1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season

NHL team season

1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Division	2nd Pacific
Conference	4th Western
1996–97 record	36–33–13
Home record	23–12–6
Road record	13–21–7
Goals for	245
Goals against	233
Team information
General manager	Jack Ferreira
Coach	Ron Wilson
Captain	Paul Kariya
Alternate captains	Bobby Dollas Teemu Selanne
Arena	Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
Average attendance	16,972
Minor league affiliate(s)	Baltimore Bandits (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Teemu Selanne (51)
Assists	Teemu Selanne (58)
Points	Teemu Selanne (109)
Penalty minutes	Warren Rychel (218)
Plus/minus	Paul Kariya (+36)
Wins	Guy Hebert (29)
Goals against average	Guy Hebert (2.67)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season was the fourth season in franchise history. The team qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Offseason

Forward Paul Kariya was named team captain, following the retirement of defenseman Randy Ladouceur.

The Ducks only made one trade in the summer as the team looked good enough for the future following last season's late run, trading Mike Maneluk to the Ottawa Senators for Kevin Brown on July 1. Just before the season started Anaheim made another deal with Ottawa, trading Shaun Van Allen and Jason York in exchange for Ted Drury and Marc Moro.

Regular season

The previous season of 1995–96 the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had just narrowly missed the playoffs after being in the chase for the first time. The team put together a run of 12-4-3 over the final two months of the season to finish even with the Winnipeg Jets at 78 points in the standings, but the Jets earned the final spot thanks to having one more win.

So the Mighty Ducks start to the 96–97 season with a month of October that saw the team go 1-9-2 including an eight-game losing streak was a huge disappointment to say the least. Anaheim was held to two or fewer goals eight times during the stretch, and the two times they exploded for six goals in a game they ended up having to settle for a tie.

With all of four points through the first month, Anaheim was bottom of the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. The division-leading Colorado Avalanche were 11 points clear, and the Los Angeles Kings held the eighth and final playoff spot six point clear of the Mighty Ducks. Over the course of the rest of the season three teams, including Anaheim, would unseat the teams in playoff positioning in the West after the first month.

The combination of Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya was synonymous with the Mighty Ducks of the mid-late 1990s, so lacking one half of that dynamic duo at the start of the season was a major issue. Kariya missed the first 11 games of the campaign with a pulled abdominal muscle, contributing greatly the Anaheim offensive woes.

Selanne lead the team in scoring through the first month with six goals and seven assists in the 12 games, with Kevin Todd in second with four goals and seven assists. Veteran Jari Kurri, signed in the offseason from the Rangers, contributed as well with three goals and four assists, while on the backend Roman Oksiuta chipped in three goals and five assists and Fredrik Olausson had two goals and three assists.

The lack of scoring punch affected the defense as well. For the full season Anaheim averaged 28.4 shots per game while allowing 32.7, yet during the opening month the Mighty Ducks put 26.8 shots on goal per game while allowing 32.5. Anaheim averaged 2.3 goals per game during October, well below their eventual season average of 3.0, while surrendering 4.2 against per game. Goalie Guy Hebert struggled as well, posting a .874 save percentage amidst the lack of support.

Anaheim didn't immediately vault up the standings with Kariya returning to the lineup in November, but the play stabilized and the team wouldn't lose more than three straight (which happened only twice) with Kariya and Selanne reunited. The offense kicked in to gear, with the Mighty Ducks averaging 3.3 goals per game in November and 3.7 goals per game in December.

By the time the All Star break rolled around Anaheim had pulled its season record up to 17-22-5, and Selanne, Kariya, and Hebert were all named to the Western Conference All Star team, giving the Mighty Ducks their first season with multiple All Star Game representatives. Selanne posted 25 goals and 31 assists in all 44 of the Mighty Ducks' games, while Kariya had 16 goals and 28 assists in 31 games. Hebert recovered as well, backstopping Anaheim to a 13-9-3 mark in his 26 starts following October with a .928 SV% and four shutouts during the span.

In the three months that followed the abysmal opening one, the Mighty Ducks didn't immediately vault upwards standings-wise, but they began winning more than they were losing. A 6-5-2 November was built upon with a 6-5-1 December. January saw Anaheim post a 7-5-1 mark before a 6-6-1 February. With two months left in the season the Mighty Ducks sat at 26-30-7, but were primed to make their big run.

After a 3–1 loss at the Great Western Forum to Los Angeles on February 20, Anaheim began its best run of form for the season. The Mighty Ducks picked up points in 12 consecutive games, going 7-0-5 from February 22 to March 19, winning five and tying three against eventual playoff qualifiers during the stretch. Selanne and Kariya again lead the way, Selanne with 11 goals and eight assists while Kariya posted seven goals and 10 assists.

Yet Anaheim also saw significant contributions from Steve Rucchin with two goals and nine assists, Joe Sacco's two goals and six assists, and Ted Drury potting four goals and dishing two assists. The defense chipped in with Dmitri Mironov scoring three goals and adding eight assists, while Darren Van Impe had two goals and five assists. Hebert was lights-out as well, appearing in every game during the streak with a .946 SV%, and had nine games with more than 30 saves and two with more than 40.

The Mighty Ducks closed the season out with another unbeaten streak, going 5-0-2 over the final seven games. From February 22 on Anaheim went a league-best 13-3-7 to help the team sew up its first winning record, first playoff berth, and home ice against the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round. Selanne finished second in the league with 51 goals and second with 109 points, while Kariya earned Lady Byng honors with 99 points in 69 games while taking just three minor penalties.

Final standings

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
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

Playoffs

Main article: 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Mighty Ducks qualified for the playoffs for the first time. Anaheim beat Phoenix 4–3 in the 1st round but was swept in the 2nd round by Detroit 4–0.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season

October: 1–9–2 (home: 0–5–0; road: 1–4–2)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
1	L	October 5, 1996	1–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	0–1–0	Recap
2	T	October 7, 1996	6–6 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	0–1–1	Recap
3	W	October 9, 1996	2–0	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	1–1–1	Recap
4	T	October 10, 1996	6–6 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	1–1–2	Recap
5	L	October 12, 1996	2–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	1–2–2	Recap
6	L	October 16, 1996	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	1–3–2	Recap
7	L	October 18, 1996	1–4	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	1–4–2	Recap
8	L	October 20, 1996	1–5	Boston Bruins (1996–97)	1–5–2	Recap
9	L	October 22, 1996	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)	1–6–2	Recap
10	L	October 24, 1996	1–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	1–7–2	Recap
11	L	October 27, 1996	1–4	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	1–8–2	Recap
12	L	October 30, 1996	3–6	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	1–9–2	Recap

November: 6–5–2 (home: 5–3–2; road: 1–2–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
13	W	November 1, 1996	4–3	San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	2–9–2	Recap
14	T	November 3, 1996	1–1 OT	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	2–9–3	Recap
15	L	November 6, 1996	5–6	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)	2–10–3	Recap
16	W	November 8, 1996	7–4	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	3–10–3	Recap
17	L	November 11, 1996	2–3	Dallas Stars (1996–97)	3–11–3	Recap
18	W	November 13, 1996	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	4–11–3	Recap
19	L	November 15, 1996	3–4	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	4–12–3	Recap
20	L	November 17, 1996	2–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	4–13–3	Recap
21	T	November 20, 1996	2–2 OT	New York Islanders (1996–97)	4–13–4	Recap
22	W	November 23, 1996	3–0	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	5–13–4	Recap
23	W	November 24, 1996	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	6–13–4	Recap
24	L	November 27, 1996	2–3	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	6–14–4	Recap
25	W	November 29, 1996	2–0	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	7–14–4	Recap

December: 6–5–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 2–3–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
26	W	December 1, 1996	4–2	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	8–14–4	Recap
27	W	December 4, 1996	3–1	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	9–14–4	Recap
28	T	December 6, 1996	1–1 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	9–14–5	Recap
29	L	December 7, 1996	3–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	9–15–5	Recap
30	W	December 9, 1996	5–2	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)	10–15–5	Recap
31	L	December 11, 1996	3–7	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)	10–16–5	Recap
32	W	December 13, 1996	5–4	Washington Capitals (1996–97)	11–16–5	Recap
33	W	December 20, 1996	7–0	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	12–16–5	Recap
34	L	December 23, 1996	1–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	12–17–5	Recap
35	L	December 27, 1996	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1996–97)	12–18–5	Recap
36	L	December 28, 1996	3–5	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	12–19–5	Recap
37	W	December 30, 1996	4–3 OT	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)	13–19–5	Recap

January: 7–5–1 (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–4–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
38	W	January 1, 1997	3–0	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)	14–19–5	Recap
39	L	January 3, 1997	2–3	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)	14–20–5	Recap
40	L	January 6, 1997	1–5	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	14–21–5	Recap
41	W	January 8, 1997	3–2	Florida Panthers (1996–97)	15–21–5	Recap
42	W	January 10, 1997	5–2	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)	16–21–5	Recap
43	W	January 12, 1997	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	17–21–5	Recap
44	L	January 15, 1997	1–2	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	17–22–5	Recap
45	W	January 22, 1997	3–1	New Jersey Devils (1996–97)	18–22–5	Recap
46	L	January 23, 1997	3–6	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	18–23–5	Recap
47	T	January 25, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	18–23–6	Recap
48	W	January 27, 1997	4–1	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	19–23–6	Recap
49	L	January 29, 1997	1–3	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)	19–24–6	Recap
50	W	January 31, 1997	6–3	Hartford Whalers (1996–97)	20–24–6	Recap

February: 6–6–1 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–5–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
51	L	February 2, 1997	2–5	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	20–25–6	Recap
52	L	February 4, 1997	3–4	@ New York Islanders (1996–97)	20–26–6	Recap
53	L	February 5, 1997	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	20–27–6	Recap
54	W	February 8, 1997	2–1 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	21–27–6	Recap
55	L	February 9, 1997	1–6	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	21–28–6	Recap
56	W	February 12, 1997	5–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)	22–28–6	Recap
57	L	February 15, 1997	2–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	22–29–6	Recap
58	W	February 17, 1997	5–1	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	23–29–6	Recap
59	L	February 20, 1997	1–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	23–30–6	Recap
60	W	February 22, 1997	4–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)	24–30–6	Recap
61	W	February 23, 1997	5–2	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	25–30–6	Recap
62	T	February 26, 1997	3–3 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	25–30–7	Recap
63	W	February 28, 1997	4–1	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97)	26–30–7	Recap

March: 7–3–4 (home: 4–0–2; road: 3–3–2)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
64	T	March 2, 1997	1–1 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	26–30–8	Recap
65	W	March 5, 1997	4–1	Ottawa Senators (1996–97)	27–30–8	Recap
66	W	March 7, 1997	5–2	New York Rangers (1996–97)	28–30–8	Recap
67	T	March 9, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	28–30–9	Recap
68	W	March 12, 1997	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	29–30–9	Recap
69	T	March 14, 1997	4–4 OT	St. Louis Blues (1996–97)	29–30–10	Recap
70	T	March 16, 1997	2–2 OT	Calgary Flames (1996–97)	29–30–11	Recap
71	W	March 19, 1997	6–2	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	30–30–11	Recap
72	L	March 21, 1997	3–4	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)	30–31–11	Recap
73	W	March 23, 1997	4–1	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)	31–31–11	Recap
74	L	March 25, 1997	2–3	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)	31–32–11	Recap
75	L	March 26, 1997	3–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)	31–33–11	Recap
76	W	March 28, 1997	4–3	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	32–33–11	Recap
77	W	March 30, 1997	1–0 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)	33–33–11	Recap

April: 3–0–2 (home: 2–0–1; road: 1–0–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
78	T	April 1, 1997	3–3 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)	33–33–12	Recap
79	T	April 2, 1997	5–5 OT	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	33–33–13	Recap
80	W	April 4, 1997	3–2	Dallas Stars (1996–97)	34–33–13	Recap
81	W	April 9, 1997	4–1	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)	35–33–13	Recap
82	W	April 11, 1997	4–3	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)	36–33–13	Recap

Legend:

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

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs

Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (5) Phoenix Coyotes – Mighty Ducks win 4–3

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	W	April 16, 1997	4–2	Phoenix Coyotes	Mighty Ducks lead 1–0	Recap
2	W	April 18, 1997	4–2	Phoenix Coyotes	Mighty Ducks lead 2–0	Recap
3	L	April 20, 1997	1–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes	Mighty Ducks lead 2–1	Recap
4	L	April 22, 1997	0–2	@ Phoenix Coyotes	Series tied 2–2	Recap
5	L	April 24, 1997	2–5	Phoenix Coyotes	Coyotes lead 3–2	Recap
6	W	April 27, 1997	3–2 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes	Series tied 3–3	Recap
7	W	April 29, 1997	3–0	Phoenix Coyotes	Mighty Ducks win 4–3	Recap

Western Conference Semifinals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings win 4–0

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	L	May 2, 1997	1–2 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings lead 1–0	Recap
2	L	May 4, 1997	2–3 3OT	@ Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings lead 2–0	Recap
3	L	May 6, 1997	2–5	Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings lead 3–0	Recap
4	L	May 8, 1997	2–3 2OT	Detroit Red Wings	Red Wings win 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 Mighty Ducks only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Mighty Ducks only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
8	Teemu Selanne	RW	78	51	58	109	28	34	11	7	3	10	−3	4
9	Paul Kariya	LW	69	44	55	99	36	6	11	7	6	13	−2	4
20	Steve Rucchin	C	79	19	48	67	26	24	8	1	2	3	−2	10
15	Dmitri Mironov†	D	62	12	34	46	20	77	11	1	10	11	0	10
17	Jari Kurri	RW	82	13	22	35	−13	12	11	1	2	3	2	4
12	Kevin Todd	C	65	9	21	30	−7	44	4	0	0	0	−3	2
14	Joe Sacco	RW	77	12	17	29	1	35	11	2	0	2	−4	2
23	Brian Bellows†	LW	62	15	13	28	−11	22	11	2	4	6	−7	2
29	Darren Van Impe	D	74	4	19	23	3	90	9	0	2	2	−3	16
46	Jean-Francois Jomphe	C	64	7	14	21	−9	53	—	—	—	—	—	—
13	Ted Drury	LW	73	9	9	18	−9	54	10	1	0	1	−2	4
2	Bobby Dollas	D	79	4	14	18	17	55	11	0	0	0	−2	4
16	Warren Rychel	RW	70	10	7	17	6	218	11	0	2	2	−2	19
54	Sean Pronger	C	39	7	7	14	6	20	9	0	2	2	0	4
18	Garry Valk‡	LW	53	7	7	14	−2	53	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Roman Oksiuta‡	RW	28	6	7	13	−12	22	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Dave Karpa	D	69	2	11	13	11	210	8	1	1	2	−2	20
36	J. J. Daigneault†	D	13	2	9	11	5	22	11	2	7	9	−6	16
4	Fredrik Olausson‡	D	20	2	9	11	−5	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
22	Ken Baumgartner	LW	67	0	11	11	0	182	11	0	1	1	0	11
28	Jason Marshall	D	73	1	9	10	6	140	7	0	1	1	1	4
32	Alex Hicks‡	C	18	2	6	8	1	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Dan Trebil	D	29	3	3	6	5	23	9	0	1	1	−6	6
27	Mike Leclerc	LW	5	1	1	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
32	Richard Park†	C	11	1	1	2	0	10	11	0	1	1	−2	2
24	Mark Janssens†	C	12	0	2	2	−3	47	11	0	0	0	−3	15
11	Valeri Karpov	RW	9	1	0	1	−2	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
52	Peter Leboutillier	RW	23	1	0	1	0	121	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Guy Hebert	G	67	0	1	1		4	9	0	0	0		0
5	Ruslan Salei	D	30	0	1	1	−8	37	—	—	—	—	—	—
26	Nikolai Tsulygin	D	22	0	1	1	−5	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Shawn Antoski†	LW	2	0	0	0	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Frank Banham	RW	3	0	0	0	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Barry Nieckar	LW	2	0	0	0	0	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Mike O'Neill	G	1	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	Adrien Plavsic	D	6	0	0	0	−5	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
51	Craig Reichert	RW	3	0	0	0	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Mikhail Shtalenkov	G	24	0	0	0		4	4	0	0	0		2
40	Jeremy Stevenson	LW	5	0	0	0	−1	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Igor Nikulin	RW	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

No.	Player	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
31	Guy Hebert	67	66	29	25	12	2,133	172	2.67	.919	4	3,862:36	9	9	4	4	255	18	2.02	.929	1	533:31
35	Mikhail Shtalenkov	24	16	7	8	1	539	52	2.89	.904	2	1,078:47	4	2	0	3	162	10	2.84	.938	0	211:27
1	Mike O'Neill	1	0	0	0	0	10	3	5.76	.700	0	31:16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient
League (annual)	Lady Byng Memorial Trophy	Paul Kariya
	NHL First All-Star Team	Paul Kariya (Left Wing)
	NHL First All-Star Team	Teemu Selanne (Right Wing)
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Guy Hebert
		Paul Kariya
		Teemu Selanne

Records

Teemu Selanne – most points in a season (109)
Paul Kariya – most plus/minus in a season (+36)
Guy Hebert – most ties in a season (12)
Guy Hebert – most shots against in a season (2133)

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date
First game	Ruslan Salei	October 7, 1996
	Nikolai Tsulygin	October 22, 1996
	Frank Banham	January 25, 1997
	Peter Leboutillier	January 27, 1997
	Craig Reichert	February 4, 1997
	Dan Trebil	February 5, 1997
	Mike Leclerc	March 28, 1997
	Igor Nikulin	April 27, 1997

Transactions

July 1, 1996	To Mighty Ducks Kevin Brown	To Ottawa Senators Mike Maneluk
October 1, 1996	To Mighty Ducks Espen Knutsen	To Hartford Whalers Kevin Brown
October 1, 1996	To Mighty Ducks Ted Drury Marc Moro	To Ottawa Senators Shaun Van Allen Jason York
November 18, 1996	To Mighty Ducks Brian Bellows	To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th-round pick in 1997
November 19, 1996	To Mighty Ducks Shawn Antoski Dmitri Mironov	To Pittsburgh Penguins Alex Hicks Fredrik Olausson
February 21, 1997	To Mighty Ducks J. J. Daigneault	To Pittsburgh Penguins Garry Valk
March 18, 1997	To Mighty Ducks Richard Park	To Pittsburgh Penguins Roman Oksiuta
March 18, 1997	To Mighty Ducks Mark Janssens	To Hartford Whalers Bates Battaglia 4th-round pick in 1998

Draft picks

Anaheim's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	9	Ruslan Salei	D	Belarus	Las Vegas Thunder (IHL)
2	35	Matt Cullen	C	United States	St. Cloud State University (NCAA)
5	117	Brendan Buckley	D	United States	Boston College (NCAA)
6	149	Blaine Russell	G	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
7	172	Timo Ahmaoja	D	Finland	JYP (Finland)
8	198	Kevin Kellett	D	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
9	224	Tobias Johansson	LW	Sweden	Malmo IF (Sweden)

Notes

The Mighty Ducks acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 8, 1995, that sent St. Louis' sixth-round pick in 1995 back to St. Louis in exchange for this pick.

The Mighty Ducks third-round pick went to the Phoenix Coyotes (formerly the Winnipeg Jets) as the result of a trade on February 27, 1996, that sent Teemu Selanne, Marc Chouinard and a fourth-round pick in 1996 (92nd overall) to Anaheim in exchange for Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky and this pick (62nd overall).
The Mighty Ducks fourth-round pick went to the Dallas Stars as the result of a trade on June 22, 1996, that sent a third-round pick in 1996 (58th overall) to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick in 1996 (70th overall) and this pick (90th overall).

Washington previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 2, 1995, that sent Todd Krygier to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.

The Mighty Ducks sixth-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on April 4, 1995, that sent Mike Sillinger and Jason York to Anaheim in exchange for Stu Grimson, Mark Ferner and this pick (144th overall).

Notes

Todd wore number 21 in his first five games.
Marshall wore number 23 until Bellows was acquired.
Hebert was an injury replacement for Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings.
Kariya was voted to the starting lineup.
Selanne was an injury replacement for Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche.

References

"Anaheim Mighty Ducks 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
"1996-97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

"1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
^ "1996-97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
"Lady Byng Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
"Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
"SPORTS BRIEFS". Deseret News. January 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
"1997 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
"NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
Norwood, Robyn (January 12, 1997). "Selanne's Star Shines Again". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
"1996-97 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
"Igor Nikulin 1996-97 Game Log". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
"1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.

v t e Anaheim Ducks
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