1996–97 Los Angeles Kings season

1996–97 Los Angeles Kings
1996–97 Los Angeles Kings
Division	6th Pacific
Conference	12th Western
1996–97 record	28–43–11
Home record	18–16–7
Road record	10–27–4
Goals for	214
Goals against	268
Team information
General manager	Sam McMaster
Coach	Larry Robinson
Captain	Rob Blake
Alternate captains	Kevin Stevens ; Ed Olczyk
Arena	Great Western Forum
Average attendance	12,297
Minor league affiliate(s)	Phoenix Roadrunners; Knoxville Cherokees; Mississippi Sea Wolves
Team leaders
Goals	Ray Ferraro (25)
Assists	Dmitri Khristich (37)
Points	Dmitri Khristich (56)
Penalty minutes	Matt Johnson (194)
Plus/minus	Dmitri Khristich (+8); Vladimir Tsyplakov (+8)
Wins	Byron Dafoe (13); Stephane Fiset (13)
Goals against average	Byron Dafoe (3.11)
	← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 30th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kings missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Offseason

Defenseman Rob Blake was named team captain.^[1]^[2]

Regular season

Final standings

Pacific Division
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Colorado Avalanche	82	49	24	9	277	205	107
2	4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	36	33	13	243	231	85
3	7	Edmonton Oilers	82	36	37	9	252	247	81
4	9	Vancouver Canucks	82	35	40	7	257	273	77
5	10	Calgary Flames	82	32	41	9	214	239	73
6	12	Los Angeles Kings	82	28	43	11	214	268	67
7	13	San Jose Sharks	82	27	47	8	211	278	62

Note: CR = Conference rank; 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
1	p – Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	49	24	9	277	205	107
2	Dallas Stars	CEN	82	48	26	8	252	198	104
3	Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	38	26	18	253	197	94
4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	36	33	13	245	233	85
5	Phoenix Coyotes	CEN	82	38	37	7	240	243	83
6	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	36	35	11	236	239	83
7	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	36	37	9	252	247	81
8	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	34	35	13	223	210	81

9	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	35	40	7	257	273	77
10	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	32	41	9	214	239	73
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	30	44	8	230	273	68
12	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	28	43	11	214	268	67
13	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	27	47	8	211	278	62

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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

Schedule and results

1996–97 regular season^[4]

October: 5–6–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 2–4–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
1	W	October 4, 1996	1–0	New York Islanders (1996–97)	1–0–0	Recap
2	L	October 6, 1996	6–7 OT	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	1–1–0	Recap
3	L	October 9, 1996	3–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	1–2–0	Recap
4	L	October 10, 1996	4–5 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	1–3–0	Recap
5	W	October 12, 1996	4–3	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)	2–3–0	Recap
6	W	October 15, 1996	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	3–3–0	Recap
7	W	October 17, 1996	4–2	Boston Bruins (1996–97)	4–3–0	Recap
8	L	October 20, 1996	1–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	4–4–0	Recap
9	L	October 21, 1996	0–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	4–5–0	Recap
10	L	October 24, 1996	2–8	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	4–6–0	Recap
11	T	October 26, 1996	0–0 OT	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	4–6–1	Recap
12	W	October 29, 1996	5–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	5–6–1	Recap
13	T	October 30, 1996	2–2 OT	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)	5–6–2	Recap

November: 5–6–1 (home: 2–2–0; road: 3–4–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
14	W	November 2, 1996	3–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	6–6–2	Recap
15	T	November 4, 1996	4–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)	6–6–3	Recap
16	W	November 7, 1996	4–1	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	7–6–3	Recap
17	L	November 8, 1996	4–7	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	7–7–3	Recap
18	W	November 14, 1996	4–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	8–7–3	Recap
19	W	November 17, 1996	4–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	9–7–3	Recap
20	L	November 19, 1996	0–3	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	9–8–3	Recap
21	L	November 20, 1996	1–4	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)	9–9–3	Recap
22	L	November 23, 1996	0–6	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	9–10–3	Recap
23	W	November 27, 1996	5–1	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	10–10–3	Recap
24	L	November 28, 1996	0–2	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	10–11–3	Recap
25	L	November 30, 1996	3–5	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	10–12–3	Recap

December: 3–9–1 (home: 2–4–1; road: 1–5–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
26	W	December 3, 1996	4–1	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	11–12–3	Recap
27	L	December 5, 1996	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	11–13–3	Recap
28	W	December 7, 1996	4–2	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	12–13–3	Recap
29	L	December 10, 1996	3–5	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	12–14–3	Recap
30	L	December 12, 1996	1–5	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	12–15–3	Recap
31	T	December 14, 1996	4–4 OT	Washington Capitals (1996–97)	12–15–4	Recap
32	L	December 17, 1996	3–4	@ New York Islanders (1996–97)	12–16–4	Recap
33	L	December 18, 1996	0–4	@ New York Rangers (1996–97)	12–17–4	Recap
34	L	December 20, 1996	2–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	12–18–4	Recap
35	L	December 22, 1996	4–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	12–19–4	Recap
36	W	December 26, 1996	5–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	13–19–4	Recap
37	L	December 28, 1996	2–5	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	13–20–4	Recap
38	L	December 30, 1996	1–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	13–21–4	Recap

January: 5–6–2 (home: 4–2–1; road: 1–4–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
39	L	January 2, 1997	3–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	13–22–4	Recap
40	L	January 4, 1997	0–5	Florida Panthers (1996–97)	13–23–4	Recap
41	W	January 7, 1997	6–2	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	14–23–4	Recap
42	W	January 9, 1997	6–3	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	15–23–4	Recap
43	W	January 11, 1997	2–1	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	16–23–4	Recap
44	T	January 14, 1997	3–3 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	16–23–5	Recap
45	W	January 15, 1997	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	17–23–5	Recap
46	L	January 21, 1997	1–4	New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	17–24–5	Recap
47	L	January 22, 1997	2–7	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	17–25–5	Recap
48	T	January 25, 1997	2–2 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	17–25–6	Recap
49	L	January 27, 1997	2–7	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	17–26–6	Recap
50	L	January 29, 1997	3–6	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	17–27–6	Recap
51	W	January 30, 1997	5–3	Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	18–27–6	Recap

February: 5–6–2 (home: 4–2–2; road: 1–4–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
52	L	February 1, 1997	2–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	18–28–6	Recap
53	W	February 3, 1997	3–2	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	19–28–6	Recap
54	L	February 5, 1997	2–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	19–29–6	Recap
55	L	February 9, 1997	1–2 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	19–30–6	Recap
56	L	February 11, 1997	1–3	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	19–31–6	Recap
57	T	February 13, 1997	4–4 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	19–31–7	Recap
58	T	February 15, 1997	2–2 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	19–31–8	Recap
59	L	February 17, 1997	1–2	Dallas Stars (1996–97)	19–32–8	Recap
60	L	February 18, 1997	1–6	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	19–33–8	Recap
61	W	February 20, 1997	3–1	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	20–33–8	Recap
62	W	February 22, 1997	4–0	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	21–33–8	Recap
63	W	February 25, 1997	3–1	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	22–33–8	Recap
64	W	February 27, 1997	6–3	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	23–33–8	Recap

March: 3–8–2 (home: 2–3–1; road: 1–5–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
65	W	March 1, 1997	3–0	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	24–33–8	Recap
66	L	March 4, 1997	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	24–34–8	Recap
67	L	March 6, 1997	2–6	New York Rangers (1996–97)	24–35–8	Recap
68	W	March 8, 1997	3–1	Ottawa Senators (1996–97)	25–35–8	Recap
69	T	March 10, 1997	3–3 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	25–35–9	Recap
70	L	March 13, 1997	2–4	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	25–36–9	Recap
71	L	March 15, 1997	2–5	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	25–37–9	Recap
72	L	March 19, 1997	2–6	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	25–38–9	Recap
73	W	March 22, 1997	2–1	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	26–38–9	Recap
74	T	March 24, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	26–38–10	Recap
75	L	March 27, 1997	1–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	26–39–10	Recap
76	L	March 29, 1997	1–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	26–40–10	Recap
77	L	March 30, 1997	2–5	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	26–41–10	Recap

April: 2–2–1 (home: 1–1–1; road: 1–1–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
78	L	April 3, 1997	4–5	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	26–42–10	Recap
79	T	April 5, 1997	3–3 OT	Dallas Stars (1996–97)	26–42–11	Recap
80	L	April 9, 1997	1–4	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	26–43–11	Recap
81	W	April 12, 1997	4–1	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	27–43–11	Recap
82	W	April 13, 1997	4–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	28–43–11	Recap

Legend:

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

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 Kings only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
8	Dmitri Khristich	C	75	19	37	56	8	38
20	Ray Ferraro	C	81	25	21	46	−22	112
7	Eddie Olczyk‡	RW	67	21	23	44	−22	45
9	Vladimir Tsyplakov	LW	67	16	23	39	8	12
25	Kevin Stevens	LW	69	14	20	34	−27	96
43	Vitali Yachmenev	LW	65	10	22	32	−9	10
4	Rob Blake	D	62	8	23	31	−28	82
21	Kai Nurminen	RW	67	16	11	27	−3	22
44	Yanic Perreault	C	41	11	14	25	0	20
28	Philippe Boucher	D	60	7	18	25	0	25
22	Ian Laperriere	C	62	8	15	23	−25	102
14	Mattias Norstrom	D	80	1	21	22	−4	84
6	Sean O'Donnell	D	55	5	12	17	−13	144
11	Brad Smyth†	RW	44	8	8	16	−7	74
27	John Slaney	D	32	3	11	14	−10	4
19	Jeff Shevalier	LW	26	4	9	13	−6	6
33	Jan Vopat	D	33	4	5	9	3	22
12	Roman Vopat	C	29	4	5	9	−7	60
42	Dan Bylsma	RW	79	3	6	9	−15	32
27	Glen Murray†	RW	11	5	3	8	−2	8
5	Aki Berg	D	41	2	6	8	−9	24
23	Craig Johnson	LW	31	4	3	7	−7	26
41	Brent Grieve	LW	18	4	2	6	−2	15
15	Jaroslav Modry	D	30	3	3	6	−13	25
40	Barry Potomski	LW	26	3	2	5	−8	93
29	Steven Finn	D	54	2	3	5	−8	84
17	Matt Johnson	LW	52	1	3	4	−4	194
24	Nathan LaFayette	C	15	1	3	4	−8	8
10	Neal Broten†‡	C	19	0	4	4	−9	0
85	Petr Klima‡	RW	8	0	4	4	−7	2
37	Paul DiPietro	C	6	1	0	1	−2	6
2	Doug Zmolek	D	57	1	0	1	−22	116
32	Jean-Claude Bergeron	G	1	0	0	0		0
34	Byron Dafoe	G	40	0	0	0		0
35	Stephane Fiset	G	44	0	0	0		2
26	Chris Marinucci†	C	1	0	0	0	−2	0
7	Steve McKenna	LW	9	0	0	0	1	37
52	Jason Morgan	C	3	0	0	0	−3	0
1	Jamie Storr	G	5	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
34	Byron Dafoe	40	13	17	5	1178	112	3.11	.905	0	2162
35	Stephane Fiset	44	13	24	5	1410	132	3.19	.906	4	2482
1	Jamie Storr	5	2	1	1	147	11	2.49	.925	0	265
32	Jean-Claude Bergeron	1	0	1	0	35	4	4.30	.886	0	56

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Rob Blake^[a]	^[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Dmitri Khristich	^[6]
Team	Best Newcomer	Stephane Fiset	^[7]
	Bill Libby Memorial Award	Dmitri Khristich	^[7]
	Defensive Player	Ian Laperriere	^[7]
	Jim Fox Community Service	Dan Bylsma	^[7]
	Jim Fox Community Service	Byron Dafoe	^[7]
	Leading Scorer	Dmitri Khristich	^[7]
	Most Inspirational	Ian Laperriere	^[7]
	Most Popular Player	Dan Bylsma	^[7]
	Most Popular Player	Ian Laperriere	^[7]
	Outstanding Defenseman	Mattias Norstrom	^[7]
	Unsung Hero	Byron Dafoe	^[7]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Kai Nurminen	October 4, 1996	^[8]
	Steve McKenna	March 24, 1997
	Jason Morgan	April 9, 1997

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.^[9]

Trades

June 20, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Stephane Fiset 1st round pick in 1998	To Colorado Avalanche Eric Lacroix 1st round pick in 1998
August 22, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Petr Klima	To Tampa Bay Lightning 5th round pick in 1997
October 25, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Future considerations	To Pittsburgh Penguins Petr Klima
November 19, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Chris Marinucci	To New York Islanders Nicholas Vachon
November 22, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Neal Broten	To New Jersey Devils Future considerations
November 28, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Brad Smyth	To Florida Panthers 3rd round pick in 1997
March 18, 1997	To Los Angeles Kings Glen Murray	To Pittsburgh Penguins Eddie Olczyk

Free agent signings

May 23, 1996	From Merrimack College (HE) Steve McKenna
July 8, 1996	From Winnipeg Jets Eddie Olczyk (2 years, $2.15 million)
July 23, 1996	From Toronto Maple Leafs Paul DiPietro (1 year, $325,000)
August 2, 1996	From Chicago Blackhawks Brent Grieve (1 year, $325,000)
August 28, 1996	From Tampa Bay Lightning Jean-Claude Bergeron (1 year, $300,000)
September 6, 1996	From Buffalo Sabres Mark Astley (1 year, $350,000)
December 13, 1996	From Boston Bruins Rick Zombo (1 year, $724,500)

Free agents lost

July 10, 1996	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Kevin Todd (2 years, $1.2 million)
July 24, 1996	To Florida Panthers Craig Ferguson (1 year, $350,000)
August 15, 1996	To San Jose Sharks Tony Granato (3 years, $4.5 million)
September 14, 1996	To Houston Aeros (IHL) Gary Shuchuk
October 4, 1996	To Vancouver Canucks Troy Crowder (1 year, $500,000)

Waivers

January 28, 1997	To Dallas Stars Neal Broten

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.^[10]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	30	Josh Green	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2	37	Marian Cisar	Czech Republic	Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
3	57	Greg Phillips	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
4	84	Mikael Simons	Sweden	Mora IK (Sweden)
4	96	Eric Belanger	Canada	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
5	120	Jesse Black	Canada	Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
5	123	Peter Hogan	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
8	190	Steve Valiquette	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
8	193	Kai Nurminen	Finland	HV71 (Sweden)
9	219	Sebastien Simard	Canada	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)

Notes

^ Blake did not play and was replaced by Khristich.^[5]

References

"Los Angeles Kings 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
"1996-97 Los Angeles Kings Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

^ "Tardif Assigned to Phoenix". Los Angeles Times. October 2, 1996. Retrieved August 25, 2023. Defenseman Rob Blake, who is battling an arm injury, was named team captain but remains questionable for the opener.
^ "Rob Blake career timeline". NHL.com. June 18, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2023. Oct. 1, 1996 Named captain of Los Angeles
^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
^ "1996-97 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
^ White, Lonnie (January 15, 1997). "Khristich Is Blake's All-Star Replacement". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
^ "1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Los Angeles Kings 2014–15 Media Guide, p. 201–03
^ "1996-97 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
^ "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.

[6] Blake did not play and was replaced by Khristich.^[5]

[1] "Tardif Assigned to Phoenix". Los Angeles Times. October 2, 1996. Retrieved August 25, 2023. Defenseman Rob Blake, who is battling an arm injury, was named team captain but remains questionable for the opener.

[2] "Rob Blake career timeline". NHL.com. June 18, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2023. Oct. 1, 1996 Named captain of Los Angeles

[3] "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.

[4] "1996-97 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

[5] White, Lonnie (January 15, 1997). "Khristich Is Blake's All-Star Replacement". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2023.

[7] "1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.

[Teamawards-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Los Angeles Kings 2014–15 Media Guide, p. 201–03

[9] "1996-97 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.

[10] "Hockey Transactions Search Results".

[11] "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.

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