1995-96 NHL season

The 1995-96 NHL season was the 79th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who swept the Florida Panthers in four games.
==League Business==
1995-96 was the first season in Denver for the Avalanche, who had relocated from Quebec City where they were previously known as the Quebec Nordiques. 
It was also the last season of existence for the Winnipeg Jets, as they announced that they would be moving from Manitoba to Arizona and become the Phoenix Coyotes at season's end. 
==Regular season==
The Detroit Red Wings had a spectacular season, finishing with the second-highest regular-season point total in NHL history (131 points), yet they fell to the Avalanche in the Western Conference final, the sixth game of which marked the beginning of the heated Detroit-Colorado rivalry.
===Final standings===
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
 Eastern Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Team	W 	L 	T 	GF 	GA 	Pts
Pittsburgh Penguins	49 	29	4 	362	284	102	
Boston Bruins 	40 	31	11	282	269	91 	
Montreal Canadiens 	40 	32	10	265	248	90 	
Hartford Whalers 	34 	39	9 	237	259	77 	
Buffalo Sabres 	33 	42	7 	247	262	73 	
Ottawa Senators 	18 	59	5 	191	291	41 	
 Western Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Team	W 	L 	T 	GF 	GA 	Pts
Detroit Red Wings 	62 	13	7 	325	181	131	
Chicago Blackhawks 	40 	28	14	273	220	94 	
Toronto Maple Leafs	34 	36	12	247	252	80 	
St. Louis Blues 	32 	34	16	219	248	80 	
Winnipeg Jets 	36 	40	6 	275	291	78 	
Dallas Stars 	26 	42	14	227	280	66 	
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	PTS
Mario Lemieux 	Pittsburgh 	70	69	92	161
Jaromir Jagr 	Pittsburgh 	82	62	87	149
Joe Sakic 	Colorado 	82	51	69	120
Ron Francis 	Pittsburgh 	77	27	92	119
Peter Forsberg 	Colorado 	82	30	86	116
Eric Lindros 	Philadelphia 	73	47	68	115
Paul Kariya 	Anaheim 	82	50	58	108
Teemu Selänne 	Winnipeg/Anaheim	79	40	68	108
Sergei Fedorov 	Detroit 	78	39	68	107
Alexander Mogilny	Vancouver 	79	55	52	107
==Stanley Cup playoffs==
===Playoff bracket===
===Conference quarterfinals===
====Eastern Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay 	Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay 	Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay 	Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 16 	Tampa Bay 3 	7 Philadelphia 	 	
April 18 	Tampa Bay 2 	1 Philadelphia 	OT 	
April 21 	Philadelphia 4 	5 Tampa Bay 	OT 	
April 23 	Philadelphia 4 	1 Tampa Bay 	 	
April 25 	Tampa Bay 1 	4 Philadelphia 	 	
April 27 	Philadelphia 6 	1 Tampa Bay 	 	
Philadelphia wins series 4–2	Philadelphia wins series 4–2	Philadelphia wins series 4–2	Philadelphia wins series 4–2	
====Western Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Detroit vs. Winnipeg 	Detroit vs. Winnipeg 	Detroit vs. Winnipeg 	Detroit vs. Winnipeg
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 17 	Winnipeg 1 	4 Detroit 	 	
April 19 	Winnipeg 0 	4 Detroit 	 	
April 21 	Detroit 1 	4 Winnipeg 	 	
April 23 	Detroit 6 	1 Winnipeg 	 	
April 26 	Winnipeg 3 	1 Detroit 	 	
April 28 	Detroit 4 	1 Winnipeg 	 	
Detroit wins series 4–2	Detroit wins series 4–2	Detroit wins series 4–2	Detroit wins series 4–2	
===Conference semifinals===
 Eastern Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Florida vs. Philadelphia 	Florida vs. Philadelphia 	Florida vs. Philadelphia 	Florida vs. Philadelphia
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 2 	Florida 2 	0 Philadelphia 	 	
May 4 	Florida 2 	3 Philadelphia 	 	
May 7 	Philadelphia 3 	1 Florida 	 	
May 9 	Philadelphia 3 	4 Florida 	OT 	
May 12 	Florida 2 	1 Philadelphia 	2OT 	
May 14 	Philadelphia 1 	4 Florida 	 	
Florida win series 4–2	Florida win series 4–2	Florida win series 4–2	Florida win series 4–2	
 Western Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	St. Louis vs. Detroit 	St. Louis vs. Detroit 	St. Louis vs. Detroit 	St. Louis vs. Detroit
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 3 	St. Louis 2 	3 Detroit 	 	
May 5 	St. Louis 3 	8 Detroit 	 	
May 8 	Detroit 4 	5 St. Louis 	OT 	
May 10 	Detroit 0 	1 St. Louis 	 	
May 12 	St. Louis 3 	2 Detroit 	 	
May 14 	Detroit 4 	2 St. Louis 	 	
May 16 	St. Louis 0 	1 Detroit 	2OT 	
Detroit wins series 4–3	Detroit wins series 4–3	Detroit wins series 4–3	Detroit wins series 4–3	
===Conference finals===
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	Florida vs. Pittsburgh 	Florida vs. Pittsburgh 	Florida vs. Pittsburgh 	Florida vs. Pittsburgh
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 18 	Florida 5 	1 Pittsburgh 	 	
May 20 	Florida 2 	3 Pittsburgh 	 	
May 24 	Pittsburgh 2 	5 Florida 	 	
May 26 	Pittsburgh 2 	1 Florida 	 	
May 28 	Florida 0 	3 Pittsburgh 	 	
May 30 	Pittsburgh 3 	4 Florida 	 	
June 1 	Florida 3 	1 Pittsburgh 	 	
Florida wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	Florida wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	Florida wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	Florida wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	
===Finals===
Colorado vs. Florida 	Colorado vs. Florida 	Colorado vs. Florida 	Colorado vs. Florida 	Colorado vs. Florida 	Colorado vs. Florida
Date 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Score 	Notes
June 4 	Florida 	1 	Colorado 	3 	
June 6 	Florida 	1 	Colorado 	8 	
June 8 	Colorado 	3 	Florida 	2 	
June 10 	Colorado 	1 	Florida 	0 	3OT
Colorado wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup	Colorado wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup	Colorado wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup	Colorado wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup	Colorado wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup	Colorado wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup
Joe Sakic (Colorado)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	Joe Sakic (Colorado)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	Joe Sakic (Colorado)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	Joe Sakic (Colorado)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	Joe Sakic (Colorado)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	Joe Sakic (Colorado)wins Conn Smythe Trophy
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts
Joe Sakic 	Colorado 	22	18	16	34
Mario Lemieux 	Pittsburgh	18	11	16	27
Jaromir Jagr 	Pittsburgh	18	11	12	23
Valeri Kamensky	Colorado 	22	10	12	22
Peter Forsberg 	Colorado 	22	10	11	21
Petr Nedved 	Pittsburgh	18	10	10	20
Steve Yzerman 	Detroit 	18	8 	12	20
Sergei Fedorov 	Detroit 	19	2 	18	20
Sandis Ozolinsh	Colorado 	22	5 	14	19
Dave Lowry 	Florida 	22	10	7 	17
Mike Ricci 	Colorado 	22	6 	11	17
Adam Deadmarsh 	Colorado 	22	5 	12	17
==NHL Awards==
Presidents' Trophy: 	Detroit Red Wings
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Florida Panthers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Colorado Avalanche
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Gary Roberts, Calgary Flames
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jack Adams Award: 	Scotty Bowman, Detroit Red Wings
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: 	Kris King, Winnipeg Jets
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy: 	Jim Carey, Washington Capitals
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Chris Osgood/Mike Vernon, Detroit Red Wings
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	George Gund, Ken Morrow, Milt Schmidt
===All-Star teams===
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Jim Carey, Washington Capitals 	G 	Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings
Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks 	D 	Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins 	D 	Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins	C 	Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers
Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins 	RW 	Alexander Mogilny, Vancouver Canucks
Paul Kariya, Anaheim Mighty Ducks 	LW 	John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1995-96 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*Kyle McLaren, Boston Bruins
*Jay McKee, Buffalo Sabres
*Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres
*Jarome Iginla*, Calgary Flames
*Stephane Yelle, Colorado Avalanche
*Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
*Miroslav Satan, Edmonton Oilers
*Ed Jovanovski, Florida Panthers
*Jeff O'Neill, Hartford Whalers
*Sami Kapanen, Hartford Whalers
*Darcy Tucker, Montreal Canadiens
*Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens
*Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens
*Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils
*Petr Sykora, New Jersey Devils
*Steve Sullivan, New Jersey Devils
*Bryan McCabe, New York Islanders
*Todd Bertuzzi, New York Islanders
*Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators
*Daymond Langkow, Tampa Bay Lightning
*Andrew Brunette, Washington Capitals
*Brendan Witt, Washington Capitals
==Last games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1995-96 (listed with their last team):
*Cam Neely, Boston Bruins
*Alexei Kasatonov, Boston Bruins
*Troy Murray, Colorado Avalanche
*Paul Cavallini, Dallas Stars
*Jimmy Carson, Hartford Whalers
*Glenn Anderson, St. Louis Blues
*Greg Gilbert, St. Louis Blues
==Hat tricks==
==See also==
* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 1995 NHL Entry Draft
* 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game
* National Hockey League All-Star Game
* NHL All-Rookie Team
==References==
*Hockey Database
*http://nhl.com/