1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1996–97
Year:	1996
Team:	Pittsburgh Penguins
Conferencerank:	6th
Divisionrank:	2nd
Record:	38–36–8
Homerecord:	25–11–5
Roadrecord:	13–25–3
Goalsfor:	285
Goalsagainst:	280
Attendance:	16,691
Goalsleader:	Mario Lemieux (50)
Assistsleader:	Mario Lemieux (72)
Pointsleader:	Mario Lemieux (122)
Pimleader:	Dave Roche (155)
Plusminusleader:	Mario Lemieux (+27)
Winsleader:	Patrick Lalime (21)
Gaaleader:	Patrick Lalime (2.94)

The 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 30th in the National Hockey League. This was the final season for Mario Lemieux before his first retirement.

Regular season

The 1996–97 season featured Mario Lemieux in his final season before his first retirement. Lemieux won his sixth (and final) Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, with 122 points. The Penguins had an up-and-down season en route to a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. A 2–9–0 start was followed by a hot middle-of-the-season stretch, highlighted by the play of rookie phenom goaltender Patrick Lalime. A shoulder injury to Tom Barrasso ended his season after five unmemorable games and led to the promotion of Lalime from the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL). Lalime debuted in relief of Ken Wregget in a loss to the New York Rangers on November 16. His first win came in relief of Wregget on December 6, and the next day, on December 7, he was given the start against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, beating the Mighty Ducks and setting him well on his way to setting the NHL record for consecutive games unbeaten to begin a career for an NHL goaltender, going 14–0–2 (16 games). However, the Penguins cooled down after that, as the team did not win a road game after February 5, which led to a coaching change on March 4. Eddie Johnston was relieved of his duties as head coach after losing eight of his last nine games and was replaced on an interim basis by General Manager Craig Patrick. Patrick went 7–10–3 down the stretch, enough to get the Penguins into the playoffs as the sixth seed at 38–36–8. The Penguins finished the season first in scoring, with 285 goals for.^[1]

Final standings

Playoffs

In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Penguins lost, in five games, to the third-seeded Philadelphia Flyers, who went on to win the Eastern Conference championship. The Penguins' only win in the series was in Game 4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, in which Lemieux scored on a breakaway against Flyers goaltender Garth Snow in the closing minutes for his final goal before his first retirement.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- style="background:#fcf;"| 1 || October 5 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 4–3 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 2 || October 8 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–7 || Hartford Whalers || 0–2–0 || 0 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 3 || October 11 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–3 || Ottawa Senators || 0–3–0 || 0 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 4 || October 12 || Ottawa Senators || 2–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–3–0 || 2 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 5 || October 16 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–8 || New York Rangers || 1–4–0 || 2 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 6 || October 17 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–4 || Buffalo Sabres || 1–5–0 || 2 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 7 || October 19 || Washington Capitals || 1–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–5–0 || 4 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 8 || October 22 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–5 || Edmonton Oilers || 2–6–0 || 4 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 9 || October 24 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–7 || Calgary Flames || 2–7–0 || 4 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 10 || October 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 || Vancouver Canucks || 2–8–0 || 4 || |-|- style="background:#fcf;"| 11 || November 1 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–4 || Washington Capitals || 2–9–0 || 4 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 12 || November 2 || Ottawa Senators || 3–7 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–9–0 || 6 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 13 || November 6 || Edmonton Oilers || 2–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–9–0 || 8 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 14 || November 8 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–5 OT || Tampa Bay Lightning || 4–9–1 || 9 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 15 || November 9 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–4 || Florida Panthers || 4–10–1 || 9 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 16 || November 12 || Buffalo Sabres || 0–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–10–1 || 11 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 17 || November 14 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 OT || Boston Bruins || 5–11–1 || 11 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 18 || November 16 || New York Rangers || 8–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–12–1 || 11 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 19 || November 19 || St. Louis Blues || 2–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–12–1 || 13 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 20 || November 21 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–7 || Philadelphia Flyers || 6–13–1 || 13 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 21 || November 22 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 7–1 || Hartford Whalers || 7–13–1 || 15 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 22 || November 27 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–2 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 7–13–2 || 16 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 23 || November 30 || Boston Bruins || 2–6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 8–13–2 || 18 || |-|- style="background:#ffc;"| 24 || December 3 || Hartford Whalers || 4–4 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 8–13–3 || 19 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 25 || December 4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–2 || Ottawa Senators || 9–13–3 || 21 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 26 || December 6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || Washington Capitals || 10–13–3 || 23 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 27 || December 7 || Mighty Ducks of Anaheim || 3–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 11–13–3 || 25 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 28 || December 10 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || Los Angeles Kings || 12–13–3 || 27 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 29 || December 11 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 7–3 || Mighty Ducks of Anaheim || 13–13–3 || 29 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 30 || December 13 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–0 || San Jose Sharks || 14–13–3 || 31 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 31 || December 15 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 || Chicago Blackhawks || 14–14–3 || 31 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 32 || December 17 || Boston Bruins || 6–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 14–15–3 || 31 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 33 || December 19 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–0 || St. Louis Blues || 15–15–3 || 33 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 34 || December 21 || San Jose Sharks || 1–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 16–15–3 || 35 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 35 || December 23 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–5 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 17–15–3 || 37 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 36 || December 26 || Montreal Canadiens || 3–3 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 17–15–4 || 38 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 37 || December 28 || Buffalo Sabres || 0–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 18–15–4 || 40 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 38 || December 30 || Washington Capitals || 3–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 19–15–4 || 42 || |-|- style="background:#cfc;"| 39 || January 2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–1 || New Jersey Devils || 20–15–4 || 44 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 40 || January 4 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 3–7 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 21–15–4 || 46 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 41 || January 7 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || New York Islanders || 22–15–4 || 48 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 42 || January 10 || New York Islanders || 2–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 23–15–4 || 50 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 43 || January 11 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–3 OT || Ottawa Senators || 23–15–5 || 51 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 44 || January 14 || Dallas Stars || 1–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 24–15–5 || 53 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 45 || January 15 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–0 || Hartford Whalers || 25–15–5 || 55 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 46 || January 21 || Calgary Flames || 2–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 26–15–5 || 57 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 47 || January 23 || Colorado Avalanche || 4–3 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 26–16–5 || 57 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 48 || January 25 || New York Rangers || 7–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 26–17–5 || 57 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 49 || January 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–2 || Montreal Canadiens || 27–17–5 || 59 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 50 || January 29 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–3 || Buffalo Sabres || 27–18–5 || 59 || |-|- style="background:#cfc;"| 51 || February 1 || Phoenix Coyotes || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 28–18–5 || 61 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 52 || February 4 || Vancouver Canucks || 4–6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 29–18–5 || 63 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 53 || February 5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–3 || Montreal Canadiens || 30–18–5 || 65 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 54 || February 8 || Detroit Red Wings || 6–5 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 30–19–5 || 65 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 55 || February 12 || New York Islanders || 5–1 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 30–20–5 || 65 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 56 || February 15 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–5 || Philadelphia Flyers || 30–21–5 || 65 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 57 || February 16 || Philadelphia Flyers || 6–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 30–22–5 || 65 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 58 || February 18 || Florida Panthers || 2–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 31–22–5 || 67 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 59 || February 22 || Chicago Blackhawks || 5–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 31–23–5 || 67 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 60 || February 23 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–4 || New York Islanders || 31–24–5 || 67 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 61 || February 27 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–4 || Detroit Red Wings || 31–25–5 || 67 || |-|- style="background:#fcf;"| 62 || March 1 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–6 || New Jersey Devils || 31–26–5 || 67 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 63 || March 4 || New Jersey Devils || 3–1 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 31–27–5 || 67 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 64 || March 5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–4 || Buffalo Sabres || 31–28–5 || 67 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 65 || March 8 || Philadelphia Flyers || 2–3 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 32–28–5 || 69 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 66 || March 10 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–2 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 32–28–6 || 70 || |- style="background:#ffc;"| 67 || March 12 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–5 OT || Phoenix Coyotes || 32–28–7 || 71 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 68 || March 14 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–6 || Colorado Avalanche || 32–29–7 || 71 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 69 || March 16 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–6 || Dallas Stars || 32–30–7 || 71 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 70 || March 18 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 33–30–7 || 73 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 71 || March 20 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 3–6 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 34–30–7 || 75 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 72 || March 22 || New Jersey Devils || 3–2 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 34–31–7 || 75 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 73 || March 24 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 0–3 || New York Rangers || 34–32–7 || 75 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 74 || March 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–8 || Montreal Canadiens || 34–33–7 || 75 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 75 || March 29 || Los Angeles Kings || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 35–33–7 || 77 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 76 || March 31 || Florida Panthers || 3–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 36–33–7 || 79 || |-|- style="background:#ffc;"| 77 || April 3 || Hartford Whalers || 5–5 OT || Pittsburgh Penguins || 36–33–8 || 80 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 78 || April 5 || Ottawa Senators || 2–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 37–33–8 || 82 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 79 || April 8 || Boston Bruins || 1–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 38–33–8 || 84 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 80 || April 10 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–4 || Tampa Bay Lightning || 38–34–8 || 84 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 81 || April 11 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–4 || Florida Panthers || 38–35–8 || 84 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 82 || April 13 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–7 || Boston Bruins || 38–36–8 || 84 || |-|- style="text-align:center;"| Legend: = Win = Loss = Tie

Playoffs

|- style="background:#fcf;"| 1 || April 17 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–5 || Philadelphia Flyers || 0–1 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 2 || April 19 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 2–3 || Philadelphia Flyers || 0–2 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 3 || April 21 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5–3 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 0–3 || |- style="background:#cfc;"| 4 || April 23 || Philadelphia Flyers || 1–4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–3 || |- style="background:#fcf;"| 5 || April 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–6 || Philadelphia Flyers || 1–4 || |-|- style="text-align:center;"| Legend: = Win = Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season^[2]
Player
	76	50	72	122	27	65
	63	47	48	95	22	40
	81	27	63	90	7	20
	74	33	38	71		66
	80	15	39	54	11	103
^†	62	17	22	39		16
^†	57	6	30	36	3	28
^†	51	7	20	27	21	24
^‡	40	9	15	24	4	33
^‡	66	11	11	22		24
	54	7	15	22	0	4
^†	55	5	15	20		76
^†	57	2	16	18	24	84
	59	9	9	18		63
^‡	53	3	14	17		36
^†	32	7	9	16		14
^†	12	4	7	11	8	6
	61	5	5	10		155
	36	4	5	9		22
^†	27	2	7	9		20
^†	17	3	4	7		25
	45	2	4	6		131
^‡	15	1	5	6		24
	35	1	4	5	3	79
	11	2	2	4		13
^†‡	9	1	3	4		4
	8	3	1	4		4
	64	0	4	4		36
	45	2	2	4		70
	59	0	3	3		81
	16	0	3	3		10
^†	7	0	0	0		4
^‡	13	0	0	0	0	49
	23	0	0	0		36
	6	0	0	0	0	8
^‡	1	0	0	0		0
	1	0	0	0		0
	5	0	0	0		7
Total		285	495	780	—	1,480

Playoffs^[3]
Player
	5	4	4	8		4
	5	3	3	6		4
	5	1	2	3	1	4
	5	0	3	3		0
	5	1	2	3		12
	5	1	2	3		2
	5	1	1	2		4
	5	0	1	1		2
	5	1	0	1		12
	5	0	1	1	0	0
	5	1	0	1		2
	5	0	1	1		4
	4	0	1	1		0
	5	0	0	0		4
	3	0	0	0	0	0
	1	0	0	0	0	0
	4	0	0	0		4
	5	0	0	0		6
	5	0	0	0		2
	3	0	0	0	0	0
Total		13	21	34	—	66

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[4]
Player
	39	2057:35	21	12	2	101	2.95	1166	0.913	3	0	0
	46	2514:23	17	17	6	136	3.25	1383	0.902	2	1	6
	5	269:37	0	5	0	26	5.79	186	0.860	0	0	0
	2	111:08	0	2	0	6	3.24	66	0.909	0	0	0
Total		4952:43	38	36	8	269	3.26	2801	0.904	5	1	6

Playoffs^[5]
Player
	5	297:28	1	4	0	18	3.63	211	0.915	0	0	0	2
Total		297:28	1	4	0	18	3.63	211	0.915	0	0	0	2

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 600 goals for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–4 win over Vancouver on February 4, 1997.
Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 1400 points for the Penguins. He did so with his first of 4 points in a 6–2 win over Boston on November 30, 1996.

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Art Ross Trophy	Mario Lemieux	^[6]
	NHL All-Rookie Team	Patrick Lalime (Goaltender)	^[7]
	NHL First All-Star Team	Mario Lemieux (Center)
	NHL Second All-Star Team	Jaromir Jagr (Right Wing)
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Kevin Hatcher	^[8]
		Jaromir Jagr
		Mario Lemieux
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Patrick Lalime (December)	^[9]
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Patrick Lalime (January)	^[10]
Team	A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award	Mario Lemieux	^[11]
	Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award	Ken Wregget	^[12]
	Bob Johnson Memorial Badger Bob Award	Joe Mullen
	Leading Scorer Award	Mario Lemieux
	Michel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy	Patrick Lalime	^[13]
	Most Valuable Player Award	Mario Lemieux	^[14]
	Players' Player Award	Joe Mullen
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Joe Dziedzic
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Chris Tamer

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
400th goal	Ron Francis	March 29, 1997	^[15]
500th game played	Ken Wregget	March 29, 1997

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season:^[16]

Trades

October 25, 1996	To Los Angeles Kings----1997 conditional pick (not exercised)	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Petr Klima
November 17, 1996	To New York Islanders----Bryan Smolinski	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Andreas Johansson Darius Kasparaitis
November 19, 1996	To Florida Panthers----Chris Wells	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Stu Barnes Jason Woolley
November 19, 1996	To Anaheim Ducks----Shawn Antoski Dmitri Mironov	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Alex Hicks Fredrik Olausson
January 27, 1997	To Detroit Red Wings----Tomas Sandstrom	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Greg Johnson
February 21, 1997	To Anaheim Ducks----Jean-Jacques Daigneault	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Garry Valk
March 18, 1997	To Anaheim Ducks----Richard Park	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Roman Oksiuta
March 18, 1997	To Los Angeles Kings----Glen Murray	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Ed Olczyk
March 18, 1997	To Vancouver Canucks----future considerations (1998 5th round pick)	To Pittsburgh Penguins----Josef Beranek

Free agents

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
			July 10, 1996
			July 18, 1996
			July 29, 1996
			July 31, 1996
			July 31, 1996
			September 5, 1996
			September 7, 1996
			October 2, 1996
			February 26, 1997

Waivers

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
			September 30, 1996
			September 30, 1996
			October 4, 1996

Other

Name	Details	Date
	5-year extension (VP & GM)	June 27, 1996
	Extension (Head Coach)	June 27, 1996
	Hired as Head Coach (in addition to GM)	March 3, 1997
	Reassigned to Assistant GM	March 3, 1997
	Replaced as Head Coach (remained as GM)	April 26, 1997
	Retired	April 26, 1997
	Hired as Head Coach	June 12, 1997

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks. Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.^[17]

Round		Player	Pos	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	23		Goaltender	Ottawa 67's (OHL)
2	28		Defense	HC Kladno (Czech)
3	72		Left Wing	Regina Pats (WHL)
3	77		Right Wing	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
4	105		Defense	Dukla Jihlava (Czech)
6	150	Peter Bergman	Center	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
7	186		Right Wing	Cornwall Colts (COJHL)
9	238		Center	Junkkarit (Finland)

Draft notes^[18]

The New Jersey Devils' second-round pick (from San Jose Sharks) went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent two second-round picks to the Devils in exchange for this pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick (from Toronto Maple Leafs) went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent a second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for a second-round pick and this pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent a second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for a second-round pick and this pick.
The Boston Bruins' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of an August 1, 1995, trade that sent Kevin Stevens and Shawn McEachern to the Bruins in exchange for Glen Murray, Bryan Smolinski and this pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a March 20, 1996, trade that sent Kevin Miller to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for free agent Joe Mullen.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' sixth-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a March 20, 1996, trade that sent J. J. Daigneault to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick (from NHL as compensation for free agent Kjell Samuelsson) went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent Tyler Wright to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' eighth-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a March 1, 1996, trade that sent Dave McLlwain to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.

Farm teams

The Johnstown Chiefs of the East Coast Hockey League finished last in the North Division with a 24–39–7 record.

The IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks finished second in the Central Division with a record of 40–32–10. They defeated the Indianapolis Ice in the first round 3–1, then defeated the Orlando Solar Bears in the second round 4–1 before losing to the eventual Turner Cup champion Detroit Vipers, 4–1.

References

Web site: Pittsburgh Penguins 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com . www.hockeydb.com . July 18, 2023.
Web site: 1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts . Hockey-Reference.com . July 18, 2023.

Notes and References

Web site: 1996-97 NHL Summary.
Web site: 1996–1997 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: 1996–1997 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: 1996–1997 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: 1996–1997 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
Web site: Art Ross Trophy . records.nhl.com . July 26, 2023.
Web site: Postseason All-Star Teams . records.nhl.com . July 26, 2023.
Web site: NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1997 . www.nhl.com . July 26, 2023.
Web site: LALIME GETS ROOKIE HONOR . Washington Post . July 26, 2023 . January 9, 1997.
Web site: NHL Rookies of the Month . Hockey-Reference.com . July 26, 2023.
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.313
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.312
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.311
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide, p.314
Web site: Penguins Aid Kings' Free-Fall . Los Angeles Times . July 26, 2023 . March 30, 1997 . Ron Francis, reunited with linemates Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr for the first time in a month, scored his 400th and 401st goals to pace Pittsburgh..
Web site: Hockey Transactions Search Results. ProSportsTransactions. September 10, 2012.
Web site: NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results. NHL.com. July 14, 2012.
Web site: 1996 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions. Pro Sports Transactions. July 14, 2012.