# 1995–96 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1995–96 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 87th season. This season was notable for the trade of star goaltender Patrick Roy, as well as being their final season in the Montreal Forum before moving to the new Molson Centre. The club qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the New York Rangers.

## Regular season

At the beginning of the season, captain Mike Keane was subject to media scrutiny after speaking with Mathias Brunet of La Presse (a French language newspaper). Keane said he didn't know how to speak French; but the journalist misunderstood him, and reported him as refusing to learn how to speak French.
On October 17, 1995: Canadiens president Ronald Corey fired general manager Serge Savard and his assistants Andre Boudrias and Carol Vadnais. Head coach Jacques Demers was also relieved of his duties, while assistant coach Charles Thiffault was reassigned. This came after the Habs surrendered 20 goals in the first 4 games of the season.
October 21, 1995, Corey hired Rejean Houle as the Canadiens' new general manager. Mario Tremblay was hired as the new head coach, and Yvan Cournoyer was hired as an assistant coach. Tremblay had been goaltender Patrick Roy's roommate during his rookie season. On that same day, they beat their chief rival the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 in their last appearance at the Forum.
In his first 15 starts with Tremblay as head coach, Roy had 12 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. The one tie came against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite this hot start, Roy and Tremblay clashed multiple times. While in Edmonton, Tremblay spotted Roy in the hotel bar and told him that he wanted him to leave. A conflict ensued in Montreal when Tremblay told Roy that he was not allowed to visit the trainer's room and speak to teammates unless he was injured.
On November 28, 1995, the day before a game against the Detroit Red Wings, Mario Tremblay spoke to Mario Leclerc of Le Journal de Montreal. Tremblay mentioned that he was resentful of current Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman. The first five years of Tremblay's career were played under Bowman, and Tremblay told Leclerc that Bowman always threatened to send him to the minors. When Leclerc approached Cournoyer, he stated that he did not want to speak about Bowman. The Canadiens lost the game by a score of 3–2. The next day, the Journal de Montreal had a headline that stated "Bowman has the last word".
On February 5, 1996, Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4–2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Mario Tremblay.

### Patrick Roy's final game

On December 2, 1995, head coach Mario Tremblay kept goaltender Patrick Roy in goal as he conceded 9 goals on 26 shots during an 11–1 loss to Scotty Bowman's Detroit Red Wings. This was the last straw for Roy in what was already a contentious relationship with the rookie head coach. Friction between the two dated back to Roy's rookie year, when Tremblay used to needle the young Quebecer on his broken English and was critical of Roy through much of his career. The two had almost come to blows in a Long Island coffee shop before Tremblay was announced as head coach, and Tremblay's first appearance in the dressing room was greeted with snickers from Roy. They almost fought a second time after Tremblay fired a shot at Roy's throat during practice.
After Roy was replaced midway through the second period, he went over to Canadiens president Ronald Corey and stated that he had played his final game with the Canadiens. He later elaborated by saying that he would not play for Montreal as long as Tremblay was coach.

### Le Trade

On December 6, four days after the incident, Roy was traded to Colorado (along with team captain Mike Keane) in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko, a deal known in Montreal as "Le Trade". Roy's relationship with the Canadiens remained strained until 2008, when it was announced that his #33 jersey would be retired. The trade benefited Colorado, as Roy helped the Avalanche win the 1996 Stanley Cup.

### Final game at the Forum

On March 11, 1996, the Canadiens played their last game at the Montreal Forum, defeating the Dallas Stars 4–1 on a Monday night. The game was televised on TSN and TQS in Canada, and on ESPN in the United States. After the game, many previous hockey greats were presented to the crowd. The largest ovation of the night was left at the end for legendary Canadiens star Maurice "Rocket" Richard, at over 16 minutes in length.

### Season standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 49 | 29 | 4 | 362 | 284 | 102 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 282 | 269 | 91 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 265 | 248 | 90 |
| 4 | Hartford Whalers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 237 | 259 | 77 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 247 | 262 | 72 |
| 6 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 18 | 59 | 5 | 191 | 291 | 41 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 282 | 208 | 103 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 49 | 29 | 4 | 362 | 284 | 102 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 272 | 237 | 96 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 254 | 234 | 92 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 282 | 269 | 91 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 265 | 248 | 90 |
| 7 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 234 | 204 | 89 |
| 8 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 38 | 32 | 12 | 238 | 248 | 88 |
| 9 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 215 | 202 | 86 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 237 | 259 | 77 |
| 11 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 247 | 262 | 73 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 22 | 50 | 10 | 229 | 315 | 54 |
| 13 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 18 | 59 | 5 | 191 | 291 | 41 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1995–96 regular season :
October: 6–5–0 (home: 4–2–0; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 7, 19951–7Philadelphia Flyers0–1–0Recap
2LOctober 11, 19951–6@ Florida Panthers0–2–0Recap
3LOctober 12, 19951–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning0–3–0Recap
4LOctober 14, 19951–4New Jersey Devils0–4–0Recap
5LOctober 20, 19950–2@ New York Islanders0–5–0Recap
6WOctober 21, 19954–3Toronto Maple Leafs1–5–0Recap
7WOctober 23, 19956–3Los Angeles Kings2–5–0Recap
8WOctober 25, 19957–2Florida Panthers3–5–0Recap
9WOctober 27, 19954–1@ Hartford Whalers4–5–0Recap
10WOctober 28, 19955–3Chicago Blackhawks5–5–0Recap
11WOctober 31, 19953–1@ Boston Bruins6–5–0Recap :
November: 6–5–1 (home: 3–1–1; road: 3–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12LNovember 1, 19952–5@ Washington Capitals6–6–0Recap
13WNovember 4, 19954–1Boston Bruins7–6–0Recap
14LNovember 8, 19952–3 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim7–7–0Recap
15WNovember 11, 19954–0@ Calgary Flames8–7–0Recap
16WNovember 12, 19954–2@ Vancouver Canucks9–7–0Recap
17WNovember 15, 19954–1@ Edmonton Oilers10–7–0Recap
18WNovember 18, 19955–1Ottawa Senators11–7–0Recap
19WNovember 20, 19954–3 OTHartford Whalers12–7–0Recap
20LNovember 22, 19952–4@ Hartford Whalers12–8–0Recap
21TNovember 25, 19952–2 OTColorado Avalanche12–8–1Recap
22LNovember 28, 19952–3@ Detroit Red Wings12–9–1Recap
23LNovember 29, 19954–5@ St. Louis Blues12–10–1Recap :
December: 7–6–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 4–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
24LDecember 2, 19951–11Detroit Red Wings12–11–1Recap
25WDecember 6, 19954–2New Jersey Devils13–11–1Recap
26LDecember 7, 19955–7@ Pittsburgh Penguins13–12–1Recap
27TDecember 9, 19952–2 OTNew York Rangers13–12–2Recap
28WDecember 12, 19956–5@ Winnipeg Jets14–12–2Recap
29WDecember 15, 19954–1@ Chicago Blackhawks15–12–2Recap
30LDecember 16, 19952–4Philadelphia Flyers15–13–2Recap
31WDecember 18, 19953–2Hartford Whalers16–13–2Recap
32LDecember 20, 19951–2@ Buffalo Sabres16–14–2Recap
33WDecember 22, 19954–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins17–14–2Recap
34WDecember 23, 19951–0Pittsburgh Penguins18–14–2Recap
35LDecember 26, 19950–4@ Washington Capitals18–15–2Recap
36LDecember 28, 19951–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning18–16–2Recap
37WDecember 30, 19954–1@ Ottawa Senators19–16–2Recap :
January: 6–3–4 (home: 3–2–3; road: 3–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
38LJanuary 3, 19964–7@ New York Rangers19–17–2Recap
39TJanuary 4, 19962–2 OT@ New York Islanders19–17–3Recap
40LJanuary 6, 19966–7Buffalo Sabres19–18–3Recap
41TJanuary 8, 19963–3 OTTampa Bay Lightning19–18–4Recap
42TJanuary 10, 19962–2 OTVancouver Canucks19–18–5Recap
43WJanuary 12, 19966–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins20–18–5Recap
44TJanuary 13, 19963–3 OTSt. Louis Blues20–18–6Recap
45WJanuary 17, 19963–0@ Ottawa Senators21–18–6Recap
46LJanuary 22, 19961–4Tampa Bay Lightning21–19–6Recap
47WJanuary 25, 19966–2@ Florida Panthers22–19–6Recap
48WJanuary 27, 19964–1Winnipeg Jets23–19–6Recap
49WJanuary 28, 19965–4Boston Bruins24–19–6Recap
50WJanuary 31, 19965–3Washington Capitals25–19–6Recap :
February: 5–7–1 (home: 3–1–0; road: 2–6–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
51LFebruary 1, 19962–3 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers25–20–6Recap
52WFebruary 3, 19964–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs26–20–6Recap
53LFebruary 5, 19962–4@ Colorado Avalanche26–21–6Recap
54WFebruary 7, 19964–2@ Dallas Stars27–21–6Recap
55LFebruary 10, 19963–5Ottawa Senators27–22–6Recap
56WFebruary 12, 19963–0San Jose Sharks28–22–6Recap
57TFebruary 15, 19962–2 OT@ New York Rangers28–22–7Recap
58WFebruary 17, 19965–1Calgary Flames29–22–7Recap
59LFebruary 21, 19963–5@ Hartford Whalers29–23–7Recap
60LFebruary 23, 19965–6@ New Jersey Devils29–24–7Recap
61WFebruary 24, 19967–3Pittsburgh Penguins30–24–7Recap
62LFebruary 26, 19964–7@ San Jose Sharks30–25–7Recap
63LFebruary 28, 19962–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim30–26–7Recap :
March: 9–3–1 (home: 6–2–0; road: 3–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
64LMarch 2, 19964–5@ Los Angeles Kings30–27–7Recap
65WMarch 9, 19963–2Ottawa Senators31–27–7Recap
66WMarch 11, 19964–1Dallas Stars32–27–7Recap
67TMarch 13, 19961–1 OT@ New Jersey Devils32–27–8Recap
68WMarch 16, 19964–2New York Rangers33–27–8Recap
69WMarch 18, 19963–2Buffalo Sabres34–27–8Recap
70WMarch 20, 19963–2Hartford Whalers35–27–8Recap
71WMarch 22, 19964–1@ Buffalo Sabres36–27–8Recap
72LMarch 23, 19965–6Edmonton Oilers36–28–8Recap
73WMarch 25, 19964–1New York Islanders37–28–8Recap
74LMarch 27, 19960–1 OTWashington Capitals37–29–8Recap
75WMarch 28, 19964–3 OT@ Boston Bruins38–29–8Recap
76WMarch 30, 19963–1@ Ottawa Senators39–29–8Recap :
April: 1–3–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 0–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77LApril 1, 19964–6Buffalo Sabres39–30–8Recap
78LApril 3, 19961–4Boston Bruins39–31–8Recap
79TApril 4, 19963–3 OT@ Boston Bruins39–31–9Recap
80WApril 6, 19962–1Florida Panthers40–31–9Recap
81LApril 11, 19962–3@ Philadelphia Flyers40–32–9Recap
82TApril 13, 19965–5 OTNew York Islanders40–32–10Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 16, 19963–2 OT@ New York RangersCanadiens lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 18, 19965–3@ New York RangersCanadiens lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 21, 19961–2New York RangersCanadiens lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 23, 19963–4New York RangersSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LApril 26, 19962–3@ New York RangersRangers lead 3–2Recap
6LApril 28, 19963–5New York RangersRangers win 4–2Recap :
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 Canadiens only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens 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 |
| 77 | Pierre Turgeon | C | 80 | 38 | 58 | 96 | 19 | 44 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| 25 | Vincent Damphousse | C | 80 | 38 | 56 | 94 | 5 | 158 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | Mark Recchi | RW | 82 | 28 | 50 | 78 | 20 | 69 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Martin Rucinsky† | LW | 56 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 8 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Saku Koivu | C | 82 | 20 | 25 | 45 | −7 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 18 | Valeri Bure | RW | 77 | 22 | 20 | 42 | 10 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 6 |
| 43 | Patrice Brisebois | D | 69 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 10 | 65 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 51 | Andrei Kovalenko† | RW | 51 | 17 | 17 | 34 | 9 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 |
| 49 | Brian Savage | LW | 75 | 25 | 8 | 33 | −8 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 38 | Vladimir Malakhov | D | 61 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 7 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Turner Stevenson | RW | 80 | 9 | 16 | 25 | −2 | 167 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| 24 | Lyle Odelein | D | 79 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 8 | 230 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Stephane Quintal | D | 68 | 2 | 14 | 16 | −4 | 117 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 22 | Benoit Brunet | LW | 26 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −4 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | Peter Popovic | D | 76 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 21 | 69 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | Oleg Petrov | RW | 36 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −9 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 28 | Marc Bureau | C | 65 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 46 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 57 | Chris Murray | RW | 48 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 163 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Mike Keane‡ | RW | 18 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | David Wilkie | D | 24 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −10 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| 52 | Craig Rivet | D | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Donald Brashear | LW | 67 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −10 | 223 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 23 | Marko Kiprusoff | D | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Yves Racine‡ | D | 25 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −7 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 56 | Scott Fraser | C | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 53 | Rory Fitzpatrick | D | 42 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −7 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 46 | Craig Ferguson‡ | C | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | J. J. Daigneault‡ | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | Francois Groleau | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Pat Jablonski† | G | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 71 | Sebastien Bordeleau | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Craig Conroy | C | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Robert Dirk† | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Patrick Labrecque | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Mark Lamb | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Patrick Roy‡ | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Yves Sarault‡ | LW | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Jose Theodore | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault† | G | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 42 | Darcy Tucker | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
| 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 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault† | 40 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 1258 | 110 | 2.83 | .913 | 3 | 2334 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 188 | 18 | 3.47 | .904 | 0 | 311 |
| 33 | Patrick Roy‡ | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 667 | 62 | 2.95 | .907 | 1 | 1260 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Pat Jablonski† | 23 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 676 | 62 | 2.94 | .908 | 0 | 1264 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 1.24 | .941 | 0 | 49 |
| 31 | Patrick Labrecque | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 7 | 4.29 | .851 | 0 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Jose Theodore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6.69 | .500 | 0 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pierre Turgeon |
| Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Peter Popovic |
| Team | Molson Cup | Pierre Turgeon |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Marko Kiprusoff | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Saku Koivu | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Patrick Labrecque | October 7, 1995 |
| First game | Scott Fraser | November 28, 1995 |
| First game | Rory Fitzpatrick | December 15, 1995 |
| First game | Darcy Tucker | January 13, 1996 |
| First game | Sebastien Bordeleau | February 5, 1996 |
| First game | Jose Theodore | February 21, 1996 |
| First game | Francois Groleau | April 3, 1996 |

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 8 | Terry Ryan | Left Wing | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 3 | 60 | Miloslav Guren | Defence | Czech Republic | HC Zlín (Czech) |
| 3 | 74 | Martin Hohenberger | Left Wing | Austria | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| 4 | 86 | Jonathan Delisle | Right Wing | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 112 | Niklas Anger | Right Wing | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (Sweden) |
| 6 | 138 | Boyd Olson | Centre | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 7 | 164 | Stephane Robidas | Defence | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 190 | Greg Hart | Right Wing | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 9 | 216 | Eric Houde | Centre | Canada | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |