1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The Maple Leafs entered the 1996-1997 NHL season with the hopes of making the postseason 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 mediocre 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 (in February) traded Captain Doug Gilmour to the New Jersey Devils.

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	#	Name	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
2	36	Marek Posmyk	Czech Republic	Dukla Jihlava
2	50	Francis Larivee	Canada	Laval Titan
3	66	Mike Lankshear	Canada	Guelph Storm
3	68	Konstantin Kalmikhov	Ukraine	Detroit Falcons
4	86	Jason Sessa	United States	Lake Superior State
4	103	Vladimir Antipov	Russia	Yaroslavl Torpedo
5	110	Peter Cava	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
5	111	Brandon Sugden	Canada	London Knights
8	204	Tomas Kaberle	Czech Republic	Kladno

^[1]

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Dallas Stars	82	48	26	8	252	198	104
2	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	38	26	18	253	197	94
3	5	Phoenix Coyotes	82	38	37	7	240	243	83
4	6	St. Louis Blues	82	36	35	11	236	239	83
5	8	Chicago Blackhawks	82	34	35	13	223	210	81
6	11	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	44	8	230	273	68

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference^[2]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	49	24	9	277	205	107
2	Dallas Stars	CEN	82	48	26	8	252	198	104
3	Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	38	26	18	253	197	94
4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	36	33	13	245	233	85
5	Phoenix Coyotes	CEN	82	38	37	7	240	243	83
6	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	36	35	11	236	239	83
7	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	36	37	9	252	247	81
8	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	34	35	13	223	210	81

9	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	35	40	7	257	273	77
10	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	32	41	9	214	239	73
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	30	44	8	230	273	68
12	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	28	43	11	214	268	67
13	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	27	47	8	211	278	62

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
5	L	October 17, 1996	1–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	1–4–0
6	L	October 19, 1996	0–2	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	1–5–0
7	W	October 22, 1996	4–3	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	2–5–0
8	W	October 24, 1996	2–1	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)	3–5–0
9	W	October 26, 1996	5–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	4–5–0
10	L	October 29, 1996	2–5	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	4–6–0
11	W	October 31, 1996	5–3	@ New York Islanders (1996–97)	5–6–0
12	W	November 2, 1996	6–2	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	6–6–0
13	W	November 5, 1996	6–3	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	7–6–0
14	L	November 7, 1996	2–6	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)	7–7–0
15	W	November 9, 1996	7–3	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	8–7–0
16	L	November 10, 1996	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	8–8–0
17	L	November 13, 1996	2–3	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	8–9–0
18	L	November 14, 1996	1–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	8–10–0
19	L	November 16, 1996	2–3	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	8–11–0
20	W	November 19, 1996	4–3	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	9–11–0
21	L	November 21, 1996	3–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	9–12–0
22	L	November 23, 1996	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	9–13–0
23	W	November 26, 1996	3–2	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	10–13–0
24	L	November 27, 1996	2–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	10–14–0
25	L	November 30, 1996	2–5	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	10–15–0
26	W	December 3, 1996	2–0	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	11–15–0
27	L	December 6, 1996	5–6	@ New York Rangers (1996–97)	11–16–0
28	L	December 7, 1996	0–4	New York Rangers (1996–97)	11–17–0
29	W	December 9, 1996	3–1	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	12–17–0
30	L	December 10, 1996	2–5	New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	12–18–0
31	L	December 14, 1996	3–5	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	12–19–0
32	L	December 15, 1996	1–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	12–20–0
33	W	December 17, 1996	6–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	13–20–0
34	L	December 20, 1996	2–5	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	13–21–0
35	W	December 21, 1996	6–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	14–21–0
36	L	December 23, 1996	5–6	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	14–22–0
37	W	December 27, 1996	3–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	15–22–0
38	W	December 28, 1996	5–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	16–22–0
39	W	December 30, 1996	2–0	New York Islanders (1996–97)	17–22–0
40	L	January 3, 1997	3–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	17–23–0
41	L	January 4, 1997	3–7	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	17–24–0
42	L	January 7, 1997	3–4 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	17–25–0
43	L	January 11, 1997	2–3	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	17–26–0
44	L	January 13, 1997	3–6	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)	17–27–0
45	L	January 15, 1997	2–3	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	17–28–0
46	L	January 20, 1997	1–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	17–29–0
47	W	January 22, 1997	5–3	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	18–29–0
48	W	January 24, 1997	2–1 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	19–29–0
49	L	January 25, 1997	1–5	Dallas Stars (1996–97)	19–30–0
50	L	January 27, 1997	2–5	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	19–31–0
51	L	January 29, 1997	0–4	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	19–32–0
52	T	January 31, 1997	3–3 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	19–32–1
53	L	February 1, 1997	1–2	Ottawa Senators (1996–97)	19–33–1
54	W	February 5, 1997	4–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	20–33–1
55	W	February 8, 1997	4–2	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	21–33–1
56	L	February 12, 1997	2–5	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	21–34–1
57	T	February 13, 1997	4–4 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	21–34–2
58	L	February 15, 1997	0–3	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	21–35–2
59	W	February 18, 1997	6–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	22–35–2
60	L	February 19, 1997	5–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	22–36–2
61	W	February 22, 1997	5–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	23–36–2
62	L	February 26, 1997	1–3	Washington Capitals (1996–97)	23–37–2
63	W	March 1, 1997	3–2	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	24–37–2
64	W	March 3, 1997	4–2	Boston Bruins (1996–97)	25–37–2
65	T	March 5, 1997	4–4 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	25–37–3
66	T	March 8, 1997	1–1 OT	Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	25–37–4
67	T	March 10, 1997	3–3 OT	Dallas Stars (1996–97)	25–37–5
68	L	March 12, 1997	2–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	25–38–5
69	T	March 15, 1997	3–3 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)	25–38–6
70	W	March 16, 1997	3–1	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	26–38–6
71	L	March 19, 1997	3–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	26–39–6
72	L	March 20, 1997	3–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	26–40–6
73	L	March 22, 1997	0–3	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	26–41–6
74	W	March 26, 1997	2–1	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	27–41–6
75	T	March 27, 1997	1–1 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	27–41–7
76	W	March 29, 1997	3–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	28–41–7
77	W	April 2, 1997	3–1	Florida Panthers (1996–97)	29–41–7
78	T	April 3, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	29–41–8
79	L	April 5, 1997	2–4	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	29–42–8
80	L	April 9, 1997	2–3	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	29–43–8
81	L	April 10, 1997	1–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	29–44–8
82	W	April 12, 1997	4–1	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	30–44–8

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
Mats Sundin	82	41	53	94	59
Doug Gilmour	61	15	45	60	46
Wendel Clark	65	30	19	49	75
Sergei Berezin	73	25	16	41	2
Kirk Muller	66	20	17	37	85
Todd Warriner	75	12	21	33	41
Ralph Intranuovo	3	0	1	1	0
Scott Pearson	1	0	0	0	2
Kelly Chase	2	0	0	0	27
Shayne Toporowski	3	0	0	0	7
Brian Wiseman	5	0	0	0	0
John Craighead	5	0	0	0	10
Mark Kolesar	7	0	0	0	0
		0	0	0

^[3]

Defencemen

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
Larry Murphy	69	7	32	39	20
Dave Ellett	56	4	10	14	34
Dmitri Yushkevich	74	4	10	14	56
Rob Zettler	48	2	12	14	51
D. J. Smith	8	0	1	1	7
Greg Smyth	2	0	0	0	0
Yannick Tremblay	5	0	0	0	0
Jeff Ware	13	0	0	0	6

Goaltending

Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against

Player	GP	MIN	W	L	T	SO	GAA
Felix Potvin	74	4271	27	36	7	0	3.15
Marcel Cousineau	13	566	3	5	1	1	3.29
Don Beaupre	3	110	0	3	0	0	5.45

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
John Craighead	Detroit Vipers (IHL)
Scott Pearson	Buffalo Sabres
Brian Wiseman	Chicago Wolves (IHL)
Daniel Marois	Dallas Stars
Greg Smyth	Los Angeles Ice Dogs (IHL)
David Cooper	Buffalo Sabres
Tom Pederson	San Jose Sharks
Mike Johnson	Undrafted Free Agent

Player	New Team
Paul DiPietro	Los Angeles Kings

Playoffs

The Maple Leafs failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 1991-92 season.

Roster

1996-97 Toronto Maple Leafs

Goaltenders

29 – Felix Potvin
31 – Marcel Cousineau
33 – Don Beaupre

Defensemen

2 – Rob Zettler
3 – Matt Martin
4 – Dave Ellett
4 – D.J. Smith
23 – Jeff Ware
24 – Tom Pederson
25 – Jason Smith
25 – Greg Smyth
26 – Jamie Heward
26 – Craig Wolanin
34 – Jamie Macoun
36 – Dmitry Yushkevich
38 – Yannick Tremblay
42 – David Cooper
43 – Nathan Dempsey
55 – Larry Murphy
72 – Mathieu Schneider

Wingers

7 – Jason Podollan
8 – Todd Warriner
9 – Mike Craig
10 – Zdenek Nedved
17 – Wendel Clark
19 – Fredrik Modin
20 – Mike Johnson
21 – Kirk Muller
22 – Scott Pearson
27 – Ralph Intranuovo
28 – Tie Domi
32 – Nick Kypreos
39 – Kelly Chase
41 – Shayne Toporowski
44 – John Craighead
94 – Sergei Berezin

Centres

7 – Kelly Fairchild
11 – Steve Sullivan
12 – Brandon Convery
13 – Mats Sundin
14 – Darby Hendrickson
15 – Brian Wiseman
16 – Jamie Baker
37 – Mark Kolesar
93 – Doug Gilmour - C

GM: Cliff Fletcher
Coach: Mike Murphy

Farm Teams

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

References

Maple Leafs on Hockey Database

1996–97 NHL season

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 Los Angeles San Jose Vancouver

See also	Draft Red Wings–Avalanche brawl Legion of Doom Stanley Cup Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals

Toronto Maple Leafs

Founded in 1917 Based in Toronto, Ontario

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Toronto Maple Leafs seasons

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