1996–97 Boston Bruins season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1996–97
Year:	1996
Team:	Boston Bruins
Record:	26–47–9
Homerecord:	14–20–7
Roadrecord:	12–27–2
Conferencerank:	13th
Divisionrank:	6th
Goalsfor:	234
Goalsagainst:	300
Attendance:	15,550 (87.1%) Total: 637,575
Minorleague:	Providence Bruins (AHL) Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)
Goalsleader:	Ted Donato (25)
Assistsleader:	Jozef Stumpel (55)
Pointsleader:	Jozef Stumpel (76)
Plusminusleader:	P. C. Drouin (+1)
Pimleader:	Jeff Odgers (197)
Winsleader:	Bill Ranford (12)
Gaaleader:	Tim Cheveldae (3.22)

The 1996–97 Boston Bruins season was the team's 73rd season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Bruins finished with the worst record in the NHL and missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1967.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

|- align="center" |1||T||October 5, 1996||4–4 OT|| align="left"| New York Rangers (1996–97) ||0–0–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|2||L||October 7, 1996||2–5 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) ||0–1–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |3||W||October 12, 1996||5–3 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) ||1–1–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |4||W||October 14, 1996||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) ||2–1–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|5||L||October 17, 1996||2–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) ||2–2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |6||W||October 20, 1996||5–1 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) ||3–2–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|7||L||October 24, 1996||1–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) ||3–3–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|8||L||October 26, 1996||1–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) ||3–4–1 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |9||W||October 29, 1996||5–2 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||4–4–1 || |- align="center" |10||T||October 31, 1996||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||4–4–2 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|11||L||November 2, 1996||2–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1996–97) ||4–5–2 || |- align="center" |12||T||November 4, 1996||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) ||4–5–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|13||L||November 6, 1996||1–5 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||4–6–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|14||L||November 7, 1996||0–6 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) ||4–7–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |15||W||November 9, 1996||4–3 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||5–7–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |16||W||November 14, 1996||2–1 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||6–7–3 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |17||W||November 18, 1996||4–2 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (1996–97) ||7–7–3 || |- align="center" |18||T||November 19, 1996||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) ||7–7–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|19||L||November 21, 1996||2–6 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||7–8–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|20||L||November 23, 1996||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||7–9–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |21||W||November 26, 1996||2–0 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||8–9–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |22||W||November 29, 1996||7–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) ||9–9–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|23||L||November 30, 1996||2–6 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||9–10–4 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |24||W||December 4, 1996||4–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||10–10–4 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|25||L||December 5, 1996||2–4 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||10–11–4 || |- align="center" |26||T||December 7, 1996||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Calgary Flames (1996–97) ||10–11–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|27||L||December 9, 1996||2–5 || align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) ||10–12–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|28||L||December 12, 1996||4–7 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||10–13–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|29||L||December 14, 1996||0–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||10–14–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|30||L||December 15, 1996||0–6 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||10–15–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |31||W||December 17, 1996||6–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||11–15–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |32||W||December 19, 1996||3–0 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||12–15–5 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |33||W||December 21, 1996||4–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1996–97) ||13–15–5 || |- align="center" |34||T||December 23, 1996||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) ||13–15–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|35||L||December 27, 1996||4–6 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) ||13–16–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|36||L||December 29, 1996||2–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) ||13–17–6 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|37||L||January 1, 1997||2–3 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||13–18–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |38||W||January 2, 1997||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||14–18–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |39||W||January 4, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (1996–97) ||15–18–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|40||L||January 7, 1997||3–7 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||15–19–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |41||W||January 9, 1997||5–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||16–19–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|42||L||January 11, 1997||3–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||16–20–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|43||L||January 13, 1997||3–4 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||16–21–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|44||L||January 14, 1997||2–4 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||16–22–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|45||L||January 20, 1997||2–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1996–97) ||16–23–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |46||W||January 22, 1997||4–1 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||17–23–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|47||L||January 23, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||17–24–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |48||W||January 25, 1997||4–1 || align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) ||18–24–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|49||L||January 30, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||18–25–6 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |50||W||February 1, 1997||3–0 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||19–25–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |51||W||February 2, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1996–97) ||20–25–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|52||L||February 4, 1997||3–4 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||20–26–6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|53||L||February 6, 1997||3–5 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||20–27–6 || |- align="center" |54||T||February 8, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1996–97) ||20–27–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|55||L||February 11, 1997||1–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) ||20–28–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|56||L||February 12, 1997||3–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) ||20–29–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|57||L||February 15, 1997||4–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) ||20–30–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|58||L||February 18, 1997||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) ||20–31–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|59||L||February 20, 1997||3–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) ||20–32–7 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|60||L||February 23, 1997||1–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||20–33–7 || |- align="center" |61||T||February 24, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) ||20–33–8 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |62||W||February 27, 1997||6–2 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||21–33–8 || |-|- align="center" |63||T||March 1, 1997||5–5 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||21–33–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|64||L||March 3, 1997||2–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) ||21–34–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|65||L||March 6, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1996–97) ||21–35–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |66||W||March 8, 1997||6–4 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||22–35–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |67||W||March 9, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||23–35–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|68||L||March 12, 1997||3–6 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||23–36–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|69||L||March 13, 1997||0–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||23–37–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |70||W||March 15, 1997||5–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1996–97) ||24–37–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|71||L||March 17, 1997||1–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||24–38–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|72||L||March 19, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) ||24–39–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|73||L||March 22, 1997||4–5 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||24–40–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|74||L||March 24, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||24–41–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|75||L||March 27, 1997||3–6 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1996–97) ||24–42–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|76||L||March 29, 1997||2–8 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1996–97) ||24–43–9 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|77||L||April 3, 1997||4–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1996–97) ||24–44–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |78||W||April 5, 1997||4–2 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||25–44–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|79||L||April 8, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||25–45–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|80||L||April 10, 1997||1–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||25–46–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|81||L||April 11, 1997||0–2 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||25–47–9 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC" |82||W||April 13, 1997||7–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||26–47–9 || |-|-| 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 Bruins only.
• = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.

	Regular season
	Player
16		C	78	21	55	76	−22	14
12		C	63	18	52	70	−3	10
21		LW	67	25	26	51	−9	37
77		D	62	19	31	50	−11	18
22		RW	40	16	14	30	−3	67
19		C	72	13	15	28	−21	82
32		D	82	3	23	26	−5	39
23		RW	30	17	8	25	−8	27
43		LW	52	10	15	25	−8	22
42		LW	36	10	11	21	0	14
33		RW	56	8	10	18	−17	30
46		D	50	5	13	18	−7	32
65		LW	44	4	14	18	−3	8
27		RW	40	7	10	17	−6	49
20		LW	31	4	12	16	−12	16
36		RW	80	7	8	15	−15	197
29		LW	68	6	8	14	−8	155
18		D	58	5	9	14	−9	54
45		RW	34	10	3	13	−12	45
11		RW	19	8	5	13	−7	2
41		C	19	3	9	12	−3	9
48		D	54	3	8	11	−26	71
47		D	41	1	8	9	−9	14
25		C	59	3	5	8	−16	33
38		D	37	3	5	8	−14	31
34		D	27	3	4	7	0	8
37		C	21	1	2	3	−1	13
28		D	57	0	3	3	−12	171
14		D	9	0	2	2	−1	4
49		LW	10	0	2	2	−5	12
62		D	3	1	0	1	−2	0
17		LW	15	0	1	1	−4	7
26		LW	15	0	1	1	−2	4
39		G	8	0	0	0		0
30		G	19	0	0	0		0
31		G	2	0	0	0		0
40		LW	3	0	0	0	1	0
52		C	5	0	0	0	−1	0
44		D	33	0	0	0	−14	70
30		G	37	0	0	0		0
48		C	1	0	0	0	0	0
14		LW	2	0	0	0	0	0
1		G	3	0	0	0		0
35		G	28	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

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

	Regular season
	Player
30		37	37	12	16	8	1,102	125	3.49	.887	2	2,147:09
35		28	22	8	12	1	587	69	3.33	.882	1	1,243:53
30		19	17	5	13	0	496	64	3.82	.871	0	1,004:01
39		8	5	1	5	0	181	24	3.66	.867	0	393:46
31		2	1	0	1	0	33	5	3.22	.848	0	93:09
1		3	0	0	0	0	25	6	4.65	.760	0	77:28

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Ray Bourque	^[4]
Adam Oates
Team<	--	Eddie Shore Award
	Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy	Jozef Stumpel	^[5]
	Seventh Player Award	Ted Donato
	Three Stars Awards	Ray Bourque (1st)	^[6]
		Ted Donato (2nd)
		Jozef Stumpel (3rd)

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details
	To San Jose Sharks Al Iafrate	To Boston Bruins Jeff Odgers 1996 PIT 5th-round pick (#132 overall)
	To Ottawa Senators Shawn McEachern	To Boston Bruins Trent McCleary 1996 3rd-round pick (#53 overall)
	To San Jose Sharks 1997 5th-round pick (#107 overall)	To Boston Bruins Rob DiMaio
	To Colorado Avalanche 1998 1st-round pick (#19 overall)	To Boston Bruins Landon Wilson Anders Myrvold
	To Washington Capitals Bill Ranford Adam Oates Rick Tocchet	To Boston Bruins Jason Allison Jim Carey Anson Carter 1997 3rd-round pick (#63 overall) 1998 Conditional 2nd-round pick (#52 overall)

Free agents

Date	Player	Team
		to Dallas Stars
		from Ottawa Senators
		to Ottawa Senators
		from New York Rangers
		from Ottawa Senators
		from New York Islanders
		from Calgary Flames
		from Philadelphia Flyers
		from Florida Panthers
		to Pittsburgh Penguins
		to San Jose Sharks

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term
		3-year
		3-year
		2-year extension
		3-year
		2-year

Waivers

Date	Player	Team
		from Vancouver Canucks in waiver draft
		to Vancouver Canucks

Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.^[7]

Round		Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1^1	8	Johnathan Aitken	D		Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2	45	Henry Kuster	RW		Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
3^2	53	Eric Naud	LW		Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL)
3^3	80	Jason Doyle	RW		Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (WHL)
4	100	Trent Whitfield	C		Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
5^4	132	Elias Abrahamsson	D		Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
6	155	Chris Lane	D		Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7	182	Thomas Brown	D		Sarnia Sting (OHL)
8	208	Bob Prier	RW		St. Lawrence University (ECAC)
9	234	Anders Soderberg	LW		Modo Hockey (Sweden)

Notes

1. The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 26, 1994 that sent Glen Wesley to Hartford in exchange for first-round picks in 1995, 1997 and this pick.
2. The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 22, 1996 that sent Shawn McEachern to Ottawa in exchange for Trent McCleary and this pick.
3. The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 17, 1995 that sent David Shaw to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.

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.

1. The Bruins acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 21, 1996 that sent Al Iafrate to San Jose in exchange for Jeff Odgers and this pick.

San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 20, 1996 that sent Kevin Miller to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.

• The Bruins first-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on January 11, 1996 that sent Bill Ranford to Boston in exchange for Mariusz Czerkawski, rights to Sean Brown and this pick (19th overall).
• The Bruins third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the result of a trade on August 1, 1995 that sent Shawn McEachern and Kevin Stevens to Boston in exchange for Glen Murray, Bryan Smolinski and this pick (72nd overall).
• The Bruins fourth-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on December 9, 1995 that sent Dean Chynoweth to Boston in exchange for this pick (128th overall).

References

• Web site: Boston Bruins 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 16, 2023.
• Web site: 1996-97 Boston Bruins Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts . Hockey-Reference.com . July 16, 2023.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Elliott . Helene . 1997-04-08 . From Bruins to Ruins : After 30 Years, Another Boston Tradition--Playoff Hockey--Crumbles Beneath Weight of Inept Team . 2024-01-27 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
2. Web site: Smith . Michael . The 5 Most Painful Seasons in Boston Bruins History . 2024-01-27 . Bleacher Report . en.
3. Web site: ESPN.com - NHL - It's a shame about Ray ... and the Bruins . 2024-01-27 . www.espn.com.
4. Web site: NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1997 . www.nhl.com . July 26, 2023.
5. Boston Bruins 2014–15 Guide & Record Book, p.239
6. Boston Bruins 2014–15 Guide & Record Book, p. 239–40
7. Web site: 1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 27, 2023.