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1995–96 Los Angeles Kings season

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1995–96 Los Angeles Kings
Division6th Pacific
Conference12th Western
1995–96 record24–40–18
Home record16–16–9
Road record8–24–9
Goals for256
Goals against302
Team information
General managerSam McMaster
CoachLarry Robinson
CaptainWayne Gretzky (Oct.–Feb.)
Vacant (Feb.–Apr.)
Alternate captainsRob Blake
Jari Kurri (Oct.–Mar.)
Rick Tocchet (Oct.–Jan.)
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Average attendance13,551
Minor league affiliate(s)Phoenix Roadrunners
Knoxville Cherokees
Richmond Renegades
Team leaders
GoalsDmitri Khristich (27)
AssistsWayne Gretzky (66)
PointsWayne Gretzky (81)
Penalty minutesMarty McSorley (148)
Plus/minusKevin Todd (+6)
WinsByron Dafoe (14)
Goals against averageJamie Storr (2.75)

The 1995–96 Los Angeles Kings season, was the Kings' 29th season in the National Hockey League. It involved Wayne Gretzky being traded to the St. Louis Blues. For the third consecutive year, the Kings failed to make the playoffs.

Offseason

[edit]

Regular season

[edit]
  • February 27, 1996: Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Los Angeles Kings to the St. Louis Blues for Patrice Tardif, Craig Johnson, Roman Vopat, 1st round pick in the 1997 draft and a 5th round pick in the 1996 draft.[1][2]

Final standings

[edit]
Pacific Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Colorado Avalanche 82 47 25 10 326 240 104
2 Calgary Flames 82 34 37 11 241 240 79
3 Vancouver Canucks 82 32 35 15 278 278 79
4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 82 35 39 8 234 247 78
5 Edmonton Oilers 82 30 44 8 240 304 68
6 Los Angeles Kings 82 24 40 18 256 302 66
7 San Jose Sharks 82 20 55 7 252 357 47

Note: 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[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Detroit Red Wings CEN 82 62 13 7 325 181 131
2 Colorado Avalanche PAC 82 47 25 10 326 240 104
3 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 82 40 28 14 273 220 94
4 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 82 34 36 12 247 252 80
5 St. Louis Blues CEN 82 32 34 16 219 248 80
6 Calgary Flames PAC 82 34 37 11 241 240 79
7 Vancouver Canucks PAC 82 32 35 15 278 278 79
8 Winnipeg Jets CEN 82 36 40 6 275 291 78
9 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 82 35 39 8 234 247 78
10 Edmonton Oilers PAC 82 30 44 8 240 304 68
11 Dallas Stars CEN 82 26 42 14 227 280 66
12 Los Angeles Kings PAC 82 24 40 18 256 302 66
13 San Jose Sharks PAC 82 20 55 7 252 357 47

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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


Schedule and results

[edit]
1995–96 regular season[4]
October: 4–3–4 (home: 2–1–2; road: 2–2–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 W October 7, 1995 4–2 Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 1–0–0 Recap
2 W October 10, 1995 6–5 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 2–0–0 Recap
3 T October 12, 1995 7–7 OT Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 2–0–1 Recap
4 T October 15, 1995 3–3 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 2–0–2 Recap
5 T October 18, 1995 1–1 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 2–0–3 Recap
6 W October 20, 1995 7–4 @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 3–0–3 Recap
7 W October 21, 1995 3–2 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 4–0–3 Recap
8 L October 23, 1995 3–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 4–1–3 Recap
9 L October 26, 1995 4–5 @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 4–2–3 Recap
10 T October 28, 1995 2–2 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 4–2–4 Recap
11 L October 31, 1995 1–2 Calgary Flames (1995–96) 4–3–4 Recap
November: 7–7–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–5–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
12 W November 2, 1995 5–3 New York Rangers (1995–96) 5–3–4 Recap
13 L November 4, 1995 2–4 New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 5–4–4 Recap
14 W November 7, 1995 1–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 6–4–4 Recap
15 T November 8, 1995 3–3 OT @ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 6–4–5 Recap
16 W November 11, 1995 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 7–4–5 Recap
17 W November 13, 1995 4–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 8–4–5 Recap
18 L November 14, 1995 5–6 Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 8–5–5 Recap
19 W November 16, 1995 9–2 New York Islanders (1995–96) 9–5–5 Recap
20 W November 18, 1995 3–2 Florida Panthers (1995–96) 10–5–5 Recap
21 L November 21, 1995 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 10–6–5 Recap
22 L November 22, 1995 2–5 @ New York Islanders (1995–96) 10–7–5 Recap
23 L November 24, 1995 1–2 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 10–8–5 Recap
24 L November 26, 1995 1–5 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 10–9–5 Recap
25 L November 27, 1995 0–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 10–10–5 Recap
26 W November 30, 1995 3–2 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 11–10–5 Recap
December: 3–5–4 (home: 3–2–3; road: 0–3–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
27 T December 2, 1995 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1995–96) 11–10–6 Recap
28 W December 6, 1995 6–3 Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 12–10–6 Recap
29 L December 9, 1995 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 12–11–6 Recap
30 L December 11, 1995 2–6 @ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 12–12–6 Recap
31 W December 13, 1995 6–2 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 13–12–6 Recap
32 L December 16, 1995 3–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 13–13–6 Recap
33 T December 20, 1995 2–2 OT Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 13–13–7 Recap
34 L December 22, 1995 3–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 13–14–7 Recap
35 T December 23, 1995 2–2 OT Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 13–14–8 Recap
36 W December 27, 1995 7–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 14–14–8 Recap
37 L December 29, 1995 4–5 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 14–15–8 Recap
38 T December 31, 1995 2–2 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 14–15–9 Recap
January: 3–8–2 (home: 2–2–1; road: 1–6–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
39 L January 3, 1996 4–5 Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 14–16–9 Recap
40 W January 5, 1996 5–2 @ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 15–16–9 Recap
41 W January 6, 1996 7–5 San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 16–16–9 Recap
42 T January 8, 1996 4–4 OT @ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 16–16–10 Recap
43 L January 10, 1996 4–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 16–17–10 Recap
44 L January 12, 1996 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 16–18–10 Recap
45 L January 14, 1996 2–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 16–19–10 Recap
46 T January 16, 1996 5–5 OT Calgary Flames (1995–96) 16–19–11 Recap
47 L January 22, 1996 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 16–20–11 Recap
48 L January 23, 1996 1–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 16–21–11 Recap
49 L January 25, 1996 2–8 @ Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 16–22–11 Recap
50 W January 27, 1996 5–4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 17–22–11 Recap
51 L January 31, 1996 4–6 Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 17–23–11 Recap
February: 1–9–4 (home: 1–4–1; road: 0–5–3)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
52 T February 1, 1996 6–6 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 17–23–12 Recap
53 L February 3, 1996 1–2 @ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 17–24–12 Recap
54 L February 6, 1996 2–5 Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 17–25–12 Recap
55 W February 8, 1996 4–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 18–25–12 Recap
56 L February 10, 1996 1–6 San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 18–26–12 Recap
57 L February 13, 1996 4–9 @ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 18–27–12 Recap
58 T February 14, 1996 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 18–27–13 Recap
59 L February 17, 1996 1–2 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 18–28–13 Recap
60 T February 19, 1996 3–3 OT Boston Bruins (1995–96) 18–28–14 Recap
61 L February 21, 1996 2–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 18–29–14 Recap
62 L February 23, 1996 2–6 @ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 18–30–14 Recap
63 T February 24, 1996 2–2 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 18–30–15 Recap
64 L February 26, 1996 3–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 18–31–15 Recap
65 L February 28, 1996 1–5 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 18–32–15 Recap
March: 4–6–2 (home: 2–4–1; road: 2–2–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
66 W March 2, 1996 5–4 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 19–32–15 Recap
67 W March 6, 1996 3–2 Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 20–32–15 Recap
68 W March 8, 1996 4–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 21–32–15 Recap
69 L March 10, 1996 2–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 21–33–15 Recap
70 L March 13, 1996 2–6 Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 21–34–15 Recap
71 L March 16, 1996 2–5 Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 21–35–15 Recap
72 L March 18, 1996 1–3 St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 21–36–15 Recap
73 L March 20, 1996 2–5 Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 21–37–15 Recap
74 T March 23, 1996 4–4 OT Dallas Stars (1995–96) 21–37–16 Recap
75 L March 25, 1996 1–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 21–38–16 Recap
76 T March 27, 1996 3–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 21–38–17 Recap
77 W March 29, 1996 4–3 @ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 22–38–17 Recap
April: 2–2–1 (home: 1–1–1; road: 1–1–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
78 T April 3, 1996 2–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 22–38–18 Recap
79 L April 6, 1996 2–4 Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 22–39–18 Recap
80 W April 10, 1996 6–2 San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 23–39–18 Recap
81 L April 12, 1996 3–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 23–40–18 Recap
82 W April 14, 1996 5–4 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 24–40–18 Recap
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 Kings only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts +/- PIM
99 Wayne Gretzky‡ C 62 15 66 81 −7 32
8 Dmitri Khristich LW 76 27 37 64 0 44
43 Vitali Yachmenev RW 80 19 34 53 −3 16
44 Yanic Perreault C 78 25 24 49 −11 16
12 Kevin Todd C 74 16 27 43 6 38
17 Jari Kurri‡ RW 57 17 23 40 −12 37
22 Rick Tocchet‡ RW 44 13 23 36 3 117
21 Tony Granato RW 49 17 18 35 −5 46
28 Eric Lacroix LW 72 16 16 32 −11 110
33 Marty McSorley‡ D 59 10 21 31 −14 148
26 Philippe Boucher D 53 7 16 23 −26 31
13 Robert Lang RW 68 6 16 22 −15 10
19 John Druce‡ RW 64 9 12 21 −26 14
27 John Slaney† D 31 6 11 17 5 10
14 Gary Shuchuk RW 33 4 10 14 3 12
25 Kevin Stevens† LW 20 3 10 13 −11 22
2[a] Darryl Sydor‡ D 58 1 11 12 −11 34
77 Rob Cowie D 46 5 5 10 −16 32
9 Vladimir Tsyplakov LW 23 5 5 10 1 4
23 Craig Johnson† RW 11 5 4 9 −4 6
15 Pat Conacher‡ C 35 5 2 7 −8 18
6 Sean O'Donnell D 71 2 5 7 3 127
5 Aki Berg D 51 0 7 7 −13 29
20 Ray Ferraro† C 11 4 2 6 −13 10
24 Nathan LaFayette† C 12 2 4 6 −3 6
3 Denis Tsygurov D 18 1 5 6 0 22
29 Steven Finn† D 50 3 2 5 −6 102
40 Barry Potomski LW 33 3 2 5 −7 104
22 Ian Laperriere† C 10 2 3 5 −2 15
3 Jan Vopat D 11 1 4 5 3 4
4 Rob Blake D 6 1 2 3 0 8
11[b] Shane Churla†‡ RW 11 1 2 3 −9 37
20 Steve Larouche† C 7 1 2 3 0 4
15 Jaroslav Modry† D 9 0 3 3 −4 6
37 Patrice Tardif† C 15 1 1 2 −9 37
7 Kevin Brown‡ RW 7 1 0 1 −2 4
55 Troy Crowder RW 15 1 0 1 −3 42
2[c] Doug Zmolek† D 16 1 0 1 −6 22
35 Arto Blomsten D 2 0 1 1 1 0
11 Mattias Norstrom† D 11 0 1 1 −8 18
24 Michel Petit‡ D 9 0 1 1 −1 27
45 Ruslan Batyrshin D 2 0 0 0 0 6
42 Dan Bylsma LW 4 0 0 0 0 0
31 Byron Dafoe G 47 0 0 0 6
32 Kelly Hrudey G 36 0 0 0 4
34 Matt Johnson LW 1 0 0 0 0 5
1 Jamie Storr G 5 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

[edit]
No. Player Regular season
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
31 Byron Dafoe 47 14 24 8 1539 172 3.87 .888 1 2666
32 Kelly Hrudey 36 7 15 10 1214 113 3.26 .907 0 2077
1 Jamie Storr 5 3 1 0 147 12 2.75 .918 0 262

Awards and records

[edit]

Awards

[edit]
Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(in-season) 		NHL All-Star Game selection Wayne Gretzky[d] [6]
NHL Rookie of the Month Vitali Yachmenev (October) [7]
Team Best Newcomer Vitali Yachmenev [8]
Bill Libby Memorial Award Dmitri Khristich [8]
Defensive Player Kevin Todd [8]
Jim Fox Community Service Rob Blake [8]
Eric Lacroix
Leading Scorer Dmitri Khristich [8]
Most Inspirational Tony Granato [8]
Most Popular Player Eric Lacroix [8]
Outstanding Defenseman Steven Finn [8]
Unsung Hero Steven Finn [8]

Milestones

[edit]
Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Aki Berg October 7, 1995 [9]
Vitali Yachmenev
Vladimir Tsyplakov November 7, 1995
Dan Bylsma December 13, 1995
Barry Potomski January 6, 1996
Jan Vopat March 16, 1996
Ruslan Batyrshin April 3, 1996

Transactions

[edit]

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1995–96 season.[10]

Trades

[edit]
May 31, 1995 To Los Angeles Kings
Jan Vopat 		To Hartford Whalers
4th round pick in 1995 - Ian MacNeil
June 7, 1995 To Los Angeles Kings
5th round pick in 1995 - Jason Morgan 		To Dallas Stars
Jeff Mitchell
July 8, 1995 To Los Angeles Kings
Byron Dafoe
Dmitri Khristich 		To Washington Capitals
1st round pick in 1996 - Alexander Volchov
4th round pick in 1996 - Justin Davis
November 13, 1995 To Los Angeles Kings
Steven Finn 		To Tampa Bay Lightning
Michel Petit
December 28, 1995 To Los Angeles Kings
John Slaney 		To Colorado Avalanche
6th round pick in 1996 - Brian Willsie
January 14, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Steve Larouche 		To New York Rangers
Chris Snell
January 25, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Kevin Stevens 		To Boston Bruins
Rick Tocchet
February 10, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Craig Ferguson 		To Calgary Flames
Pat Conacher
February 17, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Shane Churla
Doug Zmolek 		To Dallas Stars
Darryl Sydor
5th round pick in 1996 - Ryan Christie
February 27, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Craig Johnson
Patrice Tardif
Roman Vopat
5th round pick in 1996 - Peter Hogan
1st round pick in 1997 - Matt Zultek 		To St. Louis Blues
Wayne Gretzky
March 14, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Mattias Norstrom
Ray Ferraro
Ian Laperriere
Nathan LaFayette
4th round pick in 1997 - Sean Blanchard 		To New York Rangers
Marty McSorley
Jari Kurri
Shane Churla
March 19, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
4th round pick in 1996 - Mikael Simons 		To Philadelphia Flyers
John Druce
7th round pick in 1997 - Todd Fedoruk
March 20, 1996 To Los Angeles Kings
Jaroslav Modry
8th round pick in 1996 - Steve Valiquette 		To Ottawa Senators
Kevin Brown

Free agent signings

[edit]
August 30, 1995 From St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL)
Steve Bancroft
September 12, 1995 From Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL)
Nicholas Vachon

Free agents lost

[edit]
July 14, 1995 To St. Louis Blues
Grant Fuhr (2 years, $2.1 million)
July 17, 1995 To Chicago Wolves (IHL)
Rob Brown
August 1, 1995 To Ottawa Senators
Dan Quinn (2 years, $1.05 million)
August 25, 1995 To Chicago Blackhawks
Andre Racicot
September 19, 1995 To Edmonton Oilers
Rem Murray
October 4, 1995 To Buffalo Sabres
Randy Burridge (1 year, $350,000)

Waivers

[edit]
October 2, 1995 To Ottawa Senators
Justin Hocking

Draft picks

[edit]

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.[11]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 3 Aki Berg  Finland TPS (Finland)
2 33 Donald MacLean  Canada Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
2 50 Pavel Rosa  Czech Republic HC Litvinov (Czech Republic)
3 59 Vladimir Tsyplakov  Belarus Fort Wayne Komets (IHL)
5 118 Jason Morgan  Canada Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
6 137 Igor Melyakov  Russia Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
7 157 Benoit Larose  Canada Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
7 163 Juha Vuorivirta  Finland Tappara (Finland)
9 215 Brian Stewart  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Sydor wore number 25 until Stevens was acquired.
  2. ^ Churla wore number 72 in his first six games.
  3. ^ Zmolek wore number 55 in his first two games.
  4. ^ Gretzky was voted to the starting lineup.[5]

References

[edit]
  • "Los Angeles Kings 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  • "1995-96 Los Angeles Kings Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  1. ^ Lapointe, Joe (February 28, 1996). "HOCKEY;Finally, Gretzky Is Traded to Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "Wayne Gretzky Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com".
  3. ^ "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  4. ^ "1995-96 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  6. ^ "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  7. ^ "NHL Rookies of the Month". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Los Angeles Kings 2014–15 Media Guide, p. 201–03
  9. ^ "1995-96 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results". www.prosportstransactions.com.
  11. ^ "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
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