1995–96 Detroit Red Wings season

Off-season

In September 1995, the former 1974 draft pick and attorney Bill Evo was appointed president the Detroit Red Wings.

Regular season

• November 28, 1995: The Montreal Canadiens were playing the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The day before the game, Mario Tremblay spoke to Mario Leclerc of Le Journal de Montreal. Tremblay mentioned that he was resentful of current Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman. He had played under Bowman for the first five years of his NHL career, and Tremblay told Leclerc that Bowman always threatened to send him to the minors. When Leclerc approached Cournoyer, he stated that he did not want to speak about Bowman. The Canadiens lost the game by a score of 3–2. The next day, Le Journal de Montreal had a headline that stated, "Bowman has the last word."
• December 2, 1995: The Red Wings played at the Montreal Forum (their final season for the Habs before they moved to the Bell Centre) and dealt Tremblay's Montreal Canadiens their worst home game in franchise history, with an 11–1 win. The Habs' star goaltender Patrick Roy allowed nine goals on 26 shots (five in the first period, and then another four in the second period), and the crowd jeered him whenever he made an easy save during the second period after the game was already 7–1 in favor of the Red Wings. In response, Roy raised his arms in mock celebration. When Head Coach Mario Tremblay finally pulled Roy in the middle of the second period in favor of Pat Jablonski (who allowed two more goals), Roy stormed past him and told Canadiens President Ronald Corey, "It's my last game in Montreal." Tremblay was roundly criticized for not relieving Roy earlier, violating the unwritten rule that a star goaltender be taken out of the game once it is clear he is having an off-night. Roy was traded to the Colorado Avalanche after that game, and he played a key role in eliminating the Red Wings during the Western Conference Finals, precipitating the Avalanche–Red Wings rivalry.
• Against the Hartford Whalers on March 6, 1996, Chris Osgood became the third goaltender in NHL history to score a goal.
• On March 22, 1996, the Red Wings scored three short-handed goals in a 7–0 win over the Colorado Avalanche, clinching the Presidents' Trophy.

The Red Wings finished first in wins (62), points (131), tied the Washington Capitals for most shutouts (9), allowed the fewest goals (181), the fewest even-strength goals (128), the fewest power-play goals (44) and had the best penalty-kill percentage (88.27%).

Season standings

Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, the Red Wings defeated the eighth-seeded Winnipeg Jets marking the Jets' final games in Winnipeg as the franchise relocated to Phoenix following their playoff defeat. The Wings then defeated the fifth-place St. Louis Blues in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, the Red Wings were ousted in six games by the Colorado Avalanche, who were in the first year after moving from Quebec. These two teams started the Avalanche–Red Wings rivalry, which lasted nearly a decade.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- | 1 || October 6 || Detroit || 2–3 || Colorado || || Vernon || 16,061 || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 8 || Detroit || 3–1 || Edmonton || || Osgood || 13,302 || 1–1–0 || 2 || |- | 3 || October 9 || Detroit || 5–3 || Vancouver || || Vernon || 19,024 || 2–1–0 || 4 || |- | 4 || October 13 || Edmonton || 0–9 || Detroit || || Osgood || 19,875 || 3–1–0 || 6 || |- | 5 || October 15 || Detroit || 5–5 || Winnipeg || OT || Vernon || 9,399 || 3–1–1 || 7 || |- | 6 || October 17 || Calgary || 3–3 || Detroit || OT || Osgood || 19,638 || 3–1–2 || 8 || |- | 7 || October 19 || Detroit || 2–4 || New Jersey || || Vernon || 16,147 || 3–2–2 || 8 || |- | 8 || October 21 || Boston || 2–4 || Detroit || || Osgood || 19,875 || 4–2–2 || 10 || |- | 9 || October 24 || Ottawa || 2–1 || Detroit || || Vernon || 19,512 || 4–3–2 || 10 || |- | 10 || October 27 || Detroit || 3–0 || Calgary || || Osgood || 19,001 || 5–3–2 || 12 || |- | 11 || October 30 || Detroit || 2–3 || Winnipeg || || Osgood || 7,905 || 5–4–2 || 12 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 17 || Winnipeg || 1–4 || Detroit || || Osgood || 19,983 || 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 19 || Winnipeg || 0–4 || Detroit || || Osgood || 19,983 || 2–0 || |- | 3 || April 21 || Detroit || 1–4 || Winnipeg || || Vernon || 15,544 || 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 23 || Detroit || 6–1 || Winnipeg || || Vernon || 15,557 || 3–1 || |- | 5 || April 26 || Winnipeg || 3–1 || Detroit || || Osgood || 19,983 || 3–2 || |- | 6 || April 28 || Detroit || 4–1 || Winnipeg || || Vernon || 15,567 || 4–2 ||

| Legend:

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.*

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Signings

Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.

;Notes

1. The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on May 25, 1994 that sent Sheldon Kennedy to Winnipeg in exchange for this pick.
2. The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on January 17, 1994 that sent Vincent Riendeau to Boston in exchange for this pick.
3. The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on September 9, 1993 that sent Stewart Malgunas to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.

• The Red Wings third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on April 3, 1995 that sent Viacheslav Fetisov to Detroit in exchange for this pick (78th overall).
• The Red Wings fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on February 27, 1995 that sent Bob Errey to Detroit in exchange for this pick (130th overall).

Notes

References

References

1. Russo, Eric. "Bruins Close Out Historic Regular Season with Win in Montreal".
2. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19960724&id=_A5QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O1UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6005,2247939 Ludington Daily News - July 24, 1996, Page 7]
3. Roy, Michel. (2008). "Patrick Roy Winning, Nothing Else". John Wiley & Sons.
4. Roy, Michel. (2008). "Patrick Roy Winning, Nothing Else". John Wiley & Sons.
5. "Patrick Roy". Hockey Hall of Fame.
6. (2005-12-02). "Remembering Roy's Career-Changing Game". TSN.
7. "Revisiting St. Patrick Roy and "Le Trade" {{pipe}} Blogcritics".
8. [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=18352 Legends of Hockey - NHL Player Search - Player - Chris Osgood]
9. "Colorado Avalanche at Detroit Red Wings Box Score — March 22, 1996".
10. "RED WINGS' ROMP CLINCHES TROPHY".
11. [https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1996.html 1995-96 NHL Season Summary {{pipe Hockey-Reference.com]
12. "1995-96 Detroit Red Wings Schedule".
13. "Frank J. Selke Trophy".
14. "Jack Adams Award".
15. "Postseason All-Star Teams".
16. "Bud Light Plus-Minus Award".
17. "William M. Jennings Trophy".
18. "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters".
19. "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)".
20. "1995-96 NHL Debuts".
21. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".