# 1996–97 Hartford Whalers season

The 1996–97 Hartford Whalers season was the 25th season of the franchise and the 18th and final season in Hartford. The Whalers would move to Greensboro, North Carolina, the next season to become the Carolina Hurricanes.

## Off-season

On June 22, the Whalers participated in the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Hartford did not have a selection in the first round, as the pick was traded to the Boston Bruins as part of the trade that brought Glen Wesley to the Whalers. In the second round, Hartford made their first selection of the draft, as they drafted Trevor Wasyluk from the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League with the 34th overall pick in the draft. Wasyluk scored 25 goals and 46 points in 69 games during the 1995-96 season. Other notable selections by the Whalers included Craig MacDonald in the fourth round, and Craig Adams in the ninth round.
The Whalers acquired Kevin Brown in a trade with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in exchange for Espen Knutsen on October 1. Brown played in seven games with the Los Angeles Kings during the 1995-96 season, scoring one goal. Brown spent the majority of the season with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the IHL, scoring 10 goals and 26 points in 45 games. He also played in eight games with the Prince Edward Island Senators of the AHL, scoring three goals and nine points after he was traded from the Kings to the Ottawa Senators during the season.
On October 2, Hartford claimed Kent Manderville off of waivers from the Edmonton Oilers. In 37 games with the Oilers during the 1995-96 where he scored three goals and eight points.

## Regular season

On April 13, 1997, the Whalers played their last game in Hartford, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1. Fittingly, team captain Kevin Dineen scored the final goal in Whaler history.
The final words from SportsChannel New England with Play by play voice John Forslund at the end of the game were as follows:
"It's over folks, it's been a great ride. The Whalers will go out, winners".

