- 1995–96 Ottawa Senators season
NHLTeamSeason
Season=1995–96
Team=Ottawa Senators
Conference=Eastern Conference
ConferenceRank=13th
Division=Northeast Division
DivisionRank=6th
Record=18–59–5
HomeRecord=8–28–5
RoadRecord=10–31–0
GoalsFor=191
GoalsAgainst=291
GeneralManager=Randy Sexton Pierre Gauthier
Coach=Rick Bowness Dave Allison
Jacques Martin
Captain=Randy Cunneyworth
AltCaptain="Unknown"
"Unknown"
Arena=Ottawa Civic Centre
The Palladium (renamed during season to Corel Centre)
Attendance=13,271 per game (544,108 total)
GoalsLeader=Daniel Alfredsson (26)
AssistsLeader=Daniel Alfredsson (35)
PointsLeader=Daniel Alfredsson (61)
PlusMinusLeader=Pat Elyniuk (+2)
PIMLeader=Dennis Vial (276)
WinsLeader=Damian Rhodes (10)
GAALeader=Damian Rhodes (2.77)The 1995–96Ottawa Senators season was a season with plenty of change for the club. The club changed coaching staffs twice, changed the General Manager and moved into the new Palladium arena in Kanata. The team would again finish last in the league.Prior to the season, on August 2, 1995, Brian Smith, former NHL hockey player and sportscaster at Ottawa TV station CJOH-TV was killed. He had been the primary reporter on the Senators for the station. The Senators would honor him with a patch on their jerseys, with his nickname 'Smitty' and number 18, which they would wear on their jerseys for the whole season. The team would also raise a banner in his memory.
Regular season
There were some bright spots during the season, rookie
Daniel Alfredsson would lead the team offensively with 61 points (26 goals-35 assists), stepping in whenAlexei Yashin was out of the lineup, as he missed 36 games. Alfredsson would go on to win theCalder Trophy , awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year.Highlights
After getting off to a good start with a 6–5–0 record, the Senators would then lose their next 8 games, which ended up costing head coach
Rick Bowness his job, as the club replaced him withDave Allison , who was previously the head coach of the Senators AHL affiliate, thePrince Edward Island Senators . TheDave Allison era did not last long in Ottawa, as the club would only win 2 of 25 games (2–22–1) before he was replaced by Jacques Martin. Under Martin, the Senators would be more competitive, going 10–24–4 in his 38 games to finish the year with an 18–59–5, their 4th straight season at the bottom of the NHL standings.After taking over from the fired
Randy Sexton as General Manager, on December 6, 1995,Pierre Gauthier made three moves to strengthen the club. He hiredJacques Martin as head coach, signed hold-outAlexei Yashin to a contract and engineered a blockbuster trade onJanuary 23 ,1996 , dealing awayDon Beaupre ,Martin Straka andBryan Berard , while acquiringDamian Rhodes andWade Redden . It was a 3 way trade between the Senators, theToronto Maple Leafs , and theNew York Islanders and was necessary because Berard, the Senators's first-round pick, was refusing to join the club.The Senators played their first game in
The Palladium on January 17, 1996 in a game against theMontreal Canadiens , which turned out to be a 3–0 Senators loss. The pre-game ceremonies were ruined when the raising of the Senators' Stanley Cup banners failed, leaving the banners obscuring some fans' view of the scoreboard.On April 13, 1996] , played the defending Stanley Cup champion
New Jersey Devils , who needed a win to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators would play the role of spoiler, defeating New Jersey 5–2, and officially eliminating them from post-season play.eason standings
December
March
Goaltending
"Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average"
Draft picks
Ottawa's draft picks at the
1995 NHL Entry Draft inEdmonton ,Alberta .ee also
References
*cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Total Hockey |title=Ottawa Senators 1992–93 to Date |first=Bruce |last=Garrioch |publisher=NHL |year=1998
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