1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes season

1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes
Division3rd Central
Conference5th Western
1996–97 record38–37–7
Home record15–19–7
Road record23–18–0
Goals for240
Goals against243
Team information
General managerJohn Paddock (Oct.–Dec.)
Bobby Smith (Dec.–Apr.)
CoachDon Hay
CaptainKeith Tkachuk
ArenaAmerica West Arena
Average attendance15,585
Minor league affiliate(s)Springfield Falcons
Mississippi Sea Wolves
Team leaders
GoalsKeith Tkachuk (52)
AssistsOleg Tverdovsky (45)
PointsKeith Tkachuk (86)
Penalty minutesKeith Tkachuk (228)
Plus/minusJayson More (+10)
WinsNikolai Khabibulin (30)
Goals against averageNikolai Khabibulin (2.83)

The 1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes season was the team's first of 28 seasons in Arizona in the National Hockey League (NHL) since relocating from Winnipeg the season prior. The franchise's 25th season since its founding in 1972, and 18th season in the National Hockey League since 1979.

Off-season

The Winnipeg Jets team was sold to Phoenix businessmen Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke, and in 1996, the club moved to Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes.

In the summer that the move took place, the franchise saw the exit of Jets stars like Teemu Selanne and Alexei Zhamnov, while the team added established superstar Jeremy Roenick from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Regular season

Roenick teamed up with power wingers Keith Tkachuk and Rick Tocchet to form a dynamic 1–2–3 offensive punch that led the Coyotes through their first years in Arizona. Also impressive were young players like Shane Doan (who became the last remaining active original Jet in the NHL), Oleg Tverdovsky and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, whom the fans nicknamed the "Bulin Wall."

Forward Keith Tkachuk was renamed captain, replacing Kris King.

Final standings

Central Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Dallas Stars 82 48 26 8 252 198 104
2 3 Detroit Red Wings 82 38 26 18 253 197 94
3 5 82 38 37 7 240 243 83
4 6 St. Louis Blues 82 36 35 11 236 239 83
5 8 Chicago Blackhawks 82 34 35 13 223 210 81
6 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 8 230 273 68

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference[1]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Colorado Avalanche PAC 82 49 24 9 277 205 107
2 Dallas Stars CEN 82 48 26 8 252 198 104
3 Detroit Red Wings CEN 82 38 26 18 253 197 94
4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 82 36 33 13 245 233 85
5 CEN 82 38 37 7 240 243 83
6 St. Louis Blues CEN 82 36 35 11 236 239 83
7 Edmonton Oilers PAC 82 36 37 9 252 247 81
8 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 82 34 35 13 223 210 81
9 Vancouver Canucks PAC 82 35 40 7 257 273 77
10 Calgary Flames PAC 82 32 41 9 214 239 73
11 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 82 30 44 8 230 273 68
12 Los Angeles Kings PAC 82 28 43 11 214 268 67
13 San Jose Sharks PAC 82 27 47 8 211 278 62

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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


Playoffs

In their first year, the Coyotes managed to make the playoffs. However, they lost to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4 games to 3 in round one.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season[2]
October: 4–6–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 2–3–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 October 5, 1996 0–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 0–1–0 L
2 October 7, 1996 5–2 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 1–1–0 W
3 October 10, 1996 4–1 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 2–1–0 W
4 October 12, 1996 4–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 3–1–0 W
5 October 14, 1996 3–6 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 3–2–0 L
6 October 18, 1996 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 3–3–0 L
7 October 20, 1996 1–1 OT Florida Panthers (1996–97) 3–3–1 T
8 October 22, 1996 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 3–4–1 L
9 October 26, 1996 2–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 3–5–1 L
10 October 28, 1996 5–4 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 4–5–1 W
11 October 30, 1996 1–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 4–6–1 L
November: 4–6–3 (home: 3–4–3; road: 1–2–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap
12 November 1, 1996 3–2 OT @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 5–6–1 W
13 November 3, 1996 4–4 OT Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 5–6–2 T
14 November 6, 1996 2–3 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 5–7–2 L
15 November 8, 1996 1–4 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 5–8–2 L
16 November 14, 1996 1–2 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 5–9–2 L
17 November 16, 1996 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 6–9–2 W
18 November 18, 1996 2–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 6–9–3 T
19 November 20, 1996 0–6 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 6–10–3 L
20 November 21, 1996 3–4 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 6–11–3 L
21 November 23, 1996 3–3 OT New York Islanders (1996–97) 6–11–4 T
22 November 26, 1996 1–3 New York Rangers (1996–97) 6–12–4 L
23 November 28, 1996 4–3 OT New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 7–12–4 W
24 November 30, 1996 3–1 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 8–12–4 W
December: 9–5–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 6–3–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap
25 December 3, 1996 1–4 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 8–13–4 L
26 December 5, 1996 3–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 9–13–4 W
27 December 7, 1996 4–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 10–13–4 W
28 December 9, 1996 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 10–14–4 L
29 December 10, 1996 2–8 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 10–15–4 L
30 December 13, 1996 4–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 11–15–4 W
31 December 14, 1996 5–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 12–15–4 W
32 December 17, 1996 4–3 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 13–15–4 W
33 December 20, 1996 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 14–15–4 W
34 December 22, 1996 2–7 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 14–16–4 L
35 December 23, 1996 2–1 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 15–16–4 W
36 December 26, 1996 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 15–17–4 L
37 December 27, 1996 7–4 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 16–17–4 W
38 December 30, 1996 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 17–17–4 W
January: 5–7–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–4–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap
39 January 2, 1997 4–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 18–17–4 W
40 January 3, 1997 0–3 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 18–18–4 L
41 January 5, 1997 1–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 18–19–4 L
42 January 9, 1997 4–5 OT Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 18–20–4 L
43 January 10, 1997 4–3 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 19–20–4 W
44 January 12, 1997 2–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 19–21–4 L
45 January 13, 1997 4–5 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 19–22–4 L
46 January 15, 1997 1–4 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 19–23–4 L
47 January 23, 1997 6–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 20–23–4 W
48 January 25, 1997 4–0 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 21–23–4 W
49 January 28, 1997 1–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 21–24–4 L
50 January 29, 1997 3–0 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 22–24–4 W
February: 6–7–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 3–3–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap
51 February 1, 1997 1–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 22–25–4 L
52 February 4, 1997 0–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 22–26–4 L
53 February 6, 1997 3–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 23–26–4 W
54 February 8, 1997 4–5 OT Dallas Stars (1996–97) 23–27–4 L
55 February 10, 1997 4–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 24–27–4 W
56 February 12, 1997 5–0 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 25–27–4 W
57 February 13, 1997 2–3 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 25–28–4 L
58 February 15, 1997 5–4 OT Boston Bruins (1996–97) 26–28–4 W
59 February 18, 1997 6–1 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 27–28–4 W
60 February 22, 1997 2–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 27–29–4 L
61 February 24, 1997 3–5 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 27–30–4 L
62 February 26, 1997 5–2 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 28–30–4 W
63 February 27, 1997 2–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 28–31–4 L
March: 7–4–2 (home: 1–3–2; road: 6–1–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap
64 March 2, 1997 0–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 28–32–4 L
65 March 5, 1997 3–0 @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 29–32–4 W
66 March 6, 1997 5–0 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 30–32–4 W
67 March 8, 1997 2–0 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 31–32–4 W
68 March 10, 1997 1–4 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 31–33–4 L
69 March 12, 1997 5–5 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 31–33–5 T
70 March 14, 1997 4–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 32–33–5 W
71 March 17, 1997 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 33–33–5 W
72 March 19, 1997 2–7 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 33–34–5 L
73 March 20, 1997 4–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 34–34–5 W
74 March 22, 1997 3–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 35–34–5 W
75 March 27, 1997 1–1 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 35–34–6 T
76 March 29, 1997 1–3 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 35–35–6 L
April: 3–2–1 (home: 1–0–1; road: 2–2–0)
Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap
77 April 1, 1997 7–1 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 36–35–6 W
78 April 3, 1997 5–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 37–35–6 W
79 April 6, 1997 1–2 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 37–36–6 L
80 April 7, 1997 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1996–97) 37–36–7 T
81 April 9, 1997 4–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 37–37–7 L
82 April 11, 1997 6–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 38–37–7 W

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

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[2]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim – Mighty Ducks win 4–3
Game Date Score Opponent Series Recap
1 April 16, 1997 2–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty Ducks lead 1–0 L
2 April 18, 1997 2–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty Ducks lead 2–0 L
3 April 20, 1997 4–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty Ducks lead 2–1 W
4 April 22, 1997 2–0 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Series tied 2–2 W
5 April 24, 1997 5–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Coyotes lead 3–2 W
6 April 27, 1997 2–3 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Series tied 3–3 L
7 April 29, 1997 0–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty Ducks win 4–3 L

Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; 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 Coyotes only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.
No. Player Pos Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
7 Keith Tkachuk LW 81 52 34 86 −1 228 7 6 0 6 2 7
97 Jeremy Roenick C 72 29 40 69 −7 115 6 2 4 6 6 4
22 Mike Gartner RW 82 32 31 63 −11 38 7 1 2 3 −1 4
20 Oleg Tverdovsky D 82 10 45 55 −5 30 7 0 1 1 0 0
15 Craig Janney C 77 15 38 53 −1 26 7 0 3 3 1 4
77 Cliff Ronning C 69 19 32 51 −9 26 7 0 7 7 2 12
11 Dallas Drake RW 63 17 19 36 −11 52 7 0 1 1 −2 2
27 Teppo Numminen D 82 2 25 27 −3 28 7 3 3 6 3 0
34 Darrin Shannon LW 82 11 13 24 4 41 7 3 1 4 2 4
21 Bob Corkum C 80 9 11 20 −7 40 7 2 2 4 −1 4
4 Dave Manson‡ D 66 3 17 20 −25 164 — — — — — —
14 Mike Stapleton C 55 4 11 15 −4 36 7 0 0 0 −1 14
17 Kris King LW 81 3 11 14 −7 185 7 0 0 0 −1 17
5 Deron Quint D 27 3 11 14 −4 4 7 0 2 2 2 0
44 Norm Maciver D 32 4 9 13 −11 24 — — — — — —
19 Shane Doan RW 63 4 8 12 −3 49 4 0 0 0 −1 2
26 Jeff Finley D 65 3 7 10 −8 40 1 0 0 0 −1 2
8 Jim Johnson D 55 3 7 10 5 74 6 0 0 0 0 4
23 Igor Korolev C 41 3 7 10 −5 28 1 0 0 0 0 0
33 Jim McKenzie LW 65 5 3 8 −5 200 7 0 0 0 0 2
18 Chad Kilger LW 24 4 3 7 −5 13 — — — — — —
6 Jay More† D 23 1 6 7 10 37 7 0 0 0 1 7
10 Brad McCrimmon D 37 1 5 6 2 18 — — — — — —
32 Mike Eastwood‡ C 33 1 3 4 −3 4 — — — — — —
4 Gerald Diduck† D 11 1 2 3 2 23 7 0 0 0 2 10
35 Nikolai Khabibulin G 72 0 3 3 16 7 0 0 0 6
32 Jocelyn Lemieux† RW 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4
43 Darcy Wakaluk G 16 0 1 1 4 — — — — — —
36[a] Murray Baron† D 8 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0
24 Kevin Dahl D 2 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
1 Parris Duffus G 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
6 Dallas Eakins‡ D 4 0 0 0 −3 10 — — — — — —
47 Tavis Hansen RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
28 Mike Hudson† C 7 0 0 0 −4 2 — — — — — —
39[b] Pat Jablonski† G 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
38 Jason Simon LW 1 0 0 0 −1 0 — — — — — —
3 Brent Thompson D 1 0 0 0 −1 7 — — — — — —
36 Juha Ylonen C 2 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —

Goaltending

  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.
No. Player Regular season Playoffs
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
35 Nikolai Khabibulin 72 30 33 6 2094 193 2.83 .908 7 4091 7 3 4 222 15 2.11 .932 1 426
43 Darcy Wakaluk 16 8 3 1 386 39 2.99 .899 1 782 — — — — — — — — —
1 Parris Duffus 1 0 0 0 8 1 2.08 .875 0 29 — — — — — — — — —
39[b] Pat Jablonski† 2 0 1 0 24 2 2.04 .917 0 59 — — — — — — — — —

Awards and records

Awards

Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(in-season) 		NHL All-Star Game selection Keith Tkachuk[c] [4]
Oleg Tverdovsky
Team Hardest Working Player Award Dallas Drake [5]
Leading Scorer Award Keith Tkachuk [5]
Man of the Year Award Kris King [5]
Team MVP Award Keith Tkachuk [5]
Three-Star Award Keith Tkachuk [5]

Milestones

Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Juha Ylonen February 12, 1997 [6]
Parris Duffus February 27, 1997

Transactions

Trades

June 22, 1996 To Toronto Maple Leafs
4th round pick in 1996 (Vladimir Antipov) 		To Phoenix Coyotes
Mike Gartner
July 1, 1996 To Calgary Flames
3rd round pick in 1997 (Erik Andersson) 		To Phoenix Coyotes
Compensation for head coach Don Hay
August 16, 1996 To Chicago Blackhawks
Alexei Zhamnov
Craig Mills
1st round pick in 1997 (Ty Jones) 		To Phoenix Coyotes
Jeremy Roenick
February 6, 1997 To New York Rangers
Mike Eastwood
Dallas Eakins 		To Phoenix Coyotes
Jay More
March 18, 1997 To Montreal Canadiens
Dave Manson
Steve Cheredaryk 		To Phoenix Coyotes
Murray Baron
Pat Jablonski
Chris Murray

Waivers

September 30, 1996 From Philadelphia Flyers
Bob Corkum

Free agents

Joining the Coyotes:

Player Former team
Cliff Ronning Vancouver Canucks
Brad McCrimmon Hartford Whalers
Jim Johnson Dallas Stars
Darcy Wakaluk Dallas Stars
Reggie Savage Colorado Avalanche
Kevin Dahl Calgary Flames
Scott Levins Ottawa Senators
Mike Hudson St. Louis Blues
Jocelyn Lemieux Calgary Flames

Leaving the Coyotes:

Player New team
Dominic Roussel Philadelphia Flyers
Ed Olczyk Los Angeles Kings
Craig Martin Florida Panthers
Iain Fraser San Jose Sharks
Denis Chasse Ottawa Senators

Draft picks

Phoenix's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[7]

Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 11 Dan Focht (D)  Canada Tri-City Americans (WHL)
1 24 Daniel Briere (C)  Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
3 62 Per-Anton Lundstrom (D)  Sweden MODO (Sweden)
5 119 Richard Lintner (D)  Slovakia Dukla Trencin Jr. (Slovakia)
6 139 Robert Esche (G)  United States Detroit Whalers (OHL)
7 174 Trevor Letowski (RW)  Canada Sarnia Sting (OHL)
8 200 Nick Lent (RW)  United States Omaha Lancers (USHL)
9 226 Marc-Etienne Hubert (C)  Canada Laval Titan College Francais (QMJHL)

Notes

  1. ^ Baron wore number 2 in his first three games.
  2. ^ a b Jablonski wore number 46 in his first game.
  3. ^ Tkachuk was an injury replacement for Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars.[3]

References

  • "Phoenix Coyotes 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  • "1996-97 Phoenix Coyotes Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  1. ^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  2. ^ a b "1996-97 Phoenix Coyotes Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "SPORTS BRIEFS". Deseret News. January 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e Arizona Coyotes 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.290
  6. ^ "1996-97 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
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