1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs season

1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division	6th Central
Conference	11th Western
1996–97 record	30–44–8
Home record	18–20–3
Road record	12–24–5
Goals for	230
Goals against	273
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Mike Murphy
Captain	Doug Gilmour (Oct.–Feb.) Vacant (Feb.–Apr.)
Arena	Maple Leaf Gardens
Average attendance	15,703
Minor league affiliate(s)	St. John's Maple Leafs
Team leaders
Goals	Mats Sundin (41)
Assists	Mats Sundin (53)
Points	Mats Sundin (94)
Penalty minutes	Tie Domi (275)
Plus/minus	Rob Zettler (+8)
Wins	Felix Potvin (27)
Goals against average	Felix Potvin (3.15)

The 1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 80th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Maple Leafs entered the 1996–97 NHL season with the hopes of making the playoffs 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 poorly 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 traded captain Doug Gilmour to the New Jersey Devils in February.

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

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

1996–97 regular season
October: 5–6–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 2–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 W October 5, 1996 4–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 1–0–0 Recap 2 L October 8, 1996 2–4 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 1–1–0 Recap 3 L October 12, 1996 4–7 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 1–2–0 Recap 4 L October 15, 1996 1–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 1–3–0 Recap 5 L October 17, 1996 1–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 1–4–0 Recap 6 L October 19, 1996 0–2 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 1–5–0 Recap 7 W October 22, 1996 4–3 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 2–5–0 Recap 8 W October 24, 1996 2–1 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 3–5–0 Recap 9 W October 26, 1996 5–2 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 4–5–0 Recap 10 L October 29, 1996 2–5 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 4–6–0 Recap 11 W October 31, 1996 5–3 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 5–6–0 Recap
November: 5–9–0 (home: 5–1–0; road: 0–8–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 12 W November 2, 1996 6–2 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 6–6–0 Recap 13 W November 5, 1996 6–3 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 7–6–0 Recap 14 L November 7, 1996 2–6 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 7–7–0 Recap 15 W November 9, 1996 7–3 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 8–7–0 Recap 16 L November 10, 1996 1–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 8–8–0 Recap 17 L November 13, 1996 2–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 8–9–0 Recap 18 L November 14, 1996 1–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 8–10–0 Recap 19 L November 16, 1996 2–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 8–11–0 Recap 20 W November 19, 1996 4–3 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 9–11–0 Recap 21 L November 21, 1996 3–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 9–12–0 Recap 22 L November 23, 1996 3–4 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 9–13–0 Recap 23 W November 26, 1996 3–2 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 10–13–0 Recap 24 L November 27, 1996 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 10–14–0 Recap 25 L November 30, 1996 2–5 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 10–15–0 Recap
December: 7–7–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 4–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 26 W December 3, 1996 2–0 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 11–15–0 Recap 27 L December 6, 1996 5–6 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 11–16–0 Recap 28 L December 7, 1996 0–4 New York Rangers (1996–97) 11–17–0 Recap 29 W December 9, 1996 3–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 12–17–0 Recap 30 L December 10, 1996 2–5 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 12–18–0 Recap 31 L December 14, 1996 3–5 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 12–19–0 Recap 32 L December 15, 1996 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 12–20–0 Recap 33 W December 17, 1996 6–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 13–20–0 Recap 34 L December 20, 1996 2–5 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 13–21–0 Recap 35 W December 21, 1996 6–2 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 14–21–0 Recap 36 L December 23, 1996 5–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 14–22–0 Recap 37 W December 27, 1996 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 15–22–0 Recap 38 W December 28, 1996 5–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 16–22–0 Recap 39 W December 30, 1996 2–0 New York Islanders (1996–97) 17–22–0 Recap
January: 2–10–1 (home: 1–5–0; road: 1–5–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 40 L January 3, 1997 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 17–23–0 Recap 41 L January 4, 1997 3–7 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 17–24–0 Recap 42 L January 7, 1997 3–4 OT @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 17–25–0 Recap 43 L January 11, 1997 2–3 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 17–26–0 Recap 44 L January 13, 1997 3–6 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 17–27–0 Recap 45 L January 15, 1997 2–3 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 17–28–0 Recap 46 L January 20, 1997 1–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 17–29–0 Recap 47 W January 22, 1997 5–3 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 18–29–0 Recap 48 W January 24, 1997 2–1 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 19–29–0 Recap 49 L January 25, 1997 1–5 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 19–30–0 Recap 50 L January 27, 1997 2–5 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 19–31–0 Recap 51 L January 29, 1997 0–4 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 19–32–0 Recap 52 T January 31, 1997 3–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 19–32–1 Recap
February: 4–5–1 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 53 L February 1, 1997 1–2 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 19–33–1 Recap 54 W February 5, 1997 4–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 20–33–1 Recap 55 W February 8, 1997 4–2 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 21–33–1 Recap 56 L February 12, 1997 2–5 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 21–34–1 Recap 57 T February 13, 1997 4–4 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 21–34–2 Recap 58 L February 15, 1997 0–3 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 21–35–2 Recap 59 W February 18, 1997 6–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 22–35–2 Recap 60 L February 19, 1997 5–6 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 22–36–2 Recap 61 W February 22, 1997 5–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 23–36–2 Recap 62 L February 26, 1997 1–3 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 23–37–2 Recap
March: 5–4–5 (home: 2–3–3; road: 3–1–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 63 W March 1, 1997 3–2 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 24–37–2 Recap 64 W March 3, 1997 4–2 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 25–37–2 Recap 65 T March 5, 1997 4–4 OT Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 25–37–3 Recap 66 T March 8, 1997 1–1 OT Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 25–37–4 Recap 67 T March 10, 1997 3–3 OT Dallas Stars (1996–97) 25–37–5 Recap 68 L March 12, 1997 2–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 25–38–5 Recap 69 T March 15, 1997 3–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 25–38–6 Recap 70 W March 16, 1997 3–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 26–38–6 Recap 71 L March 19, 1997 3–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 26–39–6 Recap 72 L March 20, 1997 3–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 26–40–6 Recap 73 L March 22, 1997 0–3 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 26–41–6 Recap 74 W March 26, 1997 2–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 27–41–6 Recap 75 T March 27, 1997 1–1 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 27–41–7 Recap 76 W March 29, 1997 3–2 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 28–41–7 Recap
April: 2–3–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 77 W April 2, 1997 3–1 Florida Panthers (1996–97) 29–41–7 Recap 78 T April 3, 1997 2–2 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 29–41–8 Recap 79 L April 5, 1997 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 29–42–8 Recap 80 L April 9, 1997 2–3 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 29–43–8 Recap 81 L April 10, 1997 1–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 29–44–8 Recap 82 W April 12, 1997 4–1 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 30–44–8 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Maple Leafs only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Maple Leafs only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
13	Mats Sundin	C	82	41	53	94	6	59
93	Doug Gilmour‡	C	61	15	45	60	−5	46
17	Wendel Clark	LW	65	30	19	49	−2	75
94	Sergei Berezin	LW	73	25	16	41	−3	2
55	Larry Murphy‡	D	69	7	32	39	1	20
21	Kirk Muller‡	C	66	20	17	37	−23	85
8	Todd Warriner	LW	75	12	21	33	−3	41
28	Tie Domi	RW	80	11	17	28	−17	275
9	Mike Craig	RW	65	7	13	20	−20	62
14	Darby Hendrickson†	C	64	11	6	17	−20	47
16	Jamie Baker	C	58	8	8	16	2	28
11	Steve Sullivan†	C	21	5	11	16	5	23
4	David Ellett‡	D	56	4	10	14	−8	34
36	Dmitri Yushkevich	D	74	4	10	14	−24	56
2	Rob Zettler	D	48	2	12	14	8	51
19	Fredrik Modin	RW	76	6	7	13	−14	24
72	Mathieu Schneider	D	26	5	7	12	3	20
34	Jamie Macoun	D	73	1	10	11	−14	93
12	Brandon Convery	RW	39	2	8	10	−9	20
10	Zdenek Nedved	RW	23	3	5	8	4	6
42	David Cooper	D	19	3	3	6	−3	16
32	Nick Kypreos	LW	35	3	2	5	1	62
26	Jamie Heward	RW	20	1	4	5	−6	6
25	Jason Smith†	D	21	0	5	5	−4	16
20	Mike Johnson†	RW	13	2	2	4	−2	4
3	Matt Martin	D	36	0	4	4	−12	38
26	Craig Wolanin†	D	23	0	4	4	3	13
24	Tom Pederson†	D	15	1	2	3	0	9
7	Jason Podollan†	C	10	0	3	3	−2	6
29	Felix Potvin	G	74	0	3	3		19
43	Nathan Dempsey	LW	14	1	1	2	−2	2
7	Kelly Fairchild	C	22	0	2	2	−5	2
31	Marcel Cousineau	G	13	0	1	1		0
20	Ralph Intranuovo‡	C	3	0	1	1	−1	0
4	D. J. Smith	D	8	0	1	1	−5	7
33	Don Beaupre	G	3	0	0	0		0
39	Kelly Chase†	RW	2	0	0	0	0	27
44	John Craighead	RW	5	0	0	0	0	10
37	Mark Kolesar	RW	7	0	0	0	−3	0
22	Scott Pearson	LW	1	0	0	0	0	2
25	Greg Smyth	D	2	0	0	0	0	0
41	Shayne Toporowski	RW	3	0	0	0	0	7
38	Yannick Tremblay	D	5	0	0	0	−4	0
23	Jeff Ware	D	13	0	0	0	2	6
15	Brian Wiseman	C	5	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
29	Felix Potvin	74	27	36	7	2438	224	3.15	.908	0	4271
31	Marcel Cousineau	13	3	5	1	317	31	3.29	.902	1	566
33	Don Beaupre	3	0	3	0	60	10	5.46	.833	0	110

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honour	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Sergei Berezin (Forward)
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Mats Sundin
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Steve Sullivan (March)
Team	Molson Cup	Felix Potvin

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Sergei Berezin	October 5, 1996
	Fredrik Modin
	Jeff Ware
	Marcel Cousineau	November 21, 1996
	John Craighead
	Brian Wiseman	December 14, 1996
	David Cooper	December 15, 1996
	Shayne Toporowski	January 7, 1997
	Nathan Dempsey	January 31, 1997
	Mike Johnson	March 16, 1997
	D. J. Smith	March 26, 1997
	Yannick Tremblay	March 27, 1997
1,000th game played	Doug Gilmour	November 16, 1996

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

Draft picks

Toronto's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Round	#	Name	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
2	36	Marek Posmyk	Czech Republic	Dukla Jihlava (Czech Republic)
2	50	Francis Larivee	Canada	Laval Titan (QMJHL)
3	66	Mike Lankshear	Canada	Guelph Storm (OHL)
3	68	Konstantin Kalmikov	Ukraine	Detroit Falcons (CoHL)
4	86	Jason Sessa	United States	Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
4	103	Vladimir Antipov	Russia	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
5	110	Peter Cava	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
5	111	Brandon Sugden	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
6	140	Dmytro Yakushyn	Ukraine	Pembroke Lumber Kings (COJHL)
6	148	Chris Bogas	United States	Michigan State University (CCHA)
6	151	Lucio DeMartinis	Canada	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
7	178	Reggie Berg	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
8	204	Tomas Kaberle	Czech Republic	HC Kladno (Czech Republic)
9	230	Jared Hope	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

Farm teams

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

References

• "Toronto Maple Leafs 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
• "1996-97 Toronto Maple Leafs Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.