1995β96 Ottawa Senators | |
---|---|
Division | 6th Northeast |
Conference | 13th Eastern |
1995β96 record | 18β59β5 |
Home record | 8β28β5 |
Road record | 10β31β0 |
Goals for | 191 |
Goals against | 291 |
Team information | |
General manager |
Randy Sexton (Oct-Dec) Pierre Gauthier (Dec-Apr) |
Coach |
Rick Bowness (Oct-Nov) Dave Allison (Nov-Jan) Jacques Martin (Jan-Apr) |
Captain | Randy Cunneyworth |
Alternate captains |
Steve Duchesne Tom Chorske |
Arena |
Ottawa Civic Centre (Oct-Dec) The Palladium [a] (Jan-Apr) |
Average attendance | 13,271 (544,108 total) |
Minor league affiliate(s) |
Prince Edward Island Senators Thunder Bay Senators |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Daniel Alfredsson (26) |
Assists | Daniel Alfredsson (35) |
Points | Daniel Alfredsson (61) |
Penalty minutes | Dennis Vial (276) |
Plus/minus | Pat Elyniuk (+2) |
Wins | Damian Rhodes (10) |
Goals against average | Damian Rhodes (2.77) |
The 1995β96 Ottawa Senators season was the fourth season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season was plenty of change for the club. The club changed coaching staffs twice, changed their general manager and moved into the new Palladium arena in Kanata. The team again finished last in the league, even though they knocked the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils out of playoff contention in the last game of the season, allowing the Tampa Bay Lightning to clinch the playoff berth at the expense of the Devils. [1] [2]
Prior to the season, on August 2, 1995, Brian Smith, former NHL hockey player and sportscaster at Ottawa TV station CJOH-TV was killed. He had been the primary reporter on the Senators for the station. The Senators honored him with a patch on their jerseys, with his nickname 'Smitty' and number 18, which they wore on their jerseys for the whole season. The team raised a banner in his memory.
The Senators finished last in wins (18), points (41), goals scored (191), even-strength goals scored (132), power-play goals scored (53) and power-play percentage (12.33%). They also tied the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning for fewest short-handed goals scored (6). [3]
There were some bright spots during the season, rookie Daniel Alfredsson led the team offensively with 61 points (26 goals-35 assists), while Alexei Yashin was out of the lineup for 36 games. Alfredsson won the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year.
After getting off to a good start with a 6β5β0 record, the Senators lost their next eight games, which ended up costing head coach Rick Bowness his job, as the club replaced him with Dave Allison, who was previously the head coach of the Senators AHL affiliate, the Prince Edward Island Senators. The Dave Allison era did not last long in Ottawa, as the club won two of 25 games (2β22β1) before he was replaced by Jacques Martin. Under Martin, the Senators was more competitive, going 10β24β4 in his 38 games to finish the year with an 18β59β5, their fourth straight season at the bottom of the NHL standings.
After taking over from the fired Randy Sexton as General Manager, on December 6, 1995, Pierre Gauthier made three moves to strengthen the club. He hired Jacques Martin as head coach, signed hold-out Alexei Yashin to a contract and engineered a blockbuster trade on January 23, 1996, dealing away Don Beaupre, Martin Straka, and Bryan Berard, while acquiring Damian Rhodes and Wade Redden. It was a three-way trade between the Senators, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the New York Islanders and was necessary because Berard, the Senators' first-round pick, was refusing to report to the Senators.
The Senators left the Ottawa Civic Centre and played their first game in The Palladium on January 17, 1996, against the Montreal Canadiens. The raising of the Senators' Stanley Cup banners failed, leaving the banners obscuring some fans' view of the scoreboard. The Senators lost 3β0 to the Canadiens.
On April 13, 1996, the Senators played the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils, who must win to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators played the role of spoiler, defeating New Jersey 5β2, officially eliminating the Devils from post-season play and giving the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that entered the league the same year as the Senators, its first playoff berth.
No. | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 49 | 29 | 4 | 362 | 284 | 102 |
2 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 282 | 269 | 91 |
3 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 265 | 248 | 90 |
4 | Hartford Whalers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 237 | 259 | 77 |
5 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 247 | 262 | 72 |
6 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 18 | 59 | 5 | 191 | 291 | 41 |
R | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 282 | 208 | 103 |
2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 49 | 29 | 4 | 362 | 284 | 102 |
3 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 272 | 237 | 96 |
4 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 254 | 234 | 92 |
5 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 282 | 269 | 91 |
6 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 265 | 248 | 90 |
7 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 234 | 204 | 89 |
8 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 38 | 32 | 12 | 238 | 248 | 88 |
9 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 215 | 202 | 86 |
10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 237 | 259 | 77 |
11 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 247 | 262 | 73 |
12 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 22 | 50 | 10 | 229 | 315 | 54 |
13 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 18 | 59 | 5 | 191 | 291 | 41 |
Divisions: ATL β Atlantic, NE β Northeast
bold β Qualified for playoffs
1995β96 regular season [5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October: 5β5β0 (home: 2β2β0; road: 3β3β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
November: 1β11β1 (home: 0β5β1; road: 1β6β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
December: 2β12β0 (home: 0β5β0; road: 2β7β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
January: 1β10β1 (home: 1β5β1; road: 0β5β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
February: 3β8β1 (home: 0β4β1; road: 3β4β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
March: 3β10β1 (home: 3β5β1; road: 0β5β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April: 3β3β1 (home: 2β2β1; road: 1β1β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
Regular season | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
11 | Daniel Alfredsson | RW | 82 | 26 | 35 | 61 | β18 | 28 |
19 | Alexei Yashin | C | 46 | 15 | 24 | 39 | β15 | 28 |
7 | Randy Cunneyworth | LW | 81 | 17 | 19 | 36 | β31 | 130 |
28 | Steve Duchesne | D | 62 | 12 | 24 | 36 | β23 | 42 |
76 | Radek Bonk | C | 76 | 16 | 19 | 35 | β5 | 36 |
17 | Tom Chorske | LW | 72 | 15 | 14 | 29 | β9 | 21 |
82 | Martin Strakaβ‘ | C | 43 | 9 | 16 | 25 | β14 | 29 |
9 | Dan Quinnβ‘ | C | 28 | 6 | 18 | 24 | β8 | 24 |
4 | Sean Hill | D | 80 | 7 | 14 | 21 | β26 | 94 |
23 | Jaroslav Modryβ‘ | D | 64 | 4 | 14 | 18 | β17 | 38 |
78 | Pavol Demitra | LW | 31 | 7 | 10 | 17 | β3 | 6 |
91 | Alexandre Daigle | C | 50 | 5 | 12 | 17 | β30 | 24 |
13 | Ted Drury | C | 42 | 9 | 7 | 16 | β19 | 54 |
22 | Antti Tormanen | RW | 50 | 7 | 8 | 15 | β15 | 28 |
5 | Kerry Huffmanβ‘ | D | 43 | 4 | 11 | 15 | β18 | 63 |
20 | Trent McCleary | RW | 75 | 4 | 10 | 14 | β15 | 68 |
10 | Rob Gaudreau | RW | 52 | 8 | 5 | 13 | β19 | 15 |
94 | Stan Neckar | D | 82 | 3 | 9 | 12 | β16 | 54 |
12 | Dave Archibald | C | 44 | 6 | 4 | 10 | β14 | 18 |
49 | Michel Picard | LW | 17 | 2 | 6 | 8 | β1 | 10 |
2 | Lance Pitlick | D | 28 | 1 | 6 | 7 | β8 | 20 |
36 | Troy Mallette | LW | 64 | 2 | 3 | 5 | β7 | 171 |
21 | Dennis Vial | D | 64 | 1 | 4 | 5 | β13 | 276 |
3 | Frank Musil | D | 65 | 1 | 3 | 4 | β10 | 85 |
25 | Pat Elynuik | RW | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
29 | Phil Bourque | LW | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | β3 | 14 |
6 | Chris Dahlquist | D | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | β7 | 14 |
14 | Jean-Yves Roy | RW | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
33 | Don Beaupreβ‘ | G | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | |
27 | Janne Laukkanenβ | D | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
26 | Scott Levins | RW | 27 | 0 | 2 | 2 | β3 | 80 |
1 | Damian Rhodesβ | G | 36 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
16 | Dave McLlwainβ‘ | RW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
35 | Mike Bales | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
27 | Joe Cirellaβ β‘ | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β3 | 4 |
