1996–97 Ottawa Senators season

The 1996–97 Ottawa Senators season was a season of great improvement by the club, as the team finished out of last place in the 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 quarter-finals) to the Buffalo Sabres.

Regular season

Ottawa would get 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 would get better, finishing with a .500 record in their remaining 57 games, and would earn 45 points in the last 41 games of the regular season. The Sens would go 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 would lead the club offensively, while Ron Tugnutt and Damian Rhodes would provide 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	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

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	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 – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

Regular season schedule
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
1	T	October 5, 1996	3–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	0–0–1	20,639
2	T	October 9, 1996	3–3 OT	New York Islanders (1996–97)	0–0–2	15,352
3	W	October 11, 1996	3–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	1–0–2	12,337
4	L	October 12, 1996	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	1–1–2	15,472
5	T	October 18, 1996	2–2 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	1–1–3	14,710
6	W	October 19, 1996	6–3	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	2–1–3	18,201
7	L	October 23, 1996	2–5	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)	2–2–3	14,703
8	W	October 24, 1996	5–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	3–2–3	16,286
9	L	October 26, 1996	1–5	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	3–3–3	15,118
10	T	October 30, 1996	2–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	3–3–4	13,053
11	T	November 1, 1996	2–2 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	3–3–5	14,158
12	L	November 2, 1996	3–7	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	3–4–5	15,441
13	W	November 7, 1996	6–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	4–4–5	18,500
14	L	November 9, 1996	3–4	Boston Bruins (1996–97)	4–5–5	14,411
15	L	November 10, 1996	0–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	4–6–5	17,326
16	L	November 13, 1996	0–4	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	4–7–5	15,312
17	W	November 15, 1996	4–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	5–7–5	12,468
18	W	November 16, 1996	4–1	@ New York Islanders (1996–97)	6–7–5	12,288
19	L	November 19, 1996	1–2	New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	6–8–5	15,232
20	T	November 23, 1996	3–3 OT	Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	6–8–6	14,648
21	W	November 27, 1996	2–1	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)	7–8–6	12,911
22	L	November 29, 1996	0–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	7–9–6	18,595
23	L	November 30, 1996	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	7–10–6	14,920
24	L	December 4, 1996	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	7–11–6	11,679
25	L	December 6, 1996	2–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	7–12–6	15,060
26	W	December 7, 1996	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	8–12–6	16,605
27	T	December 10, 1996	5–5 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	8–12–7	16,103
28	L	December 13, 1996	2–4	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	8–13–7	11,441
29	L	December 15, 1996	0–4	Dallas Stars (1996–97)	8–14–7	14,249
30	W	December 19, 1996	5–2	Florida Panthers (1996–97)	9–14–7	13,264
31	L	December 21, 1996	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	9–15–7	11,597
32	W	December 23, 1996	6–0	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	10–15–7	21,273
33	W	December 26, 1996	5–2	New York Rangers (1996–97)	11–15–7	18,280
34	L	December 28, 1996	2–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	11–16–7	14,092
35	L	December 30, 1996	3–4 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	11–17–7	17,605
36	W	January 1, 1997	3–2	Boston Bruins (1996–97)	12–17–7	15,381
37	L	January 3, 1997	0–1	New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	12–18–7	12,082
38	L	January 4, 1997	4–6	@ New York Rangers (1996–97)	12–19–7	18,200
39	L	January 6, 1997	3–4	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	12–20–7	11,329
40	L	January 9, 1997	0–2	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	12–21–7	17,126
41	T	January 11, 1997	3–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	12–21–8	18,223
42	W	January 13, 1997	4–3	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)	13–21–8	16,135
43	W	January 15, 1997	5–1	Washington Capitals (1996–97)	14–21–8	12,152
44	L	January 22, 1997	1–4	Boston Bruins (1996–97)	14–22–8	14,249
45	T	January 24, 1997	2–2 OT	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	14–22–9	13,306
46	W	January 27, 1997	5–3	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	15–22–9	13,283
47	T	January 29, 1997	1–1 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	15–22–10	12,366
48	L	January 30, 1997	2–5	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	15–23–10	11,830
49	W	February 1, 1997	2–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	16–23–10	15,726
50	W	February 3, 1997	6–4	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	17–23–10	14,455
51	W	February 4, 1997	4–3	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)	18–23–10	15,550
52	T	February 8, 1997	3–3 OT	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	18–23–11	18,500
53	L	February 9, 1997	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	18–24–11	14,841
54	T	February 11, 1997	5–5 OT	@ New York Islanders (1996–97)	18–24–12	8,380
55	L	February 13, 1997	2–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	18–25–12	19,425
56	L	February 15, 1997	1–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	18–26–12	13,767
57	W	February 16, 1997	4–2	Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	19–26–12	18,338
58	W	February 18, 1997	6–1	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)	20–26–12	9,784
59	T	February 20, 1997	1–1 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	20–26–13	14,305
60	L	February 23, 1997	3–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	20–27–13	16,061
61	L	February 26, 1997	5–8	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	20–28–13	18,245
62	W	February 28, 1997	4–1	New York Islanders (1996–97)	21–28–13	17,413
63	L	March 1, 1997	1–3	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	21–29–13	17,231
64	L	March 5, 1997	1–4	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	21–30–13	17,174
65	L	March 6, 1997	0–2	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	21–31–13	17,442
66	L	March 8, 1997	1–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	21–32–13	12,086
67	W	March 10, 1997	4–1	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	22–32–13	16,210
68	L	March 14, 1997	3–4 OT	New York Rangers (1996–97)	22–33–13	18,500
69	T	March 15, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	22–33–14	21,273
70	W	March 17, 1997	4–3	@ New York Rangers (1996–97)	23–33–14	18,200
71	T	March 20, 1997	2–2 OT	Florida Panthers (1996–97)	23–33–15	18,219
72	W	March 22, 1997	5–4	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)	24–33–15	15,188
73	L	March 25, 1997	0–5	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	24–34–15	17,873
74	W	March 27, 1997	3–2	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)	25–34–15	14,703
75	W	March 29, 1997	5–2	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	26–34–15	18,500
76	W	April 2, 1997	2–0	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	27–34–15	18,595
77	W	April 3, 1997	4–0	Washington Capitals (1996–97)	28–34–15	18,500
78	L	April 5, 1997	2–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	28–35–15	17,238
79	L	April 6, 1997	1–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	28–36–15	19,608
80	W	April 9, 1997	5–4	Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	29–36–15	18,500
81	W	April 11, 1997	3–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	30–36–15	19,983
82	W	April 12, 1997	1–0	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	31–36–15	18,500

^[2]

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, ending a very memorable season for the team.

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo wins series 4–3

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Attendance
1	April 17	Ottawa	0 – 1	Buffalo	0 – 1	18,595
2	April 19	Ottawa	3 – 1	Buffalo	1 – 1	18,595
3	April 21	Buffalo	3 – 2	Ottawa	1 – 2	18,500
4	April 23	Buffalo	0 – 1	Ottawa	2 – 2	18,500
5	April 25	Ottawa	4 – 1	Buffalo	3 – 2	18,595
6	April 27	Buffalo	3 – 0	Ottawa	3 – 3	18,500
7	April 29	Ottawa	2 – 3	Buffalo	3 – 4	18,595

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Yashin, AlexeiAlexei Yashin	C	82	35	40	75	44	-7	10	0	5
Alfredsson, DanielDaniel Alfredsson	RW	76	24	47	71	30	5	11	1	1
Daigle, AlexandreAlexandre Daigle	C	82	26	25	51	33	-33	4	0	5
Duchesne, SteveSteve Duchesne	D	78	19	28	47	38	-9	10	2	3
Cunneyworth, RandyRandy Cunneyworth	LW	76	12	24	36	99	-7	6	0	3
Dackell, AndreasAndreas Dackell	RW	79	12	19	31	8	-6	2	0	3
McEachern, ShawnShawn McEachern	RW	65	11	20	31	18	-5	0	1	2
Redden, WadeWade Redden	D	82	6	24	30	41	1	2	0	1
Zholtok, SergeiSergei Zholtok	C	57	12	16	28	19	2	5	0	0
Chorske, TomTom Chorske	LW	68	18	8	26	16	-1	1	1	1
Van Allen, ShaunShaun Van Allen	C	80	11	14	25	35	-8	1	1	2
Gardiner, BruceBruce Gardiner	RW	67	11	10	21	49	4	0	1	2
York, JasonJason York	D	75	4	17	21	67	-8	1	0	0
Laukkanen, JanneJanne Laukkanen	D	76	3	18	21	76	-14	2	0	0
Lambert, DennyDenny Lambert	LW	80	4	16	20	217	-4	0	0	1
Bonk, RadekRadek Bonk	C	53	5	13	18	14	-4	0	1	0
Pitlick, LanceLance Pitlick	D	66	5	5	10	91	2	0	0	1
Zent, JasonJason Zent	LW	22	3	3	6	9	5	0	0	0
Olsson, ChristerChrister Olsson	D	25	2	3	5	10	-5	1	0	0
Chasse, DenisDenis Chasse	RW	22	1	4	5	19	3	0	0	0
Musil, FrantisekFrantisek Musil	D	57	0	5	5	58	6	0	0	0
Hannan, DaveDave Hannan	C	34	2	2	4	8	-1	0	1	1
Rhodes, DamianDamian Rhodes	G	50	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	0
Bicanek, RadimRadim Bicanek	D	21	0	1	1	8	-4	0	0	0
Crowe, PhilPhil Crowe	LW	26	0	1	1	30	0	0	0	0
Tugnutt, RonRon Tugnutt	G	37	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Vial, DennisDennis Vial	D/LW	11	0	1	1	25	0	0	0	0
Von Stefenelli, PhilPhil Von Stefenelli	D	6	0	1	1	7	-3	0	0	0
Bales, MikeMike Bales	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hill, SeanSean Hill	D	5	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	0
Neckar, StanStan Neckar	D	5	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Tugnutt, RonRon Tugnutt	1991	37	17	15	1	93	2.80	3	882	789	.895
Rhodes, DamianDamian Rhodes	2934	50	14	20	14	133	2.72	1	1213	1080	.890
Bales, MikeMike Bales	52	1	0	1	0	4	4.62	0	18	14	.778
Team:	4977	82	31	36	15	230	2.77	4	2113	1883	.891

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	GWG
Alfredsson, DanielDaniel Alfredsson	RW	7	5	2	7	6	-1	3	2
Yashin, AlexeiAlexei Yashin	C	7	1	5	6	2	-2	1	0
Duchesne, SteveSteve Duchesne	D	7	1	4	5	0	-3	1	1
Redden, WadeWade Redden	D	7	1	3	4	2	-4	0	0
McEachern, ShawnShawn McEachern	RW	7	2	0	2	8	-1	1	0
Cunneyworth, RandyRandy Cunneyworth	LW	7	1	1	2	10	-3	0	0
Zholtok, SergeiSergei Zholtok	C	7	1	1	2	0	0	1	0
Dackell, AndreasAndreas Dackell	RW	7	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bonk, RadekRadek Bonk	C	7	0	1	1	4	-1	0	0
Chorske, TomTom Chorske	LW	5	0	1	1	2	-1	0	0
Gardiner, BruceBruce Gardiner	RW	7	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
Lambert, DennyDenny Lambert	LW	6	0	1	1	9	0	0	0
Laukkanen, JanneJanne Laukkanen	D	7	0	1	1	6	-1	0	0
Van Allen, ShaunShaun Van Allen	C	7	0	1	1	4	-3	0	0
Bicanek, RadimRadim Bicanek	D	7	0	0	0	8	0	0	0
Crowe, PhilPhil Crowe	LW	3	0	0	0	16	0	0	0
Daigle, AlexandreAlexandre Daigle	C	7	0	0	0	2	-5	0	0
Pitlick, LanceLance Pitlick	D	7	0	0	0	4	-1	0	0
Tugnutt, RonRon Tugnutt	G	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
York, JasonJason York	D	7	0	0	0	4	-3	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Tugnutt, RonRon Tugnutt	425	7	3	4	14	1.98	1	169	155	.917
Team:	425	7	3	4	14	1.98	1	169	155	.917

^[3]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Molson Cup - Alexei Yashin

Transactions

Trades

May 21, 1996	To Washington Capitals future considerations	To Ottawa Senators Michel Picard
June 22, 1996	To Boston Bruins Trent McCleary Ottawa's third-round pick in 1996 Draft (Eric Naud)	To Ottawa Senators Shawn McEachern
October 1, 1996	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Ted Drury Marc Moro	To Ottawa Senators Mika Stromberg Jason York Shaun Van Allen
November 27, 1996	To St. Louis Blues Pavol Demitra	To Ottawa Senators Christer Olsson
March 18, 1997	To Chicago Blackhawks Denis Chasse Kevin Bolibruck Ottawa's sixth-round pick 1998 Entry Draft (Ottawa later reacquired pick -Chris Neil)	To Ottawa Senators Mike Prokopec

Waivers

No waiver transactions.

Free agents

Player	Former team
Sergei Zholtok	Las Vegas Thunder (IHL)
Denny Lambert	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Phil Crowe	Philadelphia Flyers
Ron Tugnutt	Washington Capitals
Denis Chasse	Winnipeg Jets

Player	New team
Daniel Laperriere	Washington Capitals
Pat Elyniuk	Dallas Stars

Source: Ottawa Senators 2008–09 Media Guide. Ottawa Senators. 2008. p. 188.

Roster

1996-97 Ottawa Senators

Goaltenders

1 – Damian Rhodes
31 – Ron Tugnutt
35 – Mike Bales

Defencemen

Wingers

7 – Randy Cunneyworth - C
10 – Andreas Dackell
11 – Daniel Alfredsson
15 – Shawn McEachern
17 – Tom Chorske
20 – Denis Chasse
25 – Bruce Gardiner
26 – Phil Crowe
38 – Jason Zent
42 – Denny Lambert

Centres

14 – Dave Hannan
16 – Sergei Zholtok
19 – Alexei Yashin
22 – Shaun Van Allen
76 – Radek Bonk
91 – Alexandre Daigle
GM: Pierre Gauthier
Coach: Jacques Martin

Sources:

2008–09 Ottawa Senators Media Guide. Ottawa Senators. 2008. pp. 184–186.
"NHL.com - Player Search". NHL. Retrieved 2009-03-09.

Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in St. Louis, Missouri.

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	François Hardy	Canada	Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
8	212	Erich Goldmann	Germany	Mannheim Eagles (DEL)
9	216	Ivan Ciernik	Slovakia	MHC Plastika Nitra (Slovakia)
9	239	Sami Salo	Finland	TPS (SM-liiga)

Farm teams

References

Total Hockey: "Ottawa Senators 1992–93 to Date" by Bruce Garrioch, 1998
Ottawa Senators Media Guide 2007
The Internet Hockey Database
National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007

↑ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
↑ "1996–97 Ottawa Senators Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
↑ "1996-97 Ottawa Senators Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-17.

Ottawa Senators

Founded in 1990 Based in Ottawa, Ontario

Franchise	Team General managers Head coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season

History	Expansion Draft History Records Award winners

Personnel	Owner Eugene Melnyk General manager Pierre Dorion Head coach Guy Boucher Team captain Erik Karlsson Current roster

Arenas	Ottawa Civic Centre Bell Sensplex (practice) Canadian Tire Centre

Rivalries	Toronto Maple Leafs

Affiliates	AHL Binghamton Senators Belleville Senators (beginning in 2017–18) ECHL Wichita Thunder

General managers	Bridgman Sexton Gauthier Dudley Johnston Muckler Murray Dorion

Head coaches	Bowness Allison Martin Neilson Martin Murray Paddock Murray Hartsburg Clouston MacLean Cameron Boucher

Media	TSN5 RDS RDS2 TVA Sports TVA Sports 2 TSN 1200 CJFO 94,5

Retired numbers	8 11

Stanley Cup Finals	2007

Culture/Lore	Spartacat Lyndon Slewidge Flyers–Senators brawl 2014 Heritage Classic

Ottawa Senators seasons

1990s	1990–91 . 1991–92 . 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

1996–97 NHL season

Northeast Division	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Ottawa Pittsburgh

Atlantic Division	Florida New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Tampa Bay Washington

Central Division	Chicago Dallas Detroit Phoenix St. Louis Toronto

Pacific Division	Anaheim Calgary Colorado Edmonton Los Angeles San Jose Vancouver

See also	Draft Red Wings–Avalanche brawl Legion of Doom Stanley Cup Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals

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1996–97 Ottawa Senators season

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

Waivers

Free agents

Roster

Draft picks

Farm teams

See also

References