1995–96 Ottawa Senators season

Offseason

Prior to the season, on August 2, 1995, Brian Smith, former NHL hockey player and sportscaster at Ottawa TV station CJOH-TV was killed. He had been the primary reporter on the Senators for the station. The Senators honored him with a patch on their jerseys, with his nickname 'Smitty' and number 18, which they wore on their jerseys for the whole season. The team raised a banner in his memory.

Regular season

The Senators finished last in wins (18), points (41), goals scored (191), even-strength goals scored (132), power-play goals scored (53) and power-play percentage (12.33%). They also tied the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning for fewest short-handed goals scored (6).

There were some bright spots during the season, rookie Daniel Alfredsson led the team offensively with 61 points (26 goals-35 assists), while Alexei Yashin was out of the lineup for 36 games. Alfredsson won the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year.

After getting off to a good start with a 6–5–0 record, the Senators lost their next eight games, which ended up costing head coach Rick Bowness his job, as the club replaced him with Dave Allison, who was previously the head coach of the Senators AHL affiliate, the Prince Edward Island Senators. The Dave Allison era did not last long in Ottawa, as the club won two of 25 games (2–22–1) before he was replaced by Jacques Martin. Under Martin, the Senators was more competitive, going 10–24–4 in his 38 games to finish the year with an 18–59–5, their fourth straight season at the bottom of the NHL standings.

Highlights

After taking over from the fired Randy Sexton as General Manager, on December 6, 1995, Pierre Gauthier made three moves to strengthen the club. He hired Jacques Martin as head coach, signed hold-out Alexei Yashin to a contract and engineered a blockbuster trade on January 23, 1996, dealing away Don Beaupre, Martin Straka, and Bryan Berard, while acquiring Damian Rhodes and Wade Redden. It was a three-way trade between the Senators, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the New York Islanders and was necessary because Berard, the Senators' first-round pick, was refusing to report to the Senators.

The Senators left the Ottawa Civic Centre and played their first game in The Palladium on January 17, 1996, against the Montreal Canadiens. The raising of the Senators' Stanley Cup banners failed, leaving the banners obscuring some fans' view of the scoreboard. The Senators lost 3–0 to the Canadiens.

On April 13, 1996, the Senators played the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils, who must win to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators played the role of spoiler, defeating New Jersey 5–2, officially eliminating the Devils from post-season play and giving the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that entered the league the same year as the Senators, its first playoff berth.

Final standings

Schedule and results

|- |1||October 7, 1995||1–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) ||0–1–0||9,567 || |- |2||October 13, 1995||2–6 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) ||0–2–0||10,895 || |- |3||October 15, 1995||7–4 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) ||1–2–0||13,488 || |- |4||October 19, 1995||4–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1995–96) ||2–2–0||8,424 || |- |5||October 21, 1995||1–4 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) ||2–3–0||17,620 || |- |6||October 22, 1995||4–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1995–96) ||3–3–0||18,200 || |- |7||October 24, 1995||2–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) ||4–3–0||19,512 || |- |8||October 26, 1995||5–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) ||5–3–0||10,575 || |- |9||October 28, 1995||1–4 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (1995–96) ||5–4–0||8,660 || |- |10||October 29, 1995||2–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) ||5–5–0||17,328 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Senators only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.*

Goaltending

• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.*

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

July 1995

Source

August 1995

Source

September 1995

Source

October 1995

Source

December 1995

Source

January 1996

Source

March 1996

Source

Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft in Edmonton, Alberta.

Farm teams

Prince Edward Island Senators

Dave Allison began the 1995–96 as head coach of the club, however, he was promoted to Ottawa on November 20, 1995. Assistant coach John Phelan took over head coaching duties in Prince Edward Island. Allison earned a 10–11–2–0 record at the time of the coaching change. Under Phelan, the Senators were 28–22–4–3. Overall, the club finished the season with a 38–33–6–3 record, earning 85 points and first place in the Atlantic Division.

Jean-Yves Roy and Shawn Heaphy co-led the club with 40 goals, while Roy led the club with 95 points. Frédéric Cassivi led the Senators with 20 victories and had a team-best 3.27 GAA.

In the post-season, PEI was upset by the Fredericton Canadiens in the division semi-finals. Michel Picard scored a team-high five goals, while Roy led the team with 13 points. Cassivi had both playoff wins for the team.

Thunder Bay Senators

Tom Warden was named head coach of the Thunder Bay Senators for the 1995–96 season. The club finished in second place in the West Division with a 36–26–12 record, earning 84 points, and qualifying for the post-season.

Jason Firth led the team with 39 goals, and his 133 points ranked second in the league. Patrick Charbonneau led the club with 16 wins and had a team-best 3.25 GAA.

In the post-season, Thunder Bay defeated the Madison Monsters and Brantford Smoke before falling to the Flint Generals in the Colonial Cup finals. Jean Blouin led Thunder Bay with 23 goals and Firth led the club with 33 points.

Notes

References

References

1. "1996 NJ Devils Miss Playoffs vs Ottawa Senators - Chorske 2 Goals".
2. Yannis, Alex. (1996-04-14). "HOCKEY;The Devils' Playoff Chase Ends With a Whimper". The New York Times.
3. "1995-96 NHL Summary".
4. "1995-96 Ottawa Senators Schedule".
5. "Calder Memorial Trophy".
6. "Postseason All-Star Teams".
7. "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters".
8. (December 1, 1995). "Alfredsson named rookie of the month - UPI Archives".
9. "NHL Rookies of the Month".
10. Ottawa Senators 2014–15 Media Guide, p.162–82
11. "1995-96 NHL Debuts".
12. "Transactions".
13. "Transactions".
14. "Transactions".
15. "Transactions".
16. "Transactions".
17. "Transactions".
18. "Transactions".
19. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".