1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers season

1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers
Eastern Conference Champions
Division	2nd Atlantic
Conference	3rd Eastern
1996–97 record	45–24–13
Home record	23–12–6
Road record	22–12–7
Goals for	274 (3rd)
Goals against	217 (8th)
Team information
General Manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Terry Murray
Captain	Eric Lindros
Alternate captains	Rod Brind'Amour Eric Desjardins
Arena	CoreStates Center
Average attendance	19,311[1]
Team leaders
Goals	John LeClair (50)
Assists	John LeClair (47) Eric Lindros (47)
Points	John LeClair (97)
Penalties in minutes	Scott Daniels (237)
Plus/minus	John LeClair (+44)
Wins	Ron Hextall (31)
Goals against average	Garth Snow (2.52)
<1995–96	1997–98>

The 1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 30th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Though Eric Lindros missed 30 games in 1996–97, John LeClair still managed to score 50 goals for the second consecutive year. Despite finishing just one point shy of a third straight Atlantic Division title, the Flyers blitzed their way through the Eastern Conference playoffs. Backstopped by the goaltending tandem of Ron Hextall and Garth Snow, the Flyers dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers all in five games apiece to win the Eastern Conference championship, and clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1987. However, their opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, swept the Flyers in four straight games. After Game 3, Terry Murray said that the team was in a "choking situation". It is said this remark cost Murray his job, as he was fired soon after.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New Jersey Devils	82	45	23	14	231	182	104
2	3	Philadelphia Flyers	82	45	24	13	274	217	103
3	4	Florida Panthers	82	35	28	19	221	201	89
4	5	New York Rangers	82	38	34	10	258	231	86
5	9	Washington Capitals	82	33	40	9	214	231	75
6	11	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	32	40	10	217	247	74
7	12	New York Islanders	82	29	41	12	240	250	70

Game log

      Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Tie (1 point)

1996–97 Game Log
October: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 5 Florida 3 – 1 Philadelphia Hextall 19,137 0–1–0 0
November: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts November 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
December: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts December 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
January: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts January 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts February 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts March 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts April 1 0 – 0 0–0–0

Playoffs

Game log

      Win       Loss

1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh - Flyers win 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 April 17 Pittsburgh 1 – 5 Philadelphia Snow 19,618 Flyers lead 1–0 2 April 19 Pittsburgh 2 – 3 Philadelphia Snow 19,812 Flyers lead 2–0 3 April 21 Philadelphia 5 – 3 Pittsburgh Snow 17,355 Flyers lead 3–0 4 April 23 Philadelphia 1 – 4 Pittsburgh Snow 17,355 Flyers lead 3–1 5 April 26 Pittsburgh 3 – 6 Philadelphia Snow 20,009 Flyers win 4–1 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Buffalo - Flyers win 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 May 3 Philadelphia 5 – 3 Buffalo Snow 18,595 Flyers lead 1–0 2 May 5 Philadelphia 2 – 1 Buffalo Snow 18,595 Flyers lead 2–0 3 May 7 Buffalo 1 – 4 Philadelphia Snow 20,051 Flyers lead 3–0 4 May 9 Buffalo 5 – 4 Philadelphia OT Snow 20,066 Flyers lead 3–1 5 May 11 Philadelphia 6 – 3 Buffalo Hextall 18,595 Flyers win 4–1 Eastern Conference Finals vs. NY Rangers - Flyers win 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 May 16 NY Rangers 1 – 3 Philadelphia Snow 20,074 Flyers lead 1–0 2 May 18 NY Rangers 5 – 4 Philadelphia Snow 20,106 Series tied 1–1 3 May 20 Philadelphia 6 – 3 NY Rangers Hextall 18,200 Flyers lead 2–1 4 May 23 Philadelphia 3 – 2 NY Rangers Hextall 18,200 Flyers lead 3–1 5 May 25 NY Rangers 2 – 4 Philadelphia Hextall 20,051 Flyers win 4–1 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Detroit - Red Wings win 4–0 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 May 31 Detroit 4 – 2 Philadelphia Hextall 20,291 Red Wings lead 1–0 2 June 3 Detroit 4 – 2 Philadelphia Snow 20,159 Red Wings lead 2–0 3 June 5 Philadelphia 1 – 6 Detroit Hextall 19,983 Red Wings lead 3–0 4 June 7 Philadelphia 1 – 2 Detroit Hextall 19,983 Red Wings win 4–0

Player stats

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position (C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing); GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes; = Joined team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only. = Left team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

#	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
				Regular season						Playoffs
10	LeClair, JohnJohn LeClair	27	LW	82	50	47	97	44	58	19	09 !9	12	21	5	10
88	Lindros, EricEric Lindros	23	C	52	32	47	79	31	136	19	12	14	26	7	40
17	Brind'Amour, RodRod Brind'Amour	26	C	82	27	32	59	2	41	19	13	08 !8	21	9	10
19	Renberg, MikaelMikael Renberg	24	RW	77	22	37	59	36	65	18	05 !5	06 !6	11	1	04 !4
37	Desjardins, EricEric Desjardins	27	D	82	12	34	46	25	50	19	02 !2	08 !8	10	9	12
20	Klatt, TrentTrent Klatt	26	RW	76	24	21	45	9	20	19	04 !4	03 !3	07 !7	1	12
44	Niinimaa, JanneJanne Niinimaa	21	D	77	4	40	44	12	58	19	01 !1	12	13	3	16
18	Hawerchuk, DaleDale Hawerchuk	33	C	51	12	22	34	9	32	17	02 !2	05 !5	07 !7	-2	00 !0
25	Podein, ShjonShjon Podein	28	LW	82	14	18	32	7	41	19	04 !4	03 !3	07 !7	4	16
29	Otto, JoelJoel Otto	35	C	78	13	19	32	12	99	18	01 !1	05 !5	06 !6	3	08 !8
77	Coffey, PaulPaul Coffey	35	D	37	6	20	26	11	20	17	01 !1	08 !8	09 !9	-3	06 !6
06 !6	Therien, ChrisChris Therien	25	D	71	2	22	24	27	64	19	01 !1	06 !6	07 !7	14	06 !6
15	Falloon, PatPat Falloon	24	RW	52	11	12	23	-8	10	14	03 !3	01 !1	04 !4	-1	02 !2
09 !9	Zubrus, DainiusDainius Zubrus	18	LW	68	8	13	21	3	22	19	05 !5	04 !4	09 !9	3	12
24	Dykhuis, KarlKarl Dykhuis	24	D	62	4	15	19	6	35	18	00 !0	03 !3	03 !3	1	02 !2
26	Druce, JohnJohn Druce	30	RW	43	7	8	15	-5	12	13	01 !1	00 !0	01 !1	2	02 !2
45	Prospal, VaclavVaclav Prospal	21	C	18	5	10	15	3	4	05 !5	01 !1	03 !3	04 !4	0	04 !4
23	Svoboda, PetrPetr Svoboda	30	D	67	2	12	14	10	94	16	01 !1	02 !2	03 !3	4	16
32	Lacroix, DanielDaniel Lacroix	27	C	74	7	1	8	-1	163	12	00 !0	01 !1	01 !1	0	22
22	Daniels, ScottScott Daniels	27	RW	56	5	3	8	2	237	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
28	Samuelsson, KjellKjell Samuelsson	38	D	34	4	3	7	17	47	05 !5	00 !0	00 !0	00 !0	-3	02 !2
21	Kordic, DanDan Kordic	25	LW	75	1	4	5	-1	210	12	01 !1	00 !0	01 !1	01 !1	22
11	Darby, CraigCraig Darby	24	C	9	1	4	5	2	2	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
05 !5	Haller, KevinKevin Haller	26	D	27	0	5	5	-1	37	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
08 !8	Petit, MichelMichel Petit	32	D	20	0	3	3	2	51	03 !3	00 !0	00 !0	00 !0	-1	06 !6
48	Forbes, ColinColin Forbes	20	LW	3	1	0	1	0	0	03 !3	00 !0	00 !0	00 !0	0	00 !0
30	Snow, GarthGarth Snow	27	G	35	0	1	1	-0.1 !N/A	30	12	00 !0	02 !2	02 !2	-0.1 !N/A	11
34	Bowen, JasonJason Bowen	23	D	4	0	1	1	1	8	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
03 !3	Brimanis, ArisAris Brimanis	24	D	3	0	1	1	0	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
27	Hextall, RonRon Hextall	32	G	55	0	0	0	-0.1 !N/A	43	08 !8	00 !0	00 !0	00 !0	-0.1 !N/A	00 !0
05 !5	Rumble, DarrenDarren Rumble	28	D	10	0	0	0	-2	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
02 !2	Kucera, FrantisekFrantisek Kucera	28	D	2	0	0	0	-2	2	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
38	Healey, PaulPaul Healey	21	RW	2	0	0	0	0	2	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GA = Goals against; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average; MIN = Minutes played

#	Player	Age	GP	W	L	T	SO	GA	SV%	GAA	MIN	GP	W	L	SO	GA	SV%	GAA	MIN
			Regular season									Playoffs
27	Hextall, RonRon Hextall	32	55	31	16	5	5	132	.897	2.56	3094	8	4	3	0	22	.892	2.97	444
30	Snow, GarthGarth Snow	27	35	14	8	8	2	79	.903	2.52	1884	12	8	4	0	33	.892	2.83	699

Awards and records

Awards

NHL
Award	Recipient
All-Star Game representative	Paul Coffey Dale Hawerchuk John LeClair Eric Lindros
NHL All-Rookie Team	Janne Niinimaa (D)
NHL Player of the Week	John LeClair (November 11) Eric Lindros (December 16)
NHL Plus-Minus Award	John LeClair
NHL Second All-Star Team	John LeClair (LW)
Team
Award	Recipient
Barry Ashbee Trophy	Eric Desjardins
Bobby Clarke Trophy	John LeClair
Class Guy Award	Shjon Podein
Pelle Lindbergh Memorial	Trent Klatt

Records

NHL player
Player	Record	Mark
Rod Brind'Amour	Shorthanded goals, one playoff game	2[2]
Rod Brind'Amour	Shorthanded goals, one playoff period	2[2]

Milestones

Player	Milestone	Reached
Ron Hextall	500 games	November 21, 1996

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions before/during the 1996–97 season.

Trades

Date	Details
July 18, 1996	To Philadelphia Flyers Frank Bialowas	To Washington Capitals futures
December 15, 1996	To Philadelphia Flyers Paul Coffey 3rd-round pick in 1997	To Hartford Whalers Kevin Haller 1st-round pick in 1997 Hartford's 7th-round pick in 1997
March 18, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers Frantisek Kucera	To Vancouver Canucks futures

Other transactions

Date	Player	Team (League)	Notes
Signed via free agency
June 27, 1996	Scott Daniels	Hartford (NHL)
July 3, 1996	Dominic Roussel	Winnipeg (NHL)
July 18, 1996	Daniel Lacroix	NY Rangers (NHL)
July 31, 1996	Steven King	Anaheim (NHL)
August 6, 1996	John Stevens	Springfield (AHL)
August 10, 1996	Peter White	Toronto (NHL)
Lost via free agency
July 17, 1996	Dan Quinn	Pittsburgh (NHL)
July 31, 1996	Shawn Antoski	Pittsburgh (NHL)
Claimed off waviers
June 4, 1996	Craig Darby	NY Islanders (NHL)
January 17, 1997	Michel Petit	Edmonton (NHL)
Lost on waivers
September 30, 1996	Bob Corkum	Phoenix (NHL)	Waiver draft
September 30, 1996	Rob DiMaio	San Jose (NHL)	Waiver draft
Re-signed
June 5, 1996	Jason Bowen	—
July 18, 1996	Trent Klatt	—
August 6, 1996	Karl Dykhuis	—
September 10, 1996	Petr Svoboda	—	4 years
Signed to Entry Level contracts
June 18, 1996	Janne Niinimaa	Jokerit (SM-liiga)	Drafted 36th overall, 1993
July 31, 1996	Brian Wesenberg	Guelph (OHL)	Drafted 29th overall, 1995 (Anaheim)
October 10, 1996	Brian Boucher	Tri-City (WHL)	Drafted 22nd overall, 1995

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.^[3]

Rnd	#	Player	Position	Nationality	Drafted from
1	15	Dainius Zubrus	Right Wing	Lithuania	Caledon Canadians (MJAHL)
3	64	Chester Gallant	Right Wing	Canada	Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
5	124	Per-Ragnar Bergkvist	Goaltender	Sweden	Leksands IF (SEL)
5	133	Jesse Boulerice	Right Wing	United States	Detroit Whalers (OHL)
7	187	Roman Malov	Center	Russia	Omsk Avangard (RSL)
8	213	Jeff Milliker	Center	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Mobile Mysticks of the ECHL.^[4][5]

See also

• 1996–97 NHL season
• 1997 Stanley Cup Finals

References

General

• hockeyDB.com: Roster and player statistics · Results and Schedule
• hockey-reference.com: Roster and Statistics · Schedule and Results
• Flyers History: Season Overview · Game Scores & Results · Playoff Results

Specific

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Philadelphia Flyers Franchise Award winners Broadcasters Captains Coaches Comcast Spectacor Draft picks General Managers Players Records Roster Seasons Lore 1967 NHL expansion 1967 NHL Expansion Draft 1976 Flyers-Red Army game 2010 NHL Winter Classic 2012 NHL Winter Classic Broad Street Bullies Curse of Billy Penn Devils–Flyers rivalry Ed Snider Battle of Pennsylvania Flyers–Rangers rivalry Flyers–Senators brawl Gene Hart "God Bless America" Kate Smith Lauren Hart Legion of Doom Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Arenas Spectrum (1967–96) Wells Fargo Center (1996–present) Affiliates Adirondack Phantoms (AHL) Trenton Titans (ECHL) Media CSN Philadelphia Comcast Network Philadelphia 610 WIP

1996–97 NHL season by team Northeast Division Boston • Buffalo • Hartford • Montreal • Ottawa • Pittsburgh Atlantic Division Florida • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Tampa Bay • Washington Central Division Chicago • Dallas • Detroit • Phoenix • St. Louis • Toronto Pacific Division Anaheim • Calgary • Colorado • Edmonton • L.A. • San Jose • Vancouver See also 1996 NHL Entry Draft • Stanley Cup Playoffs • Stanley Cup Finals