1995–96 Hartford Whalers season

1995–96 Hartford Whalers
Division	4th Northeast
Conference	10th Eastern
1995–96 record	34–39–9
Home record	22–15–4
Road record	12–24–5
Goals for	237
Goals against	259
Team information
General manager	Jim Rutherford
Coach	Paul Holmgren (Oct.–Nov.) Paul Maurice (Nov.–Apr.)
Captain	Brendan Shanahan
Alternate captains	Glen Wesley Andrew Cassels
Arena	Hartford Civic Center
Average attendance	11,983 (76.6%) [1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Springfield Falcons (AHL) Richmond Renegades (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Brendan Shanahan (44)
Assists	Andrew Cassels (43)
Points	Brendan Shanahan (78)
Penalty minutes	Scott Daniels (254)
Plus/minus	Brad McCrimmon (+15)
Wins	Sean Burke (28)
Goals against average	Jason Muzzatti (2.90)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 Hartford Whalers season was the 24th season of the franchise, 17th season in the NHL. The Whalers missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

On May 31, the Whalers acquired a fourth round draft pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jan Vopat.

The Whalers participated in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta on July 8. With their first round selection, 13th overall, Hartford selected Jean-Sébastien Giguère from the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Giguere had a record of 14-27-5 with a 3.94 GAA and a .889 save percentage with the Mooseheads during the 1994-95 season. In the fourth round, the club selected Sami Kapanen from HIFK of the SM-liiga. In 49 games, Kapanen scored 14 goals and 42 points. Other notable players the Whalers selected in the draft include Ian MacNeil, Byron Ritchie and Mike Rucinski.

Hartford signed free agent Jeff Daniels on July 18. Daniels played in three games with the Florida Panthers during the 1994-95, earning no points. He played a majority of the season with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL, scoring eight goals and 20 points in 25 games.

On July 27, the Whalers and St. Louis Blues were involved in a blockbuster trade. Hartford acquired Brendan Shanahan from the Blues in exchange for Chris Pronger. In 45 games during the 1994-95 season, Shanahan scored 20 goals and 41 points. Shanahan had back-to-back 50+ goal seasons in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Shanahan was named to the NHL First All-Star Team during the 1993-94 season, as he scored 52 goals and 102 points in 81 games, while accumulating 211 penalty minutes.

The Whalers signed free agent Gerald Diduck on August 24. Diduck split the 1994-95 season between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks. In 35 games, he scored two goals and five points.

On October 6, the Whalers acquired Nelson Emerson in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Darren Turcotte. In 1994-95, Emerson scored 14 goals and 37 points in 48 games with the Jets. During the 1993-94 season, Emerson scored a career high 33 goals and 74 points in 83 games with Winnipeg. Also, on October 6, at the NHL Waiver Draft, the Whalers selected Jason Muzzatti from the Calgary Flames. Muzzatti had a 10-14-4 record with the Saint John Flames during the 1994-95 season.

Against the Hartford Whalers on March 6, 1996, Chris Osgood became the third goaltender in NHL history to score a goal.^[2]

The Whalers were shutout a league-high 8 times during the regular season.^[3]

Northeast Division

No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
1	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	49	29	4	362	284	102
2	Boston Bruins	82	40	31	11	282	269	91
3	Montreal Canadiens	82	40	32	10	265	248	90
4	Hartford Whalers	82	34	39	9	237	259	77
5	Buffalo Sabres	82	33	42	7	247	262	72
6	Ottawa Senators	82	18	59	5	191	291	41

Eastern Conference^[4]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	45	24	13	282	208	103
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	49	29	4	362	284	102
3	New York Rangers	ATL	82	41	27	14	272	237	96
4	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	41	31	10	254	234	92
5	Boston Bruins	NE	82	40	31	11	282	269	91
6	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	40	32	10	265	248	90
7	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	39	32	11	234	204	89
8	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	38	32	12	238	248	88
9	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	37	33	12	215	202	86
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	82	34	39	9	237	259	77
11	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	33	42	7	247	262	73
12	New York Islanders	ATL	82	22	50	10	229	315	54
13	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	18	59	5	191	291	41

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

1995–96 regular season[3]
October: 4–4–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 1 W October 7, 1995 2–0 New York Rangers (1995–96) 1–0–0 15,635 Recap 2 W October 11, 1995 3–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 2–0–0 8,635 Recap 3 W October 14, 1995 3–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 3–0–0 15,500 Recap 4 W October 16, 1995 7–5 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 4–0–0 18,200 Recap 5 T October 20, 1995 2–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 4–0–1 15,635 Recap 6 L October 21, 1995 0–3 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 4–1–1 12,503 Recap 7 L October 25, 1995 2–4 St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 4–2–1 10,527 Recap 8 L October 27, 1995 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 4–3–1 11,157 Recap 9 L October 28, 1995 0–3 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 4–4–1 17,565 Recap
November: 5–7–1 (home: 3–4–0; road: 2–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 10 L November 2, 1995 0–5 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 4–5–1 10,458 Recap 11 W November 4, 1995 5–4 @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 5–5–1 8,794 Recap 12 L November 5, 1995 1–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 5–6–1 17,218 Recap 13 W November 7, 1995 7–3 San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 6–6–1 8,628 Recap 14 L November 11, 1995 1–4 New York Rangers (1995–96) 6–7–1 15,635 Recap 15 L November 14, 1995 0–1 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 6–8–1 11,916 Recap 16 W November 15, 1995 3–2 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 7–8–1 7,641 Recap 17 L November 18, 1995 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 7–9–1 13,910 Recap 18 L November 20, 1995 3–4 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 7–10–1 16,312 Recap 19 W November 22, 1995 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 8–10–1 11,642 Recap 20 W November 24, 1995 4–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 9–10–1 15,726 Recap 21 L November 25, 1995 2–4 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 9–11–1 13,108 Recap 22 T November 29, 1995 2–2 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 9–11–2 15,203 Recap
December: 2–10–3 (home: 2–3–1; road: 0–7–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 23 L December 1, 1995 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 9–12–2 12,036 Recap 24 L December 2, 1995 3–5 Florida Panthers (1995–96) 9–13–2 10,092 Recap 25 W December 6, 1995 7–4 New York Islanders (1995–96) 10–13–2 8,760 Recap 26 L December 9, 1995 0–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 10–14–2 16,114 Recap 27 L December 10, 1995 1–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 10–15–2 17,955 Recap 28 L December 13, 1995 2–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 10–16–2 7,547 Recap 29 W December 15, 1995 4–2 Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 11–16–2 9,826 Recap 30 T December 16, 1995 3–3 OT @ New York Islanders (1995–96) 11–16–3 8,251 Recap 31 L December 18, 1995 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 11–17–3 16,237 Recap 32 L December 20, 1995 2–3 Calgary Flames (1995–96) 11–18–3 6,563 Recap 33 T December 22, 1995 3–3 OT @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 11–18–4 18,200 Recap 34 T December 23, 1995 3–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 11–18–5 12,262 Recap 35 L December 28, 1995 4–9 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 11–19–5 17,181 Recap 36 L December 30, 1995 0–3 @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 11–20–5 18,130 Recap 37 L December 31, 1995 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 11–21–5 19,983 Recap
January: 8–4–1 (home: 4–0–1; road: 4–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 38 W January 3, 1996 2–0 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 12–21–5 8,087 Recap 39 W January 5, 1996 4–2 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 13–21–5 12,239 Recap 40 L January 6, 1996 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 13–22–5 17,565 Recap 41 W January 9, 1996 5–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 14–22–5 9,702 Recap 42 L January 10, 1996 2–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 14–23–5 16,469 Recap 43 W January 12, 1996 3–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 15–23–5 9,709 Recap 44 W January 16, 1996 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 16–23–5 11,124 Recap 45 W January 17, 1996 6–3 @ New York Islanders (1995–96) 17–23–5 8,544 Recap 46 L January 24, 1996 2–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 17–24–5 12,808 Recap 47 W January 25, 1996 8–2 Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 18–24–5 13,757 Recap 48 T January 27, 1996 4–4 OT New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 18–24–6 15,635 Recap 49 L January 30, 1996 2–8 @ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 18–25–6 17,190 Recap 50 W January 31, 1996 6–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 19–25–6 11,775 Recap
February: 6–3–1 (home: 2–2–1; road: 4–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 51 W February 2, 1996 4–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 20–25–6 17,174 Recap 52 W February 7, 1996 5–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 21–25–6 16,758 Recap 53 W February 9, 1996 3–2 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 22–25–6 16,061 Recap 54 W February 11, 1996 5–3 @ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 23–25–6 15,397 Recap 55 L February 14, 1996 0–3 Boston Bruins (1995–96) 23–26–6 15,635 Recap 56 W February 17, 1996 2–1 OT Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 24–26–6 15,291 Recap 57 W February 21, 1996 5–3 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 25–26–6 14,311 Recap 58 L February 23, 1996 4–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 25–27–6 17,235 Recap 59 L February 25, 1996 2–6 Dallas Stars (1995–96) 25–28–6 11,143 Recap 60 T February 28, 1996 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 25–28–7 9,360 Recap
March: 6–6–2 (home: 6–3–0; road: 0–3–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 61 L March 1, 1996 2–5 Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 25–29–7 11,552 Recap 62 W March 2, 1996 7–1 Florida Panthers (1995–96) 26–29–7 11,935 Recap 63 L March 6, 1996 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 26–30–7 11,252 Recap 64 W March 8, 1996 7–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 27–30–7 10,979 Recap 65 L March 9, 1996 3–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 27–31–7 20,803 Recap 66 W March 13, 1996 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 28–31–7 11,850 Recap 67 W March 16, 1996 2–1 Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 29–31–7 13,213 Recap 68 W March 18, 1996 6–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 30–31–7 11,440 Recap 69 L March 20, 1996 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 30–32–7 21,255 Recap 70 T March 22, 1996 1–1 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 30–32–8 13,596 Recap 71 T March 23, 1996 2–2 OT @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 30–32–9 18,130 Recap 72 L March 25, 1996 0–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 30–33–9 17,380 Recap 73 L March 27, 1996 5–6 OT Boston Bruins (1995–96) 30–34–9 13,884 Recap 74 W March 30, 1996 3–1 New York Islanders (1995–96) 31–34–9 13,628 Recap
April: 3–5–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 75 L April 1, 1996 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 31–35–9 13,159 Recap 76 L April 3, 1996 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 31–36–9 22,576 Recap 77 W April 4, 1996 1–0 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 32–36–9 17,757 Recap 78 L April 6, 1996 3–6 New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 32–37–9 13,521 Recap 79 W April 8, 1996 5–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 33–37–9 12,683 Recap 80 L April 11, 1996 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 33–38–9 17,565 Recap 81 W April 13, 1996 2–0 Boston Bruins (1995–96) 34–38–9 15,635 Recap 82 L April 14, 1996 1–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 34–39–9 16,230 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

• 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.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
94	Brendan Shanahan	LW	74	44	34	78	2	125
8	Geoff Sanderson	LW	81	34	31	65	0	40
21	Andrew Cassels	C	81	20	43	63	8	39
16	Nelson Emerson	RW	81	29	29	58	−7	78
13[a]	Andrei Nikolishin	C	61	14	37	51	−2	34
18	Robert Kron	LW	77	22	28	50	−1	6
27	Jeff Brown†	D	48	7	31	38	2	38
28	Paul Ranheim	LW	73	10	20	30	−2	14
92	Jeff O'Neill	RW	65	8	19	27	−3	40
20	Glen Wesley	D	68	8	16	24	−9	88
12	Steven Rice	RW	59	10	12	22	−4	47
6	Adam Burt	D	78	4	9	13	−4	121
36	Glen Featherstone	D	68	2	10	12	10	138
4[b]	Gerald Diduck	D	79	1	9	10	7	88
24	Sami Kapanen	RW	35	5	4	9	0	6
10	Brad McCrimmon	D	58	3	6	9	15	62
11	Kevin Dineen†	RW	20	2	7	9	7	67
22	Mark Janssens	C	81	2	7	9	−13	155
4	Frantisek Kucera‡	D	30	2	6	8	−3	10
15	Scott Daniels	LW	53	3	4	7	−4	254
39	Kelly Chase	RW	55	2	4	6	−4	230
1	Sean Burke	G	66	0	6	6		16
32	Steve Martins	C	23	1	3	4	−3	8
7	Brian Glynn	D	54	0	4	4	−15	44
14	Kevin Smyth	LW	21	2	1	3	−5	8
26	Jocelyn Lemieux‡	RW	29	1	2	3	−11	31
33	Jimmy Carson‡	C	11	1	0	1	1	0
5	Alexander Godynyuk	D	3	0	0	0	−1	2
23	Marek Malik	D	7	0	0	0	−3	4
25	Jason McBain	D	3	0	0	0	−1	0
29	Jason Muzzatti	G	22	0	0	0		33
35	Jeff Reese‡	G	7	0	0	0		0

• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only.

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
1	Sean Burke	66	28	28	6	2034	190	3.11	.907	4	3669
29	Jason Muzzatti	22	4	8	3	551	49	2.90	.911	1	1013
35	Jeff Reese‡	7	2	3	0	170	14	3.06	.918	1	275

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Brendan Shanahan[c]	[6]
Team	Award of Excellence	Brad McCrimmon	[7]
	Booster Club MVP Award	Sean Burke	[7]
	Frank Keys Memorial Award	Brad McCrimmon	[7]
	Mark Kravitz Award	Sean Burke	[7]
	Most Valuable Defenseman	Jeff Brown	[7]
	Three Star Award of Excellence	Sean Burke	[7]
	Top Gun Award	Brendan Shanahan	[7]
	True Grit Award	Nelson Emerson	[7]

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Jeff O'Neill	October 7, 1995	[8]
	Steve Martins	December 6, 1995
	Sami Kapanen	December 13, 1995
	Jason McBain	April 11, 1996

The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1995–96 season.

May 31, 1995	To Los Angeles Kings Jan Vopat	To Hartford Whalers 4th round pick in 1995 - Ian MacNeil
July 27, 1995	To St. Louis Blues Chris Pronger	To Hartford Whalers Brendan Shanahan
October 6, 1995	To Winnipeg Jets Darren Turcotte	To Hartford Whalers Nelson Emerson
November 29, 1995	To Dallas Stars Robert Petrovicky	To Hartford Whalers Dan Kesa
December 1, 1995	To Tampa Bay Lightning Jeff Reese	To Hartford Whalers 9th round pick in 1996 - Askhat Rakhmatulin
December 19, 1995	To New Jersey Devils Jocelyn Lemieux 2nd round pick in 1998 - John Erskine	To Hartford Whalers Jim Dowd 2nd round pick in 1997 - Dmitri Kokorev
December 19, 1995	To Vancouver Canucks Jim Dowd Frantisek Kucera 2nd round pick in 1997 - Ryan Bonni	To Hartford Whalers Jeff Brown 3rd round pick in 1998 - Paul Manning
December 28, 1995	To Philadelphia Flyers 3rd round pick in 1997 - Kris Mallette 7th round pick in 1997 - Andrew Merrick	To Hartford Whalers Kevin Dineen

October 6, 1995

From Calgary Flames Jason Muzzatti

Player Former Team Jeff Daniels Detroit Vipers (IHL) Gerald Diduck Chicago Blackhawks David Williams Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Player New Team Jeff Bloemberg Detroit Red Wings Jim Sandlak Vancouver Canucks

Hartford's picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.^[9]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	13	Jean-Sebastien Giguere	Goaltender	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
2	35	Sergei Fedotov	Defense	Russia	Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
4	85	Ian MacNeil	Center	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4	87	Sami Kapanen	Right wing	Finland	HIFK (Finland)
5	113	Hugh Hamilton	Defense	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7	165	Byron Ritchie	Center	Canada	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
8	191	Milan Kostolny	Right wing	Slovakia	Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL)
9	217	Mike Rucinski	Defense	United States	Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL)

• 1995–96 NHL season