### 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

## Schedule and results

1996–97 regular season :
October: 5–2–2 (home: 4–0–1; road: 1–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1WOctober 5, 19961–0Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)1–0–015,635Recap
2WOctober 8, 19967–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)2–0–011,240Recap
3LOctober 12, 19960–6@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)2–1–014,703Recap
4WOctober 17, 19963–1@ New York Islanders (1996–97)3–1–08,019Recap
5WOctober 19, 19966–2New Jersey Devils (1996–97)4–1–014,476Recap
6WOctober 24, 19964–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)5–1–012,328Recap
7LOctober 26, 19963–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)5–2–016,193Recap
8TOctober 30, 19962–2 OTNew York Islanders (1996–97)5–2–111,936Recap
9TOctober 31, 19964–4 OT@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)5–2–213,284Recap :
November: 6–5–3 (home: 3–4–0; road: 3–1–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
10LNovember 2, 19962–3Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)5–3–213,425Recap
11LNovember 4, 19961–5@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)5–4–219,983Recap
12WNovember 6, 19965–1Boston Bruins (1996–97)6–4–213,026Recap
13LNovember 8, 19961–4Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)6–5–214,460Recap
14WNovember 9, 19964–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (1996–97)7–5–213,352Recap
15WNovember 12, 19964–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)8–5–217,742Recap
16WNovember 14, 19962–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)9–5–214,968Recap
17TNovember 16, 19964–4 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)9–5–316,061Recap
18WNovember 20, 19963–1Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)10–5–313,033Recap
19LNovember 22, 19961–7Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)10–6–314,572Recap
20TNovember 23, 19963–3 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)10–6–414,648Recap
21LNovember 27, 19962–6Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)10–7–414,289Recap
22TNovember 29, 19961–1 OT@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)10–7–514,703Recap
23WNovember 30, 19966–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)11–7–516,375Recap :
December: 6–6–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 1–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
24TDecember 3, 19964–4 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)11–7–613,816Recap
25WDecember 5, 19964–2@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)12–7–614,955Recap
26WDecember 7, 19966–4Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)13–7–613,464Recap
27WDecember 11, 19965–2Florida Panthers (1996–97)14–7–611,884Recap
28LDecember 12, 19962–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)14–8–619,124Recap
29LDecember 14, 19960–4Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)14–9–614,590Recap
30LDecember 16, 19962–5@ New York Rangers (1996–97)14–10–618,200Recap
31WDecember 17, 19965–3St. Louis Blues (1996–97)15–10–612,922Recap
32LDecember 20, 19961–4Dallas Stars (1996–97)15–11–612,945Recap
33WDecember 21, 19966–5 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)16–11–612,082Recap
34LDecember 26, 19961–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)16–12–618,595Recap
35WDecember 28, 19963–2Ottawa Senators (1996–97)17–12–614,092Recap
36LDecember 29, 19963–4@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)17–13–620,502Recap :
January: 3–10–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 1–7–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
37LJanuary 1, 19972–3 OT@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)17–14–612,608Recap
38LJanuary 2, 19974–5 OTBoston Bruins (1996–97)17–15–614,403Recap
39TJanuary 4, 19971–1 OTWashington Capitals (1996–97)17–15–714,613Recap
40LJanuary 6, 19974–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)17–16–720,292Recap
41LJanuary 9, 19972–3@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)17–17–717,121Recap
42LJanuary 10, 19973–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)17–18–717,378Recap
43LJanuary 12, 19971–2 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)17–19–714,301Recap
44LJanuary 15, 19970–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)17–20–714,502Recap
45WJanuary 20, 19973–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)18–20–713,002Recap
46WJanuary 22, 19972–1 OTFlorida Panthers (1996–97)19–20–712,627Recap
47LJanuary 24, 19972–5New York Islanders (1996–97)19–21–714,619Recap
48WJanuary 25, 19975–1@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)20–21–718,595Recap
49LJanuary 30, 19973–5@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)20–22–711,036Recap
50LJanuary 31, 19973–6@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)20–23–717,174Recap :
February: 4–6–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
51LFebruary 5, 19972–5@ New York Rangers (1996–97)20–24–718,200Recap
52WFebruary 6, 19975–3@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)21–24–715,213Recap
53LFebruary 8, 19972–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)21–25–721,273Recap
54LFebruary 12, 19972–3New Jersey Devils (1996–97)21–26–712,710Recap
55LFebruary 13, 19970–4@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)21–27–714,138Recap
56WFebruary 15, 19972–1Ottawa Senators (1996–97)22–27–713,767Recap
57LFebruary 16, 19972–4@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)22–28–718,338Recap
58TFebruary 19, 19972–2 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)22–28–819,484Recap
59WFebruary 21, 19977–2New York Rangers (1996–97)23–28–814,660Recap
60WFebruary 22, 19972–0Washington Capitals (1996–97)24–28–814,311Recap
61TFebruary 26, 19972–2 OTChicago Blackhawks (1996–97)24–28–913,121Recap
62LFebruary 28, 19972–3San Jose Sharks (1996–97)24–29–913,547Recap :
March: 5–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 1–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
63LMarch 2, 19972–5Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)24–30–914,660Recap
64WMarch 5, 19972–0Calgary Flames (1996–97)25–30–912,140Recap
65WMarch 7, 19972–0Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)26–30–914,341Recap
66TMarch 8, 19971–1 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)26–30–1015,726Recap
67WMarch 12, 19976–3Boston Bruins (1996–97)27–30–1013,155Recap
68LMarch 13, 19970–6@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)27–31–1016,244Recap
69LMarch 15, 19972–4Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)27–32–1014,437Recap
70LMarch 16, 19973–5@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)27–33–1018,130Recap
71LMarch 20, 19971–4@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)27–34–1017,959Recap
72LMarch 21, 19970–2@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)27–35–1016,522Recap
73LMarch 25, 19970–4Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)27–36–1014,191Recap
74WMarch 27, 19975–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)28–36–1019,984Recap
75WMarch 29, 19972–1New York Rangers (1996–97)29–36–1014,660Recap :
April: 3–3–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
76LApril 2, 19971–4Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)29–37–1014,177Recap
77TApril 3, 19975–5 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)29–37–1117,284Recap
78WApril 5, 19974–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)30–37–1121,273Recap
79WApril 7, 19974–2Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)31–37–1114,660Recap
80LApril 9, 19974–5@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)31–38–1118,500Recap
81LApril 11, 19974–6@ New York Islanders (1996–97)31–39–1115,382Recap
82WApril 13, 19972–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)32–39–1114,660Recap :
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 Whalers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 8 | Geoff Sanderson | LW | 82 | 36 | 31 | 67 | −9 | 29 |
| 21 | Andrew Cassels | C | 81 | 22 | 44 | 66 | −16 | 46 |
| 55 | Keith Primeau† | C | 75 | 26 | 25 | 51 | −3 | 161 |
| 11 | Kevin Dineen | RW | 78 | 19 | 29 | 48 | −6 | 141 |
| 16 | Nelson Emerson | RW | 66 | 9 | 29 | 38 | −21 | 34 |
| 12 | Steven Rice | RW | 78 | 21 | 14 | 35 | −11 | 59 |
| 20 | Glen Wesley | D | 68 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 0 | 40 |
| 92 | Jeff O'Neill | RW | 72 | 14 | 16 | 30 | −24 | 40 |
| 24 | Sami Kapanen | RW | 45 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 2 |
| 18 | Robert Kron | LW | 68 | 10 | 12 | 22 | −18 | 10 |
| 28 | Paul Ranheim | LW | 67 | 10 | 11 | 21 | −13 | 18 |
| 7 | Curtis Leschyshyn† | D | 64 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −19 | 30 |
| 3 | Steve Chiasson† | D | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −10 | 7 |
| 6 | Adam Burt | D | 71 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −13 | 79 |
| 44 | Kent Manderville | C | 44 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 18 |
| 4 | Gerald Diduck‡ | D | 56 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −9 | 40 |
| 77 | Paul Coffey†‡ | D | 20 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 18 |
| 14 | Kevin Haller† | D | 35 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −11 | 48 |
| 36 | Glen Featherstone‡ | D | 41 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 87 |
| 10 | Andrei Nikolishin‡ | C | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 2 |
| 5 | Alexander Godynyuk | D | 55 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −10 | 41 |
| 27 | Derek King† | LW | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Mark Janssens‡ | C | 54 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −10 | 90 |
| 23 | Marek Malik | D | 47 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 50 |
| 32 | Stu Grimson† | LW | 75 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −7 | 218 |
| 46 | Kevin Brown | RW | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −6 | 6 |
| 17 | Hnat Domenichelli‡ | LW | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −4 | 7 |
| 39 | Kelly Chase‡ | RW | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 122 |
| 17 | Chris Murray† | RW | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| 1 | Sean Burke | G | 51 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 14 |
| 37 | Jeff Daniels | LW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 41 | Nolan Pratt | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Brian Glynn | D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 94 | Brendan Shanahan‡ | LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Steve Martins | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Jason Muzzatti | G | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 18 |
| 27 | Jeff Brown | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 25 | Jason McBain | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 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 |
| 1 | Sean Burke | 51 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 1560 | 134 | 2.69 | .914 | 4 | 2985 |
| 29 | Jason Muzzatti | 31 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 815 | 91 | 3.43 | .888 | 0 | 1591 |
| 47 | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 201 | 24 | 3.65 | .881 | 0 | 394 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Geoff Sanderson |
| Team | Award of Excellence | Kevin Dineen |
| Team | Booster Club MVP Award | Sean Burke |
| Team | Frank Keys Memorial Award | Kent Manderville |
| Team | Mark Kravitz Award | Sean Burke |
| Team | Most Valuable Defenseman | Glen Wesley |
| Team | Three Star Award of Excellence | Sean Burke |
| Team | Top Gun Award | Geoff Sanderson |
| Team | True Grit Award | Kevin Dineen |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Hnat Domenichelli | October 5, 1996 |
| First game | Nolan Pratt | October 5, 1996 |
| First game | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | December 12, 1996 |

## Transactions

The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.

### Trades

| October 1, 1996 | To Anaheim Mighty DucksEspen Knutsen | To Hartford WhalersKevin Brown |
| October 9, 1996 | To Detroit Red WingsBrendan Shanahan Brian Glynn | To Hartford WhalersPaul Coffey Keith Primeau 1st round pick in 1997 - Nikos Tselios |
| November 9, 1996 | To Washington CapitalsAndrei Nikolishin | To Hartford WhalersCurtis Leschyshyn |
| December 15, 1996 | To Philadelphia FlyersPaul Coffey 3rd round pick in 1997 - Kris Mallette | To Hartford WhalersKevin Haller 1st round pick in 1997 - Scott Hannan 7th round pick in 1997 - Andrew Merrick |
| March 5, 1997 | To Calgary FlamesHnat Domenichelli Glen Featherstone 2nd round pick in 1997 - Dmitri Kokorev 3rd round pick in 1998 - Paul Manning | To Hartford WhalersSteve Chiasson 3rd round pick in 1997 - Francis Lessard |
| March 18, 1997 | To Toronto Maple LeafsKelly Chase | To Hartford Whalers8th round pick in 1998 - Jaroslav Svoboda |
| March 18, 1997 | To Anaheim Mighty DucksMark Janssens | To Hartford WhalersBates Battaglia 4th round pick in 1998 - Josef Vasicek |
| March 18, 1997 | To New York Islanders5th round pick in 1997 - Adam Edinger | To Hartford WhalersDerek King |
| March 18, 1997 | To Phoenix CoyotesGerald Diduck | To Hartford WhalersChris Murray |

### Waivers

| October 2, 1996 | From Edmonton OilersKent Manderville |
| October 12, 1996 | From Detroit Red WingsStu Grimson |

### Free agents

| Player | New Team |
| Scott Daniels | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Brad McCrimmon | Phoenix Coyotes |
| David Williams | Boston Bruins |
| Kevin Smyth | Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) |
| John Stevens | Philadelphia Flyers |

## Draft picks

Hartford's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 34 | Trevor Wasyluk | Left wing | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 3 | 61 | Andrei Petrunin | Right wing | Russia | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 4 | 88 | Craig MacDonald | Center | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 4 | 104 | Steve Wasylko | Center | Canada | Detroit Whalers (OHL) |
| 5 | 116 | Mark McMahon | Defense | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 6 | 143 | Aaron Baker | Goaltender | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 7 | 171 | Greg Kuznik | Defense | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 8 | 197 | Kevin Marsh | Left wing | Canada | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |
| 9 | 223 | Craig Adams | Right wing | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 9 | 231 | Askhat Rakhmatullin | Left wing | Russia | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia) |

## Departure from Hartford

In 1994, Compuware founder Peter Karmanos purchased the Whalers. Karmanos pledged to keep the Whalers in Hartford for four years. Frustrated with lackluster attendance and corporate support, he announced in 1996 that if the Whalers were unable to sell at least 11,000 season tickets for the 1996–97 season, he would likely move the team. Furthermore, ownership only made season tickets available in full-season (41-game) packages, eliminating the popular five- and ten-game "mini plans," in a strategy largely designed to spur purchases from wealthier corporations and individuals. Sales were underwhelming at the beginning of the campaign, and at the end of the 1995–96 season it was still unknown whether the Whalers would stay in Connecticut or move. However, thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, and the creative efforts of many fans (who pooled together resources to purchase some of the full-season packages collectively) the Whalers announced that they would stay in Connecticut for the 1996–97 season.
In early 1996, negotiations between the Whalers and Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland to build a new $147.5 million arena seemed to be going well. However, negotiations fell apart when Rowland and the State refused Karmanos' demand to reimburse the Whalers for up to $45 million in losses during the three years the new arena was to be built. As a result, the team announced on March 26, 1997, that they would leave Hartford, one of the few times that a team announced it would leave its current city without having already selected a new city. Many suspected that Governor John G. Rowland did not want to keep the Whalers, as he harbored hopes of instead landing an NFL franchise. Ideally, Rowland wanted to use the state's resources to build a new stadium to lure the New England Patriots to Connecticut and did not have serious intentions of building an NHL arena for the Whalers.