1996–97 Ottawa Senators season

1996–97 Ottawa Senators
Division3rd Northeast
Conference7th Eastern
1996–97 record31–36–15
Home record16–17–8
Road record15–19–7
Goals for226
Goals against234
Team information
General managerPierre Gauthier
CoachJacques Martin
CaptainRandy Cunneyworth
Alternate captainsSteve Duchesne
Alexei Yashin
ArenaCorel Centre
Average attendance15,377 (83.1%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Worcester IceCats
Raleigh IceCaps
Team leaders
GoalsAlexei Yashin (35)
AssistsDaniel Alfredsson (47)
PointsAlexei Yashin (75)
Penalty minutesDenny Lambert (217)
Plus/minusFrantisek Musil (+6)
WinsRon Tugnutt (17)
Goals against averageDamian Rhodes (2.72)

The 1996–97 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.

Regular season

Northeast Division Teams

Ottawa got off to a slow start, with a 7–12–6 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 10–4–2 in their final 16 games of the season, including a 1–0 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.

Final standings

Northeast Division
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 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
Eastern Conference[1]
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 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 – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs


Playoffs

The Ottawa Senators ended the 1996–97 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.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season[2]
October: 3–3–4 (home: 2–0–2; road: 1–3–2)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
1 October 5, 1996 3–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 0–0–1 20,639 T
2 October 9, 1996 3–3 OT New York Islanders (1996–97) 0–0–2 15,352 T
3 October 11, 1996 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 1–0–2 12,337 W
4 October 12, 1996 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 1–1–2 15,472 L
5 October 18, 1996 2–2 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 1–1–3 14,710 T
6 October 19, 1996 6–3 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 2–1–3 18,201 W
7 October 23, 1996 2–5 @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 2–2–3 14,703 L
8 October 24, 1996 5–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 3–2–3 16,286 W
9 October 26, 1996 1–5 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 3–3–3 15,118 L
10 October 30, 1996 2–2 OT Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 3–3–4 13,053 T
November: 4–7–2 (home: 2–4–2; road: 2–3–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
11 November 1, 1996 2–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 3–3–5 14,158 T
12 November 2, 1996 3–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 3–4–5 15,441 L
13 November 7, 1996 6–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 4–4–5 18,500 W
14 November 9, 1996 3–4 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 4–5–5 14,411 L
15 November 10, 1996 0–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 4–6–5 17,326 L
16 November 13, 1996 0–4 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 4–7–5 15,312 L
17 November 15, 1996 4–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 5–7–5 12,468 W
18 November 16, 1996 4–1 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 6–7–5 12,288 W
19 November 19, 1996 1–2 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 6–8–5 15,232 L
20 November 23, 1996 3–3 OT Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 6–8–6 14,648 T
21 November 27, 1996 2–1 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 7–8–6 12,911 W
22 November 29, 1996 0–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 7–9–6 18,595 L
23 November 30, 1996 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 7–10–6 14,920 L
December: 4–7–1 (home: 2–5–0; road: 2–2–1)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
24 December 4, 1996 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 7–11–6 11,679 L
25 December 6, 1996 2–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 7–12–6 15,060 L
26 December 7, 1996 3–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 8–12–6 16,605 W
27 December 10, 1996 5–5 OT @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 8–12–7 16,103 T
28 December 13, 1996 2–4 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 8–13–7 11,441 L
29 December 15, 1996 0–4 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 8–14–7 14,249 L
30 December 19, 1996 5–2 Florida Panthers (1996–97) 9–14–7 13,264 W
31 December 21, 1996 2–3 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 9–15–7 11,597 L
32 December 23, 1996 6–0 @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 10–15–7 21,273 W
33 December 26, 1996 5–2 New York Rangers (1996–97) 11–15–7 18,280 W
34 December 28, 1996 2–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 11–16–7 14,092 L
35 December 30, 1996 3–4 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 11–17–7 17,605 L
January: 4–6–3 (home: 3–5–2; road: 1–1–1)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
36 January 1, 1997 3–2 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 12–17–7 15,381 W
37 January 3, 1997 0–1 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 12–18–7 12,082 L
38 January 4, 1997 4–6 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 12–19–7 18,200 L
39 January 6, 1997 3–4 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 12–20–7 11,329 L
40 January 9, 1997 0–2 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 12–21–7 17,126 L
41 January 11, 1997 3–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 12–21–8 18,223 T
42 January 13, 1997 4–3 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 13–21–8 16,135 W
43 January 15, 1997 5–1 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 14–21–8 12,152 W
44 January 22, 1997 1–4 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 14–22–8 14,249 L
45 January 24, 1997 2–2 OT Calgary Flames (1996–97) 14–22–9 13,306 T
46 January 27, 1997 5–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 15–22–9 13,283 W
47 January 29, 1997 1–1 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 15–22–10 12,366 T
48 January 30, 1997 2–5 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 15–23–10 11,830 L
February: 6–5–3 (home: 3–1–1; road: 3–4–2)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
49 February 1, 1997 2–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 16–23–10 15,726 W
50 February 3, 1997 6–4 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 17–23–10 14,455 W
51 February 4, 1997 4–3 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 18–23–10 15,550 W
52 February 8, 1997 3–3 OT San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 18–23–11 18,500 T
53 February 9, 1997 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 18–24–11 14,841 L
54 February 11, 1997 5–5 OT @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 18–24–12 8,380 T
55 February 13, 1997 2–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 18–25–12 19,425 L
56 February 15, 1997 1–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 18–26–12 13,767 L
57 February 16, 1997 4–2 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 19–26–12 18,338 W
58 February 18, 1997 6–1 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 20–26–12 9,784 W
59 February 20, 1997 1–1 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 20–26–13 14,305 T
60 February 23, 1997 3–4 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 20–27–13 16,061 L
61 February 26, 1997 5–8 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 20–28–13 18,245 L
62 February 28, 1997 4–1 New York Islanders (1996–97) 21–28–13 17,413 W
March: 5–6–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 4–4–1)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
63 March 1, 1997 1–3 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 21–29–13 17,231 L
64 March 5, 1997 1–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 21–30–13 17,174 L
65 March 6, 1997 0–2 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 21–31–13 17,442 L
66 March 8, 1997 1–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 21–32–13 12,086 L
67 March 10, 1997 4–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 22–32–13 16,210 W
68 March 14, 1997 3–4 OT New York Rangers (1996–97) 22–33–13 18,500 L
69 March 15, 1997 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 22–33–14 21,273 T
70 March 17, 1997 4–3 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 23–33–14 18,200 W
71 March 20, 1997 2–2 OT Florida Panthers (1996–97) 23–33–15 18,219 T
72 March 22, 1997 5–4 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 24–33–15 15,188 W
73 March 25, 1997 0–5 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 24–34–15 17,873 L
74 March 27, 1997 3–2 @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 25–34–15 14,703 W
75 March 29, 1997 5–2 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 26–34–15 18,500 W
April: 5–2–0 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–2–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
76 April 2, 1997 2–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 27–34–15 18,595 W
77 April 3, 1997 4–0 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 28–34–15 18,500 W
78 April 5, 1997 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 28–35–15 17,238 L
79 April 6, 1997 1–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 28–36–15 19,608 L
80 April 9, 1997 5–4 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 29–36–15 18,500 W
81 April 11, 1997 3–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 30–36–15 19,983 W
82 April 12, 1997 1–0 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 31–36–15 18,500 W

Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[2]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 4–3
Game Date Score Opponent Series Attendance Recap
1 April 17, 1997 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres Sabres lead 1–0 18,595 L
2 April 19, 1997 3–1 @ Buffalo Sabres Series tied 1–1 18,595 W
3 April 21, 1997 2–3 Buffalo Sabres Sabres lead 2–1 18,500 L
4 April 23, 1997 1–0 OT Buffalo Sabres Series tied 2–2 18,500 W
5 April 25, 1997 4–1 @ Buffalo Sabres Senators lead 3–2 18,595 W
6 April 27, 1997 0–3 Buffalo Sabres Series tied 3–3 18,500 L
7 April 29, 1997 2–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres Sabres win 4–3 18,595 L

Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.
No. Player Pos Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
19 Alexei Yashin C 82 35 40 75 −7 44 7 1 5 6 −2 2
11 Daniel Alfredsson RW 76 24 47 71 5 30 7 5 2 7 −1 6
91 Alexandre Daigle C 82 26 25 51 −33 33 7 0 0 0 −5 2
28 Steve Duchesne D 78 19 28 47 −9 38 7 1 4 5 −3 0
7 Randy Cunneyworth LW 76 12 24 36 −7 99 7 1 1 2 −3 10
10 Andreas Dackell RW 79 12 19 31 −6 8 7 1 0 1 0 0
15 Shawn McEachern RW 65 11 20 31 −5 18 7 2 0 2 −1 8
6 Wade Redden D 82 6 24 30 1 41 7 1 3 4 −4 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 −1 16 5 0 1 1 −1 2
22 Shaun Van Allen C 80 11 14 25 −8 35 7 0 1 1 −3 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 −8 67 7 0 0 0 −3 4
27 Janne Laukkanen D 76 3 18 21 −14 76 7 0 1 1 −1 6
42 Denny Lambert LW 80 4 16 20 −4 217 6 0 1 1 0 9
76 Radek Bonk C 53 5 13 18 −4 14 7 0 1 1 −1 4
2 Lance Pitlick D 66 5 5 10 2 91 7 0 0 0 −1 4
38 Jason Zent LW 22 3 3 6 5 9 — — — — — —
23 Christer Olsson† D 25 2 3 5 −5 10 — — — — — —
20 Denis Chasse‡ RW 22 1 4 5 3 19 — — — — — —
3 Frantisek Musil D 57 0 5 5 6 58 — — — — — —
14 Dave Hannan‡ C 34 2 2 4 −1 8 — — — — — —
1 Damian Rhodes G 50 0 2 2 2 — — — — — —
44 Radim Bicanek D 21 0 1 1 −4 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 — — — — — —
29 Phil Von Stefenelli D 6 0 1 1 −3 7 — — — — — —
35 Mike Bales G 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
4 Sean Hill D 5 0 0 0 1 4 — — — — — —
94 Stan Neckar D 5 0 0 0 2 2 — — — — — —

Goaltending

No. Player Regular season Playoffs
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 — — — — — — — — —
35 Mike Bales 1 0 1 0 18 4 4.64 .778 0 52 — — — — — — — — —

Awards and records

Awards

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]

Milestones

Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Andreas Dackell October 5, 1996 [6]
Bruce Gardiner
Wade Redden
Jason Zent December 19, 1996

Transactions

May 1996

May 21 Traded Michel Picard to the Washington Capitals for cash considerations.

Source[7]

June 1996

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[8]

July 1996

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[9]

August 1996

August 14 Signed free agent Ron Tugnutt from the Washington Capitals to a one-year, $280,000 (CAD) contract.

Source[10]

September 1996

September 6 Signed free agent Denis Chassé 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[11]

October 1996

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[12]

November 1996

November 27 Acquired Christer Olsson from the St. Louis Blues for Pavol Demitra.

Source[13]

March 1997

March 18 Acquired Mike Prokopec from the Chicago Blackhawks for Denis Chassé, the rights to Kevin Bolibruck and a sixth-round pick in the 1998 NHL entry draft - (Chris Neil).

Source[14]

April 1997

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[15]

Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft in St. Louis, Missouri.[16]

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 Brynäs 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)

Farm teams

See also

References

  • "Ottawa Senators 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  • "1996-97 Ottawa Senators Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  • Garrioch, Bruce (1998), "Ottawa Senators 1992–93 to Date", Total Hockey
  • Ottawa Senators staff (2006). Ottawa Senators Media Guide 2007. Ottawa Senators.
  • National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007
  1. ^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  2. ^ a b "1996-97 Ottawa Senators Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "NHL Rookies of the Month". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Ottawa Senators 2014–15 Media Guide, p.162–82
  6. ^ "1996-97 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "Transactions". prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  8. ^ "Transactions". prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  9. ^ "Transactions". prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "Transactions". prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  11. ^ "Transactions". prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "Transactions".
  13. ^ "Transactions".
  14. ^ "Transactions".
  15. ^ "Transactions".
  16. ^ "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
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