1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season

The 1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season was the fourth season in franchise history. The team qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Division2nd Pacific
1996–97 record36–33–13
Goals for245
Goals against233
Team information
General managerJack Ferreira
CoachRon Wilson
CaptainPaul Kariya
ArenaArrowhead Pond of Anaheim
Team leaders
GoalsTeemu Selanne (51)
AssistsTeemu Selanne (58)
PointsTeemu Selanne (109)
Penalty minutesWarren Rychel (218)
Plus/minusPaul Kariya (+36)
WinsGuy Hebert (29)
Goals against averageGuy Hebert (2.67)

Offseason

Forward Paul Kariya was named team captain, following the retirement of defenceman Randy Ladouceur.

The Ducks only made one trade in the summer as the team looked good enough for the future following last season's late run, trading Mike Maneluk to the Ottawa Senators for Kevin Brown on July 1st. Just before the season started Anaheim made another deal with Ottawa, trading Shaun Van Allen and Jason York in exchange for Ted Drury and Marc Moro.

Regular season

The previous season of 1995-96 the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had just narrowly missed the playoffs after being in the chase for the first time. The team put together a run of 12-4-3 over the final two months of the season to finish even with the Winnipeg Jets at 78 points in the standings, but the Jets earned the final spot thanks to having one more win.

So the Mighty Ducks start to the 96–97 season with a month of October that saw the team go 1-9-2 including an eight-game losing streak was a huge disappointment to say the least. Anaheim was held to two or fewer goals eight times during the stretch, and the two times they exploded for six goals in a game they ended up having to settle for a tie.

With all of four points through the first month, Anaheim was bottom of the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. The division-leading Colorado Avalanche were 11 points clear, and the Los Angeles Kings held the eighth and final playoff spot six point clear of the Mighty Ducks. Over the course of the rest of the season three teams, including Anaheim, would unseat the teams in playoff positioning in the West after the first month.

The combination of Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya was synonymous with the Mighty Ducks of the mid-late 1990s, so lacking one half of that dynamic duo at the start of the season was a major issue. Kariya missed the first 11 games of the campaign with a pulled abdominal muscle, contributing greatly the Anaheim offensive woes.

Selanne lead the team in scoring through the first month with six goals and seven assists in the 12 games, with Kevin Todd in second with four goals and seven assists. Veteran Jari Kurri, signed in the offseason from the Rangers, contributed as well with three goals and four assists, while on the backend Roman Oksiuta chipped in three goals and five assists and Fredrik Olausson had two goals and three assists.

The lack of scoring punch affected the defense as well. For the full season Anaheim averaged 28.4 shots per game while allowing 32.7, yet during the opening month the Mighty Ducks put 26.8 shots on goal per game while allowing 32.5. Anaheim averaged 2.3 goals per game during October, well below their eventual season average of 3.0, while surrendering 4.2 against per game. Goalie Guy Hebert struggled as well, posting a .874 save percentage amidst the lack of support.

Anaheim didn't immediately vault up the standings with Kariya returning to the lineup in November, but the play stabilized and the team wouldn't lose more than three straight (which happened only twice) with Kariya and Selanne reunited. The offense kicked in to gear, with the Mighty Ducks averaging 3.3 goals per game in November and 3.7 goals per game in December.

By the time the All Star break rolled around Anaheim had pulled its season record up to 17-22-5, and Selanne, Kariya, and Hebert were all named to the Western Conference All Star team, giving the Mighty Ducks their first season with multiple All Star Game representatives. Selanne posted 25 goals and 31 assists in all 44 of the Mighty Ducks' games, while Kariya had 16 goals and 28 assists in 31 games. Hebert recovered as well, backstopping Anaheim to a 13-9-3 mark in his 26 starts following October with a .928 SV% and four shutouts during the span.

In the three months that followed the abysmal opening one, the Mighty Ducks didn't immediately vault upwards standings-wise, but they began winning more than they were losing. A 6-5-2 November was built upon with a 6-5-1 December. January saw Anaheim post a 7-5-1 mark before a 6-6-1 February. With two months left in the season the Mighty Ducks sat at 26-30-7, but were primed to make their big run.

After a 3–1 loss at the Great Western Forum to Los Angeles on February 20, Anaheim began its best run of form for the season. The Mighty Ducks picked up points in 12 consecutive games, going 7-0-5 from February 22 to March 19, winning five and tying three against eventual playoff qualifiers during the stretch. Selanne and Kariya again lead the way, Selanne with 11 goals and eight assists while Kariya posted seven goals and 10 assists.

Yet Anaheim also saw significant contributions from Steve Rucchin with two goals and nine assists, Joe Sacco's two goals and six assists, and Ted Drury potting four goals and dishing two assists. The defense chipped in with Dmitri Mironov scoring three goals and adding eight assists, while Darren Van Impe had two goals and five assists. Hebert was lights-out as well, appearing in every game during the streak with a .946 SV%, and had nine games with more than 30 saves and two with more than 40.

The Mighty Ducks closed the season out with another unbeaten streak, going 5-0-2 over the final seven games. From February 22 on Anaheim went a league-best 13-3-7 to help the team sew up its first winning record, first playoff berth, and home ice against the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round. Selanne finished second in the league with 51 goals and second with 109 points, while Kariya earned Lady Byng honors with 99 points in 69 games while taking just three minor penalties.


Final 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[1]
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

Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 5, 19961–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)0–1–0
2TOctober 7, 19966–6 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)0–1–1
3WOctober 9, 19962–0@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)1–1–1
4TOctober 10, 19966–6 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)1–1–2
5LOctober 12, 19962–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)1–2–2
6LOctober 16, 19963–4Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)1–3–2
7LOctober 18, 19961–4San Jose Sharks (1996–97)1–4–2
8LOctober 20, 19961–5Boston Bruins (1996–97)1–5–2
9LOctober 22, 19960–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)1–6–2
10LOctober 24, 19961–4@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)1–7–2
11LOctober 27, 19961–4Calgary Flames (1996–97)1–8–2
12LOctober 30, 19963–6Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)1–9–2
13WNovember 1, 19964–3San Jose Sharks (1996–97)2–9–2
14TNovember 3, 19961–1 OTColorado Avalanche (1996–97)2–9–3
15LNovember 6, 19965–6Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)2–10–3
16WNovember 8, 19967–4Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)3–10–3
17LNovember 11, 19962–3Dallas Stars (1996–97)3–11–3
18WNovember 13, 19963–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)4–11–3
19LNovember 15, 19963–4@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)4–12–3
20LNovember 17, 19962–4@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)4–13–3
21TNovember 20, 19962–2 OTNew York Islanders (1996–97)4–13–4
22WNovember 23, 19963–0@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)5–13–4
23WNovember 24, 19963–1Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)6–13–4
24LNovember 27, 19962–3St. Louis Blues (1996–97)6–14–4
25WNovember 29, 19962–0Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)7–14–4
26WDecember 1, 19964–2Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)8–14–4
27WDecember 4, 19963–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)9–14–4
28TDecember 6, 19961–1 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)9–14–5
29LDecember 7, 19963–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)9–15–5
30WDecember 9, 19965–2@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)10–15–5
31LDecember 11, 19963–7Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)10–16–5
32WDecember 13, 19965–4Washington Capitals (1996–97)11–16–5
33WDecember 20, 19967–0Calgary Flames (1996–97)12–16–5
34LDecember 23, 19961–2Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)12–17–5
35LDecember 27, 19962–3@ New York Rangers (1996–97)12–18–5
36LDecember 28, 19963–5@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)12–19–5
37WDecember 30, 19964–3 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)13–19–5
38WJanuary 1, 19973–0@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)14–19–5
39LJanuary 3, 19972–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)14–20–5
40LJanuary 6, 19971–5Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)14–21–5
41WJanuary 8, 19973–2Florida Panthers (1996–97)15–21–5
42WJanuary 10, 19975–2Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)16–21–5
43WJanuary 12, 19973–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)17–21–5
44LJanuary 15, 19971–2@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)17–22–5
45WJanuary 22, 19973–1New Jersey Devils (1996–97)18–22–5
46LJanuary 23, 19973–6@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)18–23–5
47TJanuary 25, 19972–2 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)18–23–6
48WJanuary 27, 19974–1@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)19–23–6
49LJanuary 29, 19971–3@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)19–24–6
50WJanuary 31, 19976–3Hartford Whalers (1996–97)20–24–6
51LFebruary 2, 19972–5Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)20–25–6
52LFebruary 4, 19973–4@ New York Islanders (1996–97)20–26–6
53LFebruary 5, 19972–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)20–27–6
54WFebruary 8, 19972–1 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)21–27–6
55LFebruary 9, 19971–6@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)21–28–6
56WFebruary 12, 19975–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)22–28–6
57LFebruary 15, 19972–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)22–29–6
58WFebruary 17, 19975–1Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)23–29–6
59LFebruary 20, 19971–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)23–30–6
60WFebruary 22, 19974–2Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)24–30–6
61WFebruary 23, 19975–2Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)25–30–6
62TFebruary 26, 19973–3 OTEdmonton Oilers (1996–97)25–30–7
63WFebruary 28, 19974–1@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)26–30–7
64TMarch 2, 19971–1 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)26–30–8
65WMarch 5, 19974–1Ottawa Senators (1996–97)27–30–8
66WMarch 7, 19975–2New York Rangers (1996–97)28–30–8
67TMarch 9, 19972–2 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)28–30–9
68WMarch 12, 19972–1Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)29–30–9
69TMarch 14, 19974–4 OTSt. Louis Blues (1996–97)29–30–10
70TMarch 16, 19972–2 OTCalgary Flames (1996–97)29–30–11
71WMarch 19, 19976–2Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)30–30–11
72LMarch 21, 19973–4@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)30–31–11
73WMarch 23, 19974–1@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)31–31–11
74LMarch 25, 19972–3@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)31–32–11
75LMarch 26, 19973–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)31–33–11
76WMarch 28, 19974–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)32–33–11
77WMarch 30, 19971–0 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)33–33–11
78TApril 1, 19973–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (1996–97)33–33–12
79TApril 2, 19975–5 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)33–33–13
80WApril 4, 19973–2Dallas Stars (1996–97)34–33–13
81WApril 9, 19974–1Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)35–33–13
82WApril 11, 19974–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)36–33–13

[2]

Playoffs

The Mighty Ducks qualified for the playoffs for the first time. Anaheim beat Phoenix 4–3 in the 1st round but was swept in the 2nd round by Detroit 4–0.

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4, Phoenix Coyotes 3

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 16Phoenix Coyotes2-4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim1-0
2April 18Phoenix Coyotes2-4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim2-0
3April 20Mighty Ducks of Anaheim1-4Phoenix Coyotes2-1
4April 22Mighty Ducks of Anaheim0-2Phoenix Coyotes2-2
5April 24Phoenix Coyotes5-2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim2-3
6April 27Mighty Ducks of Anaheim3-2 OTPhoenix Coyotes3-3
7April 29Phoenix Coyotes0-3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim4-3

Detroit Red Wings 4, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1May 2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim1-2 OTDetroit Red Wings4-4
2May 4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim2-3 OTDetroit Red Wings4-5
3May 6Detroit Red Wings5-3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim4-6
4May 8Detroit Red Wings3-2 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim4-7

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Teemu Selanne78515810934
Paul Kariya694455996
Steve Rucchin7919486724
Dmitri Mironov6212344677
Jari Kurri8213223512
Kevin Todd659213044
Joe Sacco7712172935
Brian Bellows6215132822
Darren Van Impe744192390
Jean-Francois Jomphe647142153
Ted Drury73991854
Bobby Dollas794141855
Warren Rychel7010717218
Sean Pronger39771420
Garry Valk53771453
Roman Oksiuta28671322
Dave Karpa6921113210
J. J. Daigneault13291122
Fredrik Olausson2029118
Ken Baumgartner6701111182
Jason Marshall731910140
Alex Hicks1826814
Dan Trebil2933623
Mike Leclerc51120
Richard Park1111210
Mark Janssens1202247
Valeri Karpov910116
Peter Leboutillier23101121
Guy Hebert670114
Ruslan Salei3001137
Nikolai Tsulygin220118
Shawn Antoski20002
Frank Banham30000
Barry Nieckar20005
Mike O'Neill10000
Adrien Plavsic60002
Craig Reichert30000
Mikhail Shtalenkov240004
Jeremy Stevenson500014
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
Guy Hebert3863672925121722.6721331961.9194
Mikhail Shtalenkov107924781522.89539487.9042
Mike O'Neill31100035.81107.7000
Team:4973823633132272.7426822455.9156

Playoffs

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Paul Kariya1176134
Dmitri Mironov111101110
Teemu Selanne1173104
J. J. Daigneault1127916
Brian Bellows112462
Jari Kurri111234
Steve Rucchin812310
Joe Sacco112022
Dave Karpa811220
Sean Pronger90224
Warren Rychel1102219
Darren Van Impe902216
Ted Drury101014
Ken Baumgartner1101111
Jason Marshall70114
Richard Park110112
Dan Trebil90116
Bobby Dollas110004
Guy Hebert90000
Mark Janssens1100015
Mike Leclerc10000
Igor Nikulin10000
Mikhail Shtalenkov40002
Kevin Todd40002
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
Guy Hebert534944182.02255237.9291
Mikhail Shtalenkov211403102.84162152.9380
Team:7451147282.26417389.9331

[3]

Awards and records

Awards

Records

  • Teemu Selanne – most points in a season (109)
  • Paul Kariya – most plus/minus in a season (+36)
  • Guy Hebert – most ties in a season (12)
  • Guy Hebert – most shots against in a season (2133)

Transactions

July 1, 1996 To Mighty Ducks
Kevin Brown
To Ottawa Senators
Mike Maneluk
October 1, 1996 To Mighty Ducks
Espen Knutsen
To Hartford Whalers
Kevin Brown
October 1, 1996 To Mighty Ducks
Ted Drury
Marc Moro
To Ottawa Senators
Shaun Van Allen
Jason York
November 18, 1996 To Mighty Ducks
Brian Bellows
To Tampa Bay Lightning
6th-round pick in 1997
November 19, 1996 To Mighty Ducks
Shawn Antoski
Dmitri Mironov
To Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Hicks
Fredrik Olausson
February 21, 1997 To Mighty Ducks
J. J. Daigneault
To Pittsburgh Penguins
Garry Valk
March 18, 1997 To Mighty Ducks
Richard Park
To Pittsburgh Penguins
Roman Oksiuta
March 18, 1997 To Mighty Ducks
Mark Janssens
To Hartford Whalers
Bates Battaglia
4th-round pick in 1998

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 9 Ruslan Salei (Defense)  Belarus Las Vegas Thunder (IHL)
2 35 Matt Cullen (Center)  United States St. Cloud State University (NCAA)
5 117 Brendan Buckley (Defense)  United States Boston College (NCAA)
6 149 Blaine Russell (Goalie)  Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
7 172 Timo Ahmaoja (Defense)  Finland JYP (Finland)
8 198 Kevin Kellett (Defense)  Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
9 224 Tobias Johansson (Left wing)  Sweden Malmo IF (Sweden)

Farm teams

Baltimore Bandits

See also

Other Anaheim–based teams in 1996–97

*Played Occasional Games in Anaheim

References

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