# 1996–97 Ottawa Senators season

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

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 | 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 :
| 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

## 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 :
October: 3–3–4 (home: 2–0–2; road: 1–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1TOctober 5, 19963–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)0–0–120,639Recap
2TOctober 9, 19963–3 OTNew York Islanders (1996–97)0–0–215,352Recap
3WOctober 11, 19963–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)1–0–212,337Recap
4LOctober 12, 19962–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)1–1–215,472Recap
5TOctober 18, 19962–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)1–1–314,710Recap
6WOctober 19, 19966–3Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)2–1–318,201Recap
7LOctober 23, 19962–5@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)2–2–314,703Recap
8WOctober 24, 19965–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)3–2–316,286Recap
9LOctober 26, 19961–5@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)3–3–315,118Recap
10TOctober 30, 19962–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (1996–97)3–3–413,053Recap :
November: 4–7–2 (home: 2–4–2; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
11TNovember 1, 19962–2 OTDetroit Red Wings (1996–97)3–3–514,158Recap
12LNovember 2, 19963–7@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)3–4–515,441Recap
13WNovember 7, 19966–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)4–4–518,500Recap
14LNovember 9, 19963–4Boston Bruins (1996–97)4–5–514,411Recap
15LNovember 10, 19960–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)4–6–517,326Recap
16LNovember 13, 19960–4Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)4–7–515,312Recap
17WNovember 15, 19964–3Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)5–7–512,468Recap
18WNovember 16, 19964–1@ New York Islanders (1996–97)6–7–512,288Recap
19LNovember 19, 19961–2New Jersey Devils (1996–97)6–8–515,232Recap
20TNovember 23, 19963–3 OTHartford Whalers (1996–97)6–8–614,648Recap
21WNovember 27, 19962–1@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)7–8–612,911Recap
22LNovember 29, 19960–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)7–9–618,595Recap
23LNovember 30, 19963–4Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)7–10–614,920Recap :
December: 4–7–1 (home: 2–5–0; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
24LDecember 4, 19962–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)7–11–611,679Recap
25LDecember 6, 19962–5@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)7–12–615,060Recap
26WDecember 7, 19963–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)8–12–616,605Recap
27TDecember 10, 19965–5 OT@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)8–12–716,103Recap
28LDecember 13, 19962–4Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)8–13–711,441Recap
29LDecember 15, 19960–4Dallas Stars (1996–97)8–14–714,249Recap
30WDecember 19, 19965–2Florida Panthers (1996–97)9–14–713,264Recap
31LDecember 21, 19962–3Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)9–15–711,597Recap
32WDecember 23, 19966–0@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)10–15–721,273Recap
33WDecember 26, 19965–2New York Rangers (1996–97)11–15–718,280Recap
34LDecember 28, 19962–3@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)11–16–714,092Recap
35LDecember 30, 19963–4 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)11–17–717,605Recap :
January: 4–6–3 (home: 3–5–2; road: 1–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
36WJanuary 1, 19973–2Boston Bruins (1996–97)12–17–715,381Recap
37LJanuary 3, 19970–1New Jersey Devils (1996–97)12–18–712,082Recap
38LJanuary 4, 19974–6@ New York Rangers (1996–97)12–19–718,200Recap
39LJanuary 6, 19973–4Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)12–20–711,329Recap
40LJanuary 9, 19970–2Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)12–21–717,126Recap
41TJanuary 11, 19973–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)12–21–818,223Recap
42WJanuary 13, 19974–3@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)13–21–816,135Recap
43WJanuary 15, 19975–1Washington Capitals (1996–97)14–21–812,152Recap
44LJanuary 22, 19971–4Boston Bruins (1996–97)14–22–814,249Recap
45TJanuary 24, 19972–2 OTCalgary Flames (1996–97)14–22–913,306Recap
46WJanuary 27, 19975–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)15–22–913,283Recap
47TJanuary 29, 19971–1 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)15–22–1012,366Recap
48LJanuary 30, 19972–5St. Louis Blues (1996–97)15–23–1011,830Recap :
February: 6–5–3 (home: 3–1–1; road: 3–4–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
49WFebruary 1, 19972–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)16–23–1015,726Recap
50WFebruary 3, 19976–4Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)17–23–1014,455Recap
51WFebruary 4, 19974–3@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)18–23–1015,550Recap
52TFebruary 8, 19973–3 OTSan Jose Sharks (1996–97)18–23–1118,500Recap
53LFebruary 9, 19971–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)18–24–1114,841Recap
54TFebruary 11, 19975–5 OT@ New York Islanders (1996–97)18–24–128,380Recap
55LFebruary 13, 19972–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)18–25–1219,425Recap
56LFebruary 15, 19971–2@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)18–26–1213,767Recap
57WFebruary 16, 19974–2Hartford Whalers (1996–97)19–26–1218,338Recap
58WFebruary 18, 19976–1@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)20–26–129,784Recap
59TFebruary 20, 19971–1 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)20–26–1314,305Recap
60LFebruary 23, 19973–4@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)20–27–1316,061Recap
61LFebruary 26, 19975–8Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)20–28–1318,245Recap
62WFebruary 28, 19974–1New York Islanders (1996–97)21–28–1317,413Recap :
March: 5–6–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 4–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
63LMarch 1, 19971–3Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)21–29–1317,231Recap
64LMarch 5, 19971–4@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)21–30–1317,174Recap
65LMarch 6, 19970–2@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)21–31–1317,442Recap
66LMarch 8, 19971–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)21–32–1312,086Recap
67WMarch 10, 19974–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)22–32–1316,210Recap
68LMarch 14, 19973–4 OTNew York Rangers (1996–97)22–33–1318,500Recap
69TMarch 15, 19972–2 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)22–33–1421,273Recap
70WMarch 17, 19974–3@ New York Rangers (1996–97)23–33–1418,200Recap
71TMarch 20, 19972–2 OTFlorida Panthers (1996–97)23–33–1518,219Recap
72WMarch 22, 19975–4@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)24–33–1515,188Recap
73LMarch 25, 19970–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)24–34–1517,873Recap
74WMarch 27, 19973–2@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)25–34–1514,703Recap
75WMarch 29, 19975–2Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)26–34–1518,500Recap :
April: 5–2–0 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
76WApril 2, 19972–0@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)27–34–1518,595Recap
77WApril 3, 19974–0Washington Capitals (1996–97)28–34–1518,500Recap
78LApril 5, 19972–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)28–35–1517,238Recap
79LApril 6, 19971–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)28–36–1519,608Recap
80WApril 9, 19975–4Hartford Whalers (1996–97)29–36–1518,500Recap
81WApril 11, 19973–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)30–36–1519,983Recap
82WApril 12, 19971–0Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)31–36–1518,500Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 4–3
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesAttendanceRecap
1LApril 17, 19971–3@ Buffalo SabresSabres lead 1–018,595Recap
2WApril 19, 19973–1@ Buffalo SabresSeries tied 1–118,595Recap
3LApril 21, 19972–3Buffalo SabresSabres lead 2–118,500Recap
4WApril 23, 19971–0 OTBuffalo SabresSeries tied 2–218,500Recap
5WApril 25, 19974–1@ Buffalo SabresSenators lead 3–218,595Recap
6LApril 27, 19970–3Buffalo SabresSeries tied 3–318,500Recap
7LApril 29, 19972–3 OT@ Buffalo SabresSabres win 4–318,595Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Mike Bales | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 4.64 | .778 | 0 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Daniel Alfredsson |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Wade Redden (April) |
| Team | Molson Cup | Alexei Yashin |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Andreas Dackell | October 5, 1996 |
| First game | Bruce Gardiner | October 5, 1996 |
| First game | Wade Redden | October 5, 1996 |
| First game | Jason Zent | December 19, 1996 |

## Transactions
### May 1996

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

### 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

### 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

### August 1996

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

### 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

### 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

### November 1996

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

### 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

### 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

## 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 | 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

* Worcester IceCats (American Hockey League)
* Raleigh IceCaps (East Coast Hockey League)