1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers season

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1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers
Eastern Conference Champions
Division 2nd Atlantic
Conference 3rd Eastern
1996–97 record 45–24–13
Home record 23–12–6
Road record 22–12–7
Goals for 274
Goals against 217
Team information
General Manager Bob Clarke
Coach Terry Murray
Captain Eric Lindros
Alternate captains Rod Brind'Amour
Eric Desjardins
Arena CoreStates Center
Average attendance 19,311[1]
Minor league affiliations Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL)[2]
Mobile Mysticks (ECHL)[3]
Team leaders
Goals John LeClair (50)
Assists John LeClair (47)
Eric Lindros (47)
Points John LeClair (97)
Penalties in minutes Scott Daniels (237)
Plus/minus John LeClair (+44)
Wins Ron Hextall (31)
Goals against average Garth Snow (2.52)
<1995–96 1997–98>

The 1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 30th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals but lost to the Detroit Red Wings in a four-game sweep.

Regular season

While Eric Lindros rehabbed from a bothersome groin injury, the Flyers treaded water through the early part of the schedule. They dropped the first-ever home game at the new CoreStates Center to the Florida Panthers, 3–1, on October 5, and lost again to their new rivals three weeks later. However, they rebounded to end the Panthers' season-opening 8–0–4 run with a 3–2 victory in Miami on November 2.

With John LeClair, Mikael Renberg, Dale Hawerchuk and Rod Brind'Amour expected to pick up the slack on offense, the club was inconsistent and went 12–10–1 prior to Lindros' return in a 2–0 loss in Boston on November 26. Another loss the next night to the Islanders dropped the team into fourth place, but the team soon caught fire, ripping off a 14–0–3 stretch from November 30 to January 7.

The run included an incredible stretch of four consecutive shutout wins in mid-December (Hartford, Boston, Islanders, St. Louis), a trade which netted high-scoring defenseman Paul Coffey and a thrilling come-from-behind 4–4 tie against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on January 4.

In a 9–5 win over Montreal on February 6, the Legion of Doom line set a franchise-record with 16 points and spoiled the NHL debut of Tomas Vokoun, and in a 5–5 tie on March 1 in Boston, third-line winger Trent Klatt recorded his first (and only) 20-goal season with a hat trick.

A 2–3–2 finish which saw Lindros sit out a one-game suspension and the Devils vault over the team for first place in the Atlantic was mitigated when LeClair scored his 50th goal of the season in a 5–4 win over New Jersey in the final regular-season game.

Season standings

Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 1 New Jersey Devils 82 45 23 14 231 182 104
2 3 Philadelphia Flyers 82 45 24 13 274 217 103
3 4 Florida Panthers 82 35 28 19 221 201 89
4 5 New York Rangers 82 38 34 10 258 231 86
5 9 Washington Capitals 82 33 40 9 214 231 75
6 11 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 32 40 10 217 247 74
7 12 New York Islanders 82 29 41 12 240 250 70
Eastern Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 45 23 14 231 182 104
2 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 45 24 13 274 217 103
4 Florida Panthers ATL 82 35 28 19 221 201 89
5 New York Rangers ATL 82 38 34 10 258 231 86
6 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
7 Ottawa Senators NE 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
9 Washington Capitals ATL 82 33 40 9 214 231 75
10 Hartford Whalers NE 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
11 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 32 40 10 217 247 74
12 New York Islanders ATL 82 29 41 12 240 250 70
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 26 47 9 234 300 61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs


Playoffs

Backstopped by the goaltending tandem of Ron Hextall and Garth Snow, the Flyers dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers all in five games apiece to win the Eastern Conference championship, and clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1987. However, their opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, swept the Flyers in four straight games. After Game 3, Terry Murray said that the team was in a "choking situation." It is said this remark cost Murray his job, as he was fired less than a week after the conclusion of the finals.[5]

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season
October: 6–7–0, 12 Points (Home: 3–3–0; Road: 3–4–0)
November: 7–5–1, 15 Points (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 5–2–0)
December: 11–0–2, 24 Points (Home: 6–0–0; Road: 5–0–2)
January: 5–2–4, 14 Points (Home: 3–2–2; Road: 2–0–2)
February: 7–3–2, 16 Points (Home: 4–1–2; Road: 3–2–0)
March: 7–5–2, 16 Points (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 4–3–2)
April: 2–2–2, 6 Points (Home: 2–1–1; Road: 0–1–1)

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

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - Flyers win 4–1
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Buffalo Sabres - Flyers win 4–1
Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York Rangers - Flyers win 4–1
Stanley Cup Finals vs. Detroit Red Wings - Red Wings win 4–0

Legend:       Win       Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
  • dagger = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
  • double-dagger = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
Regular season Playoffs
No. Player Age Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
10 John LeClair 27 LW 82 50 47 97 44 58 19 9 12 21 5 10
88 Eric Lindros 23 C 52 32 47 79 31 136 19 12 14 26 7 40
17 Rod Brind'Amour 26 C 82 27 32 59 2 41 19 13 8 21 9 10
19 Mikael Renberg 24 RW 77 22 37 59 36 65 18 5 6 11 1 4
37 Eric Desjardins 27 D 82 12 34 46 25 50 19 2 8 10 9 12
20 Trent Klatt 26 RW 76 24 21 45 9 20 19 4 3 7 1 12
44 Janne Niinimaa 21 D 77 4 40 44 12 58 19 1 12 13 3 16
18 Dale Hawerchuk 33 C 51 12 22 34 9 32 17 2 5 7 −2 0
25 Shjon Podein 28 LW 82 14 18 32 7 41 19 4 3 7 4 16
29 Joel Otto 35 C 78 13 19 32 12 99 18 1 5 6 3 8
77 Paul Coffeydagger 35 D 37 6 20 26 11 20 17 1 8 9 −3 6
6 Chris Therien 25 D 71 2 22 24 27 64 19 1 6 7 14 6
15 Pat Falloon 24 RW 52 11 12 23 −8 10 14 3 1 4 −1 2
9 Dainius Zubrus 18 LW 68 8 13 21 3 22 19 5 4 9 3 12
24 Karl Dykhuis 24 D 62 4 15 19 6 35 18 0 3 3 1 2
26 John Druce 30 RW 43 7 8 15 −5 12 13 1 0 1 2 2
45 Vaclav Prospal 21 C 18 5 10 15 3 4 5 1 3 4 0 4
23 Petr Svoboda 30 D 67 2 12 14 10 94 16 1 2 3 4 16
32 Daniel Lacroix 27 C 74 7 1 8 −1 163 12 0 1 1 0 22
22 Scott Daniels 27 RW 56 5 3 8 2 237 — — — — — —
28 Kjell Samuelsson 38 D 34 4 3 7 17 47 5 0 0 0 −3 2
21 Dan Kordic 25 LW 75 1 4 5 −1 210 12 1 0 1 1 22
11 Craig Darby 24 C 9 1 4 5 2 2 — — — — — —
5 Kevin Hallerdouble-dagger 26 D 27 0 5 5 −1 37 — — — — — —
8 Michel Petitdagger 32 D 20 0 3 3 2 51 3 0 0 0 −1 6
48 Colin Forbes 20 LW 3 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
30 Garth Snow 27 G 35 0 1 1 N/A 30 12 0 2 2 N/A 11
34 Jason Bowen 23 D 4 0 1 1 1 8 — — — — — —
3 Aris Brimanis 24 D 3 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — —
27 Ron Hextall 32 G 55 0 0 0 N/A 43 8 0 0 0 N/A 0
5 Darren Rumble 28 D 10 0 0 0 −2 0 — — — — — —
2 Frantisek Kuceradagger 28 D 2 0 0 0 −2 2 — — — — — —
38 Paul Healey 21 RW 2 0 0 0 0 2 — — — — — —

Goaltenders

Regular season Playoffs
No. Player Age GP W L T SO GA SV% GAA MIN GP W L SO GA SV% GAA MIN
27 Ron Hextall 32 55 31 16 5 5 132 .897 2.56 3094 8 4 3 0 22 .892 2.97 444
30 Garth Snow 27 35 14 8 8 2 79 .903 2.52 1884 12 8 4 0 33 .892 2.83 699

Awards and records

Awards

League awards and honors
Award or honor Recipient Notes Ref
Bud Ice Plus-Minus Award John LeClair [6]
NHL All-Rookie Team Janne Niinimaa (Defense) [7]
NHL Player of the Week John LeClair (November 11) [8]
Eric Lindros (December 16) [9]
NHL Second All-Star Team John LeClair (Left Wing) [10]
Selected to NHL All-Star Game Paul Coffey [11][12]
Dale Hawerchuk Selected by Commissioner
John LeClair
Eric Lindros
Team awards[13]
Award Recipient
Barry Ashbee Trophy Eric Desjardins
Bobby Clarke Trophy John LeClair
Class Guy Award Shjon Podein
Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy Trent Klatt

Records

  •   *  NHL record
  •  **  Tied for NHL record
Individual single season records
Record Total Player
Assists by a rookie defenseman 44 Janne Niinimaa
Individual regular season single game records
Record Player Total Date and opponent
Goals scored John LeClair
Eric Lindros		 4 February 6, 1997 vs. Montreal Canadiens
March 19, 1997 at Toronto Maple Leafs
(tied 14 times)
Assists Eric Lindros 6 February 26, 1997 at Ottawa Senators
Individual post season single game records
Record Player Total Date and opponent
Shorthanded goals Rod Brind'Amour 2** April 26, 1997 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Assists, one period Paul Coffey
Rod Brind'Amour		 3** May 7, 1997 vs. Buffalo Sabres
May 11, 1997 at Buffalo Sabres
(tied four times)
Shorthanded goals, one period Rod Brind'Amour 2** April 26, 1997 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Team post season streaks records
Record Games Dates
Longest road winning streak 5 May 3, 1997 through May 23, 1997
(tied two times)

Milestones

Individual career milestones[14]
Milestone Player Date
500th game played Ron Hextall November 21, 1996

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 12, 1996, the day after the deciding game of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 1997, the day of the deciding game of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals.[15]

Trades

Date Details Ref
July 18, 1996 To Philadelphia Flyers
Frank Bialowas		 To Washington Capitals
future considerations		 [16]
December 15, 1996 To Philadelphia Flyers
Paul Coffey
3rd-round pick in 1997		 To Hartford Whalers
Kevin Haller
1st-round pick in 1997
Hartford's 7th-round pick in 1997		 [17]
March 18, 1997 To Philadelphia Flyers
Frantisek Kucera		 To Vancouver Canucks
conditional 7th-round pick in 1997[a]		 [18][19]
Trade notes
  • a Condition not met.

Signings

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date Player Previous team (league) Contract details Ref
June 18, 1996 Scott Daniels Hartford Whalers 3 years, $1.75 million [20][21]
July 9, 1996 Dominic Roussel Winnipeg Jets 2 years, $910,000* [21]
July 10, 1996 John Stevens Springfield Falcons (AHL) * [21]
July 15, 1996 Daniel Lacroix New York Rangers 2 years, $650,000 [22]
July 17, 1996 Peter White Toronto Maple Leafs * [23]
July 23, 1996 Steven King Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1 year, $300,000* [24]

Re-signed

The following players were re-signed by the Flyers. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date Player Contract details Ref
July 18, 1996 Trent Klatt 2 years, $962,000 [25]
August 6, 1996 Karl Dykhuis 3 years, $1.5 million [26][27]
August 15, 1996 Ron Hextall 3 years, $7 million [28]
September 10, 1996 Petr Svoboda 4 years, $5 million [29]

Entry level contracts

The following players — Flyers draft picks, undrafted free agents, and the unsigned draft picks of other teams — were signed by the Flyers to entry level contracts.

Date Player Previous team (league) Draft Contract details Ref
June 18, 1996 Janne Niinimaa Jokerit (SM-liiga) 1993 2nd-round pick 2 years, $1.5 million [20][21]
July 31, 1996 Brian Wesenberg Guelph Storm (OHL) 1995 2nd-round pick (Anaheim) 1 year [30]
October 1, 1996 Brett Bruininks Notre Dame Fighting Irish (CCHA) Undrafted free agent 1 year [31]
October 3, 1996 Martin Boisvenue Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) Undrafted free agent multi-year [32]
October 3, 1996 Dainius Zubrus Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL) 1996 1st-round pick 3 years, $2.4 million [33]
October 10, 1996 Brian Boucher Tri-City Americans (WHL) 1995 1st-round pick 3 years [34]
May 28, 1997 Andy Delmore Fredericton Canadiens (AHL) Undrafted free agent [35]

NHL Waiver Draft

The 1996 NHL Waiver Draft was held on September 30, 1996.[36][37] Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.[36] First-year professional players were exempt.[36]

The Flyers made the following players available:[36] goaltenders Les Kuntar and Dominic Roussel, defensemen Frank Bialowas, Jason Bowen, Aris Brimanis, Darren Rumble, and John Stevens, and forwards Bruce Coles, Bob Corkum, Craig Darby, Rob DiMaio, Yanick Dupre, Tony Horacek, Patrik Juhlin, Steven King, Trent Klatt, Shawn McCosh, Clayton Norris, and Peter White.

Selections involving the Philadelphia Flyers at the 1996 NHL Waiver Draft[36]
Round Player Selected by Selected from
1 Rob DiMaio San Jose Sharks Philadelphia Flyers
2 Bob Corkum Phoenix Coyotes Philadelphia Flyers

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.

Date Player Claimed by Claimed from Ref
January 17, 1997 Michel Petit Philadelphia Flyers Edmonton Oilers [38]

Departures

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date Player New team (league) Via Notes Ref
July 9, 1996 Shawn Antoski Pittsburgh Penguins Release Signed with Pittsburgh on July 31 [21][30]
July 9, 1996 Dan Quinn Pittsburgh Penguins Release Signed with Pittsburgh on July 31 [21][30]
July 24, 1996 Todd Nelson Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) Free agency [39]
July 29, 1996 Phil Crowe Ottawa Senators Free agency [40]
August 27, 1996 Tim Cheveldae Boston Bruins Free agency [41]
N/A Russ Romaniuk Manitoba Moose (IHL) Free agency [42]
October 12, 1996 Kerry Huffman Las Vegas Thunder (IHL) Free agency [43]

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri on June 22, 1996.[44]

Players drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1996 and their NHL career regular season statistics (complete through the end of the 2015–16 season)
Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team (league) GP G A Pts PIM W L T GAA Notes
1 15 Dainius Zubrus Right Wing  Lithuania Caledon Canadians (MJAHL) 1293 228 363 591 791 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 [a]
3 64 Chester Gallant Right Wing  Canada Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL) &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 [b]
5 124 Per-Ragnar Bergkvist Goaltender  Sweden Leksands IF (Elitserien) &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 [c]
5 133 Jesse Boulerice Right Wing  United States Detroit Whalers (OHL) 172 8 2 10 333 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
7 187 Roman Malov Center  Russia Avangard Omsk (RSL) &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
8 213 Jeff Milleker Center  Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
 &
—
Draft notes[45]

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL[2][46] and the Mobile Mysticks of the ECHL.[3]

References

General
Specific

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  7. ↑ 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 233
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  10. ↑ 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 230–32
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  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  42. ↑ Russell Romaniuk's biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved April 5, 2015
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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