1995–96 Hartford Whalers season

The 1995–96 Hartford Whalers season was the 24th season of the franchise, 17th season in the NHL. The Whalers missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

1995–96 Hartford Whalers
Division4th Northeast
Conference10th Eastern
1995–96 record34–39–9
Home record22–15–4
Road record12–24–5
Goals for237
Goals against259
Team information
General managerJim Rutherford
CoachPaul Holmgren (Oct.–Nov.)
Paul Maurice (Nov.–Apr.)
CaptainBrendan Shanahan
Alternate captainsGlen Wesley
Andrew Cassels
ArenaHartford Civic Center
Average attendance11,983 (76.6%) [1]
Minor league affiliate(s)Springfield Falcons (AHL)
Richmond Renegades (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsBrendan Shanahan (44)
AssistsAndrew Cassels (43)
PointsBrendan Shanahan (78)
Penalty minutesScott Daniels (254)
Plus/minusBrad McCrimmon (+15)
WinsSean Burke (28)
Goals against averageJason Muzzatti (2.90)

Off-season

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On May 31, the Whalers acquired a fourth round draft pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jan Vopat.

The Whalers participated in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta on July 8. With their first round selection, 13th overall, Hartford selected Jean-Sébastien Giguère from the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Giguere had a record of 14-27-5 with a 3.94 GAA and a .889 save percentage with the Mooseheads during the 1994-95 season. In the fourth round, the club selected Sami Kapanen from HIFK of the SM-liiga. In 49 games, Kapanen scored 14 goals and 42 points. Other notable players the Whalers selected in the draft include Ian MacNeil, Byron Ritchie and Mike Rucinski.

Hartford signed free agent Jeff Daniels on July 18. Daniels played in three games with the Florida Panthers during the 1994-95, earning no points. He played a majority of the season with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL, scoring eight goals and 20 points in 25 games.

On July 27, the Whalers and St. Louis Blues were involved in a blockbuster trade. Hartford acquired Brendan Shanahan from the Blues in exchange for Chris Pronger. In 45 games during the 1994-95 season, Shanahan scored 20 goals and 41 points. Shanahan had back-to-back 50+ goal seasons in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Shanahan was named to the NHL First All-Star Team during the 1993-94 season, as he scored 52 goals and 102 points in 81 games, while accumulating 211 penalty minutes.

The Whalers signed free agent Gerald Diduck on August 24. Diduck split the 1994-95 season between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks. In 35 games, he scored two goals and five points.

On October 6, the Whalers acquired Nelson Emerson in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Darren Turcotte. In 1994-95, Emerson scored 14 goals and 37 points in 48 games with the Jets. During the 1993-94 season, Emerson scored a career high 33 goals and 74 points in 83 games with Winnipeg. Also, on October 6, at the NHL Waiver Draft, the Whalers selected Jason Muzzatti from the Calgary Flames. Muzzatti had a 10-14-4 record with the Saint John Flames during the 1994-95 season.

Regular season

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Against the Hartford Whalers on March 6, 1996, Chris Osgood became the third goaltender in NHL history to score a goal.[2]

The Whalers were shutout a league-high 8 times during the regular season.[3]

Final standings

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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[4]
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

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1995–96 regular season[3]
October: 4–4–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
1 W October 7, 1995 2–0 New York Rangers (1995–96) 1–0–0 15,635 Recap
2 W October 11, 1995 3–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 2–0–0 8,635 Recap
3 W October 14, 1995 3–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 3–0–0 15,500 Recap
4 W October 16, 1995 7–5 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 4–0–0 18,200 Recap
5 T October 20, 1995 2–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 4–0–1 15,635 Recap
6 L October 21, 1995 0–3 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 4–1–1 12,503 Recap
7 L October 25, 1995 2–4 St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 4–2–1 10,527 Recap
8 L October 27, 1995 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 4–3–1 11,157 Recap
9 L October 28, 1995 0–3 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 4–4–1 17,565 Recap
November: 5–7–1 (home: 3–4–0; road: 2–3–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
10 L November 2, 1995 0–5 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 4–5–1 10,458 Recap
11 W November 4, 1995 5–4 @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 5–5–1 8,794 Recap
12 L November 5, 1995 1–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 5–6–1 17,218 Recap
13 W November 7, 1995 7–3 San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 6–6–1 8,628 Recap
14 L November 11, 1995 1–4 New York Rangers (1995–96) 6–7–1 15,635 Recap
15 L November 14, 1995 0–1 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 6–8–1 11,916 Recap
16 W November 15, 1995 3–2 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 7–8–1 7,641 Recap
17 L November 18, 1995 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 7–9–1 13,910 Recap
18 L November 20, 1995 3–4 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 7–10–1 16,312 Recap
19 W November 22, 1995 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 8–10–1 11,642 Recap
20 W November 24, 1995 4–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 9–10–1 15,726 Recap
21 L November 25, 1995 2–4 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 9–11–1 13,108 Recap
22 T November 29, 1995 2–2 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 9–11–2 15,203 Recap
December: 2–10–3 (home: 2–3–1; road: 0–7–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
23 L December 1, 1995 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 9–12–2 12,036 Recap
24 L December 2, 1995 3–5 Florida Panthers (1995–96) 9–13–2 10,092 Recap
25 W December 6, 1995 7–4 New York Islanders (1995–96) 10–13–2 8,760 Recap
26 L December 9, 1995 0–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 10–14–2 16,114 Recap
27 L December 10, 1995 1–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 10–15–2 17,955 Recap
28 L December 13, 1995 2–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 10–16–2 7,547 Recap
29 W December 15, 1995 4–2 Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 11–16–2 9,826 Recap
30 T December 16, 1995 3–3 OT @ New York Islanders (1995–96) 11–16–3 8,251 Recap
31 L December 18, 1995 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 11–17–3 16,237 Recap
32 L December 20, 1995 2–3 Calgary Flames (1995–96) 11–18–3 6,563 Recap
33 T December 22, 1995 3–3 OT @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 11–18–4 18,200 Recap
34 T December 23, 1995 3–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 11–18–5 12,262 Recap
35 L December 28, 1995 4–9 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 11–19–5 17,181 Recap
36 L December 30, 1995 0–3 @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 11–20–5 18,130 Recap
37 L December 31, 1995 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 11–21–5 19,983 Recap
January: 8–4–1 (home: 4–0–1; road: 4–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
38 W January 3, 1996 2–0 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 12–21–5 8,087 Recap
39 W January 5, 1996 4–2 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 13–21–5 12,239 Recap
40 L January 6, 1996 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 13–22–5 17,565 Recap
41 W January 9, 1996 5–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 14–22–5 9,702 Recap
42 L January 10, 1996 2–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 14–23–5 16,469 Recap
43 W January 12, 1996 3–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 15–23–5 9,709 Recap
44 W January 16, 1996 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 16–23–5 11,124 Recap
45 W January 17, 1996 6–3 @ New York Islanders (1995–96) 17–23–5 8,544 Recap
46 L January 24, 1996 2–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 17–24–5 12,808 Recap
47 W January 25, 1996 8–2 Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 18–24–5 13,757 Recap
48 T January 27, 1996 4–4 OT New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 18–24–6 15,635 Recap
49 L January 30, 1996 2–8 @ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 18–25–6 17,190 Recap
50 W January 31, 1996 6–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 19–25–6 11,775 Recap
February: 6–3–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–1–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
51 W February 2, 1996 4–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 20–25–6 17,174 Recap
52 W February 7, 1996 5–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 21–25–6 16,758 Recap
53 W February 9, 1996 3–2 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 22–25–6 16,061 Recap
54 W February 11, 1996 5–3 @ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 23–25–6 15,397 Recap
55 L February 14, 1996 0–3 Boston Bruins (1995–96) 23–26–6 15,635 Recap
56 W February 17, 1996 2–1 OT Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 24–26–6 15,291 Recap
57 W February 21, 1996 5–3 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 25–26–6 14,311 Recap
58 L February 23, 1996 4–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 25–27–6 17,235 Recap
59 L February 25, 1996 2–6 Dallas Stars (1995–96) 25–28–6 11,143 Recap
60 T February 28, 1996 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 25–28–7 9,360 Recap
March: 6–6–2 (home: 6–3–0; road: 0–3–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
61 L March 1, 1996 2–5 Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 25–29–7 11,552 Recap
62 W March 2, 1996 7–1 Florida Panthers (1995–96) 26–29–7 11,935 Recap
63 L March 6, 1996 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 26–30–7 11,252 Recap
64 W March 8, 1996 7–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 27–30–7 10,979 Recap
65 L March 9, 1996 3–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 27–31–7 20,803 Recap
66 W March 13, 1996 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 28–31–7 11,850 Recap
67 W March 16, 1996 2–1 Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 29–31–7 13,213 Recap
68 W March 18, 1996 6–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 30–31–7 11,440 Recap
69 L March 20, 1996 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 30–32–7 21,255 Recap
70 T March 22, 1996 1–1 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 30–32–8 13,596 Recap
71 T March 23, 1996 2–2 OT @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 30–32–9 18,130 Recap
72 L March 25, 1996 0–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 30–33–9 17,380 Recap
73 L March 27, 1996 5–6 OT Boston Bruins (1995–96) 30–34–9 13,884 Recap
74 W March 30, 1996 3–1 New York Islanders (1995–96) 31–34–9 13,628 Recap
April: 3–5–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
75 L April 1, 1996 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 31–35–9 13,159 Recap
76 L April 3, 1996 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 31–36–9 22,576 Recap
77 W April 4, 1996 1–0 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 32–36–9 17,757 Recap
78 L April 6, 1996 3–6 New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 32–37–9 13,521 Recap
79 W April 8, 1996 5–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 33–37–9 12,683 Recap
80 L April 11, 1996 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 33–38–9 17,565 Recap
81 W April 13, 1996 2–0 Boston Bruins (1995–96) 34–38–9 15,635 Recap
82 L April 14, 1996 1–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 34–39–9 16,230 Recap
Legend:

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

Player statistics

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Scoring

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  • 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 Whalers only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only.
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts +/- PIM
94 Brendan Shanahan LW 74 44 34 78 2 125
8 Geoff Sanderson LW 81 34 31 65 0 40
21 Andrew Cassels C 81 20 43 63 8 39
16 Nelson Emerson RW 81 29 29 58 −7 78
13[a] Andrei Nikolishin C 61 14 37 51 −2 34
18 Robert Kron LW 77 22 28 50 −1 6
27 Jeff Brown D 48 7 31 38 2 38
28 Paul Ranheim LW 73 10 20 30 −2 14
92 Jeff O'Neill RW 65 8 19 27 −3 40
20 Glen Wesley D 68 8 16 24 −9 88
12 Steven Rice RW 59 10 12 22 −4 47
6 Adam Burt D 78 4 9 13 −4 121
36 Glen Featherstone D 68 2 10 12 10 138
4[b] Gerald Diduck D 79 1 9 10 7 88
24 Sami Kapanen RW 35 5 4 9 0 6
10 Brad McCrimmon D 58 3 6 9 15 62
11 Kevin Dineen RW 20 2 7 9 7 67
22 Mark Janssens C 81 2 7 9 −13 155
4 Frantisek Kucera D 30 2 6 8 −3 10
15 Scott Daniels LW 53 3 4 7 −4 254
39 Kelly Chase RW 55 2 4 6 −4 230
1 Sean Burke G 66 0 6 6 16
32 Steve Martins C 23 1 3 4 −3 8
7 Brian Glynn D 54 0 4 4 −15 44
14 Kevin Smyth LW 21 2 1 3 −5 8
26 Jocelyn Lemieux RW 29 1 2 3 −11 31
33 Jimmy Carson C 11 1 0 1 1 0
5 Alexander Godynyuk D 3 0 0 0 −1 2
23 Marek Malik D 7 0 0 0 −3 4
25 Jason McBain D 3 0 0 0 −1 0
29 Jason Muzzatti G 22 0 0 0 33
35 Jeff Reese G 7 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

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  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only.
No. Player Regular season
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
1 Sean Burke 66 28 28 6 2034 190 3.11 .907 4 3669
29 Jason Muzzatti 22 4 8 3 551 49 2.90 .911 1 1013
35 Jeff Reese 7 2 3 0 170 14 3.06 .918 1 275

Awards and records

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Awards

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Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(in-season)
NHL All-Star Game selection Brendan Shanahan[c] [6]
Team Award of Excellence Brad McCrimmon [7]
Booster Club MVP Award Sean Burke [7]
Frank Keys Memorial Award Brad McCrimmon [7]
Mark Kravitz Award Sean Burke [7]
Most Valuable Defenseman Jeff Brown [7]
Three Star Award of Excellence Sean Burke [7]
Top Gun Award Brendan Shanahan [7]
True Grit Award Nelson Emerson [7]

Milestones

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Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Jeff O'Neill October 7, 1995 [8]
Steve Martins December 6, 1995
Sami Kapanen December 13, 1995
Jason McBain April 11, 1996

Transactions

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The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1995–96 season.

Trades

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May 31, 1995 To Los Angeles Kings
Jan Vopat
To Hartford Whalers
4th round pick in 1995 - Ian MacNeil
July 27, 1995 To St. Louis Blues
Chris Pronger
To Hartford Whalers
Brendan Shanahan
October 6, 1995 To Winnipeg Jets
Darren Turcotte
To Hartford Whalers
Nelson Emerson
November 29, 1995 To Dallas Stars
Robert Petrovicky
To Hartford Whalers
Dan Kesa
December 1, 1995 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Jeff Reese
To Hartford Whalers
9th round pick in 1996 - Askhat Rakhmatulin
December 19, 1995 To New Jersey Devils
Jocelyn Lemieux
2nd round pick in 1998 - John Erskine
To Hartford Whalers
Jim Dowd
2nd round pick in 1997 - Dmitri Kokorev
December 19, 1995 To Vancouver Canucks
Jim Dowd
Frantisek Kucera
2nd round pick in 1997 - Ryan Bonni
To Hartford Whalers
Jeff Brown
3rd round pick in 1998 - Paul Manning
December 28, 1995 To Philadelphia Flyers
3rd round pick in 1997 - Kris Mallette
7th round pick in 1997 - Andrew Merrick
To Hartford Whalers
Kevin Dineen

Waivers

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October 6, 1995 From Calgary Flames
Jason Muzzatti

Free agents

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Player Former Team
Jeff Daniels Detroit Vipers (IHL)
Gerald Diduck Chicago Blackhawks
David Williams Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Player New Team
Jeff Bloemberg Detroit Red Wings
Jim Sandlak Vancouver Canucks

Draft picks

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Hartford's picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.[9]

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 13 Jean-Sebastien Giguere Goaltender   Canada Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
2 35 Sergei Fedotov Defense   Russia Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
4 85 Ian MacNeil Center   Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4 87 Sami Kapanen Right wing   Finland HIFK (Finland)
5 113 Hugh Hamilton Defense   Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7 165 Byron Ritchie Center   Canada Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
8 191 Milan Kostolny Right wing   Slovakia Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL)
9 217 Mike Rucinski Defense   United States Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Nikolishin wore number 11 until Dineen was acquired.
  2. ^ Diduck wore number 44 through December 18.
  3. ^ Shanahan was voted to the starting lineup.[5]

References

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  • "Hartford Whalers 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  • "1995-96 Hartford Whalers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  1. ^ "Hartford Whalers Yearly Attendance Graph". hockeydb.com.
  2. ^ "Red Wings 4, Whalers 2 - UPI Archives". UPI. March 6, 1996. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "1995-96 Hartford Whalers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  4. ^ "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  6. ^ "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Whalers Team Awards". www.whalershockey.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  8. ^ "1995-96 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  9. ^ "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.