1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 30th in the National Hockey League. This was the final season for Mario Lemieux before his first retirement.

1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	2nd Northeast
Conference	6th Eastern
1996–97 record	38–36–8
Home record	25–11–5
Road record	13–25–3
Goals for	285
Goals against	280
Team information
General manager	Craig Patrick
Coach	Eddie Johnston (Oct.–Mar.) Craig Patrick (Mar.–Apr.)
Captain	Mario Lemieux
Alternate captains	Ron Francis Jaromir Jagr
Arena	Civic Arena
Average attendance	16,691
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cleveland Lumberjacks Johnstown Chiefs
Team leaders
Goals	Mario Lemieux (50)
Assists	Mario Lemieux (72)
Points	Mario Lemieux (122)
Penalty minutes	Dave Roche (155)
Plus/minus	Mario Lemieux (+27)
Wins	Patrick Lalime (21)
Goals against average	Patrick Lalime (2.94)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Off-season

Regular season

The 1996–97 season featured Mario Lemieux in his final season before his first retirement. Lemieux won his sixth (and final) Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, with 122 points. The Penguins had an up-and-down season en route to a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. A 2–9–0 start was followed by a hot middle-of-the-season stretch, highlighted by the play of rookie phenom goaltender Patrick Lalime. A shoulder injury to Tom Barrasso ended his season after five unmemorable games and led to the promotion of Lalime from the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL). Lalime debuted in relief of Ken Wregget in a loss to the New York Rangers on November 16. His first win came in relief of Wregget on December 6, and the next day, on December 7, he was given the start against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, beating the Mighty Ducks and setting him well on his way to setting the NHL record for consecutive games unbeaten to begin a career for an NHL goaltender, going 14–0–2 (16 games). However, the Penguins cooled down after that, as the team did not win a road game after February 5, which led to a coaching change on March 4. Eddie Johnston was relieved of his duties as head coach after losing eight of his last nine games and was replaced on an interim basis by General Manager Craig Patrick. Patrick went 7–10–3 down the stretch, enough to get the Penguins into the playoffs as the sixth seed at 38–36–8. The Penguins finished the season first in scoring, with 285 goals for.^[1]

Final standings

Northeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Buffalo Sabres	82	40	30	12	237	208	92
2	6	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	38	36	8	285	280	84
3	7	Ottawa Senators	82	31	36	15	226	234	77
4	8	Montreal Canadiens	82	31	36	15	249	276	77
5	10	Hartford Whalers	82	32	39	11	226	256	75
6	13	Boston Bruins	82	26	47	9	234	300	61

Eastern Conference^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	45	23	14	231	182	104
2	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	40	30	12	237	208	92
3	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	45	24	13	274	217	103
4	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	35	28	19	221	201	89
5	New York Rangers	ATL	82	38	34	10	258	231	86
6	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	38	36	8	285	280	84
7	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	31	36	15	226	234	77
8	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	31	36	15	249	276	77
9	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	33	40	9	214	231	75
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	82	32	39	11	226	256	75
11	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	32	40	10	217	247	74
12	New York Islanders	ATL	82	29	41	12	240	250	70
13	Boston Bruins	NE	82	26	47	9	234	300	61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Penguins lost, in five games, to the third-seeded Philadelphia Flyers, who went on to win the Eastern Conference championship. The Penguins' only win in the series was in Game 4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, in which Lemieux scored on a breakaway against Flyers goaltender Garth Snow in the closing minutes for his final goal, at home, before his first retirement.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season[3]
October: 2–8–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–7–0), 4 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 1 October 5 Tampa Bay Lightning 4–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 0–1–0 0 L 2 October 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7 Hartford Whalers 0–2–0 0 L 3 October 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Ottawa Senators 0–3–0 0 L 4 October 12 Ottawa Senators 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3–0 2 W 5 October 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–8 New York Rangers 1–4–0 2 L 6 October 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Buffalo Sabres 1–5–0 2 L 7 October 19 Washington Capitals 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5–0 4 W 8 October 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 Edmonton Oilers 2–6–0 4 L 9 October 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–7 Calgary Flames 2–7–0 4 L 10 October 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 Vancouver Canucks 2–8–0 4 L
November: 6–5–2 (home: 5–1–1; road: 1–4–1), 14 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 11 November 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Washington Capitals 2–9–0 4 L 12 November 2 Ottawa Senators 3–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–9–0 6 W 13 November 6 Edmonton Oilers 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–9–0 8 W 14 November 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–5 OT Tampa Bay Lightning 4–9–1 9 T 15 November 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Florida Panthers 4–10–1 9 L 16 November 12 Buffalo Sabres 0–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–10–1 11 W 17 November 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 OT Boston Bruins 5–11–1 11 L 18 November 16 New York Rangers 8–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–12–1 11 L 19 November 19 St. Louis Blues 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–12–1 13 W 20 November 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7 Philadelphia Flyers 6–13–1 13 L 21 November 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–1 Hartford Whalers 7–13–1 15 W 22 November 27 Montreal Canadiens 2–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 7–13–2 16 T 23 November 30 Boston Bruins 2–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–13–2 18 W
December: 11–2–2 (home: 4–1–2; road: 7–1–0), 24 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 24 December 3 Hartford Whalers 4–4 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 8–13–3 19 T 25 December 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Ottawa Senators 9–13–3 21 W 26 December 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Washington Capitals 10–13–3 23 W 27 December 7 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 11–13–3 25 W 28 December 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Los Angeles Kings 12–13–3 27 W 29 December 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 13–13–3 29 W 30 December 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–0 San Jose Sharks 14–13–3 31 W 31 December 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 Chicago Blackhawks 14–14–3 31 L 32 December 17 Boston Bruins 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 14–15–3 31 L 33 December 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–0 St. Louis Blues 15–15–3 33 W 34 December 21 San Jose Sharks 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 16–15–3 35 W 35 December 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–5 Toronto Maple Leafs 17–15–3 37 W 36 December 26 Montreal Canadiens 3–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 17–15–4 38 T 37 December 28 Buffalo Sabres 0–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 18–15–4 40 W 38 December 30 Washington Capitals 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 19–15–4 42 W
January: 8–3–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 4–1–1), 17 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 39 January 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–1 New Jersey Devils 20–15–4 44 W 40 January 4 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 21–15–4 46 W 41 January 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 New York Islanders 22–15–4 48 W 42 January 10 New York Islanders 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 23–15–4 50 W 43 January 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 OT Ottawa Senators 23–15–5 51 T 44 January 14 Dallas Stars 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 24–15–5 53 W 45 January 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–0 Hartford Whalers 25–15–5 55 W 46 January 21 Calgary Flames 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 26–15–5 57 W 47 January 23 Colorado Avalanche 4–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 26–16–5 57 L 48 January 25 New York Rangers 7–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 26–17–5 57 L 49 January 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–2 Montreal Canadiens 27–17–5 59 W 50 January 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Buffalo Sabres 27–18–5 59 L
February: 4–7–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 1–3–0), 8 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 51 February 1 Phoenix Coyotes 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 28–18–5 61 W 52 February 4 Vancouver Canucks 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 29–18–5 63 W 53 February 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–3 Montreal Canadiens 30–18–5 65 W 54 February 8 Detroit Red Wings 6–5 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 30–19–5 65 L 55 February 12 New York Islanders 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins 30–20–5 65 L 56 February 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 Philadelphia Flyers 30–21–5 65 L 57 February 16 Philadelphia Flyers 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 30–22–5 65 L 58 February 18 Florida Panthers 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 31–22–5 67 W 59 February 22 Chicago Blackhawks 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 31–23–5 67 L 60 February 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 New York Islanders 31–24–5 67 L 61 February 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Detroit Red Wings 31–25–5 67 L
March: 5–8–2 (home: 5–2–1; road: 0–6–1), 12 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 62 March 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 New Jersey Devils 31–26–5 67 L 63 March 4 New Jersey Devils 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins 31–27–5 67 L 64 March 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Buffalo Sabres 31–28–5 67 L 65 March 8 Philadelphia Flyers 2–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 32–28–5 69 W 66 March 10 Montreal Canadiens 2–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 32–28–6 70 T 67 March 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–5 OT Phoenix Coyotes 32–28–7 71 T 68 March 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Colorado Avalanche 32–29–7 71 L 69 March 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–6 Dallas Stars 32–30–7 71 L 70 March 18 Buffalo Sabres 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 33–30–7 73 W 71 March 20 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 34–30–7 75 W 72 March 22 New Jersey Devils 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 34–31–7 75 L 73 March 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–3 New York Rangers 34–32–7 75 L 74 March 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–8 Montreal Canadiens 34–33–7 75 L 75 March 29 Los Angeles Kings 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 35–33–7 77 W 76 March 31 Florida Panthers 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 36–33–7 79 W
April: 2–3–1 (home: 2–0–1; road: 0–3–0), 5 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Recap 77 April 3 Hartford Whalers 5–5 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 36–33–8 80 T 78 April 5 Ottawa Senators 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 37–33–8 82 W 79 April 8 Boston Bruins 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 38–33–8 84 W 80 April 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Tampa Bay Lightning 38–34–8 84 L 81 April 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Florida Panthers 38–35–8 84 L 82 April 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7 Boston Bruins 38–36–8 84 L
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers – Flyers win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series Recap 1 April 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 Philadelphia Flyers 0–1 L 2 April 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers 0–2 L 3 April 21 Philadelphia Flyers 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–3 L 4 April 23 Philadelphia Flyers 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 W 5 April 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Philadelphia Flyers 1–4 L
Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season[4] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Mario Lemieux 76 50 72 122 27 65 Jaromir Jagr 63 47 48 95 22 40 Ron Francis 81 27 63 90 7 20 Petr Nedved 74 33 38 71 –2 66 Kevin Hatcher 80 15 39 54 11 103 Stu Barnes† 62 17 22 39 –20 16 Jason Woolley† 57 6 30 36 3 28 Fredrik Olausson† 51 7 20 27 21 24 Tomas Sandstrom‡ 40 9 15 24 4 33 Glen Murray‡ 66 11 11 22 –19 24 Joe Mullen 54 7 15 22 0 4 Alex Hicks† 55 5 15 20 –6 76 Darius Kasparaitis† 57 2 16 18 24 84 Joe Dziedzic 59 9 9 18 –4 63 Jean-Jacques Daigneault‡ 53 3 14 17 –5 36 Greg Johnson† 32 7 9 16 –13 14 Eddie Olczyk† 12 4 7 11 8 6 Dave Roche 61 5 5 10 –13 155 Ian Moran 36 4 5 9 –11 22 Andreas Johansson† 27 2 7 9 –6 20 Garry Valk† 17 3 4 7 –6 25 Chris Tamer 45 2 4 6 –25 131 Dmitri Mironov‡ 15 1 5 6 –4 24 Alek Stojanov 35 1 4 5 3 79 Jeff Christian 11 2 2 4 –3 13 Petr Klima†‡ 9 1 3 4 –4 4 Josef Beranek 8 3 1 4 –1 4 Craig Muni 64 0 4 4 –6 36 Tyler Wright 45 2 2 4 –7 70 Francois Leroux 59 0 3 3 –3 81 Dan Quinn 16 0 3 3 –6 10 Roman Oksiuta† 7 0 0 0 –4 4 Shawn Antoski‡ 13 0 0 0 0 49 Neil Wilkinson 23 0 0 0 –12 36 Ed Patterson 6 0 0 0 0 8 Richard Park‡ 1 0 0 0 –1 0 Domenic Pittis 1 0 0 0 –1 0 Stefan Bergqvist 5 0 0 0 –1 7 Total 285 495 780 — 1,480

