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.
1996–97 Montreal Canadiens | |
---|---|
Division | 4th Northeast |
Conference | 8th Eastern |
1996–97 record | 31–36–15 |
Home record | 17–17–7 |
Road record | 14–19–8 |
Goals for | 249 |
Goals against | 276 |
Team information | |
General manager | Rejean Houle |
Coach | Mario Tremblay |
Captain | Pierre Turgeon (Oct.) Vincent Damphousse (Oct.–Apr.) |
Arena | Molson Centre |
Average attendance | 21,001 |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Fredericton Canadiens Wheeling Nailers |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Mark Recchi (34) |
Assists | Vincent Damphousse (54) |
Points | Vincent Damphousse (81) |
Penalty minutes | Scott Thornton (128) |
Plus/minus | Peter Popovic (+9) |
Wins | Jocelyn Thibault (22) |
Goals against average | Jocelyn Thibault (2.90) |
Offseason
editThis section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
Regular season
editOn Wednesday, October 16, 1996, the Canadiens scored three short-handed goals in a 4–2 win over the Calgary Flames.[1]
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%).[2]
Final standings
editNo. | 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 |
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
editIn 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.[4]
Schedule and results
editRegular season
edit1996–97 regular season[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 4–5–2 (home: 4–1–2; road: 0–4–0)
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November: 6–7–2 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–5–2)
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December: 3–6–3 (home: 1–5–0; road: 2–1–3)
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January: 6–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–1)
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February: 4–5–3 (home: 2–3–2; road: 2–2–1)
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March: 5–4–3 (home: 2–2–2; road: 3–2–1)
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April: 3–2–1 (home: 1–1–1; road: 2–1–0)
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Legend:
Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
Playoffs
edit1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) New Jersey Devils – Devils win 4–1
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Legend:
Win Loss |
Player statistics
editScoring
edit- 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 | Playoffs | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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[a] | 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[b] | 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
edit- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
No. | Player | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||
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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
editAwards
editType | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (in-season) |
NHL All-Star Game selection | Mark Recchi | [6] |
Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Stephane Quintal | [7] |
Molson Cup | Mark Recchi | [8] |
Milestones
editMilestone | Player | Date | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
First game | Terry Ryan | October 26, 1996 | [9] |
Eric Houde | December 29, 1996 | ||
Brad Brown | January 11, 1997 | ||
David Ling | |||
Tomas Vokoun | February 6, 1997 |
Transactions
editThis section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
Draft picks
editMontreal's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[10]
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) |
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- "Montreal Canadiens 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- "1996-97 Montreal Canadiens Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "Calgary Flames at Montreal Canadiens Box Score — October 16, 1996".
- ^ "1996-97 NHL Summary".
- ^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
- ^ "Martin Brodeur - Facts". MartinBrodeur.net. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2006.
- ^ a b "1996-97 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- ^ Montreal Canadiens 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.553
- ^ Montreal Canadiens 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.552
- ^ "1996-97 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.