1996–97 Los Angeles Kings season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1996–97
Year:	1996
Team:	Los Angeles Kings
Record:	28–43–11
Homerecord:	18–16–7
Roadrecord:	10–27–4
Conferencerank:	12th
Divisionrank:	6th
Goalsfor:	214
Goalsagainst:	268
Attendance:	12,297
Goalsleader:	Ray Ferraro (25)
Assistsleader:	Dmitri Khristich (37)
Pointsleader:	Dmitri Khristich (56)
Pimleader:	Matt Johnson (194)
Plusminusleader:	Dmitri Khristich (+8) Vladimir Tsyplakov (+8)
Winsleader:	Byron Dafoe (13) Stephane Fiset (13)
Gaaleader:	Byron Dafoe (3.11)

The 1996–97 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 30th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kings missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Offseason

Defenseman Rob Blake was named team captain.^[1] ^[2]

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

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

	Regular season
	Player
8		C	75	19	37	56	8	38
20		C	81	25	21	46	−22	112
7		RW	67	21	23	44	−22	45
9		LW	67	16	23	39	8	12
25		LW	69	14	20	34	−27	96
43		LW	65	10	22	32	−9	10
4		D	62	8	23	31	−28	82
21		RW	67	16	11	27	−3	22
44		C	41	11	14	25	0	20
28		D	60	7	18	25	0	25
22		C	62	8	15	23	−25	102
14		D	80	1	21	22	−4	84
6		D	55	5	12	17	−13	144
11		RW	44	8	8	16	−7	74
27		D	32	3	11	14	−10	4
19		LW	26	4	9	13	−6	6
33		D	33	4	5	9	3	22
12		C	29	4	5	9	−7	60
42		RW	79	3	6	9	−15	32
27		RW	11	5	3	8	−2	8
5		D	41	2	6	8	−9	24
23		LW	31	4	3	7	−7	26
41		LW	18	4	2	6	−2	15
15		D	30	3	3	6	−13	25
40		LW	26	3	2	5	−8	93
29		D	54	2	3	5	−8	84
17		LW	52	1	3	4	−4	194
24		C	15	1	3	4	−8	8
10		C	19	0	4	4	−9	0
85		RW	8	0	4	4	−7	2
37		C	6	1	0	1	−2	6
2		D	57	1	0	1	−22	116
32		G	1	0	0	0		0
34		G	40	0	0	0		0
35		G	44	0	0	0		2
26		C	1	0	0	0	−2	0
7		LW	9	0	0	0	1	37
52		C	3	0	0	0	−3	0
1		G	5	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

	Regular season
	Player
34		40	13	17	5	1178	112	3.11	.905	0	2162
35		44	13	24	5	1410	132	3.19	.906	4	2482
1		5	2	1	1	147	11	2.49	.925	0	265
32		1	0	1	0	35	4	4.30	.886	0	56

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Rob Blake	^[3]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Dmitri Khristich	^[3]
Team	Best Newcomer	Stephane Fiset	^[4]
	Bill Libby Memorial Award	Dmitri Khristich
	Defensive Player	Ian Laperriere
	Jim Fox Community Service	Dan Bylsma
	Jim Fox Community Service	Byron Dafoe
	Leading Scorer	Dmitri Khristich
	Most Inspirational	Ian Laperriere
	Most Popular Player	Dan Bylsma
	Most Popular Player	Ian Laperriere
	Outstanding Defenseman	Mattias Norstrom
	Unsung Hero	Byron Dafoe

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.^[5]

Trades

June 20, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Stephane Fiset 1st round pick in 1998	To Colorado Avalanche Eric Lacroix 1st round pick in 1998
August 22, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Petr Klima	To Tampa Bay Lightning 5th round pick in 1997
October 25, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Future considerations	To Pittsburgh Penguins Petr Klima
November 19, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Chris Marinucci	To New York Islanders Nicholas Vachon
November 22, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Neal Broten	To New Jersey Devils Future considerations
November 28, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings Brad Smyth	To Florida Panthers 3rd round pick in 1997
March 18, 1997	To Los Angeles Kings Glen Murray	To Pittsburgh Penguins Eddie Olczyk

Free agent signings

May 23, 1996	From Merrimack College (HE) Steve McKenna
July 8, 1996	From Winnipeg Jets Eddie Olczyk (2 years, $2.15 million)
July 23, 1996	From Toronto Maple Leafs Paul DiPietro (1 year, $325,000)
August 2, 1996	From Chicago Blackhawks Brent Grieve (1 year, $325,000)
August 28, 1996	From Tampa Bay Lightning Jean-Claude Bergeron (1 year, $300,000)
September 6, 1996	From Buffalo Sabres Mark Astley (1 year, $350,000)
December 13, 1996	From Boston Bruins Rick Zombo (1 year, $724,500)

Free agents lost

July 10, 1996	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Kevin Todd (2 years, $1.2 million)
July 24, 1996	To Florida Panthers Craig Ferguson (1 year, $350,000)
August 15, 1996	To San Jose Sharks Tony Granato (3 years, $4.5 million)
September 14, 1996	To Houston Aeros (IHL) Gary Shuchuk
October 4, 1996	To Vancouver Canucks Troy Crowder (1 year, $500,000)

Waivers

January 28, 1997	To Dallas Stars Neal Broten

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.^[6]

Round		Player	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	30	Josh Green	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2	37	Marian Cisar	Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
3	57	Greg Phillips	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
4	84	Mikael Simons	Mora IK (Sweden)
4	96	Eric Belanger	Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
5	120	Jesse Black	Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
5	123	Peter Hogan	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
8	190	Steve Valiquette	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
8	193	Kai Nurminen	HV71 (Sweden)
9	219	Sebastien Simard	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)

References

Web site: Los Angeles Kings 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 25, 2023.
Web site: 1996-97 Los Angeles Kings Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts . Hockey-Reference.com . July 25, 2023.

Notes and References

Web site: Tardif Assigned to Phoenix . Los Angeles Times . August 25, 2023 . October 2, 1996 . Defenseman Rob Blake, who is battling an arm injury, was named team captain but remains questionable for the opener..
Web site: Rob Blake career timeline . NHL.com . August 25, 2023 . June 18, 2010 . Oct. 1, 1996 Named captain of Los Angeles.
Web site: NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1997 . www.nhl.com . July 27, 2023.
Los Angeles Kings 2014–15 Media Guide, p. 201–03
Web site: Hockey Transactions Search Results.
Web site: 1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 27, 2023.