# 1995–96 Los Angeles Kings season

The 1995–96 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 29th season in the National Hockey League. It involved Wayne Gretzky being traded to the St. Louis Blues. For the third consecutive year, the Kings failed to make the playoffs.

## Regular season

* February 27, 1996: Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Los Angeles Kings to the St. Louis Blues for Patrice Tardif, Craig Johnson, Roman Vopat, 1st round pick in the 1997 draft and a 5th round pick in the 1996 draft.

### Final standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 326 | 240 | 104 |
| 2 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 241 | 240 | 79 |
| 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 278 | 278 | 79 |
| 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 234 | 247 | 78 |
| 5 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 240 | 304 | 68 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 24 | 40 | 18 | 256 | 302 | 66 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 20 | 55 | 7 | 252 | 357 | 47 |
Note: 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 :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 62 | 13 | 7 | 325 | 181 | 131 |
| 2 | Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 326 | 240 | 104 |
| 3 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 40 | 28 | 14 | 273 | 220 | 94 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 247 | 252 | 80 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 32 | 34 | 16 | 219 | 248 | 80 |
| 6 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 241 | 240 | 79 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 278 | 278 | 79 |
| 8 | Winnipeg Jets | CEN | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 275 | 291 | 78 |
| 9 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 234 | 247 | 78 |
| 10 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 240 | 304 | 68 |
| 11 | Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 26 | 42 | 14 | 227 | 280 | 66 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 24 | 40 | 18 | 256 | 302 | 66 |
| 13 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 20 | 55 | 7 | 252 | 357 | 47 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Schedule and results

1995–96 regular season :
October: 4–3–4 (home: 2–1–2; road: 2–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 7, 19954–2Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)1–0–0Recap
2WOctober 10, 19956–5 OTChicago Blackhawks (1995–96)2–0–0Recap
3TOctober 12, 19957–7 OTVancouver Canucks (1995–96)2–0–1Recap
4TOctober 15, 19953–3 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)2–0–2Recap
5TOctober 18, 19951–1 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1995–96)2–0–3Recap
6WOctober 20, 19957–4@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)3–0–3Recap
7WOctober 21, 19953–2 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)4–0–3Recap
8LOctober 23, 19953–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)4–1–3Recap
9LOctober 26, 19954–5@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)4–2–3Recap
10TOctober 28, 19952–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)4–2–4Recap
11LOctober 31, 19951–2Calgary Flames (1995–96)4–3–4Recap :
November: 7–7–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12WNovember 2, 19955–3New York Rangers (1995–96)5–3–4Recap
13LNovember 4, 19952–4New Jersey Devils (1995–96)5–4–4Recap
14WNovember 7, 19951–0@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)6–4–4Recap
15TNovember 8, 19953–3 OT@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)6–4–5Recap
16WNovember 11, 19953–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)7–4–5Recap
17WNovember 13, 19954–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)8–4–5Recap
18LNovember 14, 19955–6Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)8–5–5Recap
19WNovember 16, 19959–2New York Islanders (1995–96)9–5–5Recap
20WNovember 18, 19953–2Florida Panthers (1995–96)10–5–5Recap
21LNovember 21, 19952–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)10–6–5Recap
22LNovember 22, 19952–5@ New York Islanders (1995–96)10–7–5Recap
23LNovember 24, 19951–2@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)10–8–5Recap
24LNovember 26, 19951–5@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)10–9–5Recap
25LNovember 27, 19950–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)10–10–5Recap
26WNovember 30, 19953–2Washington Capitals (1995–96)11–10–5Recap :
December: 3–5–4 (home: 3–2–3; road: 0–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
27TDecember 2, 19952–2 OTDallas Stars (1995–96)11–10–6Recap
28WDecember 6, 19956–3Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)12–10–6Recap
29LDecember 9, 19951–2St. Louis Blues (1995–96)12–11–6Recap
30LDecember 11, 19952–6@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)12–12–6Recap
31WDecember 13, 19956–2Ottawa Senators (1995–96)13–12–6Recap
32LDecember 16, 19953–6Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)13–13–6Recap
33TDecember 20, 19952–2 OTVancouver Canucks (1995–96)13–13–7Recap
34LDecember 22, 19953–4@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)13–14–7Recap
35TDecember 23, 19952–2 OTColorado Avalanche (1995–96)13–14–8Recap
36WDecember 27, 19957–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)14–14–8Recap
37LDecember 29, 19954–5 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)14–15–8Recap
38TDecember 31, 19952–2 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)14–15–9Recap :
January: 3–8–2 (home: 2–2–1; road: 1–6–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39LJanuary 3, 19964–5Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)14–16–9Recap
40WJanuary 5, 19965–2@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)15–16–9Recap
41WJanuary 6, 19967–5San Jose Sharks (1995–96)16–16–9Recap
42TJanuary 8, 19964–4 OT@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)16–16–10Recap
43LJanuary 10, 19964–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)16–17–10Recap
44LJanuary 12, 19962–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)16–18–10Recap
45LJanuary 14, 19962–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)16–19–10Recap
46TJanuary 16, 19965–5 OTCalgary Flames (1995–96)16–19–11Recap
47LJanuary 22, 19961–3@ New York Rangers (1995–96)16–20–11Recap
48LJanuary 23, 19961–3@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)16–21–11Recap
49LJanuary 25, 19962–8@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)16–22–11Recap
50WJanuary 27, 19965–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)17–22–11Recap
51LJanuary 31, 19964–6Hartford Whalers (1995–96)17–23–11Recap :
February: 1–9–4 (home: 1–4–1; road: 0–5–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
52TFebruary 1, 19966–6 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)17–23–12Recap
53LFebruary 3, 19961–2@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)17–24–12Recap
54LFebruary 6, 19962–5Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)17–25–12Recap
55WFebruary 8, 19964–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)18–25–12Recap
56LFebruary 10, 19961–6San Jose Sharks (1995–96)18–26–12Recap
57LFebruary 13, 19964–9@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)18–27–12Recap
58TFebruary 14, 19962–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)18–27–13Recap
59LFebruary 17, 19961–2 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)18–28–13Recap
60TFebruary 19, 19963–3 OTBoston Bruins (1995–96)18–28–14Recap
61LFebruary 21, 19962–7@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)18–29–14Recap
62LFebruary 23, 19962–6@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)18–30–14Recap
63TFebruary 24, 19962–2 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)18–30–15Recap
64LFebruary 26, 19963–4@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)18–31–15Recap
65LFebruary 28, 19961–5Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)18–32–15Recap :
March: 4–6–2 (home: 2–4–1; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66WMarch 2, 19965–4Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)19–32–15Recap
67WMarch 6, 19963–2Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)20–32–15Recap
68WMarch 8, 19964–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)21–32–15Recap
69LMarch 10, 19962–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)21–33–15Recap
70LMarch 13, 19962–6Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)21–34–15Recap
71LMarch 16, 19962–5Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)21–35–15Recap
72LMarch 18, 19961–3St. Louis Blues (1995–96)21–36–15Recap
73LMarch 20, 19962–5Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)21–37–15Recap
74TMarch 23, 19964–4 OTDallas Stars (1995–96)21–37–16Recap
75LMarch 25, 19961–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)21–38–16Recap
76TMarch 27, 19963–3 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)21–38–17Recap
77WMarch 29, 19964–3@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)22–38–17Recap :
April: 2–2–1 (home: 1–1–1; road: 1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
78TApril 3, 19962–2 OTDetroit Red Wings (1995–96)22–38–18Recap
79LApril 6, 19962–4Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)22–39–18Recap
80WApril 10, 19966–2San Jose Sharks (1995–96)23–39–18Recap
81LApril 12, 19963–5@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)23–40–18Recap
82WApril 14, 19965–4 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)24–40–18Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## 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 Kings only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 99 | Wayne Gretzky‡ | C | 62 | 15 | 66 | 81 | −7 | 32 |
| 8 | Dmitri Khristich | LW | 76 | 27 | 37 | 64 | 0 | 44 |
| 43 | Vitali Yachmenev | RW | 80 | 19 | 34 | 53 | −3 | 16 |
| 44 | Yanic Perreault | C | 78 | 25 | 24 | 49 | −11 | 16 |
| 12 | Kevin Todd | C | 74 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 6 | 38 |
| 17 | Jari Kurri‡ | RW | 57 | 17 | 23 | 40 | −12 | 37 |
| 22 | Rick Tocchet‡ | RW | 44 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 3 | 117 |
| 21 | Tony Granato | RW | 49 | 17 | 18 | 35 | −5 | 46 |
| 28 | Eric Lacroix | LW | 72 | 16 | 16 | 32 | −11 | 110 |
| 33 | Marty McSorley‡ | D | 59 | 10 | 21 | 31 | −14 | 148 |
| 26 | Philippe Boucher | D | 53 | 7 | 16 | 23 | −26 | 31 |
| 13 | Robert Lang | RW | 68 | 6 | 16 | 22 | −15 | 10 |
| 19 | John Druce‡ | RW | 64 | 9 | 12 | 21 | −26 | 14 |
| 27 | John Slaney† | D | 31 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 5 | 10 |
| 14 | Gary Shuchuk | RW | 33 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 12 |
| 25 | Kevin Stevens† | LW | 20 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −11 | 22 |
| 2 | Darryl Sydor‡ | D | 58 | 1 | 11 | 12 | −11 | 34 |
| 77 | Rob Cowie | D | 46 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −16 | 32 |
| 9 | Vladimir Tsyplakov | LW | 23 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 4 |
| 23 | Craig Johnson† | RW | 11 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −4 | 6 |
| 15 | Pat Conacher‡ | C | 35 | 5 | 2 | 7 | −8 | 18 |
| 6 | Sean O'Donnell | D | 71 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 127 |
| 5 | Aki Berg | D | 51 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −13 | 29 |
| 20 | Ray Ferraro† | C | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −13 | 10 |
| 24 | Nathan LaFayette† | C | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −3 | 6 |
| 3 | Denis Tsygurov | D | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 22 |
| 29 | Steven Finn† | D | 50 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −6 | 102 |
| 40 | Barry Potomski | LW | 33 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −7 | 104 |
| 22 | Ian Laperriere† | C | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 15 |
| 3 | Jan Vopat | D | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Rob Blake | D | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 | Shane Churla†‡ | RW | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −9 | 37 |
| 20 | Steve Larouche† | C | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Jaroslav Modry† | D | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 6 |
| 37 | Patrice Tardif† | C | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −9 | 37 |
| 7 | Kevin Brown‡ | RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 55 | Troy Crowder | RW | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 42 |
| 2 | Doug Zmolek† | D | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −6 | 22 |
| 35 | Arto Blomsten | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Mattias Norstrom† | D | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −8 | 18 |
| 24 | Michel Petit‡ | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 27 |
| 45 | Ruslan Batyrshin | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 42 | Dan Bylsma | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Byron Dafoe | G | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 |
| 32 | Kelly Hrudey | G | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 34 | Matt Johnson | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 1 | Jamie Storr | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 31 | Byron Dafoe | 47 | 14 | 24 | 8 | 1539 | 172 | 3.87 | .888 | 1 | 2666 |
| 32 | Kelly Hrudey | 36 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 1214 | 113 | 3.26 | .907 | 0 | 2077 |
| 1 | Jamie Storr | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 147 | 12 | 2.75 | .918 | 0 | 262 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Wayne Gretzky |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Vitali Yachmenev (October) |
| Team | Best Newcomer | Vitali Yachmenev |
| Team | Bill Libby Memorial Award | Dmitri Khristich |
| Team | Defensive Player | Kevin Todd |
| Team | Jim Fox Community Service | Rob Blake |
| Team | Jim Fox Community Service | Eric Lacroix |
| Team | Leading Scorer | Dmitri Khristich |
| Team | Most Inspirational | Tony Granato |
| Team | Most Popular Player | Eric Lacroix |
| Team | Outstanding Defenseman | Steven Finn |
| Team | Unsung Hero | Steven Finn |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Aki Berg | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Vitali Yachmenev | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Vladimir Tsyplakov | November 7, 1995 |
| First game | Dan Bylsma | December 13, 1995 |
| First game | Barry Potomski | January 6, 1996 |
| First game | Jan Vopat | March 16, 1996 |
| First game | Ruslan Batyrshin | April 3, 1996 |

## Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1995–96 season.

### Trades

| May 31, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsJan Vopat | To Hartford Whalers4th round pick in 1995 - Ian MacNeil |
| June 7, 1995 | To Los Angeles Kings5th round pick in 1995 - Jason Morgan | To Dallas StarsJeff Mitchell |
| July 8, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsByron Dafoe Dmitri Khristich | To Washington Capitals1st round pick in 1996 - Alexander Volchov 4th round pick in 1996 - Justin Davis |
| November 13, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsSteven Finn | To Tampa Bay LightningMichel Petit |
| December 28, 1995 | To Los Angeles KingsJohn Slaney | To Colorado Avalanche6th round pick in 1996 - Brian Willsie |
| January 14, 1996 | To Los Angeles KingsSteve Larouche | To New York RangersChris Snell |
| January 25, 1996 | To Los Angeles KingsKevin Stevens | To Boston BruinsRick Tocchet |
| February 10, 1996 | To Los Angeles KingsCraig Ferguson | To Calgary FlamesPat Conacher |
| February 17, 1996 | To Los Angeles KingsShane Churla Doug Zmolek | To Dallas StarsDarryl Sydor 5th round pick in 1996 - Ryan Christie |
| February 27, 1996 | To Los Angeles KingsCraig Johnson Patrice Tardif Roman Vopat 5th round pick in 1996 - Peter Hogan 1st round pick in 1997 - Matt Zultek | To St. Louis BluesWayne Gretzky |
| March 14, 1996 | To Los Angeles KingsMattias Norstrom Ray Ferraro Ian Laperriere Nathan LaFayette 4th round pick in 1997 - Sean Blanchard | To New York RangersMarty McSorley Jari Kurri Shane Churla |
| March 19, 1996 | To Los Angeles Kings4th round pick in 1996 - Mikael Simons | To Philadelphia FlyersJohn Druce 7th round pick in 1997 - Todd Fedoruk |
| March 20, 1996 | To Los Angeles KingsJaroslav Modry 8th round pick in 1996 - Steve Valiquette | To Ottawa SenatorsKevin Brown |

### Free agent signings

| August 30, 1995 | From St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL)Steve Bancroft |
| September 12, 1995 | From Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL)Nicholas Vachon |

### Free agents lost

| July 14, 1995 | To St. Louis BluesGrant Fuhr (2 years, $2.1 million) |
| July 17, 1995 | To Chicago Wolves (IHL)Rob Brown |
| August 1, 1995 | To Ottawa SenatorsDan Quinn (2 years, $1.05 million) |
| August 25, 1995 | To Chicago BlackhawksAndre Racicot |
| September 19, 1995 | To Edmonton OilersRem Murray |
| October 4, 1995 | To Buffalo SabresRandy Burridge (1 year, $350,000) |

### Waivers

| October 2, 1995 | To Ottawa SenatorsJustin Hocking |

## Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 3 | Aki Berg | Finland | TPS (Finland) |
| 2 | 33 | Donald MacLean | Canada | Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 50 | Pavel Rosa | Czech Republic | HC Litvinov (Czech Republic) |
| 3 | 59 | Vladimir Tsyplakov | Belarus | Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) |
| 5 | 118 | Jason Morgan | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 6 | 137 | Igor Melyakov | Russia | Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 7 | 157 | Benoit Larose | Canada | Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 163 | Juha Vuorivirta | Finland | Tappara (Finland) |
| 9 | 215 | Brian Stewart | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |