1995–96 St. Louis Blues season

The 1995–96 St. Louis Blues season was the 39th in franchise history. The Blues moved to a new facility, the Kiel Center, and hired Mike Keenan as coach and general manager. The hard nosed Keenan rubbed many Blues players the wrong way, but brought a tough, winning style of play. One of Keenan's first moves was trading Brendan Shanahan to the Hartford Whalers for Chris Pronger. With Brett Hull in Keenan's dog house, the general manager made a bold move by acquiring Wayne Gretzky for the 1995–96 stretch run, reuniting him with former Oilers such as Glenn Anderson, Charlie Huddy, Craig MacTavish, Grant Fuhr, Igor Kravchuk, Shayne Corson and others. The 'Great One' couldn't do a whole lot during his limited time in St. Louis once goalie Grant Fuhr was hurt in the final game of the regular season. The Blues defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Western Conference Quarter-finals. It would be the last playoff series ever played at Maple Leaf Gardens. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Blues played the President's Trophy winners, the Detroit Red Wings.
==Offseason==
==Regular season==
===Wayne Gretzky trade===
On February 27, the St. Louis Blues acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Los Angeles Kings for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat and draft picks.Wayne Gretzky's hockey statistics profile at hockeydb.com In 18 regular season games with the Blues, Gretzky notched 21 points as the Blues qualified for the playoffs for the 17th straight season with a record of 32–34–16. He scored 37 points in 31 games for the team in both the regular season and the playoffs, and the Blues came within one overtime game of the Conference finals. He also served as the team's captain in his short tenure with the Blues. despite reuniting with former Edmonton Oilers teammates Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, and Craig Mactivish, who Gretzky has not played with since the 1988 Stanley Cup win, he never clicked with the team or with his new right-winger, “The Golden Brett” Hull, on the ice as well as many had expected. On July 12, he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, rejoining longtime Oilers teammate Mark Messier.
===Final standings===
===Game log===
No.	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	L	October 7, 1995 	1–4 	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 	0–1–0
2 	W	October 10, 1995 	5–3 	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 	1–1–0
3 	W	October 12, 1995 	3–1 	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 	2–1–0
4 	W	October 14, 1995 	4–1 	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 	3–1–0
5 	L	October 17, 1995 	4–7 	Boston Bruins (1995–96) 	3–2–0
6 	T	October 19, 1995 	1–1 OT	Dallas Stars (1995–96) 	3–2–1
7 	L	October 21, 1995 	1–4 	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 	3–3–1
8 	L	October 22, 1995 	2–5 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 	3–4–1
9 	W	October 25, 1995 	4–2 	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 	4–4–1
10 	W	October 27, 1995 	4–2 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 	5–4–1
11 	L	October 29, 1995 	1–3 	Washington Capitals (1995–96) 	5–5–1
12 	L	November 1, 1995 	0–3 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	5–6–1
13 	L	November 4, 1995 	3–7 	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 	5–7–1
14 	L	November 7, 1995 	0–1 	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 	5–8–1
15 	W	November 10, 1995	3–2 	Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 	6–8–1
16 	W	November 11, 1995	4–1 	@ New York Islanders (1995–96) 	7–8–1
17 	T	November 14, 1995	1–1 OT	New York Rangers (1995–96) 	7–8–2
18 	W	November 16, 1995	3–1 	San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 	8–8–2
19 	L	November 18, 1995	2–5 	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 	8–9–2
20 	L	November 21, 1995	2–5 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 	8–10–2
21 	L	November 23, 1995	2–3 	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 	8–11–2
22 	T	November 25, 1995	2–2 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 	8–11–3
23 	L	November 27, 1995	0–2 	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 	8–12–3
24 	W	November 29, 1995	5–4 	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 	9–12–3
25 	W	November 30, 1995	4–1 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 	10–12–3
26 	W	December 2, 1995 	7–3 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 	11–12–3
27 	T	December 5, 1995 	1–1 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 	11–12–4
28 	W	December 8, 1995 	6–3 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 	12–12–4
29 	W	December 9, 1995 	2–1 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 	13–12–4
30 	L	December 12, 1995	2–5 	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 	13–13–4
