The1995–96 NHL season was the79thregular season of theNational Hockey League. As part of the league's newcollective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed after the1994–95 NHL lockout, each team began playing 82 games per season. TheQuebec Nordiques relocated toDenver, Colorado, becoming theColorado Avalanche. TheStanley Cup winners were the Avalanche, who swept theFlorida Panthers in the finals, in four games.

The 1995–96 season was the first season in Denver for theAvalanche, who had relocated from Quebec City where they were previously known as theQuebec Nordiques. Prior to the season, Colorado was assigned to the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They played atMcNichols Arena, the building that theColorado Rockies played in from 1976 to 1982 before they were purchased and moved to become theNew Jersey Devils. The Avs would play in that building until they moved to thePepsi Center in 1999.

It was also the final season for theoriginal Winnipeg Jets, as they announced that they would be moving fromManitoba toArizona and become thePhoenix Coyotes at season's end. The NHL would not return to Manitoba until theAtlanta Thrashers moved there to become the "new"Winnipeg Jets following the2010–11 season.

During the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, each team played 84 games (including two neutral site games). The1994–95 NHL lockout had resulted in a shortened 48-game season and the cancellation of the planned neutral site games. Starting in the 1995–96 season, the neutral site games were eliminated, reducing the regular season to 82 games per team where it remains to date.

This was the first year that the entry drafting order was partially set by adraft lottery system, allowing teams who had missed the playoffs to have a chance to move up in the order. Teams would no longer be guaranteed the first overall pick if they finished with the worst record during the previous regular season, and therefore have less incentive to "tank".

The1995 NHL entry draft was then held at theNorthlands Coliseum inEdmonton,Alberta, on July 8.Bryan Berard was selected first overall by theOttawa Senators.

Improvements indye-sublimation printing on modern uniform fabrics, having been featured in recent seasons on uniforms in theNational Basketball Association and theCanadian Football League, had caught the interest of the NHL, which decided to allow alternate jerseys that could take advantage of this technology to produce new and unusual designs not possible under traditional jersey-making techniques. Six teams elected to participate in the process, butSt. Louis Blues coach and general managerMike Keenan vetoed the Blues' proposed third jersey, which would have featured blaring trumpets across the front. The five teams that did participate were theMighty Ducks of Anaheim,Boston Bruins,Los Angeles Kings,Pittsburgh Penguins, andVancouver Canucks.

The Ducks' and Kings' third jerseys proved unpopular at the time and were retired by the end of the season, while the Canucks underwent a complete rebrand for the1997–98 season. The Penguins' third jersey was promoted to their primary road jersey for the1997 Stanley Cup playoffs through the2001–02 season, and the Bruins retained their third jersey the longest, through the2005–06 season.

In addition to the Avalanche, two other teams underwent rebrands prior to the season, albeit only changing their logos and colors. TheNew York Islanders used the dye-sublimation technique to create new jerseys with wavy stripes as well as a logo bearing a fisherman mascot, which ended up being heavily derided and phased out over the next few seasons. TheWashington Capitals abandoned their patriotic red, white, and blue scheme and their 1970s uniform design for a more modern look featuring a less saturated blue, black, and bronze, with the new logo featuring an attacking eagle with stars in its wings. This look would last (with slight changes) through the2006–07 season.

The arrival of the Avalanche would also see the first new provider of on-ice jerseys in the NHL since1989, whenNike ended its relationship with theEdmonton Oilers. For the next six seasons,CCM had been the sole provider of NHL jerseys; however,Starter, which had begun providing selectNFL teams with their on-field jerseys and had also been selling consumer replica NHL jerseys, were tapped to provide Colorado's initial jerseys. Following the season, Starter would expand its presence in the NHL to nine other teams, while Nike would re-enter the league through the use of its subsidiary,Bauer Hockey.

• TheBoston Bruins moved fromBoston Garden, where they spend the last 67 seasons, to theFleetCenter, withFleetBoston Financial acquiring the naming rights.
• TheCalgary Flames' home arena, Olympic Saddledome, was renamedCanadian Airlines Saddledome as part of a new naming rights agreement withCanadian Airlines.
• The relocatedColorado Avalanche moved fromColisée de Québec inQuebec City, Quebec toMcNichols Sports Arena inDenver, Colorado.
• TheEdmonton Oilers' home arena,Northlands Coliseum, was renamed Edmonton Coliseum as part of a new leasing agreement between the team and the building's operator,Northlands, to instead reference the city.
• TheMontreal Canadiens moved from theMontreal Forum toMolson Centre on March 16, 1996, withMolson Brewery acquiring the naming rights. With the Montreal Forum closed,Toronto'sMaple Leaf Gardens became the last remaining arena from theOriginal Six era.
• TheOttawa Senators moved fromOttawa Civic Centre to thePalladium on January 17, 1996. It was then renamed the Corel Centre afterCorel acquired the naming rights one month later.
• TheVancouver Canucks moved fromPacific Coliseum toGeneral Motors Place, withGeneral Motors Canada acquiring the naming rights.

TheAll-Star Game was held on January 20, 1996, at theFleetCenter inBoston, home of theBoston Bruins.

TheDetroit Red Wings enjoyed a spectacular season, having finished the year as the Western Conferences's top seed with 131 points, and at the time second only to the1976–77 Montreal Canadiens, and setting the NHL record for most wins ever in the regular season (62). Neither mark was eclipsed until 27 years later, when theBoston Bruins achieved a record-breaking 65 wins and 135 points in the2022–23 season. However, the Wings fell to the future Stanley Cup championAvalanche in the 1996 Western Conference Finals, the sixth game of which marked the beginning of the heatedDetroit-Colorado rivalry, which would last for years to come. TheNew Jersey Devils became the first team since the1969–70 Montreal Canadiens to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup during the previous season.

Four teams allowed 300 or more goals in 1995-96. A total of three would do so from1996-97 through2003-04.

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted inbold.

The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the two division winnersseeded 1–2 based on regular season records, and the six remaining teams seeded 3–8. In each round, teams competed in abest-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home-ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Czech superstarJaromir Jagr of thePittsburgh Penguins broke the record for assists and points by a right winger in a single season[1].Mario Lemieux, a fellow teammate of Jagr's, achieved 161 points in 70 games, marking the NHL's final season in which a player would surpass the 150 point plateau during the 1990s. This record remained unbroken untilConnor McDavid scored 153 points in the2022–23 season, which would not occur until 27 years later.^[3] This also marked the final season of the 1990s where at least one NHL player would score at least 60 goals (Jagr and Lemieux), a feat not repeated untilAlexander Ovechkin's groundbreaking record of 65 goals in the2007–08 season, set 12 years later in themodern era following the2004–05 NHL lockout.^[4]Auston Matthews of theToronto Maple Leafs would later go on to break Ovechkin's modern record by scoring his 66th goal on April 9, 2024, achieving the rare distinction of being the first NHL player in 28 years to score more than 65 goals in a single season since Lemieux last accomplished the feat nearly three decades earlier.^[5] Matthew's would later equal Lemieux's feat by scoring a grand total of 69 goals as the2023-24 NHL season drew to a close.^[6]

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Regular season

^[8]

The following is a list ofplayers of note who played their first NHL game in 1995–96 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres
• Jarome Iginla*, Calgary Flames
• Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
• Miroslav Satan, Edmonton Oilers
• Ed Jovanovski, Florida Panthers
• Jeff O'Neill, Hartford Whalers
• Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens
• Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens
• Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils
• Petr Sykora, New Jersey Devils
• Steve Sullivan, New Jersey Devils
• Bryan McCabe, New York Islanders
• Todd Bertuzzi, New York Islanders
• Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators
• Daymond Langkow, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Andrew Brunette, Washington Capitals
• Shane Doan, Winnipeg Jets

The following is a list ofplayers of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1995–96 (listed with their last team):

• Cam Neely, Boston Bruins
• Troy Murray, Colorado Avalanche
• Bob Kudelski, Florida Panthers
• Jimmy Carson, Hartford Whalers
• Joe Cirella, Ottawa Senators (Last active player to have been a member of theColorado Rockies)
• Glenn Anderson, St. Louis Blues

This was the eighth season that the league's Canadian national broadcast rights were split betweenTSN andHockey Night in Canada onCBC. During the regular season, Saturday night games aired on CBC, while TSN primarily had Monday and Thursday night games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs was primarily on CBC, with TSN airing first round all-U.S. series.

This was the second season of the league's five-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals withFox andESPN. Both ESPN andESPN2 aired weeknight games throughout the regular season, and Fox had the All-Star Game and weekly regional telecasts on six selected weekend afternoons between January and April. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected games, while Fox had Sunday regional telecasts. Each U.S. team's regional broadcaster produced local coverage of first and second round games (except for those games on Fox). Fox's Sunday telecasts continued into the Conference Finals, while ESPN had the rest of the third round games. The Stanley Cup Finals were also split between Fox and ESPN.

• 1995 in sports
• 1995 NHL entry draft
• 1995-96 NHL transactions
• 1996 in sports
• 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game

• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000).Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports.ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011).The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates.ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000).Century of hockey. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
• Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003).The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc.ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.

Notes

• Hockey Database
• http://nhl.com/

• 1995–96 NHL season
• 1995–96 in Canadian ice hockey by league
• 1995–96 in American ice hockey by league

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Short description is different from Wikidata