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 1995–96 Ottawa 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 when Alexei Yashin was out of the lineup, as he missed 36 games. Alfredsson would go on to win the Calder 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 with Dave Allison, who was previously the head coach of the Senators AHL affiliate, the Prince Edward Island Senators. The Dave 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 hired Jacques Martin as head coach, signed hold-out Alexei Yashin to a contract and engineered a blockbuster trade on January 23, 1996, dealing away Don Beaupre, Martin Straka and Bryan Berard, while acquiring Damian Rhodes and Wade Redden. It was a 3 way trade between the Senators, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the New 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 the Montreal 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 in Edmonton, Alberta.

ee also

*1995–96 NHL Season

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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Notes