1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 30th in the National Hockey League. This was the final season for Mario Lemieux before his first retirement.

1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division2nd Northeast
Conference6th Eastern
1996–97 record38–36–8
Home record25–11–5
Road record13–25–3
Goals for285
Goals against280
Team information
General managerCraig Patrick
CoachEddie Johnston
Craig Patrick
CaptainMario Lemieux
Alternate captainsRon Francis
Jaromir Jagr
ArenaCivic Arena
Team leaders
GoalsMario Lemieux (50)
AssistsMario Lemieux (72)
PointsMario Lemieux (122)
Penalty minutesDave Roche (155)
WinsPatrick Lalime (21)
Goals against averagePatrick Lalime (2.94)

Regular season

The 1996–97 season featured Mario Lemieux in his final season before his first retirement. Lemieux won his sixth (and final) Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, with 122 points. The Penguins had an up-and-down season en route to a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. A 2–9–0 start was followed by a hot middle-of-the-season stretch, highlighted by the play of rookie phenom goaltender Patrick Lalime. A shoulder injury to Tom Barrasso ended his season after five unmemorable games and led to the promotion of Lalime from the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL). Lalime debuted in relief of Ken Wregget in a loss to the New York Rangers on November 16. His first win came in relief of Wregget on December 6, and the next day, on December 7, he was given the start against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, beating the Mighty Ducks and setting him well on his way to setting the NHL record for consecutive games unbeaten to begin a career for an NHL goaltender, going 14–0–2 (16 games). However, the Penguins cooled down after that, as the team did not win a road game after February 5, which led to a coaching change on March 4. Eddie Johnston was relieved of his duties as head coach after losing eight of his last nine games and was replaced on an interim basis by General Manager Craig Patrick. Patrick went 7–10–3 down the stretch, enough to get the Penguins into the playoffs as the sixth seed at 38–36–8. The Penguins finished the season first in scoring, with 285 goals for.[1]
In the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals, the Penguins took-on the third-seeded Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers dismantled the Penguins in five games en route to an Eastern Conference championship of their own. The Pens' lone win in the series was in Game 4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, in which Lemieux scored on a breakaway against Flyers goaltender Garth Snow in the closing minutes for his final goal before his first retirement.

Final standings

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Buffalo Sabres8240301223720892
26Pittsburgh Penguins823836828528084
37Ottawa Senators8231361522623477
48Montreal Canadiens8231361524927677
510Hartford Whalers8232391122625675
613Boston Bruins822647923430061
Eastern Conference[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1New Jersey DevilsATL82452314231182104
2Buffalo SabresNE8240301223720892
3Philadelphia FlyersATL82452413274217103
4Florida PanthersATL8235281922120189
5New York RangersATL8238341025823186
6Pittsburgh PenguinsNE823836828528084
7Ottawa SenatorsNE8231361522623477
8Montreal CanadiensNE8231361524927677
9Washington CapitalsATL823340921423175
10Hartford WhalersNE8232391122625675
11Tampa Bay LightningATL8232401021724774
12New York IslandersATL8229411224025070
13Boston BruinsNE822647923430061

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

1996–97 Schedule
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Legend:        = Win        = Loss

Player statistics

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[5]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Patrick Lalime392057:35211221012.9511660.9133000
Ken Wregget462514:23171761363.2513830.9022016
Tom Barrasso5269:37050265.791860.8600000
Philippe De Rouville2111:0802063.24660.9090000
Total4952:43383682693.2628010.9045016
Playoffs[6]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Ken Wregget5297:28140183.632110.9150002
Total297:28140183.632110.9150002

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

Awards

PlayerAward
Stu BarnesUnsung Hero Award
Joe DziedzicEdward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award
Jaromir JagrNHL Second All-Star Team
Patrick LalimeMichel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Award
NHL All-Rookie Team
Mario LemieuxLeading Point Scorer Award
Booster Club Award
Most Valuable Player Award
Art Ross Trophy
NHL First All-Star Team
Joe MullenPittsburgh Penguins Masterton Nominee
Bob Johnson Memorial Award
Player's Player Award
Chris TamerEdward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award
Ken WreggetDisaster Specialists "Baz" Bastien Memorial "Good Guy" Award

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season:[7]

Trades

October 25, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings

1997 conditional pick (not exercised)

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Petr Klima

November 17, 1996 To New York Islanders

Bryan Smolinski

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Andreas Johansson
Darius Kasparaitis

November 19, 1996 To Florida Panthers

Chris Wells

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Stu Barnes
Jason Woolley

November 19, 1996 To Anaheim Ducks

Shawn Antoski
Dmitri Mironov

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Alex Hicks
Fredrik Olausson

January 27, 1997 To Detroit Red Wings

Tomas Sandstrom

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Greg Johnson

February 21, 1997 To Anaheim Ducks

Jean-Jacques Daigneault

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Garry Valk

March 18, 1997 To Anaheim Ducks

Richard Park

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Roman Oksiuta

March 18, 1997 To Los Angeles Kings

Glen Murray

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Ed Olczyk

March 18, 1997 To Vancouver Canucks

future considerations (1998 5th round pick)

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Josef Beranek

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