1995–96 Vancouver Canucks season

The 1995–96 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' 26th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). It marked the year they played their first season in General Motors Place, the year future star Markus Naslund joined the team, and Cliff Ronning's final season with the Canucks.

1995–96 Vancouver Canucks
Division	3rd Pacific
Conference	7th Western
1995–96 record	32–35–15
Home record	15–19–7
Road record	17–16–8
Goals for	278
Goals against	278
Team information
General manager	Pat Quinn
Coach	Rick Ley (Oct-Mar) Pat Quinn (Mar-Apr)
Captain	Trevor Linden
Alternate captains	Dave Babych Pavel Bure Martin Gelinas Dana Murzyn
Arena	General Motors Place
Average attendance	17,795
Minor league affiliate(s)	Syracuse Crunch
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Mogilny (55)
Assists	Alexander Mogilny (52)
Points	Alexander Mogilny (107)
Penalty minutes	Gino Odjick (181)
Plus/minus	Russ Courtnall (+25)
Wins	Corey Hirsch (17)
Goals against average	Corey Hirsch (2.93)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

Regular season

On March 28, head coach Rick Ley was fired with six games left in the regular season.^[1]

Standings

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^[2]

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

Regular season

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

Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs^[3]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Colorado Avalanche – Avalanche win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 16 Vancouver 2 – 5 Colorado McLean 16,061 0 – 1 Recap 2 April 18 Vancouver 5 – 4 Colorado Hirsch 16,061 1 – 1 Recap 3 April 20 Colorado 4 – 0 Vancouver Hirsch 18,422 1 – 2 Recap 4 April 22 Colorado 3 – 4 Vancouver Hirsch 18,422 2 – 2 Recap 5 April 25 Vancouver 4 – 5 Colorado OT Hirsch 16,061 2 – 3 Recap 6 April 27 Colorado 3 – 2 Vancouver Hirsch 18,422 2 – 4 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

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

			Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
89	Alexander Mogilny	RW	79	55	52	107	14	16	6	1	8	9	−1	8
16	Trevor Linden	C	82	33	47	80	6	42	6	4	4	8	−1	6
7	Cliff Ronning	C	79	22	45	67	16	42	6	0	2	2	0	6
9	Russ Courtnall	RW	81	26	39	65	25	40	6	1	3	4	−4	2
23	Martin Gelinas	LW	81	30	26	56	8	59	6	1	1	2	−1	12
21	Jyrki Lumme	D	80	17	37	54	−9	50	6	1	3	4	−1	2
28	Roman Oksiuta‡	RW	56	16	23	39	2	42	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Esa Tikkanen†	LW	38	13	24	37	6	14	6	3	2	5	−3	2
3	Bret Hedican	D	77	6	23	29	8	83	6	0	1	1	−2	10
44	Dave Babych	D	53	3	21	24	−5	38	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Leif Rohlin	D	56	6	16	22	0	32	5	0	0	0	−1	0
17	Mike Ridley	C	37	6	15	21	−3	29	5	0	0	0	−3	2
42	Josef Beranek	LW	61	6	14	20	−11	60	3	2	1	3	0	0
6	Adrian Aucoin	D	49	4	14	18	8	34	6	0	0	0	−5	2
22	Jeff Brown‡	D	28	1	16	17	6	18	—	—	—	—	—	—
96	Pavel Bure	LW	15	6	7	13	−2	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
24	Scott Walker	D	63	4	8	12	−7	137	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Dana Murzyn	D	69	2	10	12	9	130	6	0	0	0	0	25
29	Gino Odjick	LW	55	3	4	7	−16	181	6	3	1	4	2	6
15	Jim Dowd†	C	38	1	6	7	−8	6	1	0	0	0	−1	0
25	Jim Sandlak	RW	33	4	2	6	−3	6	5	0	0	0	2	2
36	Brian Loney	RW	12	2	3	5	2	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
26	Mike Sillinger†	RW	12	1	3	4	2	6	6	0	0	0	−5	2
14	Jesse Belanger†	C	9	3	0	3	0	4	3	0	2	2	0	2
22	Markus Naslund†	LW	10	3	0	3	3	6	6	1	2	3	−2	8
19	Tim Hunter	RW	60	2	0	2	−8	122	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Jassen Cullimore	D	27	1	1	2	4	21	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Corey Hirsch	G	41	0	2	2		2	6	0	0	0		2
32	Dean Malkoc	D	41	0	2	2	−10	136	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Kirk McLean	G	45	0	2	2		6	1	0	0	0		0
14	Larry Courville	LW	3	1	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Frantisek Kucera†	D	24	1	0	1	5	10	6	0	1	1	−3	0
14	Lonny Bohonos	RW	3	0	1	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Joe Kocur†	RW	7	0	1	1	−3	19	1	0	0	0	0	0
8	Alek Stojanov‡	RW	58	0	1	1	−12	123	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Evgeny Namestnikov	D	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

		Regular season										Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
31	Corey Hirsch	41	17	14	6	1173	114	2.93	.903	1	2338	6	2	3	166	21	3.73	.873	0	338
1	Kirk McLean	45	15	21	9	1292	156	3.54	.879	2	2645	1	0	1	12	3	8.62	.750	0	21

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honour	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Corey Hirsch (Goaltender)	^[4]
	NHL Second All-Star team	Alexander Mogilny (Right Wing	^[4]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Pavel Bure^[a]	^[6]
		Alexander Mogilny
Team	Babe Pratt Trophy	Jyrki Lumme	^[7]
	Cyclone Taylor Trophy	Trevor Linden	^[7]
	Cyrus H. McLean Trophy	Alexander Mogilny	^[7]
	Fred J. Hume Award	Martin Gelinas	^[8]
	Molson Cup	Trevor Linden	^[9]
	Most Exciting Player Award	Alexander Mogilny	^[8]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
1,000th game played	Dave Babych	February 7, 1996	^[10]

Transactions

Trades

July 8, 1995	To Vancouver Canucks Alexander Mogilny 5th round pick in 1995 (Todd Norman)	To Buffalo Sabres Michael Peca Mike Wilson 1st round pick in 1995 (Jay McKee)
July 8, 1995	To Vancouver Canucks Mike Ridley	To Toronto Maple Leafs Sergio Momesso
November 23, 1995	To Vancouver Canucks Esa Tikkanen	To New Jersey Devils 2nd round pick in 1996 (Wesley Mason)
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)
March 15, 1996	To Vancouver Canucks Mike Sillinger	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Roman Oksiuta
March 20, 1996	To Vancouver Canucks Jesse Belanger	To Florida Panthers 3rd round pick in 1996 (Oleg Kvasha) Future considerations
March 20, 1996	To Vancouver Canucks Joe Kocur	To New York Rangers Kay Whitmore
March 20, 1996	To Vancouver Canucks Markus Naslund	To Pittsburgh Penguins Alek Stojanov

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft in Edmonton, Alberta.^[11]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	NHL team	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	40	Chris McAllister (D)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
3	61	Larry Courville (LW)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks (from Chicago via Hartford)	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
3	66	Peter Schaefer (LW)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
4	92	Lloyd Shaw (D)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
5	120	Todd Norman (LW)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks (from Buffalo)	Guelph Storm (OHL)
6	144	Brent Sopel (D)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks	Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
7	170	Stu Boedker (C)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks	Colorado College (WCHA)
8	196	Tyler Willis (RW)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks	Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
9	222	Jason Cugnet (G)	Canada	Vancouver Canucks	Kelowna Spartans (BCJHL)

Notes

1. Bure was voted to the starting lineup but did not play.^[5]

References

• "Vancouver Canucks 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
• "1995-96 Vancouver Canucks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 26, 2023.

1. "Canucks dump Ley after 2-8 run". Tampa Bay Times. March 29, 1996. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
2. "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
3. "1995-96 Vancouver Canucks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
4. "Postseason All-Star Teams". NHL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
5. "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
6. "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1996". NHL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
7. Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 249
8. Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 250
9. 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks Media Guide, p. 217
10. "WHALERS ABLE TO WIN WITH A LATE DRIVE". Hartford Courant. February 6, 1996. Retrieved August 28, 2023. Dave Babych, who was playing the 1,000th game of his career.
11. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.