1996–97 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1996–97 Detroit Red Wings season was the 71st National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The highlight of the Red Wings season was winning the Stanley Cup, their first since 1955.

1996–97 Detroit Red Wings
Stanley Cup champions
Western Conference champions
Division	2nd Central
Conference	3rd Western
1996–97 record	38–26–18
Home record	20–12–9
Road record	18–14–9
Goals for	253
Goals against	197
Team information
General manager	Scotty Bowman Jim Devellano
Coach	Scotty Bowman
Captain	Steve Yzerman
Alternate captains	Sergei Fedorov Brendan Shanahan
Arena	Joe Louis Arena
Average attendance	19,978 (99.9%) Total: 819,107
Minor league affiliate(s)	Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) Toledo Storm (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Brendan Shanahan (46)
Assists	Steve Yzerman (63)
Points	Brendan Shanahan (87)
Penalty minutes	Martin Lapointe (167)
Plus/minus	Vladimir Konstantinov (38)
Wins	Chris Osgood (23)
Goals against average	Kevin Hodson (1.63)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Off-season

On July 23, 1996, Detroit Red Wings President Bill Evo resigned his position after serving just ten months at the team's helm.^[1] The Nickname "Hockeytown" was coined to launch the start of a five-year marketing campaign.

Regular season

The "HOCKEYTOWN" logo, a Red Wings logo overlapped with the term "HOCKEYTOWN," was shown over center ice starting this season and was still there as of 2022^[update].

A season highlight was Sergei Fedorov's five-goal performance on December 26, 1996, in a game against the Washington Capitals. The Red Wings won 5–4 in overtime. Fedorov's fifth goal of the game came at 2:39 of the overtime period.

On February 8, 1997, coach Scotty Bowman achieved his 1000th victory as an NHL head coach against his previous team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On March 26, 1997, the Red Wings–Avalanche brawl continued to fuel the rivalry between the teams. Detroit won that game 6–5 in overtime.

Season standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Dallas Stars	82	48	26	8	252	198	104
2	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	38	26	18	253	197	94
3	5	Phoenix Coyotes	82	38	37	7	240	243	83
4	6	St. Louis Blues	82	36	35	11	236	239	83
5	8	Chicago Blackhawks	82	34	35	13	223	210	81
6	11	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	44	8	230	273	68

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^[2]

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

Playoffs

Main article: 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Red Wings won the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, their first Stanley Cup since the 1954–55 NHL season.

Six days after winning the Stanley Cup, tragedy struck when defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov, and massage therapist Sergei Mnatsakanov were involved in a limousine accident. The driver, who later said he fell asleep, had a suspended license for previous drunk driving convictions.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season[3]
October: 7–4–1 (home: 5–1–1; road: 2–3–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 5 Detroit 1–3 New Jersey Osgood 18,622 0–1–0 0 L 2 October 9 Edmonton 0–2 Detroit Osgood 19,983 1–1–0 2 W 3 October 11 Calgary 2–1 Detroit Osgood 19,983 1–2–0 2 L 4 October 12 Detroit 6–1 Buffalo Vernon 18,595 2–2–0 4 W 5 October 15 Detroit 1–3 Dallas Vernon 15,983 2–3–0 4 L 6 October 17 Detroit 1–2 Chicago Osgood 18,261 2–4–0 4 L 7 October 19 NY Islanders 2–4 Detroit Vernon 19,983 3–4–0 6 W 8 October 21 Los Angeles 0–3 Detroit Osgood 19,849 4–4–0 8 W 9 October 23 Dallas 1–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 5–4–0 10 W 10 October 25 Chicago 2–2 Detroit OT Hodson 19,983 5–4–1 11 T 11 October 26 Detroit 2–1 Boston Osgood 17,012 6–4–1 13 W 12 October 30 Montreal 3–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 7–4–1 15 W
November: 7–4–2 (home: 4–2–0; road: 3–2–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 13 November 1 Detroit 2–2 Ottawa OT Osgood 14,158 7–4–2 16 T 14 November 2 Detroit 2–6 Toronto Vernon 15,726 7–5–2 16 L 15 November 4 Hartford 1–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 8–5–2 18 W 16 November 6 New Jersey 2–0 Detroit Osgood 19,983 8–6–2 18 L 17 November 8 Detroit 4–1 Hartford Vernon 14,660 9–6–2 20 W 18 November 10 Tampa Bay 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 10–6–2 22 W 19 November 13 Colorado 4–1 Detroit Osgood 19,983 10–7–2 22 L 20 November 15 San Jose 1–5 Detroit Vernon 19,983 11–7–2 24 W 21 November 18 Detroit 2–2 Phoenix OT Osgood 15,436 11–7–3 25 T 22 November 21 Detroit 6–1 San Jose Vernon 17,442 12–7–3 27 W 23 November 23 Detroit 6–0 Los Angeles Osgood 16,005 13–7–3 29 W 24 November 24 Detroit 1–3 Anaheim Vernon 17,174 13–8–3 29 L 25 November 27 Toronto 2–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 14–8–3 31 W
December: 6–4–3 (home: 3–2–2; road: 3–2–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 26 December 1 Florida 4–2 Detroit Osgood 19,983 14–9–3 31 L 27 December 3 Vancouver 2–2 Detroit OT Osgood 19,921 14–9–4 32 T 28 December 4 Detroit 2–0 Washington Hodson 16,117 15–9–4 34 W 29 December 10 Edmonton 0–0 Detroit OT Osgood 19,983 15–9–5 35 T 30 December 12 Chicago 2–6 Detroit Osgood 19,983 16–9–5 37 W 31 December 15 Toronto 1–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 17–9–5 39 W 32 December 17 Detroit 3–4 Colorado Vernon 16,061 17–10–5 39 L 33 December 18 Detroit 3–3 Calgary OT Osgood 16,237 17–10–6 40 T 34 December 20 Detroit 2–3 Vancouver Hodson 18,422 17–11–6 40 L 35 December 22 Detroit 6–2 Edmonton Osgood 16,724 18–11–6 42 W 36 December 26 Washington 4–5 Detroit OT Osgood 19,983 19–11–6 44 W 37 December 28 Detroit 7–1 NY Islanders Vernon 16,297 20–11–6 46 W 38 December 30 Phoenix 5–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 20–12–6 46 L
January: 2–5–3 (home: 0–3–2; road: 2–2–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 39 January 3 Dallas 2–1 Detroit Vernon 19,983 20–13–6 46 L 40 January 5 Detroit 5–5 Chicago OT Vernon 21,914 20–13–7 47 T 41 January 8 Detroit 3–6 Dallas Osgood 15,326 20–14–7 47 L 42 January 9 Detroit 5–4 Phoenix OT Osgood 16,210 21–14–7 49 W 43 January 11 Chicago 3–1 Detroit Osgood 19,983 21–15–7 49 L 44 January 14 Los Angeles 3–3 Detroit OT Osgood 19,983 21–15–8 50 T 45 January 20 Detroit 1–4 Montreal Vernon 21,273 21–16–8 50 L 46 January 22 Philadelphia 2–2 Detroit OT Vernon 19,983 21–16–9 51 T 47 January 25 Detroit 4–1 Philadelphia Vernon 19,711 22–16–9 53 W 48 January 29 Phoenix 3–0 Detroit Vernon 19,983 22–17–9 53 L
February: 8–2–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 4–1–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 49 February 1 Detroit 4–1 St. Louis Vernon 20,330 23–17–9 55 W 50 February 2 Dallas 3–4 Detroit OT Osgood 19,983 24–17–9 57 W 51 February 4 St. Louis 1–1 Detroit OT Vernon 19,983 24–17–10 58 T 52 February 6 Vancouver 7–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 24–18–10 58 L 53 February 8 Detroit 6–5 Pittsburgh OT Vernon 17,355 25–18–10 60 W 54 February 12 San Jose 1–7 Detroit Osgood 19,983 26–18–10 62 W 55 February 14 Detroit 3–4 Dallas OT Vernon 16,924 26–19–10 62 L 56 February 16 Detroit 4–2 Florida Osgood 14,703 27–19–10 64 W 57 February 17 Detroit 3–3 Tampa Bay OT Vernon 19,579 27–19–11 65 T 58 February 19 Calgary 0–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 28–19–11 67 W 59 February 22 Detroit 2–2 St. Louis OT Vernon 20,371 28–19–12 68 T 60 February 24 Detroit 5–3 Phoenix Osgood 16,210 29–19–12 70 W 61 February 27 Pittsburgh 1–4 Detroit Vernon 19,983 30–19–12 72 W
March: 6–5–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–4–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 62 March 1 NY Rangers 0–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 31–19–12 74 W 63 March 2 Anaheim 1–1 Detroit OT Vernon 19,983 31–19–13 75 T 64 March 5 Detroit 4–4 Toronto OT Osgood 15,726 31–19–14 76 T 65 March 8 Detroit 5–3 Vancouver Vernon 18,422 32–19–14 78 W 66 March 10 Detroit 3–3 Los Angeles OT Osgood 10,663 32–19–15 79 T 67 March 12 Detroit 1–2 Anaheim Vernon 17,174 32–20–15 79 L 68 March 15 Detroit 7–4 San Jose Osgood 17,442 33–20–15 81 W 69 March 16 Detroit 2–4 Colorado Osgood 16,061 33–21–15 81 L 70 March 19 Boston 1–4 Detroit Hodson 19,983 34–21–15 83 W 71 March 21 Detroit 1–3 NY Rangers Osgood 18,200 34–22–15 83 L 72 March 23 Detroit 3–5 Chicago Hodson 22,422 34–23–15 83 L 73 March 26 Colorado 5–6 Detroit OT Vernon 19,983 35–23–15 85 W 74 March 28 Buffalo 1–2 Detroit OT Vernon 19,983 36–23–15 87 W 75 March 30 Anaheim 1–0 Detroit OT Vernon 19,983 36–24–15 87 L
April: 2–2–3 (home: 0–2–2; road: 2–0–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 76 April 1 St. Louis 1–1 Detroit OT Vernon 19,983 36–24–16 88 T 77 April 3 Toronto 2–2 Detroit OT Osgood 19,983 36–24–17 89 T 78 April 5 Detroit 4–2 Toronto Osgood 15,726 37–24–17 91 W 79 April 8 Detroit 3–2 Calgary OT Osgood 17,841 38–24–17 93 W 80 April 9 Detroit 3–3 Edmonton OT Vernon 17,099 38–24–18 94 T 81 April 11 Ottawa 3–2 Detroit Vernon 19,983 38–25–18 94 L 82 April 13 St. Louis 3–1 Detroit Osgood 19,983 38–26–18 94 L
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (6) St. Louis Blues: Detroit won 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 April 16 St. Louis 2–0 Detroit Vernon 0–1 L 2 April 18 St. Louis 1–2 Detroit Vernon 1–1 W 3 April 20 Detroit 3–2 St. Louis Vernon 2–1 W 4 April 22 Detroit 0–4 St. Louis Vernon 2–2 L 5 April 25 St. Louis 2–5 Detroit Vernon 3–2 W 6 April 27 Detroit 3–1 St. Louis Vernon 4–2 W
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim: Detroit won 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 May 2 Anaheim 1–2 Detroit OT Vernon 1–0 W 2 May 4 Anaheim 2–3 Detroit 3OT Vernon 2–0 W 3 May 6 Detroit 5–2 Anaheim Vernon 3–0 W 4 May 8 Detroit 3–2 Anaheim 2OT Vernon 4–0 W
Western Conference Finals vs. (1) Colorado Avalanche: Detroit won 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 May 15 Detroit 1–2 Colorado Vernon 0–1 L 2 May 17 Detroit 4–2 Colorado Vernon 1–1 W 3 May 19 Colorado 1–2 Detroit Vernon 2–1 W 4 May 22 Colorado 0–6 Detroit Vernon 3–1 W 5 May 24 Detroit 0–6 Colorado Vernon 3–2 L 6 May 26 Colorado 1–3 Detroit Vernon 4–2 W
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (E3) Philadelphia Flyers: Detroit won 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 May 31 Detroit 4–2 Philadelphia Vernon 1–0 W 2 June 3 Detroit 4–2 Philadelphia Vernon 2–0 W 3 June 5 Philadelphia 1–6 Detroit Vernon 3–0 W 4 June 7 Philadelphia 1–2 Detroit Vernon 4–0 W
Legend: W Win L 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 Red Wings only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
14	Brendan Shanahan†	LW	79	46	41	87	31	131	20	9	8	17	8	43
19	Steve Yzerman	LW	81	22	63	85	22	78	20	7	6	13	3	4
91	Sergei Fedorov	C	74	30	33	63	29	30	20	8	12	20	5	12
5	Nicklas Lidstrom	D	79	15	42	57	11	30	20	2	6	8	12	2
8	Igor Larionov	C	64	12	42	54	31	26	20	4	8	12	8	8
25	Darren McCarty	RW	68	19	30	49	14	126	20	3	4	7	1	34
13	Vyacheslav Kozlov	C	75	23	22	45	21	46	20	8	5	13	3	14
16	Vladimir Konstantinov	D	77	5	33	38	38	151	20	0	4	4	−1	29
20	Martin Lapointe	RW	78	16	17	33	−14	167	20	4	8	12	8	60
2	Viacheslav Fetisov	D	64	5	23	28	26	76	20	0	4	4	2	42
28	Tomas Sandstrom†	RW	34	9	9	18	2	36	20	0	4	4	−3	24
23	Greg Johnson‡	RW	43	6	10	16	−5	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Kris Draper	C	76	8	5	13	−11	73	20	2	4	6	5	12
17	Doug Brown	LW	49	6	7	13	−3	8	14	3	3	6	4	2
3	Bob Rouse	D	70	4	9	13	8	58	22	0	0	0	8	55
11	Mathieu Dandenault	RW	65	3	9	12	−10	28	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Jamie Pushor	D	75	4	7	11	1	129	5	0	1	1	−1	5
15	Tomas Holmstrom	LW	47	6	3	9	−10	33	1	0	0	0	−1	0
18	Kirk Maltby	LW	66	3	5	8	3	75	20	5	2	7	6	24
37	Tim Taylor	C	44	3	4	7	−6	52	2	0	0	0	−1	0
27[a]	Aaron Ward	D	49	2	5	7	−9	52	19	0	0	0	1	17
55	Larry Murphy†	D	12	2	4	6	2	0	20	2	9	11	16	8
34[b]	Anders Eriksson	D	23	0	6	6	5	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
26	Joe Kocur†	RW	34	2	1	3	−7	70	19	1	3	4	5	22
21	Bob Errey‡	LW	36	1	2	3	−3	27	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Chris Osgood	G	47	0	2	2		6	2	0	0	0		2
22	Mike Knuble	RW	9	1	0	1	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Kevin Hodson	G	6	0	1	1		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
32	Stu Grimson‡	LW	1	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
40	Mark Major	LW	2	0	0	0	0	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Mike Ramsey†‡	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Mike Vernon	G	33	0	0	0		35	20	0	1	1		12

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season											Playoffs
		GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Chris Osgood	47	45	23	13	9	1,175	106	2.30	.910	6	2,768:48	2	0	0	0	21	2	2.54	.905	0	47:10
29	Mike Vernon	33	33	13	11	8	782	79	2.43	.899	0	1,952:03	20	20	16	4	494	36	1.76	.927	1	1,229:12
31	Kevin Hodson	6	4	2	2	1	114	8	1.63	.930	1	293:47	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Vladimir Konstantinov was the runner-up for the James Norris Memorial Trophy.^[4]

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Conn Smythe Trophy	Mike Vernon	[5]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Viacheslav Fetisov[c]	[7]
		Chris Osgood[d]
		Brendan Shanahan[e]
		Steve Yzerman

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Tomas Holmstrom	October 5, 1996	[10]
	Mark Major	November 1, 1996
	Mike Knuble	March 26, 1997
1,000th game played	Steve Yzerman	February 19, 1997	[11]

Transactions

Trades Date Details June 14, 1996 (1996-06-14) To Edmonton Oilers Bob Essensa To Detroit Red Wings Future Considerations August 27, 1996 (1996-08-27) To Tampa Bay Lightning Dino Ciccarelli To Detroit Red Wings 1998 4th-round pick (#87th overall) October 9, 1996 (1996-10-09) To Hartford Whalers Paul Coffey Keith Primeau 1997 1st-round pick (22nd overall) To Detroit Red Wings Brian Glynn Brendan Shanahan November 8, 1996 (1996-11-08) To Montreal Canadiens Jason MacDonald To Detroit Red Wings Cash January 27, 1997 (1997-01-27) To Pittsburgh Penguins Greg Johnson To Detroit Red Wings Tomas Sandström March 18, 1997 (1997-03-18) To Toronto Maple Leafs Future Considerations To Detroit Red Wings Larry Murphy

Free agents Date Player Team July 9, 1996 (1996-07-09) Marc Bergevin to St. Louis Blues September 26, 1996 (1996-09-26) Dave Chyzowski to Chicago Blackhawks December 27, 1996 (1996-12-27) Joe Kocur from Vancouver Canucks June 9, 1997 (1997-06-09) Stacy Roest Signings Date Player Contract term May 21, 1997 (1997-05-21) Maxim Kuznetsov 3-year Waivers Date Player Team October 12, 1996 (1996-10-12) Stu Grimson to Hartford Whalers February 8, 1997 (1997-02-08) Bob Errey to San Jose Sharks

Retirement

Date	Player
March 18, 1997 (1997-03-18)	Mike Ramsey

Draft picks

Detroit's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft.^[12]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	26	Jesse Wallin	D	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
2	52	Aren Miller	G	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
4	108	Johan Forsander	LW	Sweden	HV71 (SEL)
5	135	Michal Podolka	G	Czech Republic	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
61	144	Magnus Nilsson	LW	Sweden	Malmo IF (SEL)
6	162	Alexandre Jacques	C	Canada	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
7	189	Colin Beardsmore	C	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
8	215	Craig Stahl	RW	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
9	241	Yevgeni Afanasyev	LW	Canada	Flint Generals (CoHL)

Notes

1. The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on April 4, 1995 that sent Mike Sillinger and Jason York to Anaheim in exchange for Stu Grimson, Mark Ferner and this pick.

• The Red Wings third-round pick went to the Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on August 17, 1995 that sent David Shaw to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick (80th overall).

Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 17, 1995 that sent Marc Bergevin and Ben Hankinson to Detroit in exchange for Shawn Burr and this pick.

Notes

1. Ward wore number 14 in the season opener.
2. Eriksson wore number 26 through November 13 and number 38 from January 8 through January 11.
3. Fetisov was selected by the commissioner.^[6]
4. Osgood did not play and was replaced by Guy Hebert of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.^[8]
5. Shanahan was an injury replacement for Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche.^[9]