24 | Daniel Laperriere | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
18 | Patrick Traverse | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β1 | 2 |
Regular season | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
1 | Damian Rhodesβ | 36 | 10 | 22 | 4 | 1041 | 98 | 2.77 | .906 | 2 | 2123 |
33 | Don Beaupreβ‘ | 33 | 6 | 23 | 0 | 892 | 110 | 3.73 | .877 | 1 | 1770 |
35 | Mike Bales | 20 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 560 | 72 | 4.15 | .871 | 0 | 1040 |
Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (annual) |
Calder Memorial Trophy | Daniel Alfredsson | [6] |
NHL All-Rookie Team | Daniel Alfredsson ( Forward) | [7] | |
League (in-season) |
NHL All-Star Game selection | Daniel Alfredsson | [8] |
NHL Rookie of the Month | Daniel Alfredsson (November) | [9] | |
Daniel Alfredsson (April) | [10] | ||
Team | Molson Cup | Damian Rhodes | [11] |
July 8 | Acquired Jaroslav ModrΓ½ from the New Jersey Devils for a 4th round pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft - ( Alyn McCauley). |
July 31 | Lost free agent Darren Rumble to the Philadelphia Flyers to a 1-year, $300,000 contract. |
Source [12]
August 1 | Signed free agent Dan Quinn from the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-year, $1.05 mil contract. |
August 4 | Acquired Steve Duchesne from the St. Louis Blues for a 2nd round pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft - ( Cory Sarich). |
August 7 | Lost free agent Corey Foster to the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1-year contract. |
August 9 | Signed free agent Eric Lavigne from the Los Angeles Kings to a 1-year contract. |
Source [13]
September 20 | Traded Jean-François Labbé to the Colorado Avalanche for future considerations. |
Source [14]
October 2 | Claimed
Justin Hocking from the
Los Angeles Kings in the
1995 NHL Waiver Draft. Claimed Ted Drury from the Colorado Avalanche in the 1995 NHL Waiver Draft. |
October 4 | Claimed Tom Chorske off of waivers from the New Jersey Devils. |
October 5 | Acquired Jean-Yves Roy from the New York Rangers for Steve Larouche. New Jersey Devils received 3rd round draft pick in 1997 NHL Entry Draft - ( Josh Langfeld for waiver draft payment for Tom Chorske. |
October 7 | Acquired Frank Musil from the Calgary Flames for a 4th round pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft - ( Chris St. Croix). |
October 10 | Signed free agent Joe Cirella from the Florida Panthers to a 1-year, $150,000 (CAD) contract. |
October 13 | Resigned Frank Musil to a 1-year, $500,000 contract. |
Source [15]
December 1 | Released Joe Cirella. |
December 31 | Re-signed Alexei Yashin to a 5-year, $13.6 million contract. |
Source [16]
January 23 | Traded
Dan Quinn to the
Philadelphia Flyers for cash. Acquired Damian Rhodes from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Wade Redden from the New York Islanders for Martin Straka and Bryan Berard to the New York Islanders and Don Beaupre to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of three-team trade. |
January 25 | Acquired Janne Laukkanen from the Colorado Avalanche for the rights to Brad Larsen. |
Source [17]
March 1 | Acquired an 8th round pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft - ( Erich Goldmann) from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Dave McLlwain. |
March 19 | Acquired an 9th round pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft - ( Sami Salo) from the Philadelphia Flyers for Kerry Huffman. |
March 20 | Acquired Kevin Brown from the Los Angeles Kings for Jaroslav ModrΓ½ and an 8th round pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft - ( Steve Valiquette). |
Source [18]
Ottawa's draft picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft in Edmonton, Alberta. [19]
Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Bryan Berard | United States | Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL) |
2 | 27 | Marc Moro | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
3 | 53 | Brad Larsen | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
4 | 89 | Kevin Bolibruck | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
4 | 103 | Kevin Boyd | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
6 | 131 | David Hruska | Czech Republic | Banik Sokolov (Czech.) |
8 | 183 | Kaj Linna | Finland | Boston University (NCAA) |
8 | 184 | Ray Schultz | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
9 | 231 | Erik Kaminski | United States | Northeastern University ( Boston) (NCAA) |