1995–96 St. Louis Blues season

The 1995–96 St. Louis Blues season was the 29th in franchise history. The Blues hired head coach Mike Keenan as general manager. One of Keenan's first moves was trading Brendan Shanahan to the Hartford Whalers for Chris Pronger. Late in the season, Keenan acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Los Angeles Kings, reuniting him with former Oilers such as Glenn Anderson, Charlie Huddy, Craig MacTavish, and Grant Fuhr. Fuhr was hurt in the final game of the regular season and only played 2 games in the playoffs.

1995–96 St. Louis Blues
Division4th Central
Conference5th Western
1995–96 record32–34–16
Home record15–17–9
Road record17–17–7
Goals for219
Goals against248
Team information
General managerMike Keenan
CoachMike Keenan
CaptainBrett Hull (Oct.)
Shayne Corson (Oct.–Feb.)
Wayne Gretzky (Feb.–Apr.)
Alternate captainsShayne Corson (Oct., Feb.–Apr.)
Brett Hull (Dec.–Feb.)
Al MacInnis
Jay Wells (Oct.–Dec.)
ArenaKiel Center
Average attendance18,805
Minor league affiliate(s)Worcester IceCats
Birmingham Bulls
Team leaders
GoalsBrett Hull (43)
AssistsAl MacInnis (44)
PointsBrett Hull (83)
Penalty minutesShayne Corson (192)
Plus/minusMike Hudson (+7)
WinsGrant Fuhr (30)
Goals against averageGrant Fuhr (2.87)

The Blues defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Western Conference Quarter-finals in the last playoff series ever played at Maple Leaf Gardens. In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Blues lost to the President's Trophy winners, the Detroit Red Wings, in seven games. The Blues had seven eventual Hockey Hall of Fame members during the season (Gretzky, Hull, MacInnis, Anderson, Fuhr, Hawerchuk and Pronger).

Regular season

Wayne Gretzky trade

On February 27, the St. Louis Blues acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Los Angeles Kings for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat and draft picks.[1] In 18 regular season games with the Blues, Gretzky recorded 21 points as the Blues qualified for the playoffs for the 17th straight season with a record of 32–34–16. He scored 14 points in 13 playoff games for the team, and the Blues lost Game 7 of the conference semifinals in overtime. He also served as the team's captain (replacing Corson) during his short tenure with the Blues.[2]

Final standings
Central Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1Detroit Red Wings8262137325181131
2Chicago Blackhawks8240281427322094
3Toronto Maple Leafs8234361224725280
4St. Louis Blues8232341621924880
5Winnipeg Jets823640627529178
6Dallas Stars8226421422728066

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[3]
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

Playoffs

In the playoffs, Gretzky would provide a spark as the Blues overcame an injury to goalie Grant Fuhr in Game 1 to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in 6 games. Backup goalie Jon Casey continued to keep the Blues hopes alive as they jumped out to a 3–2 series lead against the Detroit Red Wings. However, the Wings would rally and win the series in double overtime in Game 7 on Steve Yzerman's goal.

Schedule and results

Regular season
1995–96 regular season[4]
October: 5–5–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 7, 19951–4@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)0–1–0Recap
2WOctober 10, 19955–3Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)1–1–0Recap
3WOctober 12, 19953–1@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)2–1–0Recap
4WOctober 14, 19954–1Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)3–1–0Recap
5LOctober 17, 19954–7Boston Bruins (1995–96)3–2–0Recap
6TOctober 19, 19951–1 OTDallas Stars (1995–96)3–2–1Recap
7LOctober 21, 19951–4Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)3–3–1Recap
8LOctober 22, 19952–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)3–4–1Recap
9WOctober 25, 19954–2@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)4–4–1Recap
10WOctober 27, 19954–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)5–4–1Recap
11LOctober 29, 19951–3Washington Capitals (1995–96)5–5–1Recap
November: 5–7–2 (home: 3–3–2; road: 2–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12LNovember 1, 19950–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)5–6–1Recap
13LNovember 4, 19953–7@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)5–7–1Recap
14LNovember 7, 19950–1Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)5–8–1Recap
15WNovember 10, 19953–2Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)6–8–1Recap
16WNovember 11, 19954–1@ New York Islanders (1995–96)7–8–1Recap
17TNovember 14, 19951–1 OTNew York Rangers (1995–96)7–8–2Recap
18WNovember 16, 19953–1San Jose Sharks (1995–96)8–8–2Recap
19LNovember 18, 19952–5@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)8–9–2Recap
20LNovember 21, 19952–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)8–10–2Recap
21LNovember 23, 19952–3Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)8–11–2Recap
22TNovember 25, 19952–2 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)8–11–3Recap
23LNovember 27, 19950–2Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)8–12–3Recap
24WNovember 29, 19955–4Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)9–12–3Recap
25WNovember 30, 19954–1@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)10–12–3Recap
December: 6–5–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 3–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26WDecember 2, 19957–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)11–12–3Recap
27TDecember 5, 19951–1 OT@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)11–12–4Recap
28WDecember 8, 19956–3@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)12–12–4Recap
29WDecember 9, 19952–1@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)13–12–4Recap
30LDecember 12, 19952–5Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)13–13–4Recap
31TDecember 14, 19953–3 OTCalgary Flames (1995–96)13–13–5Recap
32WDecember 16, 19953–2San Jose Sharks (1995–96)14–13–5Recap
33WDecember 19, 19954–1New York Islanders (1995–96)15–13–5Recap
34LDecember 22, 19951–2@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)15–14–5Recap
35LDecember 23, 19951–2@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)15–15–5Recap
36LDecember 26, 19952–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)15–16–5Recap
37WDecember 28, 19954–1Dallas Stars (1995–96)16–16–5Recap
38LDecember 30, 19953–4 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)16–17–5Recap
January: 5–3–3 (home: 2–1–0; road: 3–2–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39WJanuary 4, 19963–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)17–17–5Recap
40WJanuary 6, 19963–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)18–17–5Recap
41LJanuary 9, 19962–4@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)18–18–5Recap
42TJanuary 11, 19964–4 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)18–18–6Recap
43TJanuary 13, 19963–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)18–18–7Recap
44TJanuary 14, 19963–3 OT@ New York Rangers (1995–96)18–18–8Recap
45LJanuary 16, 19961–5Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)18–19–8Recap
46WJanuary 24, 19966–5@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)19–19–8Recap
47WJanuary 27, 19962–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)20–19–8Recap
48LJanuary 29, 19962–4@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)20–20–8Recap
49WJanuary 31, 19964–0@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)21–20–8Recap
February: 5–4–4 (home: 2–4–2; road: 3–0–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
50TFebruary 1, 19962–2 OTVancouver Canucks (1995–96)21–20–9Recap
51LFebruary 3, 19963–7Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)21–21–9Recap
52LFebruary 6, 19962–5Dallas Stars (1995–96)21–22–9Recap
53LFebruary 8, 19961–6Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)21–23–9Recap
54WFebruary 10, 19966–3@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)22–23–9Recap
55TFebruary 11, 19962–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1995–96)22–23–10Recap
56WFebruary 13, 19963–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)23–23–10Recap
57WFebruary 16, 19964–3Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)24–23–10Recap
58WFebruary 18, 19963–0Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)25–23–10Recap
59LFebruary 20, 19961–7Ottawa Senators (1995–96)25–24–10Recap
60WFebruary 22, 19964–3 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)26–24–10Recap
61TFebruary 24, 19962–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (1995–96)26–24–11Recap
62TFebruary 29, 19962–2 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)26–24–12Recap
March: 5–7–2 (home: 2–2–2; road: 3–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
63WMarch 3, 19964–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)27–24–12Recap
64WMarch 5, 19962–0Florida Panthers (1995–96)28–24–12Recap
65LMarch 7, 19962–4Calgary Flames (1995–96)28–25–12Recap
66WMarch 9, 19966–3Hartford Whalers (1995–96)29–25–12Recap
67LMarch 12, 19962–4@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)29–26–12Recap
68WMarch 15, 19964–2@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)30–26–12Recap
69LMarch 17, 19961–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)30–27–12Recap
70WMarch 18, 19963–1@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)31–27–12Recap
71LMarch 20, 19961–2@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)31–28–12Recap
72LMarch 22, 19961–6Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)31–29–12Recap
73TMarch 24, 19962–2 OTDetroit Red Wings (1995–96)31–29–13Recap
74LMarch 26, 19964–8@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)31–30–13Recap
75TMarch 28, 19964–4 OTNew Jersey Devils (1995–96)31–30–14Recap
76LMarch 31, 19961–8@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)31–31–14Recap
April: 1–3–2 (home: 0–2–1; road: 1–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77WApril 3, 19966–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)32–31–14Recap
78LApril 4, 19961–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)32–32–14Recap
79LApril 6, 19961–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)32–33–14Recap
80TApril 8, 19962–2 OTWinnipeg Jets (1995–96)32–33–15Recap
81LApril 11, 19962–3Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)32–34–15Recap
82TApril 14, 19962–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)32–34–16Recap
Legend:

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

Playoffs
1996 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs: Blues win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 16, 19963–1@ Toronto Maple LeafsBlues lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 18, 19964–5 OT@ Toronto Maple LeafsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WApril 21, 19963–2 OTToronto Maple LeafsBlues lead 2–1Recap
4WApril 23, 19965–1Toronto Maple LeafsBlues lead 3–1Recap
5LApril 25, 19964–5 OT@ Toronto Maple LeafsBlues lead 3–2Recap
6WApril 27, 19962–1Toronto Maple LeafsBlues win 4–2Recap
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (1) Detroit Red Wings: Red Wings win 4–3
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 3, 19962–3@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 5, 19963–8@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 2–0Recap
3WMay 8, 19965–4 OTDetroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 2–1Recap
4WMay 10, 19961–0Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WMay 12, 19963–2@ Detroit Red WingsBlues lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 14, 19962–4Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 3–3Recap
7LMay 16, 19960–1 2OT@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings win 4–3Recap
Legend:

  Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring
  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; 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 Blues only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
Regular season Playoffs
No. Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
16Brett HullRW70434083430136511210
2Al MacInnisD8217446158813347220
9Shayne CorsonLW771828463192138614−122
10[lower-alpha 1]Dale Hawerchuk‡C66132841522——————
14Geoff CourtnallLW69241640−910113033214
28Brian NoonanRW8113223528413415−510
44Chris ProngerD7871825−1811013156016
20Adam CreightonC6111102107813112−48
99Wayne Gretzky†C1881321−62132141620
25Peter Zezel†C5781321−2121030342
32Stephane Matteau†LW4671320−46511022−28
23Craig Johnson‡LW498715−430——————
15Mike Hudson†RW3231215726201114
5Igor Kravchuk†D4031215−6241015604
5Jeff Norton‡D364711426——————
34Murray BaronD822911319013101420
12[lower-alpha 2]Rob Pearson†RW2764104542000114
35Christer OlssonD262810−6143000−10
22Ian Laperriere‡RW33369−487——————
22[lower-alpha 3]David Roberts‡LW28167−712——————
27Steve Leach†RW14246−32211325410
18Tony TwistLW51325−110010112016
37Roman Vopat‡C25235−848——————
10Esa Tikkanen‡LW11145118——————
36Glenn Anderson†RW15224−1161114556
36J. J. Daigneault†‡D37134−624——————
27Denis Chasse‡RW42303−9108——————
37[lower-alpha 4]Patrice Tardif‡C23303−212——————
26Jay WellsD76033−8671201102
17Basil McRaeLW18112−540200000
21Paul BrotenRW17011−14——————
4Dallas Eakins‡D16011−234——————
31Grant FuhrG79011820000
7Greg GilbertLW17011−18——————
13Yuri Khmylev†LW7011−50611214
23[lower-alpha 5]Craig MacTavish†C13011−681302206
30Jon CaseyG90000120228
32Donald Dufresne‡D3000−24——————
22Charlie Huddy†D12000−761310118
1Pat Jablonski‡G10000——————
33Fred KnipscheerC100002——————
29Bruce RacineG11000210000
6Jamie RiversD3000−12——————
12[lower-alpha 6]Kevin Sawyer‡LW6000−223——————
33Ken Sutton†D6000−14100000
41Alexander VasilevskiRW1000−10——————

Goaltending
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
Regular season Playoffs
No. Player GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
31Grant Fuhr7930281621572092.87.903343652104510.87.978069
30Jon Casey9230180253.80.86103951266378362.89.9051747
1Pat Jablonski‡1000517.83.80008—————————
29Bruce Racine11030101123.13.8810230100000.0001

Awards and records

Awards
Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(in-season)		 NHL All-Star Game selection Brett Hull[lower-alpha 7] [6]
Al MacInnis

Milestones
Milestone Player Date Ref
600th assist Glenn Anderson April 8, 1996 [7]

Transactions
  • July 28, 1995 – Doug Lidster was traded by the St. Louis Blues to the New York Rangers in exchange for Jay Wells.

Draft picks

The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was held at Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last.[8]

Round Pick Name Nationality College/junior/club team
249Jochen Hecht (LW) GermanyAdler Mannheim (DEL)
375Scott Roche (G) CanadaNorth Bay Centennials (OHL)
4101Michal Handzus (C) SlovakiaIskra Banská Bystrica (Slovakia)
5127Jeffrey Ambrosio (LW) CanadaBelleville Bulls (OHL)
6153Denis Hamel (LW) CanadaChicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
7179Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (D) CanadaVal-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
8205Derek Bekar (C) CanadaPowell River Paper Kings (BCJHL)
9209Libor Zabransky (D) Czech RepublicHC České Budějovice (Czech Republic)

See also

Notes
  1. Hawerchuk wore number 12 in his first twelve games.
  2. Pearson wore number 27 through March 7.
  3. Roberts wore number 15 through December 23.
  4. Tardiff wore number 21 in his first five games.
  5. MacTavish wore number 22 in his first game.
  6. Sawyer wore number 36 in his first three games.
  7. Hull was voted to the starting lineup.[5]

References
  • "St. Louis Blues 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  • "1995-96 St. Louis Blues Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  1. Lapointe, Joe (February 28, 1996). "HOCKEY;Finally, Gretzky Is Traded to Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  2. "GRETZKY SCORES 1ST GOAL AS A MEMBER OF BLUES". Deseret News. March 1, 1996. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  3. "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  4. "1995-96 St. Louis Blues Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  5. "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  6. "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1996". NHL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  7. "Flames Win, Jets Tie in Bids for Playoff Berths". Los Angeles Times. April 9, 1996. Retrieved August 28, 2023. Glenn Anderson picked up his 600th career assist for the Blues.
  8. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.