| Team: | Montreal Canadiens |
| League: | NHL |
| Season: | 1995–96 |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Conferencerank: | 6th |
| Divisionrank: | 3rd |
| Record: | 40–32–10 |
| Homerecord: | 23–12–6 |
| Roadrecord: | 17–20–4 |
| Goalsfor: | 265 |
| Goalsagainst: | 248 |
| Attendance: | 18,233 |
| Goalsleader: | Pierre Turgeon and Vincent Damphousse (38) |
| Assistsleader: | Pierre Turgeon (58) |
| Pointsleader: | Pierre Turgeon (96) |
| Plusminusleader: | Peter Popovic (+21) |
| Pimleader: | Lyle Odelein (230) |
| Winsleader: | Jocelyn Thibault (23) |
| Gaaleader: | Jocelyn Thibault (2.83) |
The 1995–96 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 87th season. This season was notable for the trade of star goaltender Patrick Roy, as well as being their final season in the Montreal Forum before moving to the new Molson Centre. The club qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the New York Rangers.
At the beginning of the season, captain Mike Keane was subject to media scrutiny after speaking with Mathias Brunet of La Presse (a French language newspaper). Keane said he didn't know how to speak French; but the journalist misunderstood him, and reported him as refusing to learn how to speak French.[1]
On October 17, 1995: Canadiens president Ronald Corey fired general manager Serge Savard and his assistants Andre Boudrias and Carol Vadnais.[2] Head coach Jacques Demers was also relieved of his duties, while assistant coach Charles Thiffault was reassigned. This came after the Habs surrendered 20 goals in the first 4 games of the season.
October 21, 1995, Corey hired Rejean Houle as the Canadiens' new general manager. Mario Tremblay was hired as the new head coach, and Yvan Cournoyer was hired as an assistant coach.[3] Tremblay had been goaltender Patrick Roy's roommate during his rookie season.[4] On that same day, they beat their chief rival the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 in their last appearance at the Forum.
In his first 15 starts with Tremblay as head coach, Roy had 12 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. The one tie came against the Colorado Avalanche.[5] Despite this hot start, Roy and Tremblay clashed multiple times. While in Edmonton, Tremblay spotted Roy in the hotel bar and told him that he wanted him to leave.[6] A conflict ensued in Montreal when Tremblay told Roy that he was not allowed to visit the trainer's room and speak to teammates unless he was injured.[5]
On November 28, 1995, the day before a game against the Detroit Red Wings, 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. The first five years of Tremblay's career were played under Bowman, and Tremblay told Leclerc that Bowman always threatened to send him to the minors.[7] When Leclerc approached Cournoyer, he stated that he did not want to speak about Bowman.[8] The Canadiens lost the game by a score of 3–2. The next day, the Journal de Montreal had a headline that stated "Bowman has the last word".[8]
On February 5, 1996, Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.[9] Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4–2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Mario Tremblay.[10]
On December 2, 1995, head coach Mario Tremblay kept goaltender Patrick Roy in goal as he conceded 9 goals on 26 shots during an 11–1 loss to Scotty Bowman's Detroit Red Wings.[11] This was the last straw for Roy in what was already a contentious relationship with the rookie head coach. Friction between the two dated back to Roy's rookie year, when Tremblay used to needle the young Quebecer on his broken English and was critical of Roy through much of his career. The two had almost come to blows in a Long Island coffee shop before Tremblay was announced as head coach, and Tremblay's first appearance in the dressing room was greeted with snickers from Roy. They almost fought a second time after Tremblay fired a shot at Roy's throat during practice.
After Roy was replaced midway through the second period, he went over to Canadiens president Ronald Corey[12] and stated that he had played his final game with the Canadiens. He later elaborated by saying that he would not play for Montreal as long as Tremblay was coach.
On December 6, four days after the incident, Roy was traded to Colorado (along with team captain Mike Keane) in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko, a deal known in Montreal as "Le Trade".[13] Roy's relationship with the Canadiens remained strained until 2008, when it was announced that his #33 jersey would be retired. The trade benefited Colorado, as Roy helped the Avalanche win the 1996 Stanley Cup.
On March 11, 1996, the Canadiens played their last game at the Montreal Forum, defeating the Dallas Stars 4–1 on a Monday night. The game was televised on TSN and TQS in Canada, and on ESPN in the United States. After the game, many previous hockey greats were presented to the crowd. The largest ovation of the night was left at the end for legendary Canadiens star Maurice "Rocket" Richard, at over 16 minutes in length.
|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|1||L||October 7, 1995||1–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers||0–1–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|2||L||October 11, 1995||1–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Florida Panthers||0–2–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|3||L||October 12, 1995||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning||0–3–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|4||L||October 14, 1995||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey Devils||0–4–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|5||L||October 20, 1995||0–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders||0–5–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|6||W||October 21, 1995||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Toronto Maple Leafs||1–5–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|7||W||October 23, 1995||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings||2–5–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|8||W||October 25, 1995||7–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Florida Panthers||3–5–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|9||W||October 27, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers||4–5–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|10||W||October 28, 1995||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Blackhawks||5–5–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|11||W||October 31, 1995||3–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins||6–5–0 || |-|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|12||L||November 1, 1995||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals||6–6–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|13||W||November 4, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins||7–6–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|14||L||November 8, 1995||2–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim||7–7–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|15||W||November 11, 1995||4–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames||8–7–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|16||W||November 12, 1995||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks||9–7–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|17||W||November 15, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers||10–7–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|18||W||November 18, 1995||5–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Senators||11–7–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|19||W||November 20, 1995||4–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers||12–7–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|20||L||November 22, 1995||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers||12–8–0 || |- style="text-align:center;"|21||T||November 25, 1995||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Colorado Avalanche||12–8–1 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|22||L||November 28, 1995||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Detroit Red Wings||12–9–1 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|23||L||November 29, 1995||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues||12–10–1 || |-|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|24||L||December 2, 1995||1–11 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings||12–11–1 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|25||W||December 6, 1995||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey Devils||13–11–1 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|26||L||December 7, 1995||5–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins||13–12–1 || |- style="text-align:center;"|27||T||December 9, 1995||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers||13–12–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|28||W||December 12, 1995||6–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets||14–12–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|29||W||December 15, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Blackhawks||15–12–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|30||L||December 16, 1995||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers||15–13–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|31||W||December 18, 1995||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers||16–13–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|32||L||December 20, 1995||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres||16–14–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|33||W||December 22, 1995||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins||17–14–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|34||W||December 23, 1995||1–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins||18–14–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|35||L||December 26, 1995||0–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals||18–15–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|36||L||December 28, 1995||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning||18–16–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|37||W||December 30, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Senators||19–16–2 || |-|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|38||L||January 3, 1996||4–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers||19–17–2 || |- style="text-align:center;"|39||T||January 4, 1996||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders||19–17–3 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|40||L||January 6, 1996||6–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres||19–18–3 || |- style="text-align:center;"|41||T||January 8, 1996||3–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Tampa Bay Lightning||19–18–4 || |- style="text-align:center;"|42||T||January 10, 1996||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks||19–18–5 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|43||W||January 12, 1996||6–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins||20–18–5 || |- style="text-align:center;"|44||T||January 13, 1996||3–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis Blues||20–18–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|45||W||January 17, 1996||3–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Senators||21–18–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|46||L||January 22, 1996||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Tampa Bay Lightning||21–19–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|47||W||January 25, 1996||6–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Florida Panthers||22–19–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|48||W||January 27, 1996||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets||23–19–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|49||W||January 28, 1996||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins||24–19–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|50||W||January 31, 1996||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals||25–19–6 || |-|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|51||L||February 1, 1996||2–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers||25–20–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|52||W||February 3, 1996||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs||26–20–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|53||L||February 5, 1996||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Colorado Avalanche||26–21–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|54||W||February 7, 1996||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Dallas Stars||27–21–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|55||L||February 10, 1996||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Senators||27–22–6 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|56||W||February 12, 1996||3–0 || style="text-align:left;"| San Jose Sharks||28–22–6 || |- style="text-align:center;"|57||T||February 15, 1996||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers||28–22–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|58||W||February 17, 1996||5–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Calgary Flames||29–22–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|59||L||February 21, 1996||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers||29–23–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|60||L||February 23, 1996||5–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New Jersey Devils||29–24–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|61||W||February 24, 1996||7–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins||30–24–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|62||L||February 26, 1996||4–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ San Jose Sharks||30–25–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|63||L||February 28, 1996||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim||30–26–7 || |-|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|64||L||March 2, 1996||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings||30–27–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|65||W||March 9, 1996||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Senators||31–27–7 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|66||W||March 11, 1996||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Dallas Stars||32–27–7 || |- style="text-align:center;"|67||T||March 13, 1996||1–1 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ New Jersey Devils||32–27–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|68||W||March 16, 1996||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers||33–27–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|69||W||March 18, 1996||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres||34–27–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|70||W||March 20, 1996||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers||35–27–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|71||W||March 22, 1996||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres||36–27–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|72||L||March 23, 1996||5–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Edmonton Oilers||36–28–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|73||W||March 25, 1996||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders||37–28–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|74||L||March 27, 1996||0–1 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals||37–29–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|75||W||March 28, 1996||4–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins||38–29–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|76||W||March 30, 1996||3–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Senators||39–29–8 || |-|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|77||L||April 1, 1996||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres||39–30–8 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|78||L||April 3, 1996||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins||39–31–8 || |- style="text-align:center;"|79||T||April 4, 1996||3–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins||39–31–9 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|80||W||April 6, 1996||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Florida Panthers||40–31–9 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|81||L||April 11, 1996||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers||40–32–9 || |- style="text-align:center;"|82||T||April 13, 1996||5–5 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders||40–32–10 || |-|-| Legend:
|- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|1||W|| April 16, 1996 || 3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Canadiens lead 1–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;"|2||W|| April 18, 1996 || 5–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Canadiens lead 2–0 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|3||L|| April 21, 1996 || 1–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Canadiens lead 2–1 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|4||L|| April 23, 1996 || 3–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Series tied 2–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|5||L|| April 26, 1996 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Rangers lead 3–2 || |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"|6||L|| April 28, 1996 || 3–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Rangers win 4–2 || |-|-| Legend:
| Player | scope=colgroup colspan=6 | Regular season | scope=colgroup colspan=6 | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | C | 80 | 38 | 58 | 96 | 19 | 44 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 25 | C | 80 | 38 | 56 | 94 | 5 | 158 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 8 | RW | 82 | 28 | 50 | 78 | 20 | 69 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 26 | LW | 56 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 8 | 54 | ||||||||
| 11 | C | 82 | 20 | 25 | 45 | −7 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 18 | RW | 77 | 22 | 20 | 42 | 10 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 6 | ||
| 43 | D | 69 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 10 | 65 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 51 | RW | 51 | 17 | 17 | 34 | 9 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 | ||
| 49 | LW | 75 | 25 | 8 | 33 | −8 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 38 | D | 61 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 7 | 79 | ||||||||
| 30 | RW | 80 | 9 | 16 | 25 | −2 | 167 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 24 | D | 79 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 8 | 230 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5 | D | 68 | 2 | 14 | 16 | −4 | 117 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 22 | LW | 26 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −4 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 34 | D | 76 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 21 | 69 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 6 | RW | 36 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −9 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 | ||
| 28 | C | 65 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 46 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 57 | RW | 48 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 163 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 12 | RW | 18 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −6 | 6 | ||||||||
| 27 | D | 24 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −10 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 52 | D | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 54 | ||||||||
| 35 | LW | 67 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −10 | 223 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 23 | D | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −3 | 8 | ||||||||
| 29 | D | 25 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −7 | 26 | ||||||||
| 56 | C | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 4 | ||||||||
| 53 | D | 42 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −7 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | ||
| 46 | C | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 2 | ||||||||
| 48 | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| 48 | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 39 | G | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 71 | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | ||||||||
| 20 | C | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| 31 | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
| 17 | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 33 | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||
| 26 | LW | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 4 | ||||||||
| 37 | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| 41 | G | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 42 | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Player | scope=colgroup colspan=10 | Regular season | scope=colgroup colspan=9 | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 40 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 1258 | 110 | 2.83 | .913 | 3 | 2334 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 188 | 18 | 3.47 | .904 | 0 | 311 | ||
| 33 | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 667 | 62 | 2.95 | .907 | 1 | 1260 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 39 | 23 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 676 | 62 | 2.94 | .908 | 0 | 1264 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 1.24 | .941 | 0 | 49 | ||
| 31 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 7 | 4.29 | .851 | 0 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6.69 | .500 | 0 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pierre Turgeon | [14] |
| Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Peter Popovic | [15] |
| Molson Cup | Pierre Turgeon | [16] |
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| First game | Marko Kiprusoff | October 7, 1995 | [17] |
| Saku Koivu | |||
| Patrick Labrecque | |||
| Scott Fraser | November 28, 1995 | ||
| Rory Fitzpatrick | December 15, 1995 | ||
| Darcy Tucker | January 13, 1996 | ||
| Sebastien Bordeleau | February 5, 1996 | ||
| Jose Theodore | February 21, 1996 | ||
| Francois Groleau | April 3, 1996 |
Montreal's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.[18]
| Round | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Terry Ryan | Left Wing | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | ||
| 3 | 60 | Miloslav Guren | Defence | HC Zlín (Czech) | ||
| 3 | 74 | Martin Hohenberger | Left Wing | Prince George Cougars (WHL) | ||
| 4 | 86 | Jonathan Delisle | Right Wing | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) | ||
| 5 | 112 | Niklas Anger | Right Wing | Djurgårdens IF (Sweden) | ||
| 6 | 138 | Boyd Olson | Centre | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | ||
| 7 | 164 | Stephane Robidas | Defence | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) | ||
| 8 | 190 | Greg Hart | Right Wing | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) | ||
| 9 | 216 | Eric Houde | Centre | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |