1996–97 Edmonton Oilers season

The 1996–97 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 18th season in the NHL.They were coming off a 30–44–8 record earning 68 points in the 1995–96 season, which led them to failing to qualify for the post-season for the 4th time in a row.

1996–97 Edmonton Oilers
Division3rd Pacific
Conference7th Western
1996–97 record36–37–9
Home record21–16–4
Road record15–21–5
Goals for252
Goals against247
Team information
General managerGlen Sather
CoachRon Low
CaptainKelly Buchberger
Alternate captainsLuke Richardson
Doug Weight
ArenaEdmonton Coliseum
Average attendance16,043 (93.8%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsRyan Smyth (39)
AssistsDoug Weight (61)
PointsDoug Weight (82)
Penalty minutesKelly Buchberger (159)
Plus/minusBryan Marchment (+13)
WinsCurtis Joseph (32)
Goals against averageBob Essensa (2.83)

The Oilers had their best season since 1991–92 as they won 36 games and earn 81 points, finishing third place in the Pacific Division and seventh in the Western Conference, earning their first playoff berth in five years. The main reason for the Oilers' turn-around was their solid goaltending and defensive hockey only allowing 247 goals, 57 fewer than the previous season.

Regular season

On November 26, 1996, the Oilers defeated their provincial rival Calgary Flames on the road by a score of 10-1.[1] Ten different Oilers scored in the game. It was the first time that the Oilers had scored 10 goals in a regular-season game since December 4, 1988, when they defeated the New York Rangers at home by a score of 10-6.[2]

Offensively, Doug Weight led the club once again this season in points, earning 82, and achieved a club high 61 assists. Ryan Smyth had a breakout season, scoring a team high 39 goals and led the team in power-play goals with 20. Andrei Kovalenko, acquired in the off-season, scored 32 goals and 59 points while Jason Arnott earned 57 points in 67 games. Rookie Mike Grier had 32 points in 79 games and Mariusz Czerkawski finished third on the team in goals with 26. Boris Mironov anchored the defense, earning 32 points in only 55 games. Todd Marchant led the team in shorthanded goals with 4. Team captain Kelly Buchberger provided the team toughness, earning a club high 159 penalty minutes.

In goal, Curtis Joseph got the majority of playing time, winning 32 games while posting a 2.93 GAA and a .907 save percentage. He set a team record with 6 shutouts. Bob Essensa, despite a strong GAA of 2.83, won only 4 games.

The Oilers had the most power-play opportunities during the regular season with 406 opportunities in total.[3]

Season standings

Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11Colorado Avalanche8249249277205107
24Mighty Ducks of Anaheim8236331324323185
37Edmonton Oilers823637925224781
49Vancouver Canucks823540725727377
510Calgary Flames823241921423973
612Los Angeles Kings8228431121426867
713San Jose Sharks822747821127862

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Colorado AvalanchePAC8249249277205107
2Dallas StarsCEN8248268252198104
3Detroit Red WingsCEN8238261825319794
4Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPAC8236331324523385
5Phoenix CoyotesCEN823837724024383
6St. Louis BluesCEN8236351123623983
7Edmonton OilersPAC823637925224781
8Chicago BlackhawksCEN8234351322321081
9Vancouver CanucksPAC823540725727377
10Calgary FlamesPAC823241921423973
11Toronto Maple LeafsCEN823044823027368
12Los Angeles KingsPAC8228431121426867
13San Jose SharksPAC822747821127862

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

1996–97 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

The Oilers faced the Central Division winning Dallas Stars in the opening round of the playoffs. After splitting the first 2 games in Dallas, the Oilers returned home for game 3 for their first home playoff game since 1992 and found themselves losing 3–0 with about 4 minutes left in the 3rd period. Edmonton then struck for 3 goals to tie the game, and Kelly Buchberger provided the overtime heroics, as the Oilers won the game 4–3 and take a 2–1 series lead. Dallas tied the series up again in game 4, however, the Oilers shocked the Stars, winning 1–0 in double overtime in the 5th game in Dallas, and returning to Edmonton in a position to clinch the series. The Stars spoiled the Oilers' party, winning the 6th game 3–2, setting up a game 7 at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The game was a memorable one, as the score was tied up at 3 as the teams headed into overtime. Todd Marchant turned out to be the hero, scoring for the Oilers in the 1st overtime, as Edmonton completed the upset, defeating the Stars in 7 games.

In the 2nd round, Edmonton faced the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, who won the Pacific Division and had 26 more points than the Oilers during the season. The Avalanche won the opening 2 games easily in Denver, and while the Oilers rebounded to win the 3rd game, the Avs proved to be too much for Edmonton to handle, as they won the series in 5 games, ending the Oilers' season.

1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Doug Weight8021618280
Ryan Smyth8239226176
Andrei Kovalenko7432275981
Jason Arnott6719385792
Mariusz Czerkawski7626214716

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOSave %GAA
Bob Essensa19868480411.8992.83
Curtis Joseph724200322992006.9072.93

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Doug Weight1238118
Ryan Smyth12551012
Boris Mironov12281016
Jason Arnott1236918
Kelly Buchberger1252716

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLGASOSave %GAA
Curtis Joseph1276757361.9112.82

Awards and records

Records

  • 3: Tied NHL record for most short-handed goals in a playoffs by Todd Marchant on ???, 1997.

Milestones

Regular Season
PlayerMilestoneReached
Mike Grier1st NHL GameOctober 4, 1996
Dan McGillis1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Rem Murray1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Kelly Buchberger1,400th NHL PIMOctober 8, 1996
Rem Murray1st NHL Assist
Ryan Smyth1st NHL Hat-trick
Luke Richardson1,100th NHL PIMOctober 11, 1996
Louie DeBrusk200th NHL GameOctober 20, 1996
Mike Grier1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Doug Weight300th NHL Point
Rem Murray1st NHL Hat-trickOctober 24, 1996
Mike Grier1st NHL GoalOctober 26, 1996
Doug Weight300th NHL PIMNovember 1, 1996
Mats Lindgren1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
November 3, 1996
Andrei Kovalenko100th NHL AssistNovember 6, 1996
Mats Lindgren1st NHL Assist
Jason Arnott200th NHL GameNovember 7, 1996
Mariusz Czerkawski1st NHL Hat-trick
1st NHL Natural hat-trick
Jason Arnott100th NHL AssistNovember 9, 1996
Bryan Marchment1,200th NHL PIM
Curtis Joseph20th NHL AssistNovember 13, 1996
Boris Mironov200th NHL Game
Kelly Buchberger600th NHL GameNovember 17, 1996
Andrei Kovalenko200th NHL PointNovember 23, 1996
Dan McGillis1st NHL GoalNovember 26, 1996
Bob Essensa300th NHL GameNovember 27, 1996
Kevin Lowe1,200th NHL GameDecember 1, 1996
Michel Petit1,700th NHL PIMDecember 4, 1996
Andrei Kovalenko200th NHL PIMDecember 12, 1996
Andrei Kovalenko100th NHL GoalDecember 18, 1996
Boris Mironov300th NHL PIMDecember 23, 1996
Andrei Kovalenko300th NHL GameDecember 30, 1996
Miroslav Satan100th NHL GameJanuary 7, 1997
Jason Arnott200th NHL PointJanuary 15, 1997
Curtis Joseph10th NHL Shutout
Ryan Smyth100th NHL GameJanuary 24, 1997
Jeff Norton500th NHL Game
Mariusz Czerkawski100th NHL PointFebruary 9, 1997
Jeff Norton400th NHL PIM
Doug Weight400th NHL Game
Bryan Marchment400th NHL GameFebruary 13, 1997
Mariusz Czerkawski2nd NHL Hat-trickFebruary 19, 1997
Boris Mironov100th NHL Point
Sean Brown1st NHL GameFebruary 21, 1997
Kelly Buchberger1,500th NHL PIM
Ryan Smyth100th NHL PIMMarch 1, 1997
Joe Hulbig1st NHL GameMarch 4, 1997
Luke Richardson700th NHL GameMarch 9, 1997
Jeff Norton300th NHL PointMarch 11, 1997
Kelly Buchberger200th NHL PointMarch 19, 1997
Craig Millar1st NHL Game
Todd Marchant200th NHL GameMarch 23, 1997
Steve Kelly1st NHL GameMarch 24, 1997
Luke Richardson100th NHL PointMarch 28, 1997
Steve Kelly1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
March 29, 1997
Jason Arnott400th NHL PIMApril 4, 1997
Doug Weight100th NHL GoalApril 5, 1997
Playoffs
PlayerMilestoneReached
Jason Arnott1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
April 16, 1997
Mats Lindgren
Dan McGillis
Boris Mironov
Rem Murray
Drew Bannister1st NHL Game
Greg de Vries
Louie DeBrusk
Mike Grier
Ryan Smyth
Todd Marchant1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Bryan Marchment50th NHL PIM
Mike Grier1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
April 18, 1997
Boris Mironov1st NHL Goal
Ryan Smyth1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Todd Marchant1st NHL AssistApril 20, 1997
Jason Arnott1st NHL GoalApril 22, 1997
Bryan Muir1st NHL Game
Mike Grier1st NHL AssistApril 29, 1997
Joe Hulbig1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Rem Murray1st NHL Goal
Steve Kelly1st NHL Game
Greg de Vries1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
May 7, 1997

Transactions

Trades

June 14, 1996 To Detroit Red Wings
Future considerations
To Edmonton Oilers
Bob Essensa
June 22, 1996 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Tyler Wright
To Edmonton Oilers
7th round pick in 1996 - Brandon Lafrance
September 6, 1996 To Montreal Canadiens
Scott Thornton
To Edmonton Oilers
Andrei Kovalenko
March 18, 1997 To Buffalo Sabres
Miroslav Satan
To Edmonton Oilers
Barrie Moore
Craig Millar
March 18, 1997 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Jeff Norton
To Edmonton Oilers
Drew Bannister
6th round pick in 1997 - Peter Sarno

Free agents

PlayerFormer Team
F Jesse BelangerVancouver Canucks
D Kevin LoweNew York Rangers
D Michel PetitTampa Bay Lightning
F Petr KlimaPittsburgh Penguins
PlayerNew Team
F David RobertsVancouver Canucks
F Kent MandervilleHartford Whalers

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
16Boyd Devereaux CanadaKitchener Rangers (OHL)
119Matthieu Descoteaux CanadaShawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
232Chris Hajt CanadaGuelph Storm (OHL)
359Tom Poti United StatesCushing Academy (USHS)
5114Brian Urick United StatesNotre Dame Fighting Irish (NCAA)
6141Bryan Randall CanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7168David Bernier CanadaSt-Hyacinthe Lasers (QMJHL)
7170Brandon Lafrance CanadaOhio State Buckeyes (NCAA)
8195Fernando Pisani CanadaSt. Albert Saints (AJHL)
9221John Hultberg United StatesDubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)

Roster

1996-97 Edmonton Oilers
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centres

References

  1. https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/199611260CGY.html
  2. https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/198812040EDM.html
  3. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997.html
  4. "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
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