1995–96 Ottawa Senators season

The 1995–96 Ottawa Senators season was the fourth season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season was plenty of change for the club. The club changed coaching staffs twice, changed their general manager and moved into the new Palladium arena in Kanata. The team again finished last in the league, even though they knocked the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils out of playoff contention on the last game of the season.

1995–96 Ottawa Senators
Division6th Northeast
Conference13th Eastern
1995–96 record18–59–5
Home record8–28–5
Road record10–31–0
Goals for191
Goals against291
Team information
General managerRandy Sexton (Oct-Dec)
Pierre Gauthier (Dec-Apr)
CoachRick Bowness (Oct-Nov)
Dave Allison (Nov-Jan)
Jacques Martin (Jan-Apr)
CaptainRandy Cunneyworth
Alternate captainsSteve Duchesne
Tom Chorske
ArenaOttawa Civic Centre (Oct-Dec)
The Palladium[1] (Jan-Apr)
Average attendance13,271 per game (544,108 total)
Team leaders
GoalsDaniel Alfredsson (26)
AssistsDaniel Alfredsson (35)
PointsDaniel Alfredsson (61)
Penalty minutesDennis Vial (276)
Plus/minusPat Elyniuk (+2)
WinsDamian Rhodes (10)
Goals against averageDamian Rhodes (2.77)

Offseason
'Smitty' patch worn during the season

Prior to the season, on August 2, 1995, Brian Smith, former NHL hockey player and sportscaster at Ottawa TV station CJOH-TV was killed. He had been the primary reporter on the Senators for the station. The Senators honored him with a patch on their jerseys, with his nickname 'Smitty' and number 18, which they wore on their jerseys for the whole season. The team raised a banner in his memory.

Regular season

The Senators finished last in wins (18), points (41), goals scored (191), even-strength goals scored (132), power-play goals scored (53) and power-play percentage (12.33%). They also tied the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning for fewest short-handed goals scored (6).[2]

There were some bright spots during the season, rookie Daniel Alfredsson led the team offensively with 61 points (26 goals-35 assists), while Alexei Yashin was out of the lineup for 36 games. Alfredsson won the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year.

After getting off to a good start with a 6–5–0 record, the Senators lost their next eight games, which ended up costing head coach Rick Bowness his job, as the club replaced him with Dave Allison, who was previously the head coach of the Senators AHL affiliate, the Prince Edward Island Senators. The Dave Allison era did not last long in Ottawa, as the club won two of 25 games (2–22–1) before he was replaced by Jacques Martin. Under Martin, the Senators was more competitive, going 10–24–4 in his 38 games to finish the year with an 18–59–5, their fourth straight season at the bottom of the NHL standings.

Highlights

After taking over from the fired Randy Sexton as General Manager, on December 6, 1995, Pierre Gauthier made three moves to strengthen the club. He hired Jacques Martin as head coach, signed hold-out Alexei Yashin to a contract and engineered a blockbuster trade on January 23, 1996, dealing away Don Beaupre, Martin Straka, and Bryan Berard, while acquiring Damian Rhodes and Wade Redden. It was a three-way trade between the Senators, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the New York Islanders and was necessary because Berard, the Senators' first-round pick, was refusing to report to the Senators.

The Senators left the Ottawa Civic Centre and played their first game in The Palladium on January 17, 1996, against the Montreal Canadiens. The raising of the Senators' Stanley Cup banners failed, leaving the banners obscuring some fans' view of the scoreboard. The Senators lost 3–0 to the Canadiens.

On April 13, 1996, the Senators played the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils, who must win to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators played the role of spoiler, defeating New Jersey 5–2, officially eliminating the Devils from post-season play and giving the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that entered the league the same year as the Senators, its first playoff berth.

Final standings
Northeast Division
No. GP W L T GF GA PTS
1Pittsburgh Penguins8249294362284102
2Boston Bruins8240311128226991
3Montreal Canadiens8240321026524890
4Hartford Whalers823439923725977
5Buffalo Sabres823342724726272
6Ottawa Senators821859519129141
Eastern Conference[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1Philadelphia FlyersATL82452413282208103
2Pittsburgh PenguinsNE8249294362284102
3New York RangersATL8241271427223796
4Florida PanthersATL8241311025423492
5Boston BruinsNE8240311128226991
6Montreal CanadiensNE8240321026524890
7Washington CapitalsATL8239321123420489
8Tampa Bay LightningATL8238321223824888
9New Jersey DevilsATL8237331221520286
10Hartford WhalersNE823439923725977
11Buffalo SabresNE823342724726273
12New York IslandersATL8222501022931554
13Ottawa SenatorsNE821859519129141

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results
Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1LOctober 7, 19951–3Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)0–1–09,567
2LOctober 13, 19952–6@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)0–2–010,895
3WOctober 15, 19957–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)1–2–013,488
4WOctober 19, 19954–2Calgary Flames (1995–96)2–2–08,424
5LOctober 21, 19951–4@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)2–3–017,620
6WOctober 22, 19954–2@ New York Rangers (1995–96)3–3–018,200
7WOctober 24, 19952–1@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)4–3–019,512
8WOctober 26, 19955–4Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)5–3–010,575
9LOctober 28, 19951–4Florida Panthers (1995–96)5–4–08,660
10LOctober 29, 19952–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)5–5–017,328
11WNovember 2, 19955–0@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)6–5–010,458
12LNovember 4, 19954–5Hartford Whalers (1995–96)6–6–08,794
13LNovember 8, 19951–7Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)6–7–010,137
14LNovember 9, 19953–4@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)6–8–017,261
15LNovember 11, 19952–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)6–9–08,988
16LNovember 15, 19952–3@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)6–10–07,641
17LNovember 16, 19953–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)6–11–017,220
18LNovember 18, 19951–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)6–12–017,302
19LNovember 19, 19950–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)6–13–010,697
20LNovember 22, 19951–3Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)6–14–08,426
21TNovember 25, 19953–3 OTBoston Bruins (1995–96)6–14–19,419
22LNovember 28, 19952–7@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)6–15–116,162
23LNovember 30, 19953–5New York Islanders (1995–96)6–16–18,167
24LDecember 2, 19952–4New York Rangers (1995–96)6–17–18,194
25LDecember 5, 19951–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)6–18–115,746
26WDecember 7, 19955–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)7–18–117,552
27LDecember 9, 19953–7Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)7–19–19,169
28LDecember 12, 19951–2@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)7–20–117,190
29LDecember 13, 19952–6@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)7–21–111,221
30LDecember 15, 19952–4@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)7–22–117,174
31LDecember 17, 19951–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)7–23–116,006
32LDecember 18, 19951–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)7–24–18,419
33LDecember 23, 19952–4Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)7–25–18,615
34LDecember 26, 19954–6@ New York Rangers (1995–96)7–26–118,200
35WDecember 27, 19954–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)8–26–112,175
36LDecember 30, 19951–4Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)8–27–110,575
37LDecember 31, 19950–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)8–28–18,522
38LJanuary 3, 19961–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)8–29–115,632
39LJanuary 5, 19962–4@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)8–30–112,239
40LJanuary 6, 19964–5@ New York Islanders (1995–96)8–31–112,175
41LJanuary 11, 19961–6@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)8–32–111,511
42LJanuary 13, 19961–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)8–33–121,829
43LJanuary 17, 19960–3Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)8–34–118,500
44LJanuary 22, 19963–7Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)8–35–113,872
45LJanuary 24, 19963–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)8–36–117,149
46LJanuary 25, 19962–4Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)8–37–116,882
47TJanuary 27, 19962–2 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)8–37–218,500
48WJanuary 29, 19964–2St. Louis Blues (1995–96)9–37–213,125
49LJanuary 31, 19961–3Boston Bruins (1995–96)9–38–215,795
50LFebruary 1, 19962–4Washington Capitals (1995–96)9–39–212,322
51LFebruary 3, 19962–3 OTNew Jersey Devils (1995–96)9–40–218,280
52LFebruary 6, 19961–3@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)9–41–216,442
53LFebruary 8, 19962–6@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)9–42–28,673
54WFebruary 10, 19965–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)10–42–217,535
55WFebruary 12, 19964–1@ New York Islanders (1995–96)11–42–27,567
56TFebruary 15, 19962–2 OTSan Jose Sharks (1995–96)11–42–313,556
57LFebruary 17, 19961–2 OTNew York Rangers (1995–96)11–43–318,500
58WFebruary 20, 19967–1@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)12–43–319,736
59LFebruary 22, 19962–3@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)12–44–314,818
60LFebruary 25, 19962–4@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)12–45–316,061
61LFebruary 28, 19962–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (1995–96)12–46–313,419
62LMarch 1, 19962–3Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)12–47–318,500
63LMarch 2, 19961–4New Jersey Devils (1995–96)12–48–315,510
64LMarch 7, 19961–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)12–49–313,377
65LMarch 9, 19962–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)12–50–317,959
66WMarch 13, 19964–1Dallas Stars (1995–96)13–50–313,226
67WMarch 15, 19962–0Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)14–50–317,850
68WMarch 17, 19965–0Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)15–50–315,102
69LMarch 19, 19962–5@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)15–51–312,255
70LMarch 21, 19961–3@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)15–52–317,565
71TMarch 22, 19961–1 OTHartford Whalers (1995–96)15–52–413,596
72LMarch 24, 19962–3Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)15–53–413,188
73LMarch 27, 19962–4Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)15–54–415,183
74LMarch 29, 19960–5@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)15–55–418,130
75LMarch 30, 19961–3Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)15–56–418,500
76TApril 1, 19961–1 OTBoston Bruins (1995–96)15–56–513,335
77WApril 3, 19963–2Florida Panthers (1995–96)16–56–513,074
78WApril 5, 19964–2New York Islanders (1995–96)17–56–516,541
79LApril 6, 19963–4Washington Capitals (1995–96)17–57–515,101
80LApril 10, 19962–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)17–58–515,111
81LApril 11, 19963–5Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)17–59–518,500
82WApril 13, 19965–2@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)18–59–519,040

[4]

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Daniel AlfredssonRW8226356128-18823
Alexei YashinC4615243928-15801
Randy CunneyworthLW81171936130-31402
Steve DuchesneD6212243642-23702
Radek BonkC7616193536-5501
Tom ChorskeLW7215142921-9021
Martin StrakaC439162529-14501
Dan QuinnC286182424-8400
Sean HillD807142194-26202
Jaroslav ModryD644141838-17101
Pavol DemitraLW31710176-3201
Alexandre DaigleC505121724-30100
Ted DruryC42971654-19101
Antti TormanenRW50781528-15000
Kerry HuffmanD434111563-18300
Trent McClearyRW754101468-15010
Rob GaudreauRW52851315-19110
Stan NeckarD82391254-16100
Dave ArchibaldC/LW44641018-14001
Michel PicardLW1726810-1001
Lance PitlickD2816720-8000
Troy MalletteLW64235171-7000
Dennis VialD/LW64145276-13000
Frantisek MusilD6513485-10000
Pat ElynuikRW29123162000
Phil BourqueLW1311214-3000
Chris DahlquistD2411214-7000
Jean-Yves RoyRW411223000
Don BeaupreG33022170000
Janne LaukkanenD20022140000
Scott LevinsC/RW2702280-3000
Damian RhodesG3602240000
Dave McLlwainC/RW101120000
Mike BalesG2000020000
Joe CirellaD60004-3000
Daniel LaperriereD600042000
Patrick TraverseD50002-1000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Damian Rhodes21233610224982.7721041943.906
Don Beaupre17703362301103.731892782.877
Mike Bales1040202141724.150560488.871
Team:493382185952803.41324932213.888

[5]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades
April 7, 1995 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Norm Maciver
Troy Murray		 To Ottawa Senators
Martin Straka
April 7, 1995 To Boston Bruins
Craig Billington		 To Ottawa Senators
future considerations (Bruins' eighth-round pick in 1995 Draft (Ray Schultz))
April 7, 1995 To Quebec Nordiques
Bill Huard		 To Ottawa Senators
Mika Stromberg
(Nordiques' fourth-round pick in 1995 Draft (Kevin Boyd))
April 7, 1995 To St. Louis Blues
Ottawa's ninth-round pick 1995 Entry Draft (Libor Zabransky)		 To Ottawa Senators
Daniel Laperriere
St. Louis's ninth-round pick 1995 Entry Draft (Erik Kaminski)
July 8, 1995 To New Jersey Devils
Ottawa's fourth-round pick 1995 Entry Draft (Alyn McCauley)		 To Ottawa Senators
Jaroslav Modry
August 4, 1995 To St. Louis Blues
Ottawa's second-round pick 1995 Entry Draft (later traded by St. Louis)		 To Ottawa Senators
Steve Duchesne
September 20, 1995 To Colorado Avalanche
Jean-Francois Labbe		 To Ottawa Senators
future considerations
October 5, 1995 To New York Rangers
Steve Larouche		 To Ottawa Senators
Jean-Yves Roy)
October 5, 1995 To New Jersey Devils
Ottawa's third-round pick 1997 Entry Draft (Alyn McCauley)		 To Ottawa Senators
Tom Chorske
October 7, 1995 To Calgary Flames
Ottawa's fourth-round pick 1997 Entry Draft (Chris St. Croix)		 To Ottawa Senators
Frank Musil
January 23, 1996 To Philadelphia Flyers
Dan Quinn		 To Ottawa Senators
future considerations
January 23, 1996 To New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs
To NYI: Martin Straka, Bryan Berard

Toronto : Don Beaupre

 To Ottawa Senators
Damian Rhodes (from Toronto)
Wade Redden (from NYI)
January 26, 1996 To Colorado Avalanche
Brad Larsen		 To Ottawa Senators
Janne Laukkanen
March 1, 1996 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Dave McLlwain		 To Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh's eighth-round pick 1996 Entry Draft (Erich Goldmann)
March 19, 1996 To Philadelphia Flyers
Kerry Huffman		 To Ottawa Senators
future considerations
March 20, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Jaroslav Modry
Ottawa's eighth-round pick 1996 Entry Draft (Stephen Valiquette)		 To Ottawa Senators
Kevin Brown

Waivers
October 2, 1995 From Carolina Hurricanes
Ted Drury
October 2, 1995 From Los Angeles Kings
Justin Hocking

Source: Ottawa Senators 2008–09 Media Guide. Ottawa Senators. 2008. pp. 187–188.

Free agents
PlayerFormer team
Dan QuinnLos Angeles Kings
Eric LavigneLos Angeles Kings
Joe CirellaFlorida Panthers
PlayerNew team
Corey FosterPittsburgh Penguins

Roster
1995-96 Ottawa Senators
Goaltenders

Defencemen

Wingers

Centres

Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft in Edmonton, Alberta.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
11Bryan Berard United StatesDetroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL)
227Marc Moro CanadaKingston Frontenacs (OHL)
353Brad Larsen CanadaSwift Current Broncos (WHL)
489Kevin Bolibruck CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHL)
4103Kevin Boyd CanadaLondon Knights (OHL)
6131David Hruska Czech RepublicBanik Sokolov (Czech.)
8183Kaj Linna FinlandBoston University (NCAA)
8184Ray Schultz CanadaTri-City Americans (WHL)
9231Erik Kaminski United StatesNortheastern University (Boston) (NCAA)

Farm teams

See also

References
  • Garrioch, Bruce (1998). "Ottawa Senators 1992–93 to Date". Total Hockey. NHL.
  • Ottawa Senators staff (2007). Ottawa Senators Media Guide 2007. Ottawa Senators.
  • "The Internet Hockey Database". Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  • NHL staff (2006). National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007. NHL.

Notes
  1. Renamed during season to Corel Centre.
  2. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1996.html
  3. "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. "1995–96 Ottawa Senators Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  5. "1995-96 Ottawa Senators Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
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