May 4 NY Rangers 2 0 New Jersey
May 6 New Jersey 2 3 NY Rangers
May 8 New Jersey 0 3 NY Rangers
May 11 NY Rangers 2 1 New Jersey OT
NY Rangers win series 4–1
Philadelphia vs. Buffalo
Date Away Home
May 3 Philadelphia 5 3 Buffalo
May 5 Philadelphia 2 1 Buffalo
May 7 Buffalo 1 4 Philadelphia
May 9 Buffalo 5 4 Philadelphia OT
May 11 Philadelphia 6 3 Buffalo
Philadelphia wins series 4–1
Western Conference>
Edmonton vs. Colorado
Date Away Home
May 2 Edmonton 1 5 Colorado
May 4 Edmonton 1 4 Colorado
May 7 Colorado 3 4 Edmonton
May 9 Colorado 3 2 Edmonton OT
May 11 Edmonton 3 Colorado 4
Colorado wins series 4–1
Anaheim vs. Detroit
Date Away Home
May 2 Anaheim 1 2 Detroit OT
May 4 Anaheim 2 3 Detroit 3OT
May 6 Detroit 5 3 Anaheim
May 8 Detroit 3 2 Anaheim 2OT
Detroit wins series 4–0

Conference finals

Eastern Conference>
NY Rangers vs. Philadelphia
Date Away Home
May 16 NY Rangers 1 3 Philadelphia
May 18 NY Rangers 5 4 Philadelphia
May 20 Philadelphia 6 3 NY Rangers
May 23 Philadelphia 3 2 NY Rangers
May 25 NY Rangers 2 4 Philadelphia
Philadelphia wins series 4–1
and Prince of Wales Trophy
Western Conference>
Detroit vs. Colorado
Date Away Home
May 15 Detroit 1 2 Colorado
May 17 Detroit 4 2 Colorado
May 19 Colorado 1 2 Detroit
May 22 Colorado 0 6 Detroit
May 24 Detroit 0 6 Colorado
May 26 Colorado 1 3 Detroit
Detroit wins series 4–2 and
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl

Stanley Cup final

Detroit vs. Philadelphia
Date Away Home
May 31 Detroit 4 2 Philadelphia
June 3 Detroit 4 2 Philadelphia
June 5 Philadelphia 1 6 Detroit
June 7 Philadelphia 1 2 Detroit
Detroit wins series 4–0
and Stanley Cup
Mike Vernon (Detroit)
wins Conn Smythe Trophy

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player Team GP G A Pts
Eric Lindros Phi 19 12 14 26
Joe Sakic Col 17 8 17 25
Claude Lemieux Col 17 13 10 23
Valeri Kamensky Col 17 8 14 22
Rod Brind'Amour Phi 19 13 8 21
John LeClair Phi 19 9 12 21
Wayne Gretzky NYR 15 10 10 20
Sergei Fedorov Det 20 8 12 20
Brendan Shanahan Det 20 9 8 17
Peter Forsberg Col 14 5 12 17
Sandis Ozolinsh Col 17 4 13 17
Vyacheslav Kozlov Det 20 8 5 13
Paul Kariya Ana 11 7 6 13
Steve Yzerman Det 20 7 6 13
Janne Niinimaa Phi 19 1 12 13

NHL Awards

The NHL Awards presentation took place on June 19, 1997.
Presidents' Trophy: Colorado Avalanche
Prince of Wales Trophy: Philadelphia Flyers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Memorial 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

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, Anaheim Mighty Ducks RW Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
Paul Kariya, Anaheim Mighty Ducks LW John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers

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 that played their last game in the NHL in 1996–97 (listed with their last team):
  • Tim Cheveldae, Boston Bruins
  • Charlie Huddy, Buffalo Sabres
  • Denis Savard, Chicago Blackhawks
  • Sergei Makarov, Dallas Stars
  • Neal Broten, Dallas Stars
  • Mike Ramsey, Detroit Red Wings
  • Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
  • Dale Hawerchuk, Philadelphia Flyers
  • Brad McCrimmon, Philadelphia Flyers
  • Dan Quinn, Pittsburgh Penguins
  • Joe Mullen, Pittsburgh Penguins
  • Tim Hunter, San Jose Sharks
  • Craig MacTavish, St. Louis Blues
  • Gary Leeman, St. Louis Blues
  • Jon Casey, St. Louis Blues
  • Jay Wells, Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Don Beaupre, Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Nick Kypreos, Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Mike Ridley, Vancouver CanucksFurther Information

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