1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season

1995–96 Colorado Avalanche
1995–96 Colorado Avalanche
Stanley Cup champions
Western Conference champions
Pacific Division champions
Division	1st Pacific
Conference	2nd Western
1995–96 record	47–25–10
Home record	24–10–7
Road record	23–15–3
Goals for	326 (2nd)
Goals against	240 (T-8th)
Team information
General manager	Pierre Lacroix
Coach	Marc Crawford
Captain	Joe Sakic
Alternate captains	Mike Ricci; Sylvain Lefebvre
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Average attendance	16,017 (99.7%); Total: 656,708
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cornwall Aces (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Joe Sakic (51)
Assists	Peter Forsberg (86)
Points	Joe Sakic (120)
Penalty minutes	Chris Simon (250)
Plus/minus	Curtis Leschyshyn (+32)
Wins	Patrick Roy; Stephane Fiset (22)
Goals against average	Patrick Roy (2.68)
	← 1994–95 (Quebec) 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season was the first season of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise after moving from Quebec City to Denver. As a result, the Avalanche were assigned to the Pacific Division of the NHL's Western Conference.

The season was marked by the bolstered acquisition of ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane and 6-time NHL All-Star and 3-time Vezina Trophy recipient Patrick Roy, who demanded a trade after feeling humiliated for being left in the net after having conceded 9 goals on 26 shots during a Canadiens game against the Red Wings. The acquisition of Keane coupled with the eventual veteran presence of Roy would prove to be a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come. The Avalanche finished the regular season as division champions and second overall in the conference, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in team history against the Florida Panthers, whom they swept to capture the franchise's Stanley Cup title.^[1] The Avalanche were the first sports team to win a major championship since relocation in their first year since the Washington Redskins did so in 1937 after moving from Boston.

Regular season

The Avalanche played their first game in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on October 6, 1995, winning 3–2 against the Detroit Red Wings.^[2] With the team led by captain Joe Sakic, forward Peter Forsberg and defenseman Adam Foote on the ice, Pierre Lacroix as the general manager, and Marc Crawford as the head coach. The Avalanche was bolstered by the acquisitions of former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy and ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane on December 6, 1995 in a trade for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.^[3] