# 1996–97 Vancouver Canucks season

The 1996–97 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 27th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canucks finished fourth in the division, and ninth in the conference, and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 277 | 205 | 107 |
| 2 | 4 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 36 | 33 | 13 | 243 | 231 | 85 |
| 3 | 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 36 | 37 | 9 | 252 | 247 | 81 |
| 4 | 9 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 257 | 273 | 77 |
| 5 | 10 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 32 | 41 | 9 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 6 | 12 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 214 | 268 | 67 |
| 7 | 13 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 211 | 278 | 62 |
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 :
| 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 | Phoenix Coyotes | 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

## Schedule and results

1996–97 regular season :
October: 5–5–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 5, 19963–1Calgary Flames (1996–97)1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 6, 19960–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)1–1–0Recap
3LOctober 9, 19961–2Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)1–2–0Recap
4WOctober 12, 19965–3St. Louis Blues (1996–97)2–2–0Recap
5LOctober 14, 19964–5 OTBoston Bruins (1996–97)2–3–0Recap
6WOctober 17, 19966–1@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)3–3–0Recap
7LOctober 19, 19962–9@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)3–4–0Recap
8LOctober 23, 19961–4Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)3–5–0Recap
9WOctober 26, 19962–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)4–5–0Recap
10WOctober 30, 19966–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)5–5–0Recap :
November: 8–5–0 (home: 4–1–0; road: 4–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11WNovember 1, 19965–4 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)6–5–0Recap
12WNovember 2, 19964–3Calgary Flames (1996–97)7–5–0Recap
13LNovember 8, 19962–4St. Louis Blues (1996–97)7–6–0Recap
14WNovember 11, 19963–2@ New York Rangers (1996–97)8–6–0Recap
15LNovember 13, 19964–5 OT@ New York Islanders (1996–97)8–7–0Recap
16WNovember 14, 19963–0@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)9–7–0Recap
17LNovember 16, 19961–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)9–8–0Recap
18WNovember 19, 19962–0Dallas Stars (1996–97)10–8–0Recap
19WNovember 21, 19962–1 OTChicago Blackhawks (1996–97)11–8–0Recap
20WNovember 23, 19965–3New York Rangers (1996–97)12–8–0Recap
21LNovember 26, 19962–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)12–9–0Recap
22WNovember 27, 19966–2@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)13–9–0Recap
23LNovember 29, 19963–7@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)13–10–0Recap :
December: 3–9–1 (home: 1–5–0; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
24LDecember 1, 19963–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)13–11–0Recap
25TDecember 3, 19962–2 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)13–11–1Recap
26WDecember 4, 19967–6 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)14–11–1Recap
27LDecember 7, 19962–3Ottawa Senators (1996–97)14–12–1Recap
28LDecember 11, 19961–6Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)14–13–1Recap
29LDecember 13, 19961–2@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)14–14–1Recap
30WDecember 15, 19968–0@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)15–14–1Recap
31LDecember 18, 19961–2New Jersey Devils (1996–97)15–15–1Recap
32WDecember 20, 19963–2Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)16–15–1Recap
33LDecember 23, 19960–7Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)16–16–1Recap
34LDecember 26, 19961–6@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)16–17–1Recap
35LDecember 27, 19964–7@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)16–18–1Recap
36LDecember 31, 19963–5Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)16–19–1Recap :
January: 8–4–1 (home: 6–1–1; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
37WJanuary 2, 19974–3Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)17–19–1Recap
38WJanuary 4, 19977–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)18–19–1Recap
39WJanuary 6, 19975–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)19–19–1Recap
40LJanuary 7, 19972–6@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)19–20–1Recap
41WJanuary 10, 19975–3Hartford Whalers (1996–97)20–20–1Recap
42LJanuary 12, 19972–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)20–21–1Recap
43TJanuary 14, 19974–4 OTFlorida Panthers (1996–97)20–21–2Recap
44WJanuary 20, 19976–1San Jose Sharks (1996–97)21–21–2Recap
45WJanuary 22, 19974–3 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)22–21–2Recap
46LJanuary 23, 19973–4@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)22–22–2Recap
47LJanuary 25, 19970–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)22–23–2Recap
48WJanuary 27, 19975–2San Jose Sharks (1996–97)23–23–2Recap
49WJanuary 30, 19972–1 OTNew York Islanders (1996–97)24–23–2Recap :
February: 4–9–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 2–6–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
50LFebruary 1, 19970–3@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)24–24–2Recap
51LFebruary 3, 19974–6@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)24–25–2Recap
52LFebruary 4, 19974–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)24–26–2Recap
53WFebruary 6, 19977–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)25–26–2Recap
54LFebruary 8, 19972–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)25–27–2Recap
55LFebruary 11, 19972–5Washington Capitals (1996–97)25–28–2Recap
56WFebruary 15, 19974–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)26–28–2Recap
57LFebruary 18, 19975–6Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)26–29–2Recap
58WFebruary 20, 19976–1@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)27–29–2Recap
59LFebruary 22, 19970–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)27–30–2Recap
60LFebruary 23, 19972–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)27–31–2Recap
61LFebruary 25, 19972–4Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)27–32–2Recap
62WFebruary 27, 19976–2Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)28–32–2Recap :
March: 4–8–3 (home: 2–4–2; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
63LMarch 1, 19970–3Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)28–33–2Recap
64LMarch 3, 19971–5@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)28–34–2Recap
65TMarch 5, 19971–1 OTChicago Blackhawks (1996–97)28–34–3Recap
66LMarch 8, 19973–5Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)28–35–3Recap
67TMarch 10, 19972–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)28–35–4Recap
68LMarch 11, 19971–4@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)28–36–4Recap
69LMarch 13, 19974–5@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)28–37–4Recap
70WMarch 15, 19975–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)29–37–4Recap
71LMarch 18, 19972–4@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)29–38–4Recap
72LMarch 20, 19971–2San Jose Sharks (1996–97)29–39–4Recap
73WMarch 22, 19973–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)30–39–4Recap
74TMarch 24, 19972–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (1996–97)30–39–5Recap
75WMarch 26, 19975–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)31–39–5Recap
76WMarch 29, 19975–2@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)32–39–5Recap
77LMarch 30, 19972–3Dallas Stars (1996–97)32–40–5Recap :
April: 3–0–2 (home: 2–0–1; road: 1–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
78TApril 4, 19973–3 OTCalgary Flames (1996–97)32–40–6Recap
79TApril 5, 19972–2 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)32–40–7Recap
80WApril 7, 19973–2@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)33–40–7Recap
81WApril 9, 19976–4Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)34–40–7Recap
82WApril 12, 19975–4Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)35–40–7Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## 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 Canucks only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 89 | Alexander Mogilny | LW | 76 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 9 | 18 |
| 23 | Martin Gelinas | LW | 74 | 35 | 33 | 68 | 6 | 42 |
| 96 | Pavel Bure | RW | 63 | 23 | 32 | 55 | −14 | 40 |
| 17 | Mike Ridley | C | 75 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 0 | 42 |
| 19 | Markus Naslund | LW | 78 | 21 | 20 | 41 | −15 | 30 |
| 16 | Trevor Linden | C | 49 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 5 | 27 |
| 26 | Mike Sillinger | C | 78 | 17 | 20 | 37 | −3 | 25 |
| 21 | Jyrki Lumme | D | 66 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 8 | 32 |
| 9 | Russ Courtnall‡ | RW | 47 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 4 | 24 |
| 10 | Esa Tikkanen‡ | C | 62 | 12 | 15 | 27 | −9 | 66 |
| 7 | David Roberts | LW | 58 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 11 | 51 |
| 44 | Dave Babych | D | 78 | 5 | 22 | 27 | −2 | 38 |
| 14 | Lonny Bohonos | RW | 36 | 11 | 11 | 22 | −3 | 10 |
| 6 | Adrian Aucoin | D | 70 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 0 | 63 |
| 3 | Bret Hedican | D | 67 | 4 | 15 | 19 | −3 | 51 |
| 24 | Scott Walker | RW | 64 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 2 | 132 |
| 32 | Chris Joseph | D | 63 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −21 | 62 |
| 8 | Donald Brashear† | LW | 59 | 8 | 5 | 13 | −6 | 207 |
| 29 | Gino Odjick | RW | 70 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 371 |
| 28 | Brian Noonan† | RW | 16 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
| 27 | Leif Rohlin | D | 40 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Mark Wotton | D | 36 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 19 |
| 5 | Dana Murzyn | D | 61 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 118 |
| 25 | Steve Staios† | D | 9 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 20 |
| 13 | Sergei Nemchinov† | C | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 20 | Alexander Semak | C | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| 18 | Troy Crowder | RW | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −6 | 52 |
| 22 | Larry Courville | LW | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 11 |
| 1 | Kirk McLean | G | 44 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 2 |
| 31 | Corey Hirsch | G | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 |
| 34 | Jassen Cullimore‡ | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 30 | Mike Fountain | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 2 | Frantisek Kucera‡ | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Evgeny Namestnikov | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |

### 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 |
| 1 | Kirk McLean | 44 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 1247 | 138 | 3.21 | .889 | 0 | 2581 |
| 31 | Corey Hirsch | 39 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 1090 | 116 | 3.27 | .894 | 2 | 2127 |
| 30 | Mike Fountain | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 135 | 14 | 3.43 | .896 | 1 | 245 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (annual) | King Clancy Memorial Trophy | Trevor Linden |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pavel Bure |
| Team | Babe Pratt Trophy | Jyrki Lumme |
| Team | Cyclone Taylor Trophy | Martin Gelinas |
| Team | Cyrus H. McLean Trophy | Alexander Mogilny |
| Team | Fred J. Hume Award | Mike Sillinger |
| Team | Molson Cup | Martin Gelinas |
| Team | Most Exciting Player Award | Martin Gelinas |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Mike Fountain | November 14, 1996 | |

## Draft picks

Vancouver's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 12 | Josh Holden | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 3 | 75 | Zenith Komarniski | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 4 | 93 | Jonas Soling | Sweden | Huddinge IK (Sweden) |
| 5 | 121 | Tyler Prosofsky | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 6 | 147 | Nolan McDonald | Canada | University of Vermont (Hockey East) |
| 7 | 175 | Clint Cabana | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 8 | 201 | Jeff Scissons | Canada | Vernon Vipers (BCJHL) |
| 9 | 227 | Lubomir Vaic | Slovakia | HC Kosice (Slovakia) |