1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season

The 1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season was the first season of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise after moving from Quebec City to Denver. As a result, the Avalanche were assigned to the Pacific Division of the NHL's Western Conference.

1995–96 Colorado Avalanche
Stanley Cup champions
Western Conference champions
Pacific Division champions
Division1st Pacific
Conference2nd Western
1995–96 record47–25–10
Home record24–10–7
Road record23–15–3
Goals for326 (2nd)
Goals against240 (T-8th)
Team information
General managerPierre Lacroix
CoachMarc Crawford
CaptainJoe Sakic
Alternate captainsMike Ricci
Sylvain Lefebvre
ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena
Team leaders
GoalsJoe Sakic (51)
AssistsPeter Forsberg (86)
PointsJoe Sakic (120)
Penalty minutesChris Simon (250)
WinsPatrick Roy
Stephane Fiset (22)
Goals against averagePatrick Roy (2.68)

Regular season

The Avalanche played their first game in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on October 6, 1995, winning 3–2 against the Detroit Red Wings.[1] Led by captain Joe Sakic, forward Peter Forsberg and defenceman Adam Foote on the ice, Pierre Lacroix as the general manager, and Marc Crawford as the head coach, the Avalanche got stronger when former Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy joined the team. Feeling humiliated for being left in the net after having conceded 9 goals on 26 shots during a Canadiens game against the Red Wings, Roy joined the Avalanche on December 6, 1995, together with ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane in a trade for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.[2] Roy would prove a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come.

On January 3, 1996, the Avalanche lost at home, 1–0, to the New Jersey Devils. It was the first time in 123 consecutive regular-season games that the team was shut out; the last time the team had been shut out was while they were the Quebec Nordiques. That game took place on January 27, 1994, and the Nordiques lost on the road, 3–0, to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Avalanche finished the regular season with a 47–25–10 record for 104 points, won the Pacific Division and finished second in the Western Conference. They scored 326 goals: an average of nearly 4 per game. Despite allowing the most short-handed goals in the league, with 22, they also scored the most short-handed goals, with 21.[3] Four Avalanche players scored at least 30 goals.[4]

  • December 11, 1995: Patrick Roy earned his first victory in net as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.[5] It was a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In November 1990, Brian Hayward was traded to the Minnesota North Stars for defenseman Jayson More.[6]

  • February 5, 1996: Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.[7] Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4-2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Canadiens head coach Mario Tremblay.[8]

Season standings

Pacific Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1Colorado Avalanche82472510326240104
2Calgary Flames8234371124124079
3Vancouver Canucks8232351527827879
4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim823539823424778
5Edmonton Oilers823044824030468
6Los Angeles Kings8224401825630266
7San Jose Sharks822055725235747

Note: 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[9]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Detroit Red WingsCEN8262137325181131
2Colorado AvalanchePAC82472510326240104
3Chicago BlackhawksCEN8240281427322094
4Toronto Maple LeafsCEN8234361224725280
5St. Louis BluesCEN8232341621924880
6Calgary FlamesPAC8234371124124079
7Vancouver CanucksPAC8232351527827879
8Winnipeg JetsCEN823640627529178
9Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPAC823539823424778
10Edmonton OilersPAC823044824030468
11Dallas StarsCEN8226421422728066
12Los Angeles KingsPAC8224401825630266
13San Jose SharksPAC822055725235747

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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

Schedule and results

1995–96 Game log

Playoffs

Colorado progressed to the playoffs and won the series against the Vancouver Canucks, the Chicago Blackhawks and Presidents' Trophy winners Detroit Red Wings. In the Stanley Cup Final, the Avalanche met the Florida Panthers, who were also in their first Stanley Cup final. The Avalanche swept the series 4–0. In Game Four, during the third overtime and after more than 100 minutes of play with no goals, defenceman Uwe Krupp scored to claim the franchise's first Cup.[10] Joe Sakic was the playoff's scoring leader with 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists) and won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player to his team during the playoffs. The 1996 Stanley Cup was the first major professional championship won by a Denver team.[11] With the Stanley Cup win, Russians Alexei Gusarov and Valeri Kamensky and Swede Peter Forsberg became members of the "Triple Gold Club", the exclusive group of ice hockey players who have won Olympic gold, World Championship gold and the Stanley Cup.[12]

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Joe SakicC82516912044141767
Peter ForsbergC8230861164726733
Valeri KamenskyLW8138478585141815
Claude LemieuxRW79393271117149210
Scott YoungRW81213960502705
Sandis OzolinshD66133750500711
Adam DeadmarshRW7821274814220302
Chris SimonLW6416183425010401
Stephane YelleC711314273015021
Craig WolaninD75720275025030
Mike RicciC6262127521301
Andrei KovalenkoRW261111221611303
Troy MurrayC63714212215001
Mike KeaneRW55101020401022
Alexei GusarovD65515205629000
Curtis LeschyshynD77415197332001
Adam FooteD73511168827101
Sylvain LefebvreD75511164926200
Martin RucinskyLW22411151410001
Jon KlemmD56312152012011
Rene CorbetLW333693310000
Warren RychelLW526281476001
Owen NolanRW94489-3400
Uwe KruppD603344000
John SlaneyD703342000
Paul BrousseauRW811221000
Dave HannanC410121000
Janne LaukkanenD31010-1100
Landon WilsonRW710163000
Stephane FisetG3701120000
Josef MarhaC201101000
Anders MyrvoldD40116-2000
Claude LapointeLW/C30000-1000
Aaron MillerD500000000
Patrick RoyG3900040000
Jocelyn ThibaultG1000000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Stephane Fiset21073722671032.9311012909.898
Patrick Roy230539221511032.68111301027.909
Jocelyn Thibault55810342283.010222194.874
Team:4970824725102342.82223642130.901
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Joe SakicC221816341410606
Valeri KamenskyLW221012222811302
Peter ForsbergC221011211810301
Sandis OzolinshD2251419165201
Mike RicciC226111718-1301
Adam DeadmarshRW2251217258100
Uwe KruppD2241216335102
Scott YoungRW2231215106000
Claude LemieuxRW195712555300
Alexei GusarovD210991213000
Rene CorbetLW832523101
Mike KeaneRW22325161001
Stephane YelleC2214582010
Sylvain LefebvreD22055126000
Adam FooteD221343611000
Jon KlemmD1521306100
Curtis LeschyshynD1712384000
Chris SimonLW1212311-2000
Dave HannanC1302223000
Warren RychelLW12101234000
Craig WolaninD710182001
Stephane FisetG100000000
Troy MurrayC800019-4000
Patrick RoyG2200000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Patrick Roy145422166512.103649598.921
Stephane Fiset110000.00000
Team:145522166512.103649598.921

[13]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Team trophies

Player awards and trophies

1996 NHL All-Star Game

Colorado Avalanche NHL All-Star representatives in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game at the FleetCenter in Boston.

Transactions

Trades

July 7, 1995 To Calgary Flames
David Ling
9th round pick in 1995
To Colorado Avalanche
9th round pick in 1995
July 12, 1995 To Washington Capitals
3rd round pick in 1996
To Colorado Avalanche
John Slaney
July 12, 1995 To Philadelphia Flyers
Garth Snow
To Colorado Avalanche
3rd and 6th round picks in 1996
October 2, 1995 To Washington Capitals
Cash
To Colorado Avalanche
Warren Rychel
October 3, 1995 To New York Islanders
Wendel Clark
To Colorado Avalanche
Claude Lemieux
October 5, 1995 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Finn
To Colorado Avalanche
4th round pick in 1997
October 26, 1995 To San Jose Sharks
Owen Nolan
To Colorado Avalanche
Sandis Ozolinsh
November 1, 1995 To Calgary Flames
Claude Lapointe
To Colorado Avalanche
7th round pick in 1996
December 6, 1995 To Montreal Canadiens
Andrei Kovalenko
Jocelyn Thibault
Martin Rucinsky
To Colorado Avalanche
Patrick Roy
Mike Keane
December 28, 1995 To Los Angeles Kings
John Slaney
To Colorado Avalanche
Conditional draft pick in 1996
January 26, 1996 To Ottawa Senators
Janne Laukkanen
To Colorado Avalanche
Brad Larsen
March 19, 1996 To Calgary Flames
Paxton Schulte
To Colorado Avalanche
Vesa Viitakoski
March 20, 1996 To Buffalo Sabres
6th round pick in 1996
To Colorado Avalanche
Dave Hannan
April 3, 1996 To Washington Capitals
Anson Carter
To Colorado Avalanche
4th round pick in 1996

Other transactions

Date Player Transaction
August 8, 1995 Troy Murray Signed as a free agent
September 8, 1995 Andrei Kovalenko Signed as a free agent
September 8, 1995 Curtis Leschyshyn Signed as a free agent
September 9, 1995 Scott Young Signed as a free agent
October 2, 1995 Ted Drury Claimed by Ottawa in the waiver draft
October 2, 1995 Bill Huard Claimed by Dallas in the waiver draft

Roster

1995-96 Colorado Avalanche
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centers

[4]

Draft picks

Colorado's picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 25 Marc Denis Canada Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
2 51 Nic Beaudoin Canada Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL)
3 77 John Tripp Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4 81 Tomi Kallio Finland Kiekko-67 Turku (FinD1)
5 129 Brent Johnson United States Owen Sound Platers (OHL).
6 155 John Cirjak Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7 181 Dan Smith Canada University of British Columbia (CIAU)
8 207 Tomi Hirvonen Finland Ilves Jrs. (Finland)
9 228 Chris George Canada Sarnia Sting (OHL)

See also

References

General

Footnotes

  1. "October 6, 1995 - Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche gamesheet". Colorado Avalanche Database. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  2. Sadowski, Rick (2006-06-29). "Roy gets call he's in Hall". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  3. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1996.html
  4. https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/COL/1996.html
  5. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
  6. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.278, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
  7. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
  8. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.383 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
  9. "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  10. Ulman, Howard (1996-06-11). "No stopping the Avalanche - Colorado completes Cup sweep of Panthers with 3OT victory". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  11. "Miscellaneous/Community/Altitude" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  12. "Triple Gold Club" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-29. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  13. "1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
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