1996β97 Ottawa Senators | |
---|---|
Division | 3rd Northeast |
Conference | 7th Eastern |
1996β97 record | 31β36β15 |
Home record | 16β17β8 |
Road record | 15β19β7 |
Goals for | 226 |
Goals against | 234 |
Team information | |
General manager | Pierre Gauthier |
Coach | Jacques Martin |
Captain | Randy Cunneyworth |
Alternate captains |
Steve Duchesne Alexei Yashin |
Arena | Corel Centre |
Average attendance | 15,371 (630,196 total) |
Minor league affiliate(s) |
Worcester IceCats Raleigh IceCaps |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Alexei Yashin (35) |
Assists | Daniel Alfredsson (47) |
Points | Alexei Yashin (75) |
Penalty minutes | Denny Lambert (217) |
Plus/minus | Frantisek Musil (+6) |
Wins | Ron Tugnutt (17) |
Goals against average | Damian Rhodes (2.72) |
The 1996β97 Ottawa Senators season was the fifth season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season saw great improvement by the club, as the team finished out of last place in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the first time in team history, and went on to qualify for the 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Senators lost in the first round (Conference Quarterfinals) to the Buffalo Sabres. This was the first of eleven consecutive playoff appearances for the Senators.
Ottawa got off to a slow start, with a 7β12β6 record in their first 25 games, but as the season would go on, the team got better, finishing with a .500 record in their remaining 57 games and earned 45 points in the last 41 games of the regular season. The Senators went 10β4β2 in their final 16 games of the season, including a 1β0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in the final game of the season to earn a playoff berth.
Alexei Yashin and Daniel Alfredsson led the club offensively, while Ron Tugnutt and Damian Rhodes provided very solid goaltending for the team throughout the season.
No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 237 | 208 | 92 |
2 | 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 285 | 280 | 84 |
3 | 7 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 226 | 234 | 77 |
4 | 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 249 | 276 | 77 |
5 | 10 | Hartford Whalers | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 226 | 256 | 75 |
6 | 13 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | 234 | 300 | 61 |
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 β Atlantic, NE β Northeast
bold β Qualified for playoffs
The Ottawa Senators ended the 1996β97 regular season as the Eastern Conference's seventh seed. The Senators faced the Buffalo Sabres, and nearly pulled off the upset against their heavily favoured opponent, losing to the Sabres in overtime in the seventh game of the series, a game which included an own-goal by Alexei Yashin when the puck went past Tugnutt after the Sens won a faceoff in their zone.
1996β97 regular season [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October: 3β3β4 (home: 2β0β2; road: 1β3β2)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
November: 4β7β2 (home: 2β4β2; road: 2β3β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
December: 4β7β1 (home: 2β5β0; road: 2β2β1)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
January: 4β6β3 (home: 3β5β2; road: 1β1β1)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
February: 6β5β3 (home: 3β1β1; road: 3β4β2)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
March: 5β6β2 (home: 1β2β1; road: 4β4β1)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April: 5β2β0 (home: 3β0β0; road: 2β2β0)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
1997 Stanley Cup playoffs [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres β Sabres win 4β3
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
Win Loss |
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
19 | Alexei Yashin | C | 82 | 35 | 40 | 75 | β7 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | β2 | 2 |
11 | Daniel Alfredsson | RW | 76 | 24 | 47 | 71 | 5 | 30 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | β1 | 6 |
91 | Alexandre Daigle | C | 82 | 26 | 25 | 51 | β33 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β5 | 2 |
28 | Steve Duchesne | D | 78 | 19 | 28 | 47 | β9 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | β3 | 0 |
7 | Randy Cunneyworth | LW | 76 | 12 | 24 | 36 | β7 | 99 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | β3 | 10 |
10 | Andreas Dackell | RW | 79 | 12 | 19 | 31 | β6 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
15 | Shawn McEachern | RW | 65 | 11 | 20 | 31 | β5 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | β1 | 8 |
6 | Wade Redden | D | 82 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 1 | 41 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | β4 | 2 |
16 | Sergei Zholtok | C | 57 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 2 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
17 | Tom Chorske | LW | 68 | 18 | 8 | 26 | β1 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | β1 | 2 |
22 | Shaun Van Allen | C | 80 | 11 | 14 | 25 | β8 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | β3 | 4 |
25 | Bruce Gardiner | RW | 67 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 4 | 49 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
33 | Jason York | D | 75 | 4 | 17 | 21 | β8 | 67 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β3 | 4 |
27 | Janne Laukkanen | D | 76 | 3 | 18 | 21 | β14 | 76 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | β1 | 6 |
42 | Denny Lambert | LW | 80 | 4 | 16 | 20 | β4 | 217 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
76 | Radek Bonk | C | 53 | 5 | 13 | 18 | β4 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | β1 | 4 |
2 | Lance Pitlick | D | 66 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 91 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β1 | 4 |
38 | Jason Zent | LW | 22 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 9 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
23 | Christer Olssonβ | D | 25 | 2 | 3 | 5 | β5 | 10 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
20 | Denis Chasseβ‘ | RW | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 19 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
3 | Frantisek Musil | D | 57 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 58 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
14 | Dave Hannanβ‘ | C | 34 | 2 | 2 | 4 | β1 | 8 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
1 | Damian Rhodes | G | 50 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | β | β | β | |
44 | Radim Bicanek | D | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | β4 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
26 | Phil Crowe | LW | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
31 | Ron Tugnutt | G | 37 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
21 | Dennis Vial | LW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
29 | Phil Von Stefenelli | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | β3 | 7 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
35 | Mike Bales | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | |
4 | Sean Hill | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
94 | Stan Neckar | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
31 | Ron Tugnutt | 37 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 882 | 93 | 2.80 | .895 | 3 | 1991 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 169 | 14 | 1.98 | .917 | 1 | 425 |
1 | Damian Rhodes | 50 | 14 | 20 | 14 | 1213 | 133 | 2.72 | .890 | 1 | 2934 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
35 | Mike Bales | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 4.64 | .778 | 0 | 52 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (in-season) |
NHL All-Star Game selection | Daniel Alfredsson | [3] |
NHL Rookie of the Month | Wade Redden (April) | [4] | |
Team | Molson Cup | Alexei Yashin | [5] |
May 21 | Traded Michel Picard to the Washington Capitals for cash considerations. |
Source [6]
June 22 | Acquired Shawn McEachern from the Boston Bruins for Trent McCleary and a 3rd round pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft - ( Eric Naud). |
Source [7]
July 1 | Acquired Mike Maneluk from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Kevin Brown. |
July 10 | Signed free agent Sergei Zholtok from the Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL to a two-year, $700,000 (CAD) contract. |
July 12 | Lost free agent Daniel Laperrière to the Washington Capitals on a one-year contract. |
July 15 | Lost free agent Jean-Yves Roy to the Boston Bruins on a one-year, $350,000 contract. |
July 17 | Signed free agent Phil von Stefenelli from the Boston Bruins on a one-year, $250,000 (CAD) contract. |
July 24 | Lost free agent Troy Mallette to the Boston Bruins on a one-year, $325,000 contract. |
July 29 | Signed free agent
Denny Lambert from the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to a one-year, $275,000 (CAD) contract. Signed free agent Phil Crowe from the Philadelphia Flyers to a one-year contact. |
Source [8]
August 14 | Signed free agent Ron Tugnutt from the Washington Capitals to a one-year, $280,000 (CAD) contract. |
Source [9]
September 6 | Signed free agent
Denis ChassΓ© from the
Winnipeg Jets to a one-year, $275,000 (CAD) contract. Lost free agent Pat Elynuik to the Dallas Stars on a one-year, $400,000 contract. |
September 13 | Signed free agent Dave Hannan from the Colorado Avalanche to a one-year, $250,000 contract. |
Source [10]
October 1 | Acquired Jason York and Shaun Van Allen from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Ted Drury and the rights to Marc Moro. |
October 3 | Lost free agent Scott Levins to the Phoenix Coyotes on a one-year contract. |
October 10 | Lost free agent Dave Archibald to the New York Islanders on a one-year, $325,000 contract. |
Source [11]
November 27 | Acquired Christer Olsson from the St. Louis Blues for Pavol Demitra. |
Source [12]
March 18 | Acquired Mike Prokopec from the Chicago Blackhawks for Denis ChassΓ©, the rights to Kevin Bolibruck and a sixth-round pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft - ( Chris Neil). |
Source [13]
April 8 | Re-signed Randy Cunneyworth to a two-year, $1.05 million contract extension for the 1997-98 season and a club option for the 1998-99 season. |
Source [14]
Ottawa's draft picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in St. Louis, Missouri. [15]
Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Chris Phillips | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
4 | 81 | Antti-Jussi Niemi | Finland | Jokerit ( SM-liiga) |
6 | 136 | Andreas Dackell | Sweden | BrynΓ€s IF ( Elitserien) |
7 | 163 | Francois Hardy | Canada | Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) |
8 | 212 | Erich Goldmann | Germany | Adler Mannheim (DEL) |
9 | 216 | Ivan Ciernik | Slovakia | MHC Plastika Nitra (Slovakia) |
9 | 239 | Sami Salo | Finland | TPS ( SM-liiga) |