31 	T	December 14, 1995	3–3 OT	Calgary Flames (1995–96) 	13–13–5
32 	W	December 16, 1995	3–2 	San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 	14–13–5
33 	W	December 19, 1995	4–1 	New York Islanders (1995–96) 	15–13–5
34 	L	December 22, 1995	1–2 	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 	15–14–5
35 	L	December 23, 1995	1–2 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 	15–15–5
36 	L	December 26, 1995	2–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 	15–16–5
37 	W	December 28, 1995	4–1 	Dallas Stars (1995–96) 	16–16–5
38 	L	December 30, 1995	3–4 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 	16–17–5
39 	W	January 4, 1996 	3–1 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 	17–17–5
40 	W	January 6, 1996 	3–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 	18–17–5
41 	L	January 9, 1996 	2–4 	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 	18–18–5
42 	T	January 11, 1996 	4–4 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 	18–18–6
43 	T	January 13, 1996 	3–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 	18–18–7
44 	T	January 14, 1996 	3–3 OT	@ New York Rangers (1995–96) 	18–18–8
45 	L	January 16, 1996 	1–5 	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 	18–19–8
46 	W	January 24, 1996 	6–5 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 	19–19–8
47 	W	January 27, 1996 	2–1 	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 	20–19–8
48 	L	January 29, 1996 	2–4 	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 	20–20–8
49 	W	January 31, 1996 	4–0 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 	21–20–8
50 	T	February 1, 1996 	2–2 OT	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 	21–20–9
51 	L	February 3, 1996 	3–7 	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 	21–21–9
52 	L	February 6, 1996 	2–5 	Dallas Stars (1995–96) 	21–22–9
53 	L	February 8, 1996 	1–6 	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 	21–23–9
54 	W	February 10, 1996	6–3 	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 	22–23–9
55 	T	February 11, 1996	2–2 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 	22–23–10
56 	W	February 13, 1996	3–2 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 	23–23–10
57 	W	February 16, 1996	4–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 	24–23–10
58 	W	February 18, 1996	3–0 	Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 	25–23–10
59 	L	February 20, 1996	1–7 	Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 	25–24–10
60 	W	February 22, 1996	4–3 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 	26–24–10
61 	T	February 24, 1996	2–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 	26–24–11
62 	T	February 29, 1996	2–2 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 	26–24–12
63 	W	March 3, 1996 	4–3 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 	27–24–12
64 	W	March 5, 1996 	2–0 	Florida Panthers (1995–96) 	28–24–12
65 	L	March 7, 1996 	2–4 	Calgary Flames (1995–96) 	28–25–12
66 	W	March 9, 1996 	6–3 	Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 	29–25–12
67 	L	March 12, 1996 	2–4 	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 	29–26–12
68 	W	March 15, 1996 	4–2 	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 	30–26–12
69 	L	March 17, 1996 	1–5 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	30–27–12
70 	W	March 18, 1996 	3–1 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 	31–27–12
71 	L	March 20, 1996 	1–2 	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 	31–28–12
72 	L	March 22, 1996 	1–6 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 	31–29–12
73 	T	March 24, 1996 	2–2 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 	31–29–13
74 	L	March 26, 1996 	4–8 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 	31–30–13
75 	T	March 28, 1996 	4–4 OT	New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 	31–30–14
76 	L	March 31, 1996 	1–8 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 	31–31–14
77 	W	April 3, 1996 	6–3 	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 	32–31–14
78 	L	April 4, 1996 	1–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 	32–32–14
79 	L	April 6, 1996 	1–5 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 	32–33–14
80 	T	April 8, 1996 	2–2 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 	32–33–15
81 	L	April 11, 1996 	2–3 	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 	32–34–15
82 	T	April 14, 1996 	2–2 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 	32–34–16
==Playoffs==
In the playoffs Gretzky would provide a spark as the Blues overcame an injury to goalie Grant Fuhr in Game 1 to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in 6 games. Backup goalie Jon Casey continued to keep the Blues hopes alive as they jumped out to a 3–2 series lead against the Detroit Red Wings. However, the Wings would rally and win the series in double overtime in Game 7 on Steve Yzerman's goal.
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	70	43	40	83 	30 	4 	16 	5 	6
 	D 	82	17	44	61 	88 	5 	9 	1 	1
 	LW 	77	18	28	46 	192	3 	13 	0 	0
 	C 	66	13	28	41 	22 	5 	5 	0 	1
 	LW 	69	24	16	40 	101	-9 	7 	1 	1
 	RW 	81	13	22	35 	84 	2 	3 	1 	6
 	D 	78	7 	18	25 	110	-18	3 	1 	1
 	C 	61	11	10	21 	78 	0 	2 	0 	3
 	C 	18	8 	13	21 	2 	-6 	1 	1 	1
 	C 	57	8 	13	21 	12 	-2 	2 	0 	1
 	LW 	46	7 	13	20 	65 	-4 	3 	0 	2
 	LW 	49	8 	7 	15 	30 	-4 	1 	0 	0
 	C/LW	32	3 	12	15 	26 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	40	3 	12	15 	24 	-6 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	36	4 	7 	11 	26 	4 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	82	2 	9 	11 	190	3 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	27	6 	4 	10 	54 	4 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	26	2 	8 	10 	14 	-6 	2 	0 	0
 	RW 	33	3 	6 	9 	87 	-4 	1 	0 	1
 	LW 	28	1 	6 	7 	12 	-7 	1 	0 	1
 	RW 	14	2 	4 	6 	22 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	51	3 	2 	5 	100	-1 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	25	2 	3 	5 	48 	-8 	1 	0 	1
 	LW 	11	1 	4 	5 	18 	1 	0 	1 	0
 	RW 	15	2 	2 	4 	6 	-11	2 	0 	0
 	D 	37	1 	3 	4 	24 	-6 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	42	3 	0 	3 	108	-9 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	23	3 	0 	3 	12 	-2 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	76	0 	3 	3 	67 	-8 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	18	1 	1 	2 	40 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	17	0 	1 	1 	4 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	16	0 	1 	1 	34 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	79	0 	1 	1 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	17	0 	1 	1 	8 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	7 	0 	1 	1 	0 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	0 	1 	1 	8 	-6 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	9 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0 	0 	0 	4 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	0 	0 	0 	6 	-7 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	11	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0 	0 	0 	2 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	0 	0 	0 	23 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0 	0 	0 	4 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	4365	79	30	28	16	209	2.87	3 	2157	1948	.903
 	395 	9 	2 	3 	0 	25 	3.80	0 	180 	155 	.861
 	8 	1 	0 	0 	0 	1 	7.50	0 	5 	4 	.800
 	230 	11	0 	3 	0 	12 	3.13	0 	101 	89 	.881
Team: 	4998	82	32	34	16	247	2.97	3 	2443	2196	.899
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	13	2	14	16 	0 	2 	1 	0 	1
 	LW 	13	8	6 	14 	22 	-1 	6 	1 	1
 	RW 	13	6	5 	11 	10 	2 	2 	1 	1
 	D 	13	3	4 	7 	20 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	10	1	5 	6 	4 	0 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	13	1	5 	6 	16 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	13	4	1 	5 	10 	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	3	2 	5 	10 	4 	1 	0 	1
 	RW 	11	1	4 	5 	6 	5 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	10	3	0 	3 	2 	4 	0 	1 	0
 	LW 	13	0	3 	3 	14 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	1	1 	2 	8 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	6 	1	1 	2 	4 	1 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	10	1	1 	2 	16 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	12	0	2 	2 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	0	2 	2 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	11	0	2 	2 	8 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	13	1	0 	1 	20 	4 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	13	1	0 	1 	8 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	C/LW	2 	0	1 	1 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	0	1 	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	2 	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0	0 	0 	14 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	747	12	6	6	36	2.89	1 	378	342	.905
 	69 	2 	1	0	1 	0.87	0 	45 	44 	.978
 	1 	1 	0	0	0 	0.00	0 	0 	0 	
Team: 	817	13	7	6	37	2.72	1 	423	386	.913
Note: Pos = Position; 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; 
==Roster==
*GM: Mike Keenan
*Coach: Mike Keenan		
Center
* Dale Hawerchuk
* Adam Creighton
* Wayne Gretzky
* Peter Zezel
* Mike Hudson
* Ian Laperriere
* Roman Vopat
* Patrice Tardif
* Craig MacTavish
* Fred Knipscheer		
Right Wing
* Glenn Anderson
* Brett Hull
* Brian Noonan
* Rob Pearson
* Steve Leach
* Denis Chasse
* Paul Broten
* Alex Vasilevsky
* Kevin Sawyer		
Left Wing
* Shayne Corson
* Geoff Courtnall
* Greg Gilbert
* Stephane Matteau
* Craig Johnson
* David Roberts
* Tony Twist
* Esa Tikkanen
* Basil McRae
* Yuri Khmylev		
Defense
* Al MacInnis
* Chris Pronger
* Igor Kravchuk
* Jeff Norton
* Murray Baron
* Christen Olson
* J. J. Daigneault
* Jay Wells
* Dallas Eakins
* Donald Dufresne
* Jamie Rivers
* Ken Sutton
* Charlie Huddy		
Goalie
* Grant Fuhr
* Bruce Racine
* Jon Casey
* Pat Jablonski
==Transactions==
*July 28, 1995 - Doug Lidster was traded by the St. Louis Blues to the New York Rangers in exchange for Jay Wells.
===Draft picks===
The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. 
Round	Pick	Name 	Nationality	College/junior/club team
2 	49. 	Jochen Hecht (LW)	 	Mannheim Eagles (DEL)
==External links==
* Blues on Hockey Database
* Hickok Sports
* The National Hockey League Web Site
* Official website of the St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues season, 1995–96
St. Louis Blues season, 1995–96
Category:St. Louis Blues seasons