1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season

The 1995–1996 Colorado Avalanche season was the first season of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise after moving from Quebec City to Denver. As a result, the Avalanche were assigned to the Pacific Division of the NHL's Western Conference.

1995–96 Colorado Avalanche
Stanley Cup champions
Western Conference champions
Pacific Division champions
Division	1st Pacific
Conference	2nd Western
1995–96 record	47–25–10
Home record	24–10–7
Road record	23–15–3
Goals for	326 (2nd)
Goals against	240 (T-8th)
Team information
General manager	Pierre Lacroix
Coach	Marc Crawford
Captain	Joe Sakic
Alternate captains	Mike Ricci Sylvain Lefebvre
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Average attendance	16,017 (99.7%) Total: 656,708
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cornwall Aces (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Joe Sakic (51)
Assists	Peter Forsberg (86)
Points	Joe Sakic (120)
Penalty minutes	Chris Simon (250)
Plus/minus	Curtis Leschyshyn (+32)
Wins	Patrick Roy Stephane Fiset (22)
Goals against average	Patrick Roy (2.68)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The season was marked by the bolstered acquisition of ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane and 6-time NHL All-Star and 3-time Vezina Trophy recipient Patrick Roy, who demanded a trade after feeling humiliated for being left in the net after having conceded 9 goals on 26 shots during a Canadiens game against the Red Wings. The acquisition of Keane coupled with the eventual veteran presence of Roy would prove to be a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come. The Avalanche finished the regular season as division champions and second overall in the conference, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in team history against the Florida Panthers, whom they swept to capture the franchise's Stanley Cup title.</ref>https://milehighsticking.com/2020/12/03/colorado-avalanche-fondly-remembering-le-trade-patrick-roy/</ref>

Regular season

The Avalanche played their first game in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on October 6, 1995, winning 3–2 against the Detroit Red Wings.^[1] With the team led by captain Joe Sakic, forward Peter Forsberg and defenseman Adam Foote on the ice, Pierre Lacroix as the general manager, and Marc Crawford as the head coach. The Avalanche was bolstered by the acquisitions of former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy and ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane on December 6, 1995 in a trade for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.^[2] The acquisition of Roy and Keane together would prove to be a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come.

On January 3, 1996, the Avalanche lost at home, 1–0, to the New Jersey Devils. It was the first time in 123 consecutive regular-season games that the team was shut out; the last time the team had been shut out was while they were the Quebec Nordiques. That game took place on January 27, 1994, and the Nordiques lost on the road, 3–0, to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Avalanche finished the regular season with a 47–25–10 record for 104 points, won the Pacific Division and finished second in the Western Conference. They scored 326 goals: an average of nearly 4 per game. Despite allowing the most short-handed goals in the league, with 22, they also scored the most short-handed goals, with 21.^[3] Four Avalanche players throughout the course of the season made it past the 30-goal scoring mark.

• December 11, 1995: Patrick Roy earned his first victory in net as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.^[4] It was a 5–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[5]
• February 5, 1996: Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.^[6] Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4–2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Canadiens head coach Mario Tremblay.^[7]

Season 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^[8]

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

Playoffs

Colorado progressed to the playoffs and won the series against the Vancouver Canucks, the Chicago Blackhawks and Presidents' Trophy winners Detroit Red Wings. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche met the Florida Panthers, who were also in their first Stanley Cup Finals. The Avalanche swept the series 4–0. In Game Four, during the third overtime and after more than 100 minutes of play with no goals, defenseman Uwe Krupp scored to claim the franchise's first Cup.^[9] Joe Sakic was the playoff's scoring leader with 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists) and won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player to his team during the playoffs. The 1996 Stanley Cup was the first major professional championship won by a Denver team.^[10] With the Stanley Cup win, Russians Alexei Gusarov and Valeri Kamensky and Swede Peter Forsberg became members of the "Triple Gold Club", the exclusive group of ice hockey players who have won Olympic gold, World Championship gold and the Stanley Cup.^[11]

Schedule and results

Regular season

1995–96 regular season^[12]
October: 7–3–1 (home: 5–0–1; road: 2–3–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Points Recap 1 October 6 Detroit 2 – 3 Colorado Fiset 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 7 Colorado 2 – 4 Los Angeles Fiset 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 9 Pittsburgh 6 – 6 Colorado OT Fiset 1–1–1 3 Recap 4 October 11 Boston 1 – 3 Colorado Fiset 2–1–1 5 Recap 5 October 13 Colorado 1 – 3 Washington Fiset 2–2–1 5 Recap 6 October 14 Colorado 1 – 4 St. Louis Thibault 2–3–1 5 Recap 7 October 18 Washington 2 – 4 Colorado Fiset 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 23 Anaheim 1 – 3 Colorado Fiset 4–3–1 9 Recap 9 October 25 Colorado 3 – 2 Calgary Fiset 5–3–1 11 Recap 10 October 27 Buffalo 4 – 5 Colorado Fiset 6–3–1 13 Recap 11 October 30 Colorado 6 – 1 Dallas Thibault 7–3–1 15 Recap
November: 8–2–3 (home: 3–0–1; road: 5–2–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Points Recap 12 November 1 Calgary 1 – 6 Colorado Thibault 8–3–1 17 Recap 13 November 3 Colorado 5 – 2 Winnipeg Fiset 9–3–1 19 Recap 14 November 5 Colorado 7 – 3 Chicago Fiset 10–3–1 21 Recap 15 November 9 Dallas 1 – 1 Colorado OT Thibault 10–3–2 22 Recap 16 November 11 Colorado 8 – 4 Vancouver Fiset 11–3–2 24 Recap 17 November 15 Colorado 3 – 7 Anaheim Thibault 11–4–2 24 Recap 18 November 17 Colorado 5 – 3 Calgary Fiset 12–4–2 26 Recap 19 November 18 Calgary 2 – 5 Colorado Fiset 13–4–2 28 Recap 20 November 20 Colorado 3 – 3 Edmonton OT Fiset 13–4–3 29 Recap 21 November 22 Chicago 2 – 6 Colorado Fiset 14–4–3 31 Recap 22 November 25 Colorado 2 – 2 Montreal OT Thibault 14–4–4 32 Recap 23 November 28 Colorado 7 – 3 NY Islanders Thibault 15–4–4 34 Recap 24 November 29 Colorado 3 – 4 New Jersey OT Thibault 15–5–4 34 Recap
December: 7–6–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 4–3–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Points Recap 25 December 1 Colorado 3 – 5 NY Rangers Thibault 15–6–4 34 Recap 26 December 3 Dallas 7 – 6 Colorado Fiset 15–7–4 34 Recap 27 December 5 San Jose 2 – 12 Colorado Fiset 16–7–4 36 Recap 28 December 7 Edmonton 5 – 3 Colorado Roy 16–8–4 36 Recap 29 December 9 Colorado 7 – 3 Ottawa Fiset 17–8–4 38 Recap 30 December 11 Colorado 5 – 1 Toronto Roy 18–8–4 40 Recap 31 December 13 Colorado 3 – 4 Buffalo Roy 18–9–4 40 Recap 32 December 15 Colorado 2 – 4 Hartford Fiset 18–10–4 40 Recap 33 December 18 Vancouver 4 – 2 Colorado Roy 18–11–4 40 Recap 34 December 20 Colorado 4 – 1 Edmonton Roy 19–11–4 42 Recap 35 December 22 St. Louis 1 – 2 Colorado Roy 20–11–4 44 Recap 36 December 23 Colorado 2 – 2 Los Angeles OT Fiset 20–11–5 45 Recap 37 December 26 Colorado 5 – 1 San Jose Roy 21–11–5 47 Recap 38 December 29 Toronto 2 – 3 Colorado Roy 22–11–5 49 Recap
January: 4–4–4 (home: 1–1–4; road: 3–3–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Points Recap 39 January 3 New Jersey 1 – 0 Colorado Roy 22–12–5 49 Recap 40 January 4 Philadelphia 2 – 2 Colorado OT Fiset 22–12–6 50 Recap 41 January 6 Colorado 2 – 5 Toronto Roy 22–13–6 50 Recap 42 January 9 Colorado 3 – 0 Boston Fiset 23–13–6 52 Recap 43 January 10 Florida 4 – 4 Colorado OT Roy 23–13–7 53 Recap 44 January 14 Calgary 4 – 4 Colorado OT Fiset 23–13–8 54 Recap 45 January 16 Colorado 5 – 2 Pittsburgh Roy 24–13–8 56 Recap 46 January 17 Colorado 2 – 3 Detroit Roy 24–14–8 56 Recap 47 January 22 NY Islanders 3 – 4 Colorado Roy 25–14–8 58 Recap 48 January 25 Vancouver 2 – 2 Colorado OT Fiset 25–14–9 59 Recap 49 January 27 Colorado 4 – 3 San Jose OT Roy 26–14–9 61 Recap 50 January 31 Colorado 1 – 2 Anaheim Roy 26–15–9 61 Recap
February: 9–3–1 (home: 7–1–1; road: 2–2–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Points Recap 51 February 1 Winnipeg 4 – 6 Colorado Fiset 27–15–9 63 Recap 52 February 3 NY Rangers 1 – 7 Colorado Roy 28–15–9 65 Recap 53 February 5 Montreal 2 – 4 Colorado Roy 29–15–9 67 Recap 54 February 7 Tampa Bay 4 – 4 Colorado OT Fiset 29–15–10 68 Recap 55 February 9 Hartford 3 – 2 Colorado OT Roy 29–16–10 68 Recap 56 February 11 Colorado 5 – 3 Philadelphia Fiset 30–16–10 70 Recap 57 February 15 Colorado 2 – 4 Tampa Bay Roy 30–17–10 70 Recap 58 February 16 Colorado 5 – 4 Florida OT Fiset 31–17–10 72 Recap 59 February 19 Edmonton 5 – 7 Colorado Roy 32–17–10 74 Recap 60 February 23 Los Angeles 2 – 6 Colorado Fiset 33–17–10 76 Recap 61 February 25 Ottawa 2 – 4 Colorado Roy 34–17–10 78 Recap 62 February 26 Anaheim 2 – 3 Colorado Roy 35–17–10 80 Recap 63 February 29 Colorado 3 – 4 Chicago Roy 35–18–10 80 Recap
March: 8–5–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 5–2–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Points Recap 64 March 1 Chicago 3 – 5 Colorado Roy 36–18–10 82 Recap 65 March 3 Toronto 0 – 4 Colorado Roy 37–18–10 84 Recap 66 March 5 San Jose 5 – 3 Colorado Fiset 37–19–10 84 Recap 67 March 8 Detroit 4 – 2 Colorado Roy 37–20–10 84 Recap 68 March 9 Colorado 7 – 5 Vancouver Fiset 38–20–10 86 Recap 69 March 13 Colorado 0 – 4 Anaheim Roy 38–21–10 86 Recap 70 March 17 Edmonton 1 – 8 Colorado Roy 39–21–10 88 Recap 71 March 19 Colorado 4 – 3 Vancouver Roy 40–21–10 90 Recap 72 March 20 Colorado 5 – 2 Los Angeles Fiset 41–21–10 92 Recap 73 March 22 Colorado 0 – 7 Detroit Roy 41–22–10 92 Recap 74 March 24 Colorado 5 – 2 Winnipeg Roy 42–22–10 94 Recap 75 March 27 Winnipeg 3 – 1 Colorado Fiset 42–23–10 94 Recap 76 March 28 Colorado 8 – 3 San Jose Roy 43–23–10 96 Recap
April: 4–2–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–0–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Points Recap 77 April 3 St. Louis 6 – 3 Colorado Roy 43–24–10 96 Recap 78 April 6 San Jose 1 – 5 Colorado Roy 44–24–10 98 Recap 79 April 7 Colorado 4 – 1 Dallas Roy 45–24–10 100 Recap 80 April 10 Anaheim 3 – 7 Colorado Roy 46–24–10 102 Recap 81 April 11 Colorado 3 – 2 St. Louis Fiset 47–24–10 104 Recap 82 April 14 Los Angeles 5 – 4 Colorado OT Roy 47–25–10 104 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs^[12]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks – Avalanche win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Attendance Decision Series Recap 1 April 16 Vancouver 2 – 5 Colorado 16,061 Roy 1 – 0 Recap 2 April 18 Vancouver 5 – 4 Colorado 16,061 Roy 1 – 1 Recap 3 April 20 Colorado 4 – 0 Vancouver 18,422 Roy 2 – 1 Recap 4 April 22 Colorado 3 – 4 Vancouver 18,422 Roy 2 – 2 Recap 5 April 25 Vancouver 4 – 5 Colorado OT 16,061 Roy 3 – 2 Recap 6 April 27 Colorado 3 – 2 Vancouver 18,422 Roy 4 – 2 Recap
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks – Avalanche win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Attendance Decision Series Recap 1 May 2 Chicago 3 – 2 Colorado OT 16,061 Roy 0 – 1 Recap 2 May 4 Chicago 1 – 5 Colorado 16,061 Roy 1 – 1 Recap 3 May 6 Colorado 3 – 4 Chicago OT 20,797 Roy 1 – 2 Recap 4 May 8 Colorado 3 – 2 Chicago 3OT 22,454 Roy 2 – 2 Recap 5 May 11 Chicago 1 – 4 Colorado 16,061 Roy 3 – 2 Recap 6 May 13 Colorado 4 – 3 Chicago 2OT 21,356 Roy 4 – 2 Recap
Western Conference Finals vs. (1) Detroit Red Wings – Avalanche win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Attendance Decision Series Recap 1 May 19 Colorado 3 – 2 Detroit OT 19,957 Roy 1 – 0 Recap 2 May 21 Colorado 3 – 0 Detroit 19,983 Roy 2 – 0 Recap 3 May 23 Detroit 6 – 4 Colorado 16,061 Roy 2 – 1 Recap 4 May 25 Detroit 2 – 4 Colorado 16,061 Roy 3 – 1 Recap 5 May 27 Colorado 2 – 5 Detroit 19,983 Roy 3 – 2 Recap 6 May 29 Detroit 1 – 4 Colorado 16,061 Roy 4 – 2 Recap
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (E4) Florida Panthers – Avalanche win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Attendance Decision Series Recap 1 June 4 Florida 1 – 3 Colorado 16,061 Roy 1 – 0 Recap 2 June 6 Florida 1 – 8 Colorado 16,061 Roy 2 – 0 Recap 3 June 8 Colorado 3 – 2 Florida 14,703 Roy 3 – 0 Recap 4 June 10 Colorado 1 – 0 Florida 3OT 14,703 Roy 4 – 0 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

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

			Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
19	Joe Sakic	C	82	51	69	120	14	44	22	18	16	34	10	14
21	Peter Forsberg	C	82	30	86	116	26	47	22	10	11	21	10	18
13	Valeri Kamensky	LW	81	38	47	85	14	85	22	10	12	22	11	28
22	Claude Lemieux	RW	79	39	32	71	14	117	19	5	7	12	5	55
48	Scott Young	RW	81	21	39	60	2	50	22	3	12	15	6	10
8	Sandis Ozolinsh†	D	66	13	37	50	0	50	22	5	14	19	5	16
18	Adam Deadmarsh	RW	78	21	27	48	20	142	22	5	12	17	8	25
12	Chris Simon	LW	64	16	18	34	10	250	12	1	2	3	−2	11
26	Stephane Yelle	LW	71	13	14	27	15	30	22	1	4	5	2	8
6	Craig Wolanin	D	75	7	20	27	25	50	7	1	0	1	2	8
9	Mike Ricci	C	62	6	21	27	1	52	22	6	11	17	−1	18
51	Andrei Kovalenko‡	LW	26	11	11	22	11	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Troy Murray	C	63	7	14	21	15	22	8	0	0	0	−4	19
25	Mike Keane†	RW	55	10	10	20	1	40	22	3	2	5	1	16
5	Alexei Gusarov	D	65	5	15	20	29	56	21	0	9	9	13	12
7	Curtis Leschyshyn	D	77	4	15	19	32	73	17	1	2	3	4	8
52	Adam Foote	D	73	5	11	16	27	88	22	1	3	4	11	36
2	Sylvain Lefebvre	D	75	5	11	16	26	49	22	0	5	5	6	12
25	Martin Rucinsky‡	LW	22	4	11	15	10	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
24	Jon Klemm	D	56	3	12	15	12	20	15	2	1	3	6	0
20	Rene Corbet	LW	33	3	6	9	10	33	8	3	2	5	3	2
16	Warren Rychel	LW	52	6	2	8	6	147	12	1	0	1	4	23
11	Owen Nolan‡	RW	9	4	4	8	−3	9	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Uwe Krupp	D	6	0	3	3	4	4	22	4	12	16	5	33
27	John Slaney‡	D	7	0	3	3	2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Paul Brousseau	RW	8	1	1	2	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Dave Hannan†	LW	4	1	0	1	1	2	13	0	2	2	3	2
23	Janne Laukkanen‡	D	3	1	0	1	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Landon Wilson	RW	7	1	0	1	3	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Stephane Fiset	G	37	0	1	1		2	1	0	0	0		0
15	Josef Marha	C	2	0	1	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
55	Anders Myrvold	D	4	0	1	1	−2	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
47	Claude Lapointe‡	C	3	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Aaron Miller	D	5	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Patrick Roy†	G	39	0	0	0		4	22	0	0	0		0
41	Jocelyn Thibault‡	G	10	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

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

		Regular season											Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Stephane Fiset	37	35	22	6	7	1,012	103	2.93	.898	1	2,106:38	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00		0	0:40
33	Patrick Roy†	39	38	22	15	1	1,130	103	2.68	.909	1	2,305:15	22	22	16	6	649	51	2.10	.921	3	1,453:53
41	Jocelyn Thibault‡	10	9	3	4	2	222	28	3.01	.874	0	558:22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Conn Smythe Trophy	Joe Sakic	^[13]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Marc Crawford (coach)	^[14]
		Peter Forsberg
		Joe Sakic

Transactions

Trades

July 7, 1995	To Calgary Flames David Ling 9th round pick in 1995	To Colorado Avalanche 9th round pick in 1995
July 12, 1995	To Washington Capitals 3rd round pick in 1996	To Colorado Avalanche John Slaney
July 12, 1995	To Philadelphia Flyers Garth Snow	To Colorado Avalanche 3rd and 6th round picks in 1996
October 2, 1995	To Washington Capitals Cash	To Colorado Avalanche Warren Rychel
October 3, 1995	To New York Islanders Wendel Clark	To Colorado Avalanche Claude Lemieux
October 5, 1995	To Tampa Bay Lightning Steven Finn	To Colorado Avalanche 4th round pick in 1997
October 26, 1995	To San Jose Sharks Owen Nolan	To Colorado Avalanche Sandis Ozolinsh
November 1, 1995	To Calgary Flames Claude Lapointe	To Colorado Avalanche 7th round pick in 1996
December 6, 1995	To Montreal Canadiens Andrei Kovalenko Jocelyn Thibault Martin Rucinsky	To Colorado Avalanche Patrick Roy Mike Keane
December 28, 1995	To Los Angeles Kings John Slaney	To Colorado Avalanche Conditional draft pick in 1996
January 26, 1996	To Ottawa Senators Janne Laukkanen	To Colorado Avalanche Brad Larsen
March 19, 1996	To Calgary Flames Paxton Schulte	To Colorado Avalanche Vesa Viitakoski
March 20, 1996	To Buffalo Sabres 6th round pick in 1996	To Colorado Avalanche Dave Hannan
April 3, 1996	To Washington Capitals Anson Carter	To Colorado Avalanche 4th round pick in 1996

Other transactions

Date	Player	Transaction
August 8, 1995	Troy Murray	Signed as a free agent
September 8, 1995	Andrei Kovalenko	Signed as a free agent
September 8, 1995	Curtis Leschyshyn	Signed as a free agent
September 9, 1995	Scott Young	Signed as a free agent
October 2, 1995	Ted Drury	Claimed by Ottawa in the waiver draft
October 2, 1995	Bill Huard	Claimed by Dallas in the waiver draft

Draft picks

Colorado's picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.^[15]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	25	Marc Denis	G	Canada	Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
2	51	Nic Beaudoin	LW	Canada	Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL)
3	77	John Tripp	RW	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4^1	81	Tomi Kallio	RW	Finland	Kiekko-67 Turku (FinD1)
5	129	Brent Johnson	G	United States	Owen Sound Platers (OHL).
6	155	John Cirjak	RW	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7	181	Dan Smith	D	Canada	University of British Columbia (CIAU)
8	207	Tomi Hirvonen	C	Finland	Ilves Jrs. (Finland)
9^2	228	Chris George	RW	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)

Notes

1. The Avalanche acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 20, 1994 that sent John Tanner to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
2. The Avalanche acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 7, 1995 that sent David Ling and a ninth-round pick in 1995 (233rd overall) to Calgary in exchange for this pick.

• The Avalanche fourth-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on April 7, 1995 that sent Bill Huard to Quebec in exchange for the rights to Mika Stromberg and this pick (103rd overall).
• The Avalanche ninth-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on July 7, 1995 that sent a ninth-round pick in 1995 (228rd overall) to Quebec in exchange for David Ling and this pick (233rd overall).

See also

• 1995–96 NHL season

References

• "Colorado Avalanche 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
• "1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.

1. "October 6, 1995 - Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche gamesheet". Colorado Avalanche Database. Retrieved June 17, 2007.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. Sadowski, Rick (June 29, 2006). . Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
3. "1995-96 NHL Summary".
4. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
5. "NHL ROUNDUP : Roy Records First Victory for Avalanche". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 1995. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
6. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
7. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.383 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
8. "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
9. Ulman, Howard (June 11, 1996). "No stopping the Avalanche - Colorado completes Cup sweep of Panthers with 3OT victory". Associated Press. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
10. "Miscellaneous/Community/Altitude" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. Retrieved June 17, 2007.^{[permanent dead link]}
11. (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2007.
12. "1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
13. "Conn Smythe Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
14. "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1996". NHL.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
15. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.