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1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs season

NHL hockey team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 80th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Division6th Central
Conference11th Western
1996–97 record30–44–8
Home record18–20–3
Quick facts Toronto Maple Leafs, Division ...
1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division6th Central
Conference11th Western
1996–97 record30–44–8
Home record18–20–3
Road record12–24–5
Goals for230
Goals against273
Team information
General managerCliff Fletcher
CoachMike Murphy
CaptainDoug Gilmour (Oct.–Feb.)
Vacant (Feb.–Apr.)
ArenaMaple Leaf Gardens
Average attendance15,703
Minor league affiliateSt. John's Maple Leafs
Team leaders
GoalsMats Sundin (41)
AssistsMats Sundin (53)
PointsMats Sundin (94)
Penalty minutesTie Domi (275)
Plus/minusRob Zettler (+8)
WinsFelix Potvin (27)
Goals against averageFelix Potvin (3.15)
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The Maple Leafs entered the 1996–97 NHL season with the hopes of making the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. Mike Murphy was hired prior to the season as the head coach replacing interim coach Nick Beverley. The team played poorly for most of the season and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1991–92 season. This season would be Cliff Fletcher's last as general manager of the Maple Leafs. In one of his final moves, Fletcher traded captain Doug Gilmour to the New Jersey Devils in February.

Regular season

Season standings

More information No., CR ...
Central Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Dallas Stars8248268252198104
23Detroit Red Wings8238261825319794
35Phoenix Coyotes823837724024383
46St. Louis Blues8236351123623983
58Chicago Blackhawks8234351322321081
611Toronto Maple Leafs823044823027368
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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.

More information R, Div ...
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
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Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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

Schedule and results

More information Game, Date ...
1996–97 regular season[2]
October: 5–6–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 2–2–0)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1October 5, 19964–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)1–0–0W
2October 8, 19962–4Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)1–1–0L
3October 12, 19964–7Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)1–2–0L
4October 15, 19961–3Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)1–3–0L
5October 17, 19961–6@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)1–4–0L
6October 19, 19960–2@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)1–5–0L
7October 22, 19964–3San Jose Sharks (1996–97)2–5–0W
8October 24, 19962–1@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)3–5–0W
9October 26, 19965–2Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)4–5–0W
10October 29, 19962–5Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)4–6–0L
11October 31, 19965–3@ New York Islanders (1996–97)5–6–0W
November: 5–9–0 (home: 5–1–0; road: 0–8–0)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12November 2, 19966–2Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)6–6–0W
13November 5, 19966–3St. Louis Blues (1996–97)7–6–0W
14November 7, 19962–6@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)7–7–0L
15November 9, 19967–3Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)8–7–0W
16November 10, 19961–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)8–8–0L
17November 13, 19962–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)8–9–0L
18November 14, 19961–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)8–10–0L
19November 16, 19962–3@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)8–11–0L
20November 19, 19964–3Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)9–11–0W
21November 21, 19963–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)9–12–0L
22November 23, 19963–4Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)9–13–0L
23November 26, 19963–2Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)10–13–0W
24November 27, 19962–5@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)10–14–0L
25November 30, 19962–5@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)10–15–0L
December: 7–7–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 4–3–0)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26December 3, 19962–0St. Louis Blues (1996–97)11–15–0W
27December 6, 19965–6@ New York Rangers (1996–97)11–16–0L
28December 7, 19960–4New York Rangers (1996–97)11–17–0L
29December 9, 19963–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)12–17–0W
30December 10, 19962–5New Jersey Devils (1996–97)12–18–0L
31December 14, 19963–5Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)12–19–0L
32December 15, 19961–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)12–20–0L
33December 17, 19966–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)13–20–0W
34December 20, 19962–5@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)13–21–0L
35December 21, 19966–2@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)14–21–0W
36December 23, 19965–6Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)14–22–0L
37December 27, 19963–2@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)15–22–0W
38December 28, 19965–4Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)16–22–0W
39December 30, 19962–0New York Islanders (1996–97)17–22–0W
January: 2–10–1 (home: 1–5–0; road: 1–5–1)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
40January 3, 19973–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)17–23–0L
41January 4, 19973–7@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)17–24–0L
42January 7, 19973–4 OT@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)17–25–0L
43January 11, 19972–3Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)17–26–0L
44January 13, 19973–6@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)17–27–0L
45January 15, 19972–3Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)17–28–0L
46January 20, 19971–3@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)17–29–0L
47January 22, 19975–3Calgary Flames (1996–97)18–29–0W
48January 24, 19972–1 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)19–29–0W
49January 25, 19971–5Dallas Stars (1996–97)19–30–0L
50January 27, 19972–5Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)19–31–0L
51January 29, 19970–4St. Louis Blues (1996–97)19–32–0L
52January 31, 19973–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)19–32–1T
February: 4–5–1 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53February 1, 19971–2Ottawa Senators (1996–97)19–33–1L
54February 5, 19974–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)20–33–1W
55February 8, 19974–2Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)21–33–1W
56February 12, 19972–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)21–34–1L
57February 13, 19974–4 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)21–34–2T
58February 15, 19970–3@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)21–35–2L
59February 18, 19976–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)22–35–2W
60February 19, 19975–6@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)22–36–2L
61February 22, 19975–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)23–36–2W
62February 26, 19971–3Washington Capitals (1996–97)23–37–2L
March: 5–4–5 (home: 2–3–3; road: 3–1–2)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
63March 1, 19973–2San Jose Sharks (1996–97)24–37–2W
64March 3, 19974–2Boston Bruins (1996–97)25–37–2W
65March 5, 19974–4 OTDetroit Red Wings (1996–97)25–37–3T
66March 8, 19971–1 OTHartford Whalers (1996–97)25–37–4T
67March 10, 19973–3 OTDallas Stars (1996–97)25–37–5T
68March 12, 19972–3Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)25–38–5L
69March 15, 19973–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)25–38–6T
70March 16, 19973–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)26–38–6W
71March 19, 19973–6Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)26–39–6L
72March 20, 19973–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)26–40–6L
73March 22, 19970–3Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)26–41–6L
74March 26, 19972–1@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)27–41–6W
75March 27, 19971–1 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)27–41–7T
76March 29, 19973–2@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)28–41–7W
April: 2–3–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–2–1)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77April 2, 19973–1Florida Panthers (1996–97)29–41–7W
78April 3, 19972–2 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)29–41–8T
79April 5, 19972–4Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)29–42–8L
80April 9, 19972–3@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)29–43–8L
81April 10, 19971–5@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)29–44–8L
82April 12, 19974–1Calgary Flames (1996–97)30–44–8W

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

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Player statistics

Scoring

  • 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 Maple Leafs only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Maple Leafs only.
More information No., Player ...
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts +/- PIM
13Mats SundinC82415394659
93Doug Gilmour‡C61154560−546
17Wendel ClarkLW65301949−275
94Sergei BerezinLW73251641−32
55Larry Murphy‡D6973239120
21Kirk Muller‡C66201737−2385
8Todd WarrinerLW75122133−341
28Tie DomiRW80111728−17275
9Mike CraigRW6571320−2062
14Darby Hendrickson†C6411617−2047
16Jamie BakerC588816228
11Steve Sullivan†C2151116523
4David Ellett‡D5641014−834
36Dmitri YushkevichD7441014−2456
2Rob ZettlerD4821214851
19Fredrik ModinRW766713−1424
72Mathieu SchneiderD265712320
34Jamie MacounD7311011−1493
12Brandon ConveryRW392810−920
10Zdenek NedvedRW2335846
42David CooperD19336−316
32Nick KypreosLW35325162
26Jamie HewardRW20145−66
25Jason Smith†D21055−416
20Mike Johnson†RW13224−24
3Matt MartinD36044−1238
26Craig Wolanin†D23044313
24Tom Pederson†D1512309
7Jason Podollan†C10033−26
29Felix PotvinG7403319
43Nathan DempseyLW14112−22
7Kelly FairchildC22022−52
31Marcel CousineauG130110
20Ralph Intranuovo‡C3011−10
4D. J. SmithD8011−57
33Don BeaupreG30000
39Kelly Chase†RW2000027
44John CraigheadRW5000010
37Mark KolesarRW7000−30
22Scott PearsonLW100002
25Greg SmythD200000
41Shayne ToporowskiRW300007
38Yannick TremblayD5000−40
23Jeff WareD1300026
15Brian WisemanC500000
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Goaltending