Playoffs[5] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Jaromir Jagr 5 4 4 8 –4 4 Mario Lemieux 5 3 3 6 –4 4 Ian Moran 5 1 2 3 1 4 Jason Woolley 5 0 3 3 –1 0 Petr Nedved 5 1 2 3 –2 12 Ron Francis 5 1 2 3 –7 2 Kevin Hatcher 5 1 1 2 –5 4 Alex Hicks 5 0 1 1 –1 2 Eddie Olczyk 5 1 0 1 –2 12 Stu Barnes 5 0 1 1 0 0 Greg Johnson 5 1 0 1 –1 2 Joe Dziedzic 5 0 1 1 –1 4 Fredrik Olausson 4 0 1 1 –1 0 Neil Wilkinson 5 0 0 0 –2 4 Craig Muni 3 0 0 0 0 0 Joe Mullen 1 0 0 0 0 0 Chris Tamer 4 0 0 0 –1 4 Darius Kasparaitis 5 0 0 0 –4 6 Josef Beranek 5 0 0 0 –4 2 Francois Leroux 3 0 0 0 0 0 Total 13 21 34 — 66

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[6]

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Patrick Lalime	39	2057:35	21	12	2	101	2.95	1166	0.913	3	0	0	0
Ken Wregget	46	2514:23	17	17	6	136	3.25	1383	0.902	2	0	1	6
Tom Barrasso	5	269:37	0	5	0	26	5.79	186	0.860	0	0	0	0
Philippe De Rouville	2	111:08	0	2	0	6	3.24	66	0.909	0	0	0	0
Total		4952:43	38	36	8	269	3.26	2801	0.904	5	0	1	6

Playoffs^[7]

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Ken Wregget	5	297:28	1	4	0	18	3.63	211	0.915	0	0	0	2
Total		297:28	1	4	0	18	3.63	211	0.915	0	0	0	2

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 600 goals for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–4 win over Vancouver on February 4, 1997.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 1400 points for the Penguins. He did so with his first of 4 points in a 6–2 win over Boston on November 30, 1996.

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Art Ross Trophy	Mario Lemieux	[8]
	NHL All-Rookie Team	Patrick Lalime (Goaltender)	[9]
	NHL First All-Star Team	Mario Lemieux (Center)	[9]
	NHL Second All-Star Team	Jaromir Jagr (Right wing)	[9]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Kevin Hatcher	[10]
		Jaromir Jagr[a]
		Mario Lemieux
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Patrick Lalime (December)	[13]
		Patrick Lalime (January)	[14]
Team	A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award	Mario Lemieux	[15]
	Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award	Ken Wregget	[16]
	Bob Johnson Memorial Badger Bob Award	Joe Mullen	[16]
	Leading Scorer Award	Mario Lemieux
	Michel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy	Patrick Lalime	[17]
	Most Valuable Player Award	Mario Lemieux	[18]
	Players' Player Award	Joe Mullen	[17]
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Joe Dziedzic	[15]
		Chris Tamer

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Domenic Pittis	October 26, 1996	[19]
	Patrick Lalime	November 16, 1996
400th goal	Ron Francis	March 29, 1997	[20]
500th game played	Ken Wregget

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season:^[21]

Trades

October 25, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings 1997 conditional pick (not exercised)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Petr Klima
November 17, 1996	To New York Islanders Bryan Smolinski	To Pittsburgh Penguins Andreas Johansson Darius Kasparaitis
November 19, 1996	To Florida Panthers Chris Wells	To Pittsburgh Penguins Stu Barnes Jason Woolley
November 19, 1996	To Anaheim Ducks Shawn Antoski Dmitri Mironov	To Pittsburgh Penguins Alex Hicks Fredrik Olausson
January 27, 1997	To Detroit Red Wings Tomas Sandstrom	To Pittsburgh Penguins Greg Johnson
February 21, 1997	To Anaheim Ducks Jean-Jacques Daigneault	To Pittsburgh Penguins Garry Valk
March 18, 1997	To Anaheim Ducks Richard Park	To Pittsburgh Penguins Roman Oksiuta
March 18, 1997	To Los Angeles Kings Glen Murray	To Pittsburgh Penguins Ed Olczyk
March 18, 1997	To Vancouver Canucks future considerations (1998 5th round pick)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Josef Beranek

