1995–96 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1995–96 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 87th season. Two notable events happened during the season. The Canadiens moved from their long-time home Montreal Forum to the new Molson Centre. The other was the trade of star goaltender Patrick Roy. The club qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the New York Rangers.
==Offseason==
==Regular season==
*At the beginning of the season, Mike Keane was named as the 23rd captain of the Montreal Canadiens. Keane was subject to media scrutiny after speaking to Mathias Brunet of La Presse (a French language newspaper). Keane declared that he had no intention of learning French. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.341, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
*October 17, 1995: Canadiens president Ronald Corey fired General Manager Serge Savard, and his assistants Andre Boudrias and Carol Vadnais. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.342, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2 Head coach Jacques Demers was also relieved of his duties, while assistant coach Charles Thiffault was re-assigned. 
*October 21, 1995: Ronald Corey hired Rejean Houle to become the new General Manager of the Canadiens. Mario Tremblay was hired as the new head coach, and Yvan Cournoyer was hired as an assistant coach. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, pp.343-4 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2 Tremblay had been Roy’s roommate during his rookie season.Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.339 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
*In his first 15 starts with Tremblay as head coach, Patrick Roy had 12 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. Ironically, the one tie would come against the Colorado Avalanche. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.347, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2 Despite the start, incidents occurred with Tremblay in Edmonton. Tremblay spotted Roy in the hotel bar, and Tremblay told Roy that he wanted him to leave the hotel bar. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.348, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2 A conflict ensued in Montreal when Tremblay told Roy that he was not allowed to visit the trainer’s room and speak to fellow teammates unless he was injured. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.347, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
*November 28, 1995: The Canadiens were playing the Detroit Red Wings on the road. The day before the match, Mario Tremblay spoke to Mario Leclerc of Le Journal de Montreal newspaper. 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 would always threaten to send him to the minors. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.350 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2 When Leclerc approached Cournoyer, he stated that he did not want to speak about Bowman.Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.351 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2 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.Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.351 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
*February 5, 1996: Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2 Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4-2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Canadiens head coach Mario Tremblay. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.383 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
===Tremblay Incident===
* On December 2, 1995 Montreal's head coach Mario Tremblay elected to keep Roy in the goal until he let in 9 goals on 26 shots during an 11–1 loss to the 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, then a Canadiens broadcaster, would 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 a coach and his 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.
* When Roy was replaced midway through the second period, as he was storming off the ice, Roy could be seen on-camera telling Habs team President Ronald Corey that this was the last game he would ever play for Montreal, later elaborating by saying that he would not play for Montreal as long as Tremblay was coach. 
===The Roy Trade===
* On December 6, four days after the incident, he was traded to Colorado along with Montreal captain Mike Keane in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky, and Andrei Kovalenko, which is known in Montreal as "Le Trade." Roy's relationship with the Canadiens remained strained until 2008, when it was announced that Roy's #33 jersey would be retired. The trade would benefit Colorado as Roy would help the Avalanche qualify for the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. The Avalanche would sweep the Panthers 4–0.
===Final Game at the Forum===
* On March 11, 1996, the Montreal Canadiens played their last game at the Montreal Forum, beating 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===
===Game log===
# 	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	L	Oct 7, 1995 	1–7 	Philadelphia Flyers 	0–1–0
2 	L	Oct 11, 1995	1–6 	@ Florida Panthers 	0–2–0
3 	L	Oct 12, 1995	1–3 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning 	0–3–0
4 	L	Oct 14, 1995	1–4 	New Jersey Devils 	0–4–0
5 	L	Oct 20, 1995	0–2 	@ New York Islanders 	0–5–0
6 	W	Oct 21, 1995	4–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	1–5–0
7 	W	Oct 23, 1995	6–3 	Los Angeles Kings 	2–5–0
8 	W	Oct 25, 1995	7–2 	Florida Panthers 	3–5–0
9 	W	Oct 27, 1995	4–1 	@ Hartford Whalers 	4–5–0
10	W	Oct 28, 1995	5–3 	Chicago Blackhawks 	5–5–0
11	W	Oct 31, 1995	3–1 	@ Boston Bruins 	6–5–0
12	L	Nov 1, 1995 	2–5 	@ Washington Capitals 	6–6–0
13	W	Nov 4, 1995 	4–1 	Boston Bruins 	7–6–0
14	L	Nov 8, 1995 	2–3 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 	7–7–0
15	W	Nov 11, 1995	4–0 	@ Calgary Flames 	8–7–0
16	W	Nov 12, 1995	4–2 	@ Vancouver Canucks 	9–7–0
17	W	Nov 15, 1995	4–1 	@ Edmonton Oilers 	10–7–0
18	W	Nov 18, 1995	5–1 	Ottawa Senators 	11–7–0
19	W	Nov 20, 1995	4–3 OT	Hartford Whalers 	12–7–0
20	L	Nov 22, 1995	2–4 	@ Hartford Whalers 	12–8–0
21	T	Nov 25, 1995	2–2 OT	Colorado Avalanche 	12–8–1
22	L	Nov 28, 1995	2–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings 	12–9–1
23	L	Nov 29, 1995	4–5 	@ St. Louis Blues 	12–10–1
24	L	Dec 2, 1995 	1–11 	Detroit Red Wings 	12–11–1
25	W	Dec 6, 1995 	4–2 	New Jersey Devils 	13–11–1
26	L	Dec 7, 1995 	5–7 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	13–12–1
27	T	Dec 9, 1995 	2–2 OT	New York Rangers 	13–12–2
28	W	Dec 12, 1995	6–5 	@ Winnipeg Jets 	14–12–2
29	W	Dec 15, 1995	4–1 	@ Chicago Blackhawks 	15–12–2
30	L	Dec 16, 1995	2–4 	Philadelphia Flyers 	15–13–2
31	W	Dec 18, 1995	3–2 	Hartford Whalers 	16–13–2
32	L	Dec 20, 1995	1–2 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	16–14–2
33	W	Dec 22, 1995	4–2 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	17–14–2
34	W	Dec 23, 1995	1–0 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	18–14–2
35	L	Dec 26, 1995	0–4 	@ Washington Capitals 	18–15–2
36	L	Dec 28, 1995	1–3 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning 	18–16–2
37	W	Dec 30, 1995	4–1 	@ Ottawa Senators 	19–16–2
38	L	Jan 3, 1996 	4–7 	@ New York Rangers 	19–17–2
39	T	Jan 4, 1996 	2–2 OT	@ New York Islanders 	19–17–3
40	L	Jan 6, 1996 	6–7 	Buffalo Sabres 	19–18–3
41	T	Jan 8, 1996 	3–3 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning 	19–18–4
42	T	Jan 10, 1996	2–2 OT	Vancouver Canucks 	19–18–5
43	W	Jan 12, 1996	6–5 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	20–18–5
44	T	Jan 13, 1996	3–3 OT	St. Louis Blues 	20–18–6
45	W	Jan 17, 1996	3–0 	@ Ottawa Senators 	21–18–6
46	L	Jan 22, 1996	1–4 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	21–19–6
47	W	Jan 25, 1996	6–2 	@ Florida Panthers 	22–19–6
48	W	Jan 27, 1996	4–1 	Winnipeg Jets 	23–19–6
49	W	Jan 28, 1996	5–4 	Boston Bruins 	24–19–6
50	W	Jan 31, 1996	5–3 	Washington Capitals 	25–19–6
51	L	Feb 1, 1996 	2–3 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	25–20–6
52	W	Feb 3, 1996 	4–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs 	26–20–6
53	L	Feb 5, 1996 	2–4 	@ Colorado Avalanche 	26–21–6
54	W	Feb 7, 1996 	4–2 	@ Dallas Stars 	27–21–6
55	L	Feb 10, 1996	3–5 	Ottawa Senators 	27–22–6
56	W	Feb 12, 1996	3–0 	San Jose Sharks 	28–22–6
57	T	Feb 15, 1996	2–2 OT	@ New York Rangers 	28–22–7
58	W	Feb 17, 1996	5–1 	Calgary Flames 	29–22–7
59	L	Feb 21, 1996	3–5 	@ Hartford Whalers 	29–23–7
60	L	Feb 23, 1996	5–6 	@ New Jersey Devils 	29–24–7
61	W	Feb 24, 1996	7–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	30–24–7
62	L	Feb 26, 1996	4–7 	@ San Jose Sharks 	30–25–7
63	L	Feb 28, 1996	2–5 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	30–26–7
64	L	Mar 2, 1996 	4–5 	@ Los Angeles Kings 	30–27–7
65	W	Mar 9, 1996 	3–2 	Ottawa Senators 	31–27–7
66	W	Mar 11, 1996	4–1 	Dallas Stars 	32–27–7
67	T	Mar 13, 1996	1–1 OT	@ New Jersey Devils 	32–27–8
68	W	Mar 16, 1996	4–2 	New York Rangers 	33–27–8
69	W	Mar 18, 1996	3–2 	Buffalo Sabres 	34–27–8
70	W	Mar 20, 1996	3–2 	Hartford Whalers 	35–27–8
71	W	Mar 22, 1996	4–1 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	36–27–8
72	L	Mar 23, 1996	5–6 	Edmonton Oilers 	36–28–8
73	W	Mar 25, 1996	4–1 	New York Islanders 	37–28–8
74	L	Mar 27, 1996	0–1 OT	Washington Capitals 	37–29–8
75	W	Mar 28, 1996	4–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins 	38–29–8
76	W	Mar 30, 1996	3–1 	@ Ottawa Senators 	39–29–8
77	L	Apr 1, 1996 	4–6 	Buffalo Sabres 	39–30–8
78	L	Apr 3, 1996 	1–4 	Boston Bruins 	39–31–8
79	T	Apr 4, 1996 	3–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins 	39–31–9
80	W	Apr 6, 1996 	2–1 	Florida Panthers 	40–31–9
81	L	Apr 11, 1996	2–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	40–32–9
82	T	Apr 13, 1996	5–5 OT	New York Islanders 	40–32–10
==Playoffs==
NY Rangers vs. Montreal 	NY Rangers vs. Montreal 	NY Rangers vs. Montreal 	NY Rangers vs. Montreal
Date 	Away 	Home 	
April 16 	Montreal 3 	2 NY Rangers 	OT
April 18 	Montreal 5 	3 NY Rangers 	
April 21 	NY Rangers 2 	1 Montreal 	
April 23 	NY Rangers 4 	3 Montreal 	
April 26 	Montreal 2 	3 NY Rangers 	
April 28 	NY Rangers 5 	3 Montreal 	
NY Rangers wins series 4–2	NY Rangers wins series 4–2	NY Rangers wins series 4–2	NY Rangers wins series 4–2
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	80	38	58	96 	44 	19 	17 	1 	6
 	C 	80	38	56	94 	158	5 	11 	4 	3
 	RW 	82	28	50	78 	69 	20 	11 	2 	6
 	LW 	56	25	35	60 	54 	8 	9 	2 	3
 	C 	82	20	25	45 	40 	-7 	8 	3 	2
 	RW 	77	22	20	42 	28 	10 	5 	0 	1
 	D 	69	9 	27	36 	65 	10 	3 	0 	1
 	RW 	51	17	17	34 	33 	9 	3 	0 	3
 	LW 	75	25	8 	33 	28 	-8 	4 	0 	4
 	D 	61	5 	23	28 	79 	7 	2 	0 	0
 	RW 	80	9 	16	25 	167	-2 	0 	0 	2
 	D 	79	3 	14	17 	230	8 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	68	2 	14	16 	117	-4 	0 	1 	1
 	LW 	26	7 	8 	15 	17 	-4 	3 	1 	4
 	D 	76	2 	12	14 	69 	21 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	36	4 	7 	11 	23 	-9 	0 	0 	2
 	C 	65	3 	7 	10 	46 	-3 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	48	3 	4 	7 	163	5 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	18	0 	7 	7 	6 	-6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	24	1 	5 	6 	10 	-10	1 	0 	0
 	D 	19	1 	4 	5 	54 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	67	0 	4 	4 	223	-10	0 	0 	0
 	D 	24	0 	4 	4 	8 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	25	0 	3 	3 	26 	-7 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	15	2 	0 	2 	4 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	42	0 	2 	2 	18 	-7 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	10	1 	0 	1 	2 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	7 	0 	1 	1 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0 	1 	1 	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	23	0 	1 	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	7 	0 	0 	0 	2 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0 	0 	0 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	2 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	22	0 	0 	0 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	14	0 	0 	0 	4 	-7 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	40	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	2334	40	23	13	3 	110	2.83	3 	1258	1148	.913
 	1260	22	12	9 	1 	62 	2.95	1 	667 	605 	.907
 	1264	23	5 	9 	6 	62 	2.94	0 	676 	614 	.908
 	98 	2 	0 	1 	0 	7 	4.29	0 	47 	40 	.851
 	9 	1 	0 	0 	0 	1 	6.67	0 	2 	1 	.500
Team: 	4965	82	40	32	10	242	2.92	4 	2650	2408	.909
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	6 	4	4	8 	0 	0 	1 	2
 	RW 	6 	3	3	6 	0 	3 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	2	4	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	3	1	4 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	1	2	3 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	1	2	3 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	1	1	2 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	1	1	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	1	1	2 	6 	0 	1 	0
 	LW 	3 	0	2	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0	2	2 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	6 	0	1	1 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0	1	1 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	6 	0	1	1 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	6 	0	0	0 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	4 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	6 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	311	6 	2	4	18	3.47	0 	188	170	.904
 	49 	1 	0	0	1 	1.22	0 	17 	16 	.941
Team: 	360	6 	2	4	19	3.17	0 	205	186	.907
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; 
==Awards and records==
==Transactions==
==Roster==
==Draft picks==
Round	Pick	Player 	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1. 	8. 	Terry Ryan (LW)	 	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
==Farm teams==
==See also==
* 1995–96 NHL season
==References==
*Canadiens on Hockey Database
*Canadiens on NHL Reference
</div>
Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons
Montreal Canadiens season, 1995–96
Montreal Canadiens season, 1995–96