More information No., Player ...
No. Player Regular season
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
29Felix Potvin742736724382243.15.90804271
31Marcel Cousineau13351317313.29.9021566
33Don Beaupre303060105.46.8330110
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Awards and records

Awards

More information Type, Award/honour ...
Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
League
(annual)		 NHL All-Rookie Team Sergei Berezin (Forward) [3]
League
(in-season)		 NHL All-Star Game selection Mats Sundin [4]
NHL Rookie of the Month Steve Sullivan (March) [5]
Team Molson Cup Felix Potvin [6]
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Milestones

More information Milestone, Player ...
Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Sergei Berezin October 5, 1996 [7]
Fredrik Modin
Jeff Ware
Marcel Cousineau November 21, 1996
John Craighead
Brian Wiseman December 14, 1996
David Cooper December 15, 1996
Shayne Toporowski January 7, 1997
Nathan Dempsey January 31, 1997
Mike Johnson March 16, 1997
D. J. Smith March 26, 1997
Yannick Tremblay March 27, 1997
1,000th game played Doug Gilmour November 16, 1996 [8]
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Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.

Trades

October 10, 1996 To New York Islanders
5th round pick in 1998 (Jiri Dopita)		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Darby Hendrickson
January 31, 1997 To Tampa Bay Lightning
3rd round pick in 1998 (Alex Henry)		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Craig Wolanin
February 25, 1997 To New Jersey Devils
Doug Gilmour
Dave Ellett
3rd round pick in 1999 (Andre Lakos)		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Jason Smith
Alyn McCauley
Steve Sullivan
March 18, 1997 To Detroit Red Wings
Larry Murphy		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Future Considerations
March 18, 1997 To Florida Panthers
Kirk Muller		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Jason Podollan
March 18, 1997 To Hartford Whalers
8th round pick in 1998 (Jaroslav Svoboda)		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Kelly Chase
June 12, 1997 To Florida Panthers
Mike Lankshear		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Per Gustafsson

Waivers

September 30, 1996 From Edmonton Oilers
Ralph Intranuovo
October 25, 1996 To Edmonton Oilers
Ralph Intranuovo

Free agents

PlayerFormer team
John CraigheadDetroit Vipers (IHL)
Scott PearsonBuffalo Sabres
Brian WisemanChicago Wolves (IHL)
Daniel MaroisDallas Stars
Greg SmythLos Angeles Ice Dogs (IHL)
David CooperBuffalo Sabres
Tom PedersonSan Jose Sharks
Mike JohnsonUndrafted free agent
PlayerNew team
Paul DiPietroLos Angeles Kings

Draft picks

Toronto's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[9]

More information Round, # ...
Round # Name Nationality College/Junior/Club team
2 36 Marek Posmyk  Czech Republic Dukla Jihlava (Czech Republic)
2 50 Francis Larivee  Canada Laval Titan (QMJHL)
3 66 Mike Lankshear  Canada Guelph Storm (OHL)
3 68 Konstantin Kalmikov  Ukraine Detroit Falcons (CoHL)
4 86 Jason Sessa  United States Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
4 103 Vladimir Antipov  Russia Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
5 110 Peter Cava  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
5 111 Brandon Sugden  Canada London Knights (OHL)
6 140 Dmytro Yakushyn  Ukraine Pembroke Lumber Kings (COJHL)
6 148 Chris Bogas  United States Michigan State University (CCHA)
6 151 Lucio DeMartinis  Canada Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
7 178 Reggie Berg  United States University of Minnesota (WCHA)
8 204 Tomas Kaberle  Czech Republic HC Kladno (Czech Republic)
9 230 Jared Hope  Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
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Farm teams

The Maple Leafs farm team was the St. John's Maple Leafs, based in St. John's, Newfoundland.

References

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