# 1996–97 Boston Bruins season

The 1996–97 Boston Bruins season was the team's 73rd season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Bruins finished with the worst record in the NHL and missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1967.

## Regular 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

## Schedule and results

1996–97 regular season :
October: 4–4–2 (home: 1–3–2; road: 3–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 5, 19964–4 OTNew York Rangers (1996–97)0–0–1Recap
2LOctober 7, 19962–5Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)0–1–1Recap
3WOctober 12, 19965–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)1–1–1Recap
4WOctober 14, 19965–4 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)2–1–1Recap
5LOctober 17, 19962–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)2–2–1Recap
6WOctober 20, 19965–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)3–2–1Recap
7LOctober 24, 19961–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)3–3–1Recap
8LOctober 26, 19961–2Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)3–4–1Recap
9WOctober 29, 19965–2New Jersey Devils (1996–97)4–4–1Recap
10TOctober 31, 19964–4 OTHartford Whalers (1996–97)4–4–2Recap :
November: 5–6–2 (home: 4–4–1; road: 1–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11LNovember 2, 19962–5New York Rangers (1996–97)4–5–2Recap
12TNovember 4, 19964–4 OTLos Angeles Kings (1996–97)4–5–3Recap
13LNovember 6, 19961–5@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)4–6–3Recap
14LNovember 7, 19960–6Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)4–7–3Recap
15WNovember 9, 19964–3@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)5–7–3Recap
16WNovember 14, 19962–1 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)6–7–3Recap
17WNovember 18, 19964–2San Jose Sharks (1996–97)7–7–3Recap
18TNovember 19, 19962–2 OT@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)7–7–4Recap
19LNovember 21, 19962–6Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)7–8–4Recap
20LNovember 23, 19962–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (1996–97)7–9–4Recap
21WNovember 26, 19962–0Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)8–9–4Recap
22WNovember 29, 19967–3Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)9–9–4Recap
23LNovember 30, 19962–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)9–10–4Recap :
December: 4–7–2 (home: 2–4–2; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
24WDecember 4, 19964–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)10–10–4Recap
25LDecember 5, 19962–4Hartford Whalers (1996–97)10–11–4Recap
26TDecember 7, 19961–1 OTCalgary Flames (1996–97)10–11–5Recap
27LDecember 9, 19962–5Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)10–12–5Recap
28LDecember 12, 19964–7New Jersey Devils (1996–97)10–13–5Recap
29LDecember 14, 19960–4Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)10–14–5Recap
30LDecember 15, 19960–6@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)10–15–5Recap
31WDecember 17, 19966–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)11–15–5Recap
32WDecember 19, 19963–0Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)12–15–5Recap
33WDecember 21, 19964–3Washington Capitals (1996–97)13–15–5Recap
34TDecember 23, 19963–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (1996–97)13–15–6Recap
35LDecember 27, 19964–6@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)13–16–6Recap
36LDecember 29, 19962–4@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)13–17–6Recap :
January: 5–8–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
37LJanuary 1, 19972–3@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)13–18–6Recap
38WJanuary 2, 19975–4 OT@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)14–18–6Recap
39WJanuary 4, 19973–2Dallas Stars (1996–97)15–18–6Recap
40LJanuary 7, 19973–7@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)15–19–6Recap
41WJanuary 9, 19975–4Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)16–19–6Recap
42LJanuary 11, 19973–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)16–20–6Recap
43LJanuary 13, 19973–4Ottawa Senators (1996–97)16–21–6Recap
44LJanuary 14, 19972–4@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)16–22–6Recap
45LJanuary 20, 19972–3Washington Capitals (1996–97)16–23–6Recap
46WJanuary 22, 19974–1@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)17–23–6Recap
47LJanuary 23, 19971–4Florida Panthers (1996–97)17–24–6Recap
48WJanuary 25, 19974–1Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)18–24–6Recap
49LJanuary 30, 19971–3@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)18–25–6Recap :
February: 3–8–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 2–6–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
50WFebruary 1, 19973–0@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)19–25–6Recap
51WFebruary 2, 19973–2@ New York Rangers (1996–97)20–25–6Recap
52LFebruary 4, 19973–4Ottawa Senators (1996–97)20–26–6Recap
53LFebruary 6, 19973–5Hartford Whalers (1996–97)20–27–6Recap
54TFebruary 8, 19973–3 OTSt. Louis Blues (1996–97)20–27–7Recap
55LFebruary 11, 19971–5@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)20–28–7Recap
56LFebruary 12, 19973–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)20–29–7Recap
57LFebruary 15, 19974–5 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)20–30–7Recap
58LFebruary 18, 19972–3 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)20–31–7Recap
59LFebruary 20, 19973–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)20–32–7Recap
60LFebruary 23, 19971–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)20–33–7Recap
61TFebruary 24, 19973–3 OT@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)20–33–8Recap
62WFebruary 27, 19976–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)21–33–8Recap :
March: 3–10–1 (home: 1–3–1; road: 2–7–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
63TMarch 1, 19975–5 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1996–97)21–33–9Recap
64LMarch 3, 19972–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)21–34–9Recap
65LMarch 6, 19972–5@ New York Islanders (1996–97)21–35–9Recap
66WMarch 8, 19976–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)22–35–9Recap
67WMarch 9, 19973–1@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)23–35–9Recap
68LMarch 12, 19973–6@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)23–36–9Recap
69LMarch 13, 19970–3Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)23–37–9Recap
70WMarch 15, 19975–2New York Islanders (1996–97)24–37–9Recap
71LMarch 17, 19971–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)24–38–9Recap
72LMarch 19, 19971–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)24–39–9Recap
73LMarch 22, 19974–5Ottawa Senators (1996–97)24–40–9Recap
74LMarch 24, 19971–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)24–41–9Recap
75LMarch 27, 19973–6New York Islanders (1996–97)24–42–9Recap
76LMarch 29, 19972–8@ New York Islanders (1996–97)24–43–9Recap :
April: 2–4–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77LApril 3, 19974–5@ New York Rangers (1996–97)24–44–9Recap
78WApril 5, 19974–2Florida Panthers (1996–97)25–44–9Recap
79LApril 8, 19971–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)25–45–9Recap
80LApril 10, 19971–5Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)25–46–9Recap
81LApril 11, 19970–2@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)25–47–9Recap
82WApril 13, 19977–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)26–47–9Recap :
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 Bruins only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 16 | Jozef Stumpel | C | 78 | 21 | 55 | 76 | −22 | 14 |
| 12 | Adam Oates‡ | C | 63 | 18 | 52 | 70 | −3 | 10 |
| 21 | Ted Donato | LW | 67 | 25 | 26 | 51 | −9 | 37 |
| 77 | Ray Bourque | D | 62 | 19 | 31 | 50 | −11 | 18 |
| 22 | Rick Tocchet‡ | RW | 40 | 16 | 14 | 30 | −3 | 67 |
| 19 | Rob DiMaio | C | 72 | 13 | 15 | 28 | −21 | 82 |
| 32 | Don Sweeney | D | 82 | 3 | 23 | 26 | −5 | 39 |
| 23 | Steve Heinze | RW | 30 | 17 | 8 | 25 | −8 | 27 |
| 43 | Jean-Yves Roy | LW | 52 | 10 | 15 | 25 | −8 | 22 |
| 42 | Tim Sweeney | LW | 36 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 0 | 14 |
| 33 | Sheldon Kennedy | RW | 56 | 8 | 10 | 18 | −17 | 30 |
| 46 | Barry Richter | D | 50 | 5 | 13 | 18 | −7 | 32 |
| 65 | Brett Harkins | LW | 44 | 4 | 14 | 18 | −3 | 8 |
| 27 | Landon Wilson† | RW | 40 | 7 | 10 | 17 | −6 | 49 |
| 20 | Todd Elik | LW | 31 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −12 | 16 |
| 36 | Jeff Odgers | RW | 80 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −15 | 197 |
| 29 | Troy Mallette | LW | 68 | 6 | 8 | 14 | −8 | 155 |
| 18 | Kyle McLaren | D | 58 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −9 | 54 |
| 45 | Sandy Moger | RW | 34 | 10 | 3 | 13 | −12 | 45 |
| 11 | Anson Carter† | RW | 19 | 8 | 5 | 13 | −7 | 2 |
| 41 | Jason Allison† | C | 19 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 9 |
| 48 | Steve Staios‡ | D | 54 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −26 | 71 |
| 47 | Mattias Timander | D | 41 | 1 | 8 | 9 | −9 | 14 |
| 25 | Trent McCleary | C | 59 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −16 | 33 |
| 38 | Jon Rohloff | D | 37 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −14 | 31 |
| 34 | Bob Beers | D | 27 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| 37 | Clayton Beddoes | C | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 13 |
| 28 | Dean Chynoweth | D | 57 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −12 | 171 |
| 14 | Anders Myrvold† | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| 49 | Andre Roy | LW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 12 |
| 62 | Evgeny Shaldybin | D | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| 17 | Davis Payne | LW | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 7 |
| 26 | Cam Stewart | LW | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 39 | Scott Bailey | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 30 | Jim Carey† | G | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 31 | Tim Cheveldae | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 40 | P. C. Drouin† | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 52 | David Emma | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 44 | Dean Malkoc | D | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −14 | 70 |
| 30 | Bill Ranford‡ | G | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 48 | Randy Robitaille† | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Kevin Sawyer | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Paxton Schafer | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 35 | Robbie Tallas | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Bill Ranford‡ | 37 | 37 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 1,102 | 125 | 3.49 | .887 | 2 | 2,147:09 |
| 35 | Robbie Tallas | 28 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 587 | 69 | 3.33 | .882 | 1 | 1,243:53 |
| 30 | Jim Carey† | 19 | 17 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 496 | 64 | 3.82 | .871 | 0 | 1,004:01 |
| 39 | Scott Bailey | 8 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 181 | 24 | 3.66 | .867 | 0 | 393:46 |
| 31 | Tim Cheveldae | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 5 | 3.22 | .848 | 0 | 93:09 |
| 1 | Paxton Schafer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 4.65 | .760 | 0 | 77:28 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ray Bourque |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Adam Oates |
| Team | Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy | Jozef Stumpel |
| Team | Seventh Player Award | Ted Donato |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Ray Bourque (1st) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Ted Donato (2nd) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Jozef Stumpel (3rd) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Mattias Timander | October 5, 1996 |
| First game | Evgeny Shaldybin | November 7, 1996 |
| First game | P. C. Drouin | January 25, 1997 |
| First game | Paxton Schafer | February 11, 1997 |
| First game | Randy Robitaille | March 27, 1997 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 21, 1996 (1996-06-21) | To San Jose SharksAl Iafrate | To Boston BruinsJeff Odgers 1996 PIT 5th-round pick (#132 overall) |
| June 22, 1996 (1996-06-22) | To Ottawa SenatorsShawn McEachern | To Boston BruinsTrent McCleary 1996 3rd-round pick (#53 overall) |
| September 30, 1996 (1996-09-30) | To San Jose Sharks1997 5th-round pick (#107 overall) | To Boston BruinsRob DiMaio |
| November 22, 1996 (1996-11-22) | To Colorado Avalanche1998 1st-round pick (#19 overall) | To Boston BruinsLandon Wilson Anders Myrvold |
| March 1, 1997 (1997-03-01) | To Washington CapitalsBill Ranford Adam Oates Rick Tocchet | To Boston BruinsJason Allison Jim Carey Anson Carter 1997 3rd-round pick (#63 overall) 1998 Conditional 2nd-round pick (#52 overall) |

## Draft picks

Boston's draft 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) |
| 1$^1$ | 8 | Johnathan Aitken | D | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 2 | 45 | Henry Kuster | RW | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 3$^2$ | 53 | Eric Naud | LW | Canada | Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL) |
| 3$^3$ | 80 | Jason Doyle | RW | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (WHL) |
| 4 | 100 | Trent Whitfield | C | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 5$^4$ | 132 | Elias Abrahamsson | D | Sweden | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 155 | Chris Lane | D | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 7 | 182 | Thomas Brown | D | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 8 | 208 | Bob Prier | RW | Canada | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 9 | 234 | Anders Soderberg | LW | Sweden | Modo Hockey (Sweden) |

### Notes

* The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 26, 1994 that sent Glen Wesley to Hartford in exchange for first-round picks in 1995, 1997 and this pick.
* The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 22, 1996 that sent Shawn McEachern to Ottawa in exchange for Trent McCleary and this pick.
* The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 17, 1995 that sent David Shaw to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.
    Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 17, 1995 that sent Marc Bergevin and Ben Hankinson to Detroit in exchange for Shawn Burr and this pick.
* The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 21, 1996 that sent Al Iafrate to San Jose in exchange for Jeff Odgers and this pick.
    San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 20, 1996 that sent Kevin Miller to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
* The Bruins first-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on January 11, 1996 that sent Bill Ranford to Boston in exchange for Mariusz Czerkawski, rights to Sean Brown and this pick (19th overall).
* The Bruins third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the result of a trade on August 1, 1995 that sent Shawn McEachern and Kevin Stevens to Boston in exchange for Glen Murray, Bryan Smolinski and this pick (72nd overall).
* The Bruins fourth-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on December 9, 1995 that sent Dean Chynoweth to Boston in exchange for this pick (128th overall).