1996–97 Hartford Whalers season
1996–97 Hartford Whalers | |
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Division | 5th Northeast |
Conference | 10th Eastern |
1996–97 record | 32–39–11 |
Home record | 23–15–3 |
Road record | 9–24–8 |
Goals for | 226 |
Goals against | 256 |
Team information | |
General manager | Jim Rutherford |
Coach | Paul Maurice |
Captain | Kevin Dineen |
Alternate captains | Glen Wesley Andrew Cassels |
Arena | Hartford Civic Center |
Average attendance | 13,680 (87.5%) [1] |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Springfield Falcons (AHL) Richmond Renegades (ECHL) |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Geoff Sanderson (36) |
Assists | Andrew Cassels (44) |
Points | Geoff Sanderson (67) |
Penalty minutes | Stu Grimson (218) |
Plus/minus | Sami Kapanen (+6) |
Wins | Sean Burke (22) |
Goals against average | Sean Burke (2.69) |
The 1996–97 Hartford Whalers season was the 25th season of the franchise and the 18th and final season in Hartford. The Whalers would move to Greensboro, North Carolina, the next season to become the Carolina Hurricanes.
Off-season
[edit]On June 22, the Whalers participated in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Hartford did not have a selection in the first round, as the pick was traded to the Boston Bruins as part of the trade that brought Glen Wesley to the Whalers. In the second round, Hartford made their first selection of the draft, as they drafted Trevor Wasyluk from the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League with the 34th overall pick in the draft. Wasyluk scored 25 goals and 46 points in 69 games during the 1995-96 season. Other notable selections by the Whalers included Craig MacDonald in the fourth round, and Craig Adams in the ninth round.
The Whalers acquired Kevin Brown in a trade with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in exchange for Espen Knutsen on October 1. Brown played in seven games with the Los Angeles Kings during the 1995-96 season, scoring one goal. Brown spent the majority of the season with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the IHL, scoring 10 goals and 26 points in 45 games. He also played in eight games with the Prince Edward Island Senators of the AHL, scoring three goals and nine points after he was traded from the Kings to the Ottawa Senators during the season.
On October 2, Hartford claimed Kent Manderville off of waivers from the Edmonton Oilers. In 37 games with the Oilers during the 1995-96 where he scored three goals and eight points.
Regular season
[edit]On April 13, 1997, the Whalers played their last game in Hartford, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1. Fittingly, team captain Kevin Dineen scored the final goal in Whaler history.
The final words from SportsChannel New England with Play by play voice John Forslund at the end of the game were as follows:
"It's over folks, it's been a great ride. The Whalers will go out, winners".
Final standings
[edit]No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 237 | 208 | 92 |
2 | 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 285 | 280 | 84 |
3 | 7 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 226 | 234 | 77 |
4 | 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 249 | 276 | 77 |
5 | 10 | Hartford Whalers | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 226 | 256 | 75 |
6 | 13 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | 234 | 300 | 61 |
R | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 231 | 182 | 104 |
2 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 237 | 208 | 92 |
3 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 274 | 217 | 103 |
4 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 35 | 28 | 19 | 221 | 201 | 89 |
5 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 258 | 231 | 86 |
6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 285 | 280 | 84 |
7 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 226 | 234 | 77 |
8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 249 | 276 | 77 |
9 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 33 | 40 | 9 | 214 | 231 | 75 |
10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 226 | 256 | 75 |
11 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 217 | 247 | 74 |
12 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 240 | 250 | 70 |
13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | 234 | 300 | 61 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs
Schedule and results
[edit]1996–97 regular season[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 5–2–2 (home: 4–0–1; road: 1–2–1)
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November: 6–5–3 (home: 3–4–0; road: 3–1–3)
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December: 6–6–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 1–4–1)
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January: 3–10–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 1–7–0)
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February: 4–6–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–4–1)
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March: 5–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 1–4–1)
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April: 3–3–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–2–1)
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
Player statistics
[edit]Scoring
[edit]- 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 Whalers only.
- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only.
Regular season | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
8 | Geoff Sanderson | LW | 82 | 36 | 31 | 67 | −9 | 29 |
21 | Andrew Cassels | C | 81 | 22 | 44 | 66 | −16 | 46 |
55 | Keith Primeau† | C | 75 | 26 | 25 | 51 | −3 | 161 |
11 | Kevin Dineen | RW | 78 | 19 | 29 | 48 | −6 | 141 |
16 | Nelson Emerson | RW | 66 | 9 | 29 | 38 | −21 | 34 |
12 | Steven Rice | RW | 78 | 21 | 14 | 35 | −11 | 59 |
20 | Glen Wesley | D | 68 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 0 | 40 |
92 | Jeff O'Neill | RW | 72 | 14 | 16 | 30 | −24 | 40 |
24 | Sami Kapanen | RW | 45 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 2 |
18 | Robert Kron | LW | 68 | 10 | 12 | 22 | −18 | 10 |
28 | Paul Ranheim | LW | 67 | 10 | 11 | 21 | −13 | 18 |
7 | Curtis Leschyshyn† | D | 64 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −19 | 30 |
3 | Steve Chiasson† | D | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −10 | 7 |
6 | Adam Burt | D | 71 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −13 | 79 |
44 | Kent Manderville | C | 44 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 18 |
4 | Gerald Diduck‡ | D | 56 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −9 | 40 |
77 | Paul Coffey†‡ | D | 20 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 18 |
14 | Kevin Haller† | D | 35 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −11 | 48 |
36 | Glen Featherstone‡ | D | 41 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 87 |
10 | Andrei Nikolishin‡ | C | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 2 |
5 | Alexander Godynyuk | D | 55 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −10 | 41 |
27 | Derek King† | LW | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
22 | Mark Janssens‡ | C | 54 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −10 | 90 |
23 | Marek Malik | D | 47 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 50 |
32 | Stu Grimson† | LW | 75 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −7 | 218 |
46 | Kevin Brown | RW | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −6 | 6 |
17 | Hnat Domenichelli‡ | LW | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −4 | 7 |
39 | Kelly Chase‡ | RW | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 122 |
17 | Chris Murray† | RW | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
1 | Sean Burke | G | 51 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |
37 | Jeff Daniels | LW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
41 | Nolan Pratt | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
7 | Brian Glynn | D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
94 | Brendan Shanahan‡ | LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
26 | Steve Martins | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
29 | Jason Muzzatti | G | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
27 | Jeff Brown | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
47 | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
25 | Jason McBain | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
Goaltending
[edit]Regular season | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
1 | Sean Burke | 51 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 1560 | 134 | 2.69 | .914 | 4 | 2985 |
29 | Jason Muzzatti | 31 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 815 | 91 | 3.43 | .888 | 0 | 1591 |
47 | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 201 | 24 | 3.65 | .881 | 0 | 394 |
Awards and records
[edit]Awards
[edit]Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Geoff Sanderson | [4] |
Team | Award of Excellence | Kevin Dineen | [5] |
Booster Club MVP Award | Sean Burke | [5] | |
Frank Keys Memorial Award | Kent Manderville | [5] | |
Mark Kravitz Award | Sean Burke | [5] | |
Most Valuable Defenseman | Glen Wesley | [5] | |
Three Star Award of Excellence | Sean Burke | [5] | |
Top Gun Award | Geoff Sanderson | [5] | |
True Grit Award | Kevin Dineen | [5] |
Transactions
[edit]The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.
Trades
[edit]Waivers
[edit]October 2, 1996 | From Edmonton Oilers Kent Manderville |
October 12, 1996 | From Detroit Red Wings Stu Grimson |
Free agents
[edit]Player | New Team |
Scott Daniels | Philadelphia Flyers |
Brad McCrimmon | Phoenix Coyotes |
David Williams | Boston Bruins |
Kevin Smyth | Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) |
John Stevens | Philadelphia Flyers |
Draft picks
[edit]Hartford's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[6]
Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 34 | Trevor Wasyluk | Left wing | ![]() | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
3 | 61 | Andrei Petrunin | Right wing | ![]() | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
4 | 88 | Craig MacDonald | Center | ![]() | Harvard University (ECAC) |
4 | 104 | Steve Wasylko | Center | ![]() | Detroit Whalers (OHL) |
5 | 116 | Mark McMahon | Defense | ![]() | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
6 | 143 | Aaron Baker | Goaltender | ![]() | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
7 | 171 | Greg Kuznik | Defense | ![]() | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
8 | 197 | Kevin Marsh | Left wing | ![]() | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |
9 | 223 | Craig Adams | Right wing | ![]() | Harvard University (ECAC) |
9 | 231 | Askhat Rakhmatullin | Left wing | ![]() | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia) |
Departure from Hartford
[edit]In 1994, Compuware founder Peter Karmanos purchased the Whalers. Karmanos pledged to keep the Whalers in Hartford for four years. Frustrated with lackluster attendance and corporate support, he announced in 1996 that if the Whalers were unable to sell at least 11,000 season tickets for the 1996–97 season, he would likely move the team. Furthermore, ownership only made season tickets available in full-season (41-game) packages, eliminating the popular five- and ten-game "mini plans," in a strategy largely designed to spur purchases from wealthier corporations and individuals. Sales were underwhelming at the beginning of the campaign, and at the end of the 1995–96 season it was still unknown whether the Whalers would stay in Connecticut or move. However, thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, and the creative efforts of many fans (who pooled together resources to purchase some of the full-season packages collectively) the Whalers announced that they would stay in Connecticut for the 1996–97 season.
In early 1996, negotiations between the Whalers and Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland to build a new $147.5 million arena seemed to be going well. However, negotiations fell apart when Rowland and the State refused Karmanos' demand to reimburse the Whalers for up to $45 million in losses during the three years the new arena was to be built. As a result, the team announced on March 26, 1997, that they would leave Hartford, one of the few times that a team announced it would leave its current city without having already selected a new city. Many suspected that Governor John G. Rowland did not want to keep the Whalers, as he harbored hopes of instead landing an NFL franchise. Ideally, Rowland wanted to use the state's resources to build a new stadium to lure the New England Patriots to Connecticut and did not have serious intentions of building an NHL arena for the Whalers.[7] [8] [9]
References
[edit]- "Hartford Whalers 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- "1996-97 Hartford Whalers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- ^ "Hartford Whalers Yearly Attendance Graph". hockeydb.com.
- ^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
- ^ "1996-97 Hartford Whalers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- ^ "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1997". www.nhl.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Whalers Team Awards". www.whalershockey.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- ^ "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ How's It Goin', Pete? Part 4
- ^ "The Recorder". Archived from the original on May 15, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- ^ The Patriots Nix Hartford, Stay in Foxboro - Background Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine