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1996–97 San Jose Sharks season

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1996–97 San Jose Sharks
Division7th Pacific
Conference13th Western
1996–97 record27–47–8
Home record14–23–4
Road record13–24–4
Goals for211
Goals against278
Team information
General managerDean Lombardi
CoachAl Sims
CaptainTodd Gill
Alternate captainsTony Granato
Owen Nolan
ArenaSan Jose Arena
Average attendance17,420
Minor league affiliate(s)Kentucky Thoroughblades
Louisville RiverFrogs
Team leaders
GoalsOwen Nolan (31)
AssistsJeff Friesen (34)
PointsOwen Nolan (63)
Penalty minutesAndrei Nazarov (222)
Plus/minusTim Hunter (0)
Michal Sykora (0)
WinsKelly Hrudey (16)
Goals against averageChris Terreri (2.75)

The 1996–97 San Jose Sharks season was the Sharks' sixth season of operation in the National Hockey League. The Sharks again failed to make the playoffs, finishing 13th in the Western Conference.

Offseason

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Defenseman Todd Gill was named team captain, following the departure of Jeff Odgers.

Regular season

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On October 18, the Sharks scored three short-handed goals in a 4–1 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.[1]

The Sharks finished the regular season last in scoring (211 goals for) and had the most power-play opportunities against (409).[2]

Final standings

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Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 1 Colorado Avalanche 82 49 24 9 277 205 107
2 4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 82 36 33 13 243 231 85
3 7 Edmonton Oilers 82 36 37 9 252 247 81
4 9 Vancouver Canucks 82 35 40 7 257 273 77
5 10 Calgary Flames 82 32 41 9 214 239 73
6 12 Los Angeles Kings 82 28 43 11 214 268 67
7 13 San Jose Sharks 82 27 47 8 211 278 62

Note: CR = Conference rank; 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[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Colorado Avalanche PAC 82 49 24 9 277 205 107
2 Dallas Stars CEN 82 48 26 8 252 198 104
3 Detroit Red Wings CEN 82 38 26 18 253 197 94
4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 82 36 33 13 245 233 85
5 Phoenix Coyotes CEN 82 38 37 7 240 243 83
6 St. Louis Blues CEN 82 36 35 11 236 239 83
7 Edmonton Oilers PAC 82 36 37 9 252 247 81
8 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 82 34 35 13 223 210 81
9 Vancouver Canucks PAC 82 35 40 7 257 273 77
10 Calgary Flames PAC 82 32 41 9 214 239 73
11 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 82 30 44 8 230 273 68
12 Los Angeles Kings PAC 82 28 43 11 214 268 67
13 San Jose Sharks PAC 82 27 47 8 211 278 62

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy


Schedule and results

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1996–97 regular season[4]
October: 5–5–3 (home: 1–1–2; road: 4–4–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 T October 5, 1996 2–2 OT New York Islanders (1996–97) 0–0–1 Recap
2 W October 6, 1996 7–6 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 1–0–1 Recap
3 L October 8, 1996 0–6 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 1–1–1 Recap
4 L October 10, 1996 1–4 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 1–2–1 Recap
5 L October 12, 1996 3–5 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 1–3–1 Recap
6 T October 16, 1996 3–3 OT Florida Panthers (1996–97) 1–3–2 Recap
7 W October 18, 1996 4–1 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 2–3–2 Recap
8 W October 20, 1996 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 3–3–2 Recap
9 L October 22, 1996 3–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 3–4–2 Recap
10 L October 24, 1996 1–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 3–5–2 Recap
11 T October 26, 1996 2–2 OT @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 3–5–3 Recap
12 W October 27, 1996 6–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 4–5–3 Recap
13 W October 30, 1996 3–1 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 5–5–3 Recap
November: 3–8–1 (home: 3–5–0; road: 0–3–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
14 L November 1, 1996 3–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 5–6–3 Recap
15 W November 2, 1996 4–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 6–6–3 Recap
16 L November 6, 1996 1–4 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 6–7–3 Recap
17 W November 8, 1996 3–1 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 7–7–3 Recap
18 L November 12, 1996 3–4 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 7–8–3 Recap
19 L November 15, 1996 1–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 7–9–3 Recap
20 T November 16, 1996 2–2 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 7–9–4 Recap
21 L November 18, 1996 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 7–10–4 Recap
22 L November 21, 1996 1–6 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 7–11–4 Recap
23 L November 23, 1996 0–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 7–12–4 Recap
24 W November 27, 1996 3–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 8–12–4 Recap
25 L November 29, 1996 2–4 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 8–13–4 Recap
December: 6–6–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 4–3–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
26 W December 1, 1996 4–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 9–13–4 Recap
27 W December 4, 1996 2–1 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 10–13–4 Recap
28 L December 7, 1996 3–4 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 10–14–4 Recap
29 W December 11, 1996 3–2 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 11–14–4 Recap
30 L December 13, 1996 0–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 11–15–4 Recap
31 L December 17, 1996 3–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 11–16–4 Recap
32 L December 20, 1996 2–3 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 11–17–4 Recap
33 L December 21, 1996 1–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 11–18–4 Recap
34 W December 23, 1996 2–1 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 12–18–4 Recap
35 W December 26, 1996 6–1 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 13–18–4 Recap
36 L December 28, 1996 3–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 13–19–4 Recap
37 W December 31, 1996 5–1 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 14–19–4 Recap
January: 4–7–1 (home: 2–4–1; road: 2–3–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
38 L January 2, 1997 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 14–20–4 Recap
39 L January 4, 1997 3–4 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 14–21–4 Recap
40 T January 7, 1997 1–1 OT Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 14–21–5 Recap
41 L January 9, 1997 3–4 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 14–22–5 Recap
42 W January 11, 1997 2–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 15–22–5 Recap
43 W January 13, 1997 5–4 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 16–22–5 Recap
44 L January 20, 1997 1–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 16–23–5 Recap
45 W January 22, 1997 7–2 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 17–23–5 Recap
46 L January 24, 1997 1–3 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 17–24–5 Recap
47 L January 27, 1997 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 17–25–5 Recap
48 L January 29, 1997 1–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 17–26–5 Recap
49 W January 30, 1997 6–3 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 18–26–5 Recap
February: 4–7–2 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–5–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
50 W February 1, 1997 2–1 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 19–26–5 Recap
51 L February 3, 1997 2–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 19–27–5 Recap
52 W February 5, 1997 3–2 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 20–27–5 Recap
53 T February 8, 1997 3–3 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 20–27–6 Recap
54 L February 10, 1997 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 20–28–6 Recap
55 L February 12, 1997 1–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 20–29–6 Recap
56 L February 13, 1997 3–7 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 20–30–6 Recap
57 L February 16, 1997 2–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 20–31–6 Recap
58 W February 18, 1997 3–1 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 21–31–6 Recap
59 L February 20, 1997 1–6 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 21–32–6 Recap
60 L February 23, 1997 3–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 21–33–6 Recap
61 T February 25, 1997 2–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 21–33–7 Recap
62 W February 28, 1997 3–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 22–33–7 Recap
March: 3–10–0 (home: 2–6–0; road: 1–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
63 L March 1, 1997 2–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 22–34–7 Recap
64 L March 3, 1997 4–5 OT @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 22–35–7 Recap
65 W March 6, 1997 2–0 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 23–35–7 Recap
66 L March 9, 1997 1–2 New York Rangers (1996–97) 23–36–7 Recap
67 L March 11, 1997 3–4 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 23–37–7 Recap
68 L March 14, 1997 1–4 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 23–38–7 Recap
69 L March 15, 1997 4–7 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 23–39–7 Recap
70 L March 19, 1997 2–4 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 23–40–7 Recap
71 W March 20, 1997 2–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 24–40–7 Recap
72 L March 22, 1997 1–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 24–41–7 Recap
73 L March 24, 1997 1–5 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 24–42–7 Recap
74 L March 26, 1997 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 24–43–7 Recap
75 W March 28, 1997 4–3 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 25–43–7 Recap
April: 2–4–1 (home: 1–2–1; road: 1–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
76 L April 1, 1997 1–7 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 25–44–7 Recap
77 T April 2, 1997 5–5 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 25–44–8 Recap
78 W April 4, 1997 7–6 OT Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 26–44–8 Recap
79 L April 7, 1997 2–3 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 26–45–8 Recap
80 W April 9, 1997 4–1 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 27–45–8 Recap
81 L April 11, 1997 3–4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 27–46–8 Recap
82 L April 12, 1997 1–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 27–47–8 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

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Scoring

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  • 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 Sharks only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts +/- PIM
11 Owen Nolan RW 72 31 32 63 −19 155
39 Jeff Friesen LW 82 28 34 62 −8 75
9 Bernie Nicholls C 65 12 33 45 −21 63
25 Viktor Kozlov C 78 16 25 41 −16 40
21 Tony Granato RW 76 25 15 40 −7 159
8 Darren Turcotte C 65 16 21 37 −8 16
62 Andrei Nazarov LW 60 12 15 27 −4 222
17 Steve Guolla C 43 13 8 21 −10 14
23 Todd Gill D 79 0 21 21 −20 101
22 Ulf Dahlen LW 43 8 11 19 −11 8
4 Greg Hawgood D 63 6 12 18 −22 69
10 Marcus Ragnarsson D 69 3 14 17 −18 63
33 Marty McSorley D 57 4 12 16 −6 186
3 Doug Bodger D 81 1 15 16 −14 64
42 Shean Donovan RW 73 9 6 15 −18 42
43 Al Iafrate D 38 6 9 15 −10 91
12 Ron Sutter C 78 5 7 12 −8 65
22[a] Bob Errey LW 30 3 6 9 −2 20
44 Vlastimil Kroupa D 35 2 6 8 −17 12
40 Mike Rathje D 31 0 8 8 −1 21
38 Michal Sykora D 35 2 5 7 0 59
16 Dody Wood C 44 3 2 5 −3 193
7 Ville Peltonen LW 28 2 3 5 −8 0
18 Chris Tancill C 25 4 0 4 −5 8
19 Tim Hunter RW 46 0 4 4 0 135
36 Todd Ewen RW 51 0 2 2 −5 162
14 Ray Whitney LW 12 0 2 2 −6 4
5 Jason Widmer D 2 0 1 1 1 0
15 Alexei Yegorov RW 2 0 1 1 1 0
20[b] Ed Belfour G 13 0 0 0 8
91 Jan Caloun RW 2 0 0 0 −2 0
31 Wade Flaherty G 7 0 0 0 0
28 Iain Fraser C 2 0 0 0 −1 2
32 Kelly Hrudey G 48 0 0 0 0
26 Chris Lipuma‡† D 8 0 0 0 −2 22
30 Chris Terreri G 22 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

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No. Player Regular season
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
32 Kelly Hrudey 48 16 24 5 1263 140 3.19 .889 0 2631
30 Chris Terreri 22 6 10 3 553 55 2.75 .901 0 1200
20[b] Ed Belfour 13 3 9 0 371 43 3.41 .884 1 757
31 Wade Flaherty 7 2 4 0 202 31 5.18 .847 0 359

Awards and records

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Awards

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Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(annual)
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Tony Granato [5]
League
(in-season)
NHL All-Star Game selection Tony Granato[c] [7]
Owen Nolan
Team Sharks Player of the Year Jeff Friesen [8]
Sharks Rookie of the Year Steve Guolla [8]

Milestones

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Milestone Player Date Ref
1,000th game played Bernie Nicholls October 20, 1996 [9]
First game Steve Guolla January 7, 1997 [10]

Transactions

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Draft picks

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San Jose's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[11]

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 2 Andrei Zyuzin Defense  Russia Salavat Yulajev
1 21 Marco Sturm Right Wing  Germany Landshut EV
3 55 Terry Friesen Goalie  Canada Swift Current Broncos
4 102 Matt Bradley Right Wing  Canada Kingston Frontenacs
6 137 Michel Larocque Goalie  Germany Boston University
7 164 Jake Deadmarsh Defense  Canada Kamloops Blazers
8 191 Cory Cyrenne Center  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings
9 217 David Thibeault Left Wing  Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Errey wore number 14 in his first two games.
  2. ^ a b Belfour wore number 30 in his first game.
  3. ^ Granato was selected by the commissioner.[6]

References

[edit]
  • "San Jose Sharks 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  • "1996-97 San Jose Sharks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  1. ^ "San Jose Sharks at Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Box Score — October 18, 1996".
  2. ^ "1996-97 NHL Summary".
  3. ^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  4. ^ "1996-97 San Jose Sharks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  6. ^ "All-Star Game Rosters | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. January 18, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  8. ^ a b 2014–15 San Jose Sharks Media Guide, p.255–58
  9. ^ "Players who reached the 1,000th-game mark as San Jose Sharks". East Bay Times. October 20, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "1996-97 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.