Free agents

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
Kevin Todd	Los Angeles Kings		July 10, 1996
Kevin Miller		Chicago Blackhawks	July 18, 1996
Dave McLlwain		New York Islanders	July 29, 1996
Dan Quinn	Philadelphia Flyers		July 31, 1996
Shawn Antoski	Philadelphia Flyers		July 31, 1996
Joe Mullen	Boston Bruins		September 5, 1996
Greg Hawgood		San Jose Sharks	September 7, 1996
Craig Muni	Winnipeg Jets		October 2, 1996
Petr Klima		Edmonton Oilers	February 26, 1997

Waivers

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
Chris Joseph		Vancouver Canucks	September 30, 1996
Corey Foster		New York Islanders	September 30, 1996
Kevin Todd		Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	October 4, 1996

Other

Name	Details	Date
Craig Patrick	5-year extension (VP & GM)	June 27, 1996
Eddie Johnston	Extension (Head Coach)	June 27, 1996
Craig Patrick	Hired as Head Coach (in addition to GM)	March 3, 1997
Eddie Johnston	Reassigned to Assistant GM	March 3, 1997
Craig Patrick	Replaced as Head Coach (remained as GM)	April 26, 1997
Mario Lemieux	Retired	April 26, 1997
Kevin Constantine	Hired as Head Coach	June 12, 1997

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft.^[22]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	23	Craig Hillier	Goaltender	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)
2	28[a]	Pavel Skrbek	Defense	Czech Republic	HC Kladno (Czech)
3	72[b]	Boyd Kane	Left wing	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
3	77	Borys Protsenko	Right wing	Ukraine	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
4	105	Michal Rozsival	Defense	Czech Republic	Dukla Jihlava (Czech)
6	150[c]	Peter Bergman	Center	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
7	186	Eric Meloche	Right wing	Canada	Cornwall Colts (COJHL)
9	238	Timo Seikkula	Center	Finland	Junkkarit (Finland)

Draft notes^[23]

• ^a The New Jersey Devils' second-round pick (from San Jose Sharks) went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent two second-round picks to the Devils in exchange for this pick.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick (from Toronto Maple Leafs) went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent a second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for a second-round pick and this pick.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent a second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for a second-round pick and this pick.
• ^b The Boston Bruins' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of an August 1, 1995, trade that sent Kevin Stevens and Shawn McEachern to the Bruins in exchange for Glen Murray, Bryan Smolinski and this pick.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins' fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a March 20, 1996, trade that sent Kevin Miller to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
• ^c Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for free agent Joe Mullen.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins' sixth-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a March 20, 1996, trade that sent J. J. Daigneault to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick (from NHL as compensation for free agent Kjell Samuelsson) went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent Tyler Wright to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins' eighth-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a March 1, 1996, trade that sent Dave McLlwain to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.

Farm teams

The Johnstown Chiefs of the East Coast Hockey League finished last in the North Division with a 24–39–7 record.

The IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks finished second in the Central Division with a record of 40–32–10. They defeated the Indianapolis Ice in the first round 3–1, then defeated the Orlando Solar Bears in the second round 4–1 before losing to the eventual Turner Cup champion Detroit Vipers, 4–1.

See also

• 1996–97 NHL season

Notes

1. Jagr was voted to the starting lineup but did not play and was replaced by Adam Oates of the Boston Bruins.^[11][12]