1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1996–97
Year:	1996
Team:	Toronto Maple Leafs
Conferencerank:	11th
Divisionrank:	6th
Record:	30–44–8
Homerecord:	18–20–3
Roadrecord:	12–24–5
Goalsfor:	230
Goalsagainst:	273
Captain:	Doug Gilmour (Oct-Feb) Vacant (Feb-Apr)
Attendance:	15,703
Goalsleader:	Mats Sundin (41)
Assistsleader:	Mats Sundin (53)
Pointsleader:	Mats Sundin (94)
Pimleader:	Tie Domi (275)
Plusminusleader:	Rob Zettler (+8)
Winsleader:	Felix Potvin (27)
Gaaleader:	Felix Potvin (3.15)

The 1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 80th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Maple Leafs entered the 1996–97 NHL season with the hopes of making the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. Mike Murphy was hired prior to the season as the head coach replacing interim coach Nick Beverley. The team played poorly for most of the season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992. This season would be Cliff Fletcher's last as general manager of the Maple Leafs. In one of his final moves, Fletcher traded captain Doug Gilmour to the New Jersey Devils in February.

Regular season

Season standings

Schedule and results

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

	Regular season
	Player
13		C	82	41	53	94	6	59
93		C	61	15	45	60	−5	46
17		LW	65	30	19	49	−2	75
94		LW	73	25	16	41	−3	2
55		D	69	7	32	39	1	20
21		C	66	20	17	37	−23	85
8		LW	75	12	21	33	−3	41
28		RW	80	11	17	28	−17	275
9		RW	65	7	13	20	−20	62
14		C	64	11	6	17	−20	47
16		C	58	8	8	16	2	28
11		C	21	5	11	16	5	23
4		D	56	4	10	14	−8	34
36		D	74	4	10	14	−24	56
2		D	48	2	12	14	8	51
19		RW	76	6	7	13	−14	24
72		D	26	5	7	12	3	20
34		D	73	1	10	11	−14	93
12		RW	39	2	8	10	−9	20
10		RW	23	3	5	8	4	6
42		D	19	3	3	6	−3	16
32		LW	35	3	2	5	1	62
26		RW	20	1	4	5	−6	6
25		D	21	0	5	5	−4	16
20		RW	13	2	2	4	−2	4
3		D	36	0	4	4	−12	38
26		D	23	0	4	4	3	13
24		D	15	1	2	3	0	9
7		C	10	0	3	3	−2	6
29		G	74	0	3	3		19
43		LW	14	1	1	2	−2	2
7		C	22	0	2	2	−5	2
31		G	13	0	1	1		0
20		C	3	0	1	1	−1	0
4		D	8	0	1	1	−5	7
33		G	3	0	0	0		0
39		RW	2	0	0	0	0	27
44		RW	5	0	0	0	0	10
37		RW	7	0	0	0	−3	0
22		LW	1	0	0	0	0	2
25		D	2	0	0	0	0	0
41		RW	3	0	0	0	0	7
38		D	5	0	0	0	−4	0
23		D	13	0	0	0	2	6
15		C	5	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

	Regular season
	Player
29		74	27	36	7	2438	224	3.15	.908	0	4271
31		13	3	5	1	317	31	3.29	.902	1	566
33		3	0	3	0	60	10	5.46	.833	0	110

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honour	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Sergei Berezin (Forward)	^[1]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Mats Sundin	^[2]
League (in-season)	NHL Rookie of the Month	Steve Sullivan (March)	^[3]
Team	Molson Cup	Felix Potvin	^[4]

Milestones

Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.

Trades

October 10, 1996	To New York Islanders 5th round pick in 1998 (Jiri Dopita)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Darby Hendrickson
January 31, 1997	To Tampa Bay Lightning 3rd round pick in 1998 (Alex Henry)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Craig Wolanin
February 25, 1997	To New Jersey Devils Doug Gilmour Dave Ellett 3rd round pick in 1999 (Andre Lakos)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Jason Smith Alyn McCauley Steve Sullivan
March 18, 1997	To Detroit Red Wings Larry Murphy	To Toronto Maple Leafs Future Considerations
March 18, 1997	To Florida Panthers Kirk Muller	To Toronto Maple Leafs Jason Podollan
March 18, 1997	To Hartford Whalers 8th round pick in 1998 (Jaroslav Svoboda)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Kelly Chase
June 12, 1997	To Florida Panthers Mike Lankshear	To Toronto Maple Leafs Per Gustafsson

Waivers

September 30, 1996	From Edmonton Oilers Ralph Intranuovo
October 25, 1996	To Edmonton Oilers Ralph Intranuovo

Free agents

Player	Former Team
	Detroit Vipers (IHL)
	Buffalo Sabres
	Chicago Wolves (IHL)
	Dallas Stars
	Los Angeles Ice Dogs (IHL)
	Buffalo Sabres
	San Jose Sharks
	Undrafted free agent

Player	New Team
	Los Angeles Kings

Draft picks

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

Round		Name	College/Junior/Club team
2	36	Marek Posmyk	Dukla Jihlava (Czech Republic)
2	50	Francis Larivee	Laval Titan (QMJHL)
3	66	Mike Lankshear	Guelph Storm (OHL)
3	68	Konstantin Kalmikov	Detroit Falcons (CoHL)
4	86	Jason Sessa	Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
4	103	Vladimir Antipov	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
5	110	Peter Cava	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
5	111	Brandon Sugden	London Knights (OHL)
6	140	Dmytro Yakushyn	Pembroke Lumber Kings (COJHL)
6	148	Chris Bogas	Michigan State University (CCHA)
6	151	Lucio DeMartinis	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
7	178	Reggie Berg	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
8	204	Tomas Kaberle	HC Kladno (Czech Republic)
9	230	Jared Hope	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

Farm teams

The Maple Leafs farm team was the St. John's Maple Leafs, based in St. John's, Newfoundland.

References

Web site: Toronto Maple Leafs 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 24, 2023.
Web site: 1996-97 Toronto Maple Leafs Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts . Hockey-Reference.com . July 24, 2023.

Notes and References

Web site: Postseason All-Star Teams . records.nhl.com . July 27, 2023.
Web site: NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1997 . www.nhl.com . July 27, 2023.
Web site: NHL Rookies of the Month . Hockey-Reference.com . July 27, 2023.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2015–16 Media Guide, p.373
Web site: 1982 NHL Entry Draft -- Doug Gilmour . www.hockeydraftcentral.com . July 27, 2023 . Played in his 1,000th career NHL game for Toronto on Nov. 16, 1996, at Phoenix..
Web site: 1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 27, 2023.