# 1996–97 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1996–97 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 88th season and the first full season at the Molson Centre. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs despite a sub-.500 season. The Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals (the first round) by the New Jersey Devils 4 games to 1.

## Regular season

On Wednesday, October 16, 1996, the Canadiens scored three short-handed goals in a 4–2 win over the Calgary Flames.
Pierre Turgeon was traded on October 29, 1996, to the St. Louis Blues. Veteran forward Vincent Damphousse was named the new captain.
The Canadiens finished the regular season 26th in both power-play goals allowed (71) and penalty-killing percentage (79.54%).

### 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

## Playoffs

In the first game of the series against New Jersey, on April 17, 1997, with the Devils up by two goals late in the game, Martin Brodeur fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 5-2 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored in the playoffs, and the fifth time overall.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1996–97 regular season :
October: 4–5–2 (home: 4–1–2; road: 0–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 5, 19963–3 OTOttawa Senators0–0–1Recap
2TOctober 7, 19966–6 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim0–0–2Recap
3WOctober 9, 19966–3Los Angeles Kings1–0–2Recap
4WOctober 12, 19965–2New York Rangers2–0–2Recap
5LOctober 15, 19962–3@ New Jersey Devils2–1–2Recap
6WOctober 16, 19964–2Calgary Flames3–1–2Recap
7LOctober 19, 19963–6@ Ottawa Senators3–2–2Recap
8LOctober 24, 19963–6@ Buffalo Sabres3–3–2Recap
9WOctober 26, 19966–5Philadelphia Flyers4–3–2Recap
10LOctober 28, 19964–5 OTPhoenix Coyotes4–4–2Recap
11LOctober 30, 19963–5@ Detroit Red Wings4–5–2Recap :
November: 6–7–2 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–5–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12LNovember 2, 19963–4 OT@ San Jose Sharks4–6–2Recap
13TNovember 3, 19964–4 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes4–6–3Recap
14WNovember 6, 19966–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim5–6–3Recap
15LNovember 7, 19961–4@ Los Angeles Kings5–7–3Recap
16LNovember 9, 19962–5@ Colorado Avalanche5–8–3Recap
17WNovember 11, 19963–2 OTEdmonton Oilers6–8–3Recap
18LNovember 13, 19963–5Florida Panthers6–9–3Recap
19LNovember 15, 19961–3@ Washington Capitals6–10–3Recap
20WNovember 16, 19966–1Vancouver Canucks7–10–3Recap
21LNovember 20, 19961–3@ Hartford Whalers7–11–3Recap
22WNovember 21, 19966–2@ Boston Bruins8–11–3Recap
23WNovember 23, 19964–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs9–11–3Recap
24WNovember 25, 19964–2Tampa Bay Lightning10–11–3Recap
25TNovember 27, 19962–2 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins10–11–4Recap
26LNovember 30, 19960–2Washington Capitals10–12–4Recap :
December: 3–6–3 (home: 1–5–0; road: 2–1–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
27LDecember 1, 19962–6@ New York Rangers10–13–4Recap
28LDecember 4, 19963–4Boston Bruins10–14–4Recap
29WDecember 6, 19963–1@ Chicago Blackhawks11–14–4Recap
30WDecember 7, 19963–2Chicago Blackhawks12–14–4Recap
31LDecember 11, 19962–3 OTBuffalo Sabres12–15–4Recap
32TDecember 14, 19963–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils12–15–5Recap
33LDecember 16, 19962–4Tampa Bay Lightning12–16–5Recap
34LDecember 21, 19962–3 OTNew York Rangers12–17–5Recap
35LDecember 23, 19960–6Ottawa Senators12–18–5Recap
36TDecember 26, 19963–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins12–18–6Recap
37TDecember 28, 19964–4 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning12–18–7Recap
38WDecember 29, 19962–1@ Florida Panthers13–18–7Recap :
January: 6–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39WJanuary 1, 19976–4@ Dallas Stars14–18–7Recap
40TJanuary 2, 19972–2 OT@ St. Louis Blues14–18–8Recap
41WJanuary 4, 19973–1New York Islanders15–18–8Recap
42WJanuary 6, 19975–4Hartford Whalers16–18–8Recap
43LJanuary 9, 19974–5@ Boston Bruins16–19–8Recap
44WJanuary 11, 19976–3Boston Bruins17–19–8Recap
45LJanuary 13, 19971–2Dallas Stars17–20–8Recap
46LJanuary 14, 19972–3@ Philadelphia Flyers17–21–8Recap
47WJanuary 20, 19974–1Detroit Red Wings18–21–8Recap
48LJanuary 22, 19971–6@ Buffalo Sabres18–22–8Recap
49LJanuary 25, 19971–8St. Louis Blues18–23–8Recap
50LJanuary 26, 19972–5Pittsburgh Penguins18–24–8Recap
51LJanuary 28, 19971–5@ Florida Panthers18–25–8Recap
52WJanuary 30, 19974–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning19–25–8Recap :
February: 4–5–3 (home: 2–3–2; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53TFebruary 1, 19974–4 OTNew Jersey Devils19–25–9Recap
54TFebruary 3, 19972–2 OTFlorida Panthers19–25–10Recap
55LFebruary 5, 19973–6Pittsburgh Penguins19–26–10Recap
56LFebruary 6, 19975–9@ Philadelphia Flyers19–27–10Recap
57WFebruary 8, 19973–2 OTHartford Whalers20–27–10Recap
58WFebruary 10, 19974–2San Jose Sharks21–27–10Recap
59TFebruary 12, 19972–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres21–27–11Recap
60LFebruary 15, 19971–4New Jersey Devils21–28–11Recap
61WFebruary 17, 19974–1@ New York Islanders22–28–11Recap
62LFebruary 22, 19971–5Toronto Maple Leafs22–29–11Recap
63WFebruary 25, 19974–2@ Vancouver Canucks23–29–11Recap
64LFebruary 28, 19972–3@ Calgary Flames23–30–11Recap :
March: 5–4–3 (home: 2–2–2; road: 3–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
65WMarch 1, 19975–4@ Edmonton Oilers24–30–11Recap
66LMarch 5, 19973–7Colorado Avalanche24–31–11Recap
67LMarch 7, 19970–2@ Hartford Whalers24–32–11Recap
68TMarch 8, 19973–3 OTBuffalo Sabres24–32–12Recap
69TMarch 10, 19972–2 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins24–32–13Recap
70WMarch 13, 19973–0@ Boston Bruins25–32–13Recap
71TMarch 15, 19972–2 OTOttawa Senators25–32–14Recap
72WMarch 19, 19975–4@ New York Rangers26–32–14Recap
73LMarch 22, 19971–3Washington Capitals26–33–14Recap
74WMarch 24, 19973–1Boston Bruins27–33–14Recap
75WMarch 26, 19978–5Pittsburgh Penguins28–33–14Recap
76LMarch 29, 19972–5@ Ottawa Senators28–34–14Recap :
April: 3–2–1 (home: 1–1–1; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77WApril 2, 19974–1@ Hartford Whalers29–34–14Recap
78LApril 5, 19971–4Hartford Whalers29–35–14Recap
79WApril 7, 19972–1New York Islanders30–35–14Recap
80WApril 9, 19973–1@ New York Islanders31–35–14Recap
81LApril 10, 19972–3@ Washington Capitals31–36–14Recap
82TApril 12, 19973–3 OTPhiladelphia Flyers31–36–15Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) New Jersey Devils – Devils win 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 17, 19972–5@ New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 19, 19971–4@ New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 22, 19974–6New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 3–0Recap
4WApril 24, 19974–3 3OTNew Jersey DevilsDevils lead 3–1Recap
5LApril 26, 19970–4@ New Jersey DevilsDevils win 4–1Recap :
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 |
| 25 | Vincent Damphousse | C | 82 | 27 | 54 | 81 | −6 | 82 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 |
| 8 | Mark Recchi | RW | 82 | 34 | 46 | 80 | −1 | 58 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 49 | Brian Savage | LW | 81 | 23 | 37 | 60 | −14 | 39 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Saku Koivu | C | 50 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 7 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 26 | Martin Rucinsky | LW | 70 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 1 | 62 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 4 |
| 44 | Stephane Richer | RW | 63 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 0 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 18 | Valeri Bure | RW | 64 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 2 |
| 38 | Vladimir Malakhov | D | 65 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 3 | 43 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| 17 | Benoit Brunet | LW | 39 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Stephane Quintal | D | 71 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 1 | 100 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 6 |
| 30 | Turner Stevenson | RW | 65 | 8 | 13 | 21 | −14 | 97 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 27 | Shayne Corson† | LW | 47 | 6 | 15 | 21 | −5 | 80 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 4 |
| 24 | Scott Thornton | LW | 73 | 10 | 10 | 20 | −19 | 128 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 42 | Darcy Tucker | RW | 73 | 7 | 13 | 20 | −5 | 110 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Marc Bureau | C | 43 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | David Wilkie | D | 61 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −9 | 63 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 43 | Patrice Brisebois | D | 49 | 2 | 13 | 15 | −7 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 24 |
| 34 | Peter Popovic | D | 78 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| 71 | Sebastien Bordeleau | C | 28 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 77 | Pierre Turgeon‡ | C | 9 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Jassen Cullimore† | D | 49 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 22 | Chris Murray‡ | RW | 56 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −8 | 114 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Murray Baron†‡ | D | 60 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −16 | 107 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 52 | Craig Rivet | D | 35 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 54 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 14 |
| 37 | Dave Manson† | D | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 17 |
| 20 | Eric Houde | C | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 53 | Rory Fitzpatrick‡ | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Donald Brashear‡ | LW | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Brad Brown | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | Francois Groleau | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Pat Jablonski‡ | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 51 | David Ling† | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Terry Ryan | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Pierre Sevigny | LW | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 60 | Jose Theodore | G | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault | G | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 37 | Tomas Vokoun | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* ‡ = 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 | 61 | 22 | 24 | 11 | 1815 | 164 | 2.90 | .910 | 1 | 3397 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 101 | 13 | 4.36 | .871 | 0 | 179 |
| 60 | Jose Theodore | 16 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 508 | 53 | 3.87 | .896 | 0 | 821 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 108 | 7 | 2.51 | .935 | 0 | 168 |
| 39 | Pat Jablonski‡ | 17 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 438 | 50 | 3.98 | .886 | 0 | 754 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Tomas Vokoun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 12.00 | .714 | 0 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mark Recchi |
| Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Stephane Quintal |
| Team | Molson Cup | Mark Recchi |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Terry Ryan | October 26, 1996 |
| First game | Eric Houde | December 29, 1996 |
| First game | Brad Brown | January 11, 1997 |
| First game | David Ling | January 11, 1997 |
| First game | Tomas Vokoun | February 6, 1997 |

## Draft picks

Montreal'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 |
| 1 | 18 | Matt Higgins | Centre | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 2 | 44 | Mathieu Garon | Goalie | Canada | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 71 | Arron Asham | Right Wing | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 4 | 92 | Kim Staal | Left Wing | Denmark | Malmö IF (Sweden) |
| 4 | 99 | Etienne Drapeau | Centre | Canada | Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 127 | Daniel Archambault | Defence | Canada | Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 154 | Brett Clark | Defence | Canada | University of Maine (NCAA) |
| 7 | 181 | Timo Vertala | Left Wing | Finland | JYP (Finland) |
| 8 | 207 | Mattia Baldi | Left Wing | Switzerland | Ambri-Piotta (Swiss) |
| 9 | 233 | Michel Tremblay | Left Wing | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |