1995–96 Edmonton Oilers season

The 1995–96 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 17th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 17–27–4 record, earning 38 points, in the lockout shortened 1994–95 season, missing the playoffs for the 3rd straight season.

1995–96 Edmonton Oilers
Division5th Pacific
Conference10th Western
1995–96 record30–44–8
Home record15–21–5
Road record15–23–3
Goals for240
Goals against304
Team information
General managerGlen Sather
CoachRon Low
CaptainKelly Buchberger
Alternate captainsJason Arnott
Luke Richardson
Doug Weight
ArenaEdmonton Coliseum
Average attendance12,334 (75.0%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Cape Breton Oilers (AHL)
Wheeling Thunderbirds (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsZdeno Ciger (31)
AssistsDoug Weight (79)
PointsDoug Weight (104)
Penalty minutesBryan Marchment (202)
Plus/minusMariusz Czerkawski (+7)
WinsCurtis Joseph (15)
Goals against averageCurtis Joseph (3.44)

During the off-season, the Oilers and St. Louis Blues would complete a trade that saw Edmonton acquire goaltender Curtis Joseph and the rights of Mike Grier in exchange for a 1st round draft pick in both 1996 and 1997. Joseph and the Oilers could not come to a contract agreement, and he would start the season with the Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL. The Oilers also would bring back Glenn Anderson, whom they traded in 1991, as he signed as a free agent, however, he would be dealt to the Blues midway through the season.

As the Oilers would struggle badly early in the season, sitting with a 14–23–6 record at the time of the signing, the team and Joseph agreed to a contract in early January, and Edmonton would then trade their other #1 goaltender, Bill Ranford, to the Boston Bruins for Sean Brown, Mariusz Czerkawski and the Bruins 1st round pick in 1996. Edmonton would play better defensive hockey after the trade, as Joseph would post a 15–16–2 record, however, it was not enough for the Oilers to make the playoffs, as they finished 10 points behind the 8th place Winnipeg Jets.

Offensively, Doug Weight became the first Oiler since Mark Messier in 1989–90 to reach the 100-point plateau, as Weight would record 104 points. Zdeno Ciger scored a team-high 31 goals, while Jason Arnott scored 28 goals and 59 points despite missing 18 games due to injuries. Boris Mironov led the defense with 32 points, while fellow blueliner Jeff Norton would earn 20 points in 30 games after being acquired from St. Louis.

In goal, Bill Ranford would get most of the action until early January, winning 13 games and posting a 3.84 GAA, then Curtis Joseph stepped in and led the Oilers in wins at 15, and posted a team best 3.44 GAA.

Regular season

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[1]
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 regular season[2]
October: 4–5–1 (home: 3–1–1 ; road: 1–4–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
1October 8Detroit Red Wings3 – 1Edmonton OilersRanford13,3020–1–00Recap
2October 10Edmonton Oilers3 – 5St. Louis BluesRanford17,5650–2–00Recap
3October 13Edmonton Oilers0 – 9Detroit Red WingsRanford19,8750–3–00Recap
4October 15Edmonton Oilers1 – 7Philadelphia FlyersRanford17,3800–4–00Recap
5October 17Edmonton Oilers3 – 1New Jersey DevilsRanford10,6981–4–02Recap
6October 18Edmonton Oilers1 – 4Buffalo SabresGage10,8831–5–02Recap
7October 21Vancouver Canucks4 – 6Edmonton OilersRanford12,4132–5–04Recap
8October 22San Jose Sharks1 – 1Edmonton OilersOTRanford9,5202–5–15Recap
9October 27Winnipeg Jets5 – 7Edmonton OilersRanford10,5273–5–17Recap
10October 31New Jersey Devils1 – 2Edmonton OilersRanford9,7914–5–19Recap
November: 3–7–4 (home: 1–3–2 ; road: 2–4–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
11November 1Edmonton Oilers3 – 3Vancouver CanucksOTRanford15,1074–5–210Recap
12November 4Toronto Maple Leafs3 – 3Edmonton OilersOTRanford13,8384–5–311Recap
13November 7Edmonton Oilers2 – 4Detroit Red WingsRanford19,7764–6–311Recap
14November 9Edmonton Oilers1 – 2Florida PanthersRanford10,8164–7–311Recap
15November 10Edmonton Oilers4 – 3Tampa Bay LightningOTRanford20,3615–7–313Recap
16November 12Edmonton Oilers4 – 4Chicago BlackhawksOTGage18,1165–7–414Recap
17November 14Edmonton Oilers2 – 4Calgary FlamesGage17,5705–8–414Recap
18November 15Montreal Canadiens4 – 1Edmonton OilersRanford13,8665–9–414Recap
19November 17Detroit Red Wings5 – 4Edmonton OilersRanford10,8035–10–414Recap
20November 20Colorado Avalanche3 – 3Edmonton OilersOTRanford9,3845–10–515Recap
21November 22Mighty Ducks of Anaheim0 – 2Edmonton OilersRanford9,0526–10–517Recap
22November 24Edmonton Oilers5 – 2Calgary FlamesRanford18,4367–10–519Recap
23November 26Edmonton Oilers0 – 4Winnipeg JetsRanford10,0707–11–519Recap
24November 28Chicago Blackhawks5 – 3Edmonton OilersRanford9,3127–12–519Recap
December: 6–8–1 (home: 3–4–1 ; road: 3–4–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
25December 1Calgary Flames8 – 2Edmonton OilersRanford14,1897–13–519Recap
26December 2St. Louis Blues7 – 3Edmonton OilersRanford10,5067–14–519Recap
27December 5Edmonton Oilers2 – 6Vancouver CanucksRanford15,6827–15–519Recap
28December 7Edmonton Oilers5 – 3Colorado AvalancheRanford16,0618–15–521Recap
29December 9Edmonton Oilers4 – 2San Jose SharksRanford17,1909–15–523Recap
30December 10Edmonton Oilers3 – 1Mighty Ducks of AnaheimRanford17,17410–15–525Recap
31December 13Vancouver Canucks2 – 2Edmonton OilersOTRanford9,81310–15–626Recap
32December 15Edmonton Oilers4 – 9Winnipeg JetsGage8,50410–16–626Recap
33December 18Ottawa Senators1 – 3Edmonton OilersRanford8,41911–16–628Recap
34December 20Colorado Avalanche4 – 1Edmonton OilersRanford10,74311–17–628Recap
35December 22Edmonton Oilers3 – 6Washington CapitalsRanford11,20011–18–628Recap
36December 23Edmonton Oilers1 – 6Toronto Maple LeafsRanford15,74611–19–628Recap
37December 27Philadelphia Flyers2 – 3Edmonton OilersRanford16,43712–19–630Recap
38December 29Los Angeles Kings4 – 5Edmonton OilersOTRanford16,43713–19–632Recap
39December 30New York Rangers8 – 3Edmonton OilersRanford16,03513–20–632Recap
January: 5–6–0 (home: 3–5–0 ; road: 2–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
40January 3Tampa Bay Lightning5 – 0Edmonton OilersRanford9,91413–21–632Recap
41January 5Florida Panthers3 – 2Edmonton OilersBrathwaite11,76213–22–632Recap
42January 7Mighty Ducks of Anaheim1 – 3Edmonton OilersGage9,45614–22–634Recap
43January 9Hartford Whalers5 – 1Edmonton OilersGage9,70214–23–634Recap
44January 13Buffalo Sabres4 – 5Edmonton OilersOTJoseph11,58915–23–636Recap
45January 16Edmonton Oilers5 – 1St. Louis BluesJoseph19,16816–23–638Recap
46January 17Edmonton Oilers4 – 3Dallas StarsJoseph14,02717–23–640Recap
47January 24Dallas Stars5 – 3Edmonton OilersJoseph9,33517–24–640Recap
48January 26New York Islanders1 – 4Edmonton OilersJoseph12,14918–24–642Recap
49January 30Edmonton Oilers2 – 3Calgary FlamesOTJoseph17,72418–25–642Recap
50January 31Chicago Blackhawks4 – 0Edmonton OilersJoseph11,98418–26–642Recap
February: 4–7–1 (home: 3–3–0 ; road: 1–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
51February 7Washington Capitals2 – 1Edmonton OilersJoseph9,80718–27–642Recap
52February 9Vancouver Canucks3 – 2Edmonton OilersOTBrathwaite13,23218–28–642Recap
53February 11Calgary Flames2 – 4Edmonton OilersJoseph14,93119–28–644Recap
54February 14Mighty Ducks of Anaheim2 – 3Edmonton OilersJoseph10,34220–28–646Recap
55February 16Edmonton Oilers1 – 6Dallas StarsJoseph16,54120–29–646Recap
56February 18Edmonton Oilers1 – 4Chicago BlackhawksJoseph21,91720–30–646Recap
57February 19Edmonton Oilers5 – 7Colorado AvalancheJoseph16,06120–31–646Recap
58February 21Los Angeles Kings2 – 7Edmonton OilersJoseph13,53721–31–648Recap
59February 23Boston Bruins7 – 4Edmonton OilersJoseph16,43721–32–648Recap
60February 25Edmonton Oilers0 – 2New York IslandersJoseph12,09021–33–648Recap
61February 27Edmonton Oilers4 – 3Boston BruinsOTJoseph17,56522–33–650Recap
62February 28Edmonton Oilers4 – 4Hartford WhalersOTJoseph9,36022–33–751Recap
March: 8–6–2 (home: 5–3–0 ; road: 3–2–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
63March 1Pittsburgh Penguins5 – 4Edmonton OilersJoseph16,43722–34–751Recap
64March 3St. Louis Blues4 – 3Edmonton OilersJoseph16,43722–35–751Recap
65March 6Edmonton Oilers2 – 3Los Angeles KingsJoseph11,40122–36–751Recap
66March 8San Jose Sharks2 – 4Edmonton OilersJoseph11,95523–36–753Recap
67March 13Edmonton Oilers8 – 3San Jose SharksJoseph17,19024–36–755Recap
68March 16Edmonton Oilers5 – 2Los Angeles KingsJoseph12,75825–36–757Recap
69March 17Edmonton Oilers1 – 8Colorado AvalancheJoseph16,06125–37–757Recap
70March 19Edmonton Oilers4 – 1New York RangersJoseph18,20026–37–759Recap
71March 21Edmonton Oilers4 – 5Pittsburgh PenguinsJoseph17,18126–38–759Recap
72March 23Edmonton Oilers6 – 5Montreal CanadiensJoseph21,39227–38–761Recap
73March 24Edmonton Oilers3 – 2Ottawa SenatorsJoseph13,18828–38–763Recap
74March 27Los Angeles Kings3 – 3Edmonton OilersOTJoseph11,88828–38–864Recap
75March 29Winnipeg Jets2 – 3Edmonton OilersJoseph16,43729–38–866Recap
76March 30Toronto Maple Leafs4 – 3Edmonton OilersGage16,43729–39–866Recap
April: 1–5–0 (home: 0–2–0 ; road: 1–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
77April 1Edmonton Oilers6 – 2Vancouver CanucksGage18,42230–39–868Recap
78April 3Edmonton Oilers0 – 1Mighty Ducks of AnaheimGage17,17430–40–868Recap
79April 4Edmonton Oilers3 – 5San Jose SharksGage17,19030–41–868Recap
80April 8Calgary Flames3 – 2Edmonton OilersGage15,86930–42–868Recap
81April 10Dallas Stars4 – 2Edmonton OilersJoseph11,67130–43–868Recap
82April 13Edmonton Oilers3 – 6Toronto Maple LeafsJoseph15,74630–44–868Recap
Legend:

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

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 Oilers only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only.
Regular season
No. Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM
39Doug WeightC822579104−1995
8Zdeno CigerLW78313970−1541
7Jason ArnottC64283159−687
20David OliverRW80201939−2234
26Todd MarchantC81191938−1966
32Miroslav SatanRW62181735022
2Boris MironovD7882432−23101
37Dean McAmmondLW53151530623
10Mariusz Czerkawski†RW3712172978
16Kelly BuchbergerRW82111425−20184
6Jeff Norton†D3041620516
17Scott ThorntonC779918−25149
24Bryan MarchmentD7831518−7202
28Jiri SlegrD5741317−174
22Luke RichardsonD822911−27108
94Ryan SmythLW482911−1028
9Glenn Anderson†‡RW174610027
27Peter White‡C26538−140
21Igor Kravchuk‡D26448−1310
19Kent Manderville†LW37358−538
18Kirk Maltby‡RW49268−1661
6Ken Sutton‡D32088−1239
34Donald Dufresne†D42167−216
5Brett HauerD29426−1130
15David Roberts†LW624606
15Fredrik Olausson‡D20066−1414
29Louie DeBruskLW38134−796
27Ralph IntranuovoC13123−34
25Greg de VriesD13112−212
64Jason BonsignoreC20022−64
12Tyler WrightC23101−733
31Curtis JosephG340114
30Bill Ranford‡G370112
36Dennis BonvieRW8000−347
40[lower-alpha 1]Fred BrathwaiteG70002
1Joaquin GageG160004
35Bryan Muir†D5000−46
23Nick StajduharD200024

Goaltending
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only.
Regular season
No. Player GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
31Curtis Joseph34151629711113.44.88601936
30Bill Ranford‡371318510241283.81.87512015
1Joaquin Gage16281350453.77.8710717
40[lower-alpha 1]Fred Brathwaite7020140122.45.9140293

Awards and records

Awards
Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
League
(in-season)		 NHL All-Star Game selection Doug Weight [3]
NHL Rookie of the Month Miroslav Satan (March) [4]
Team Community Service Award Luke Richardson [5]
Defenceman of the Year Bryan Marchment [5]
Molson Cup Doug Weight [5]
Most Popular Player Doug Weight [5]
Top Defensive Forward Kelly Buchberger [5]
Top First Year Oiler Curtis Joseph [5]
Unsung Hero Zdeno Ciger [5]
Zane Feldman Trophy Doug Weight [5]

Records
  • 1,292: A new Oilers record for most penalty minutes in a career by Kelly Buchberger on December 20, 1995.
  • 424:: A new Oilers record for most games played in a career by a goaltender by Bill Ranford on December 9, 1995.

Milestones
Regular Season
PlayerMilestoneReached
Kelly Buchberger500th NHL GameOctober 10, 1995
Luke Richardson1,000th NHL PIMOctober 15, 1995
Miroslav Satan1st NHL Game
Miroslav Satan1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point		October 21, 1995
Fredrik Olausson600th NHL GameOctober 22, 1995
Miroslav Satan1st NHL AssistOctober 27, 1995
Doug Weight200th NHL Point
Brett Hauer1st NHL GameNovember 7, 1995
Brett Hauer1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point		November 10, 1995
Igor Kravchuk200th NHL GameNovember 14, 1995
Bryan Marchment1,000th NHL PIMNovember 15, 1995
Doug Weight1st NHL Hat-trickNovember 20, 1995
Ryan Smyth1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point		November 24, 1995
Jason Bonsignore1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point		December 1, 1995
Scott Thornton300th NHL PIM
Ryan Smyth1st NHL AssistDecember 5, 1995
Bill Ranford20th NHL AssistDecember 18, 1995
Bryan Marchment300th NHL GameDecember 20, 1995
Kelly Buchberger1,300th NHL PIMDecember 23, 1995
Boris Mironov200th NHL PIM
Scott Thornton200th NHL Game
Kelly Buchberger100th NHL AssistDecember 27, 1995
Doug Weight300th NHL Game
Nick Stajduhar1st NHL GameJanuary 3, 1996
Zdeno Ciger100th NHL AssistJanuary 7, 1996
Greg de Vries1st NHL GameJanuary 17, 1996
Brett Hauer1st NHL Assist
Luke Richardson600th NHL GameJanuary 31, 1996
Glenn Anderson1,100th NHL GameFebruary 7, 1996
Todd Marchant100th NHL Game
Bryan Marchment1,100th NHL PIMFebruary 9, 1996
David Oliver100th NHL GameFebruary 19, 1996
Greg de Vries1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point		February 21, 1996
Ralph Intranuovo1st NHL Goal
Mariusz Czerkawski100th NHL GameFebruary 23, 1996
Glenn Anderson1,100th NHL PIMFebruary 27, 1996
Bryan Muir1st NHL GameMarch 8, 1996
Scott Thornton400th NHL PIM
Jason Arnott300th NHL PIMMarch 16, 1996
Doug Weight200th NHL Assist
Jason Arnott2nd NHL Hat-trickMarch 23, 1996
Dean McAmmond100th NHL Game
Todd Marchant100th NHL PIMMarch 29, 1996
Jiri Slegr200th NHL Game
Zdeno Ciger200th NHL PointMarch 30, 1996
Greg de Vries1st NHL AssistApril 4, 1996
Louie DeBrusk700th NHL PIMApril 8, 1996
Kent Manderville200th NHL Game

Transactions

Trades
August 4, 1995 To St. Louis Blues
1st round pick in 1996
1st round pick in 1997		 To Edmonton Oilers
Curtis Joseph
Mike Grier
August 24, 1995 To Vancouver Canucks
7th round pick in 1997		 To Edmonton Oilers
Brett Hauer
December 4, 1995 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Peter White
4th round pick in 1996		 To Edmonton Oilers
Kent Manderville
January 4, 1996 To St. Louis Blues
Ken Sutton
Igor Kravchuk		 To Edmonton Oilers
Jeff Norton
Donald Dufresne
January 11, 1996 To Boston Bruins
Bill Ranford		 To Edmonton Oilers
Mariusz Czerkawski
Sean Brown
1st round pick in 1996
March 12, 1996 To St. Louis Blues
Future considerations		 To Edmonton Oilers
David Roberts
March 20, 1996 To Detroit Red Wings
Kirk Maltby		 To Edmonton Oilers
Dan McGillis

Free agents
PlayerFormer Team
F Rem MurrayLos Angeles Kings
PlayerNew Team
F Shayne CorsonSt. Louis Blues
F Mike StapletonWinnipeg Jets
F Micah AivazoffNew York Islanders
F Davis PayneBoston Bruins
F Iain FraserWinnipeg Jets

Waivers
DatePlayerTeam
January 16, 1996 (1996-01-16)Fredrik Olaussonto Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
January 25, 1996 (1996-01-25)Glenn Andersonfrom Vancouver Canucks
March 12, 1996 (1996-03-12)Glenn Andersonto St. Louis Blues

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.[6]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
16Steve Kelly CanadaPrince Albert Raiders (WHL)
231Georges Laraque CanadaSt-Jean Lynx (QMJHL)
357Lukas Zib Czech RepublicCeske Budejovice HC (Czech.)
483Mike Minard CanadaChilliwack Chiefs (BCJHL)
5109Jan Snopek Czech RepublicOshawa Generals (OHL)
7161Martin Cerven Czech RepublicDukla Trencin (Czech.)
8187Stephen Douglas CanadaNiagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
9213Jiri Antonin Czech RepublicPardubice HC (Czech.)

Notes
  1. Brathwaite wore number 31 in his first four games.

References
  • "Edmonton Oilers 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  • "1995-96 Edmonton Oilers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  • National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007
  1. "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  2. "1995-96 Edmonton Oilers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  3. "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1996". NHL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  4. "NHL Rookies of the Month". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  5. 2014–15 Edmonton Oilers Media Guide, p.173
  6. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
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