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
Division	6th Northeast
Conference	13th Eastern
1995–96 record	18–59–5
Home record	8–28–5
Road record	10–31–0
Goals for	191
Goals against	291
Team information
General Manager	Randy Sexton (Oct-Dec) Pierre Gauthier (Dec-Apr)
Coach	Rick Bowness (Oct-Nov) Dave Allison (Nov-Jan) Jacques Martin (Jan-Apr)
Captain	Randy Cunneyworth
Alternate captains	Steve Duchesne Tom Chorske
Arena	Ottawa Civic Centre (Oct-Dec) The Palladium[1] (Jan-Apr)
Average attendance	13,271 per game (544,108 total)
Team leaders
Goals	Daniel Alfredsson (26)
Assists	Daniel Alfredsson (35)
Points	Daniel Alfredsson (61)
Penalty minutes	Dennis Vial (276)
Plus/minus	Pat Elyniuk (+2)
Wins	Damian Rhodes (10)
Goals against average	Damian 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
1	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	49	29	4	362	284	102
2	Boston Bruins	82	40	31	11	282	269	91
3	Montreal Canadiens	82	40	32	10	265	248	90
4	Hartford Whalers	82	34	39	9	237	259	77
5	Buffalo Sabres	82	33	42	7	247	262	72
6	Ottawa Senators	82	18	59	5	191	291	41

Eastern Conference[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	45	24	13	282	208	103
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	49	29	4	362	284	102
3	New York Rangers	ATL	82	41	27	14	272	237	96
4	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	41	31	10	254	234	92
5	Boston Bruins	NE	82	40	31	11	282	269	91
6	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	40	32	10	265	248	90
7	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	39	32	11	234	204	89
8	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	38	32	12	238	248	88
9	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	37	33	12	215	202	86
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	82	34	39	9	237	259	77
11	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	33	42	7	247	262	73
12	New York Islanders	ATL	82	22	50	10	229	315	54
13	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	18	59	5	191	291	41

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

Regular season schedule

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
1	L	October 7, 1995	1–3	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	0–1–0	9,567
2	L	October 13, 1995	2–6	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	0–2–0	10,895
3	W	October 15, 1995	7–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	1–2–0	13,488
4	W	October 19, 1995	4–2	Calgary Flames (1995–96)	2–2–0	8,424
5	L	October 21, 1995	1–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	2–3–0	17,620
6	W	October 22, 1995	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	3–3–0	18,200
7	W	October 24, 1995	2–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	4–3–0	19,512
8	W	October 26, 1995	5–4	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	5–3–0	10,575
9	L	October 28, 1995	1–4	Florida Panthers (1995–96)	5–4–0	8,660
10	L	October 29, 1995	2–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	5–5–0	17,328
11	W	November 2, 1995	5–0	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	6–5–0	10,458
12	L	November 4, 1995	4–5	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	6–6–0	8,794
13	L	November 8, 1995	1–7	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	6–7–0	10,137
14	L	November 9, 1995	3–4	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	6–8–0	17,261
15	L	November 11, 1995	2–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	6–9–0	8,988
16	L	November 15, 1995	2–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	6–10–0	7,641
17	L	November 16, 1995	3–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	6–11–0	17,220
18	L	November 18, 1995	1–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	6–12–0	17,302
19	L	November 19, 1995	0–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	6–13–0	10,697
20	L	November 22, 1995	1–3	Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	6–14–0	8,426
21	T	November 25, 1995	3–3 OT	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	6–14–1	9,419
22	L	November 28, 1995	2–7	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	6–15–1	16,162
23	L	November 30, 1995	3–5	New York Islanders (1995–96)	6–16–1	8,167
24	L	December 2, 1995	2–4	New York Rangers (1995–96)	6–17–1	8,194
25	L	December 5, 1995	1–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	6–18–1	15,746
26	W	December 7, 1995	5–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	7–18–1	17,552
27	L	December 9, 1995	3–7	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	7–19–1	9,169
28	L	December 12, 1995	1–2	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	7–20–1	17,190
29	L	December 13, 1995	2–6	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	7–21–1	11,221
30	L	December 15, 1995	2–4	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	7–22–1	17,174
31	L	December 17, 1995	1–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	7–23–1	16,006
32	L	December 18, 1995	1–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	7–24–1	8,419
33	L	December 23, 1995	2–4	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	7–25–1	8,615
34	L	December 26, 1995	4–6	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	7–26–1	18,200
35	W	December 27, 1995	4–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	8–26–1	12,175
36	L	December 30, 1995	1–4	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	8–27–1	10,575
37	L	December 31, 1995	0–3	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	8–28–1	8,522
38	L	January 3, 1996	1–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	8–29–1	15,632
39	L	January 5, 1996	2–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	8–30–1	12,239
40	L	January 6, 1996	4–5	@ New York Islanders (1995–96)	8–31–1	12,175
41	L	January 11, 1996	1–6	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	8–32–1	11,511
42	L	January 13, 1996	1–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	8–33–1	21,829
43	L	January 17, 1996	0–3	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	8–34–1	18,500
44	L	January 22, 1996	3–7	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	8–35–1	13,872
45	L	January 24, 1996	3–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	8–36–1	17,149
46	L	January 25, 1996	2–4	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	8–37–1	16,882
47	T	January 27, 1996	2–2 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	8–37–2	18,500
48	W	January 29, 1996	4–2	St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	9–37–2	13,125
49	L	January 31, 1996	1–3	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	9–38–2	15,795
50	L	February 1, 1996	2–4	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	9–39–2	12,322
51	L	February 3, 1996	2–3 OT	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	9–40–2	18,280
52	L	February 6, 1996	1–3	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)	9–41–2	16,442
53	L	February 8, 1996	2–6	@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	9–42–2	8,673
54	W	February 10, 1996	5–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	10–42–2	17,535
55	W	February 12, 1996	4–1	@ New York Islanders (1995–96)	11–42–2	7,567
56	T	February 15, 1996	2–2 OT	San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	11–42–3	13,556
57	L	February 17, 1996	1–2 OT	New York Rangers (1995–96)	11–43–3	18,500
58	W	February 20, 1996	7–1	@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	12–43–3	19,736
59	L	February 22, 1996	2–3	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)	12–44–3	14,818
60	L	February 25, 1996	2–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	12–45–3	16,061
61	L	February 28, 1996	2–3 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	12–46–3	13,419
62	L	March 1, 1996	2–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	12–47–3	18,500
63	L	March 2, 1996	1–4	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	12–48–3	15,510
64	L	March 7, 1996	1–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	12–49–3	13,377
65	L	March 9, 1996	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	12–50–3	17,959
66	W	March 13, 1996	4–1	Dallas Stars (1995–96)	13–50–3	13,226
67	W	March 15, 1996	2–0	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	14–50–3	17,850
68	W	March 17, 1996	5–0	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	15–50–3	15,102
69	L	March 19, 1996	2–5	@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)	15–51–3	12,255
70	L	March 21, 1996	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	15–52–3	17,565
71	T	March 22, 1996	1–1 OT	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	15–52–4	13,596
72	L	March 24, 1996	2–3	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	15–53–4	13,188
73	L	March 27, 1996	2–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	15–54–4	15,183
74	L	March 29, 1996	0–5	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	15–55–4	18,130
75	L	March 30, 1996	1–3	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	15–56–4	18,500
76	T	April 1, 1996	1–1 OT	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	15–56–5	13,335
77	W	April 3, 1996	3–2	Florida Panthers (1995–96)	16–56–5	13,074
78	W	April 5, 1996	4–2	New York Islanders (1995–96)	17–56–5	16,541
79	L	April 6, 1996	3–4	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	17–57–5	15,101
80	L	April 10, 1996	2–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	17–58–5	15,111
81	L	April 11, 1996	3–5	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	17–59–5	18,500
82	W	April 13, 1996	5–2	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	18–59–5	19,040

[4]

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Daniel Alfredsson	RW	82	26	35	61	28	-18	8	2	3
Alexei Yashin	C	46	15	24	39	28	-15	8	0	1
Randy Cunneyworth	LW	81	17	19	36	130	-31	4	0	2
Steve Duchesne	D	62	12	24	36	42	-23	7	0	2
Radek Bonk	C	76	16	19	35	36	-5	5	0	1
Tom Chorske	LW	72	15	14	29	21	-9	0	2	1
Martin Straka	C	43	9	16	25	29	-14	5	0	1
Dan Quinn	C	28	6	18	24	24	-8	4	0	0
Sean Hill	D	80	7	14	21	94	-26	2	0	2
Jaroslav Modry	D	64	4	14	18	38	-17	1	0	1
Pavol Demitra	LW	31	7	10	17	6	-3	2	0	1
Alexandre Daigle	C	50	5	12	17	24	-30	1	0	0
Ted Drury	C	42	9	7	16	54	-19	1	0	1
Antti Tormanen	RW	50	7	8	15	28	-15	0	0	0
Kerry Huffman	D	43	4	11	15	63	-18	3	0	0
Trent McCleary	RW	75	4	10	14	68	-15	0	1	0
Rob Gaudreau	RW	52	8	5	13	15	-19	1	1	0
Stan Neckar	D	82	3	9	12	54	-16	1	0	0
Dave Archibald	C/LW	44	6	4	10	18	-14	0	0	1
Michel Picard	LW	17	2	6	8	10	-1	0	0	1
Lance Pitlick	D	28	1	6	7	20	-8	0	0	0
Troy Mallette	LW	64	2	3	5	171	-7	0	0	0
Dennis Vial	D/LW	64	1	4	5	276	-13	0	0	0
Frantisek Musil	D	65	1	3	4	85	-10	0	0	0
Pat Elynuik	RW	29	1	2	3	16	2	0	0	0
Phil Bourque	LW	13	1	1	2	14	-3	0	0	0
Chris Dahlquist	D	24	1	1	2	14	-7	0	0	0
Jean-Yves Roy	RW	4	1	1	2	2	3	0	0	0
Don Beaupre	G	33	0	2	2	17	0	0	0	0
Janne Laukkanen	D	20	0	2	2	14	0	0	0	0
Scott Levins	C/RW	27	0	2	2	80	-3	0	0	0
Damian Rhodes	G	36	0	2	2	4	0	0	0	0
Dave McLlwain	C/RW	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Mike Bales	G	20	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Joe Cirella	D	6	0	0	0	4	-3	0	0	0
Daniel Laperriere	D	6	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	0
Patrick Traverse	D	5	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Damian Rhodes	2123	36	10	22	4	98	2.77	2	1041	943	.906
Don Beaupre	1770	33	6	23	0	110	3.73	1	892	782	.877
Mike Bales	1040	20	2	14	1	72	4.15	0	560	488	.871
Team:	4933	82	18	59	5	280	3.41	3	2493	2213	.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

• Calder Memorial Trophy, All-Rookie team - Daniel Alfredsson
• Molson Cup - Damian Rhodes
• NHL All-Star Game selection - Daniel Alfredsson

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

Player Former team Dan Quinn Los Angeles Kings Eric Lavigne Los Angeles Kings Joe Cirella Florida Panthers

Player New team Corey Foster Pittsburgh Penguins

Roster

1995-96 Ottawa Senators
Goaltenders 1 – Damian Rhodes  33 – Don Beaupre  35 – Mike Bales		Defencemen 2 – Lance Pitlick  3 – Frank Musil  4 – Sean Hill  5 – Kerry Huffman  6 – Chris Dahlquist  18 – Patrick Traverse  21 – Dennis Vial  23 – Jaroslav Modry  24 – Daniel Laperriere  27 – Joe Cirella  27 – Janne Laukkanen  28 – Steve Duchesne  94 – Stan Neckar		Wingers 7 – Randy Cunneyworth  - C 10 – Rob Gaudreau  11 – Daniel Alfredsson  12 – Dave Archibald  14 – Jean-Yves Roy  17 – Tom Chorske  20 – Trent McCleary  22 – Antti Tormanen  25 – Pat Elyniuk  26 – Scott Levins  29 – Phil Bourque  36 – Troy Mallette  49 – Michel Picard  78 – Pavol Demitra		Centres 9 – Dan Quinn  13 – Ted Drury  19 – Alexei Yashin  27 – Dave McLlwain  76 – Radek Bonk  82 – Martin Straka  91 – Alexandre Daigle  GM: Pierre Gauthier Coach: Rick Bowness Coach: Dave Allison Coach: Jacques Martin

Draft picks

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

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	1	Bryan Berard	United States	Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL)
2	27	Marc Moro	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
3	53	Brad Larsen	Canada	Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
4	89	Kevin Bolibruck	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
4	103	Kevin Boyd	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
6	131	David Hruska	Czech Republic	Banik Sokolov (Czech.)
8	183	Kaj Linna	Finland	Boston University (NCAA)
8	184	Ray Schultz	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
9	231	Erik Kaminski	United States	Northeastern University (Boston) (NCAA)

Farm teams

• Prince Edward Island Senators (American Hockey League)
• Thunder Bay Senators (Colonial Hockey League)

See also

• 1995–96 NHL season

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.