1995–96 New York Islanders season

The 1995–96 New York Islanders season was the 24th season in the franchise's history. This season saw the Islanders finish in last place with a record of 22–50–10 and miss the playoffs for the second straight year. During the season, team management fired General Manager Don Maloney, whom fans blamed for the team's downfall, and gave Mike Milbury total control of hockey operations as both head coach and general manager.

1995–96 New York Islanders
Division	7th Atlantic
Conference	12th Eastern
1995–96 record	22–50–10
Home record	14–21–6
Road record	8–29–4
Goals for	229
Goals against	315
Team information
General manager	Don Maloney (Oct-Dec) Darcy Regier (interim) Mike Milbury (Dec-Apr)
Coach	Mike Milbury
Captain	Patrick Flatley
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	11,355
Minor league affiliate(s)	Utah Grizzlies Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
Team leaders
Goals	Zigmund Palffy (43)
Assists	Travis Green (45)
Points	Zigmund Palffy (87)
Penalty minutes	Brent Severyn (180)
Plus/minus	Brent Severyn (+3)
Wins	Tommy Soderstrom (11)
Goals against average	Eric Fichaud (3.31)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

Offseason

Before the 1995–96 season, Don Maloney fired Lorne Henning and named Mike Milbury head coach. The same year, the Isles' attempt at updating their look resulted in the unveiling of the "fisherman" logo. It proved to be such a disaster that the team announced less than a year after unveiling it that they would go back to their original logo as soon as league rules could allow. Rangers fans still mock the Islanders with chants of "we want fishsticks," a reference to the way the logo resembled the Gorton's fisherman.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division

No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Philadelphia Flyers	82	45	24	13	282	208	103
2	New York Rangers	82	41	27	14	272	237	96
3	Florida Panthers	82	41	31	10	254	234	92
4	Washington Capitals	82	39	32	11	234	204	89
5	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	38	32	12	238	248	88
6	New Jersey Devils	82	37	33	12	215	202	86
7	New York Islanders	82	22	50	10	229	315	54

Eastern Conference^[1]

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

Schedule and results

1995–96 regular season^[2]
October: 2–6–2 (home: 1–3–1; road: 1–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 T October 7, 1995 4–4 OT @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 0–0–1 Recap 2 L October 10, 1995 3–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 0–1–1 Recap 3 L October 14, 1995 0–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 0–2–1 Recap 4 L October 15, 1995 3–5 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 0–3–1 Recap 5 L October 17, 1995 1–5 New York Rangers (1995–96) 0–4–1 Recap 6 W October 20, 1995 2–0 Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 1–4–1 Recap 7 L October 25, 1995 1–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 1–5–1 Recap 8 L October 26, 1995 5–7 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 1–6–1 Recap 9 T October 28, 1995 5–5 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 1–6–2 Recap 10 W October 31, 1995 5–4 OT @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 2–6–2 Recap
November: 3–9–1 (home: 1–5–0; road: 2–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 11 L November 3, 1995 3–5 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 2–7–2 Recap 12 L November 4, 1995 2–3 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 2–8–2 Recap 13 L November 7, 1995 2–5 Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 2–9–2 Recap 14 L November 10, 1995 1–4 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 2–10–2 Recap 15 L November 11, 1995 1–4 St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 2–11–2 Recap 16 W November 14, 1995 5–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 3–11–2 Recap 17 L November 16, 1995 2–9 @ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 3–12–2 Recap 18 L November 17, 1995 1–2 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 3–13–2 Recap 19 W November 22, 1995 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1995–96) 4–13–2 Recap 20 T November 24, 1995 1–1 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 4–13–3 Recap 21 L November 25, 1995 1–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 4–14–3 Recap 22 L November 28, 1995 3–7 Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 4–15–3 Recap 23 W November 30, 1995 5–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 5–15–3 Recap
December: 4–7–3 (home: 2–2–2; road: 2–5–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 24 W December 2, 1995 4–1 New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 6–15–3 Recap 25 L December 5, 1995 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 6–16–3 Recap 26 L December 6, 1995 4–7 @ Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 6–17–3 Recap 27 L December 9, 1995 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 6–18–3 Recap 28 W December 10, 1995 6–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 7–18–3 Recap 29 L December 12, 1995 1–3 Florida Panthers (1995–96) 7–19–3 Recap 30 L December 14, 1995 3–4 OT @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 7–20–3 Recap 31 T December 16, 1995 3–3 OT Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 7–20–4 Recap 32 L December 19, 1995 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1995–96) 7–21–4 Recap 33 T December 21, 1995 3–3 OT @ Dallas Stars (1995–96) 7–21–5 Recap 34 W December 23, 1995 3–1 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 8–21–5 Recap 35 T December 26, 1995 3–3 OT Boston Bruins (1995–96) 8–21–6 Recap 36 L December 27, 1995 3–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 8–22–6 Recap 37 W December 31, 1995 5–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 9–22–6 Recap
January: 4–5–2 (home: 4–1–2; road: 0–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 38 T January 4, 1996 2–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 9–22–7 Recap 39 W January 6, 1996 5–4 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 10–22–7 Recap 40 T January 9, 1996 3–3 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 10–22–8 Recap 41 W January 11, 1996 4–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96) 11–22–8 Recap 42 W January 15, 1996 3–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 12–22–8 Recap 43 L January 17, 1996 3–6 Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 12–23–8 Recap 44 L January 22, 1996 3–4 @ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96) 12–24–8 Recap 45 L January 24, 1996 1–4 @ Calgary Flames (1995–96) 12–25–8 Recap 46 L January 26, 1996 1–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 12–26–8 Recap 47 L January 27, 1996 3–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96) 12–27–8 Recap 48 W January 30, 1996 5–4 OT Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 13–27–8 Recap
February: 5–8–0 (home: 4–5–0; road: 1–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 49 L February 3, 1996 5–6 OT @ Washington Capitals (1995–96) 13–28–8 Recap 50 W February 4, 1996 5–3 Dallas Stars (1995–96) 14–28–8 Recap 51 L February 6, 1996 2–4 New York Rangers (1995–96) 14–29–8 Recap 52 L February 8, 1996 2–6 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 14–30–8 Recap 53 W February 10, 1996 4–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96) 15–30–8 Recap 54 L February 12, 1996 1–4 Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 15–31–8 Recap 55 L February 15, 1996 3–6 Calgary Flames (1995–96) 15–32–8 Recap 56 W February 17, 1996 4–2 San Jose Sharks (1995–96) 16–32–8 Recap 57 W February 22, 1996 5–3 @ New York Rangers (1995–96) 17–32–8 Recap 58 L February 23, 1996 2–3 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 17–33–8 Recap 59 W February 25, 1996 2–0 Edmonton Oilers (1995–96) 18–33–8 Recap 60 L February 27, 1996 2–6 Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 18–34–8 Recap 61 L February 29, 1996 1–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96) 18–35–8 Recap
March: 2–12–0 (home: 1–4–0; road: 1–8–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 62 L March 1, 1996 2–6 @ New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 18–36–8 Recap 63 L March 3, 1996 5–7 Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 18–37–8 Recap 64 W March 5, 1996 5–3 Boston Bruins (1995–96) 19–37–8 Recap 65 L March 7, 1996 3–4 @ Boston Bruins (1995–96) 19–38–8 Recap 66 W March 9, 1996 4–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96) 20–38–8 Recap 67 L March 16, 1996 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 20–39–8 Recap 68 L March 17, 1996 1–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96) 20–40–8 Recap 69 L March 19, 1996 1–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 20–41–8 Recap 70 L March 21, 1996 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (1995–96) 20–42–8 Recap 71 L March 23, 1996 2–3 OT New Jersey Devils (1995–96) 20–43–8 Recap 72 L March 25, 1996 1–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 20–44–8 Recap 73 L March 26, 1996 1–7 Washington Capitals (1995–96) 20–45–8 Recap 74 L March 30, 1996 1–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1995–96) 20–46–8 Recap 75 L March 31, 1996 1–4 New York Rangers (1995–96) 20–47–8 Recap
April: 2–3–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 1–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 76 L April 2, 1996 2–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96) 20–48–8 Recap 77 L April 5, 1996 2–4 @ Ottawa Senators (1995–96) 20–49–8 Recap 78 W April 6, 1996 3–0 Buffalo Sabres (1995–96) 21–49–8 Recap 79 L April 8, 1996 3–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96) 21–50–8 Recap 80 W April 10, 1996 6–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96) 22–50–8 Recap 81 T April 12, 1996 1–1 OT Florida Panthers (1995–96) 22–50–9 Recap 82 T April 13, 1996 5–5 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96) 22–50–10 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

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

			Regular season
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16^[a]	Zigmund Palffy	RW	81	43	44	87	−17	56
39	Travis Green	C	69	25	45	70	−20	42
72	Mathieu Schneider‡	D	65	11	36	47	−18	93
18	Marty McInnis	RW	74	12	34	46	−11	39
17	Wendel Clark‡	LW	58	24	19	43	−12	60
44	Todd Bertuzzi	RW	76	18	21	39	−14	83
28	Alexander Semak	C	69	20	14	34	−4	68
27	Derek King	LW	61	12	20	32	−10	23
32	Niklas Andersson	LW	47	14	12	26	−3	12
4	Bryan McCabe	D	82	7	16	23	−24	156
26	Patrick Flatley	RW	56	8	9	17	−24	21
7	Scott Lachance	D	55	3	10	13	−19	54
20	Bob Sweeney‡	C	66	6	6	12	−23	59
82^[b]	Martin Straka†‡	C	22	2	10	12	−6	6
6	Chris Luongo	D	74	3	7	10	−23	55
24	Brent Severyn	LW	65	1	8	9	3	180
21	Dan Plante	RW	73	5	3	8	−22	50
11	Darius Kasparaitis	D	46	1	7	8	−12	93
9	Kirk Muller‡	LW	15	4	3	7	−10	15
34^[c]	Andrei Vasilyev	LW	10	2	5	7	4	2
37	Dennis Vaske	D	19	1	6	7	−13	21
17	Darby Hendrickson†	C	16	1	4	5	−6	33
2	Bob Beers	D	13	0	5	5	−2	10
14	Derek Armstrong	C	19	1	3	4	−6	14
3	Kenny Jonsson†	D	16	0	4	4	−5	10
33	Milan Tichy	D	8	0	4	4	3	8
15	Brad Dalgarno	RW	18	1	2	3	−2	14
75	Brett Lindros	RW	18	1	2	3	−6	47
47	Rich Pilon	D	27	0	3	3	−9	72
25	Pat Conacher†	LW	13	1	1	2	−4	0
12	Mick Vukota	RW	32	1	1	2	−3	106
10	Craig Darby	C	10	0	2	2	−1	0
14^[d]	Danton Cole‡	RW	10	1	0	1	0	0
36^[e]	Micah Aivazoff	C	12	0	1	1	−6	6
3	Dean Chynoweth‡	D	14	0	1	1	−4	40
34	Jarrett Deuling	LW	14	0	1	1	−1	11
1	Eric Fichaud	G	24	0	1	1		0
34	Jason Herter	D	1	0	1	1	1	0
38	Andreas Johansson	C	3	0	1	1	1	0
43^[f]	Chris Taylor	C	11	0	1	1	1	2
33	Ken Belanger†	LW	7	0	0	0	−2	27
36^[g]	Bob Halkidis†	D	5	0	0	0	−3	30
43	Mike MacWilliam	LW	6	0	0	0	−1	14
29	Jamie McLennan	G	13	0	0	0		2
32	Grigori Panteleev	LW	4	0	0	0	−3	0
35	Tommy Salo	G	10	0	0	0		0
30	Tommy Soderstrom	G	51	0	0	0		7
36	Jason Strudwick	D	1	0	0	0	0	7
34	Jason Widmer	D	4	0	0	0	0	7

Goaltending

		Regular season
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Tommy Soderstrom	51	11	22	6	1370	167	3.87	.878	2	2590
1	Eric Fichaud	24	7	12	2	659	68	3.31	.897	1	1234
29	Jamie McLennan	13	3	9	1	342	39	3.68	.886	0	636
35	Tommy Salo	10	1	7	1	250	35	4.01	.860	0	523

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Lester Patrick Trophy	Ken Morrow	^[3]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Mathieu Schneider	^[4]
Team	Bob Nystrom Award	Dan Plante	^[5]

Transactions

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.^[6]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	2	Wade Redden	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2	28	Jan Hlavac	Czech Republic	Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
2	41	D. J. Smith	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
5	106	Vladimir Orszagh	Slovakia	Iskra Banská Bystrica (Slovakia)
7	158	Andrew Taylor	Canada	Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL)
9	210	David MacDonald	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
9	211	Mike Broda	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Notes

1. Palffy wore number 68 in his first eleven games.
2. Straka wore number 43 in his first game.
3. Vasilyev wore number 14 in his first six games and then number 36 in his next two games.
4. Cole wore number 10 in his first game.
5. Aivazoff wore number 34 in his first game and then number 10 in his next eight games.
6. Taylor wore number 14 in his first five games.
7. Halkidis wore number 3 in his first three games.

References

• "New York Islanders 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
• "1995-96 New York Islanders Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

1. "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
2. "1995-96 New York Islanders Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
3. "Lester Patrick Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
4. "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1996". NHL.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
5. "New York Islanders - Awards and Honors". New York Islanders. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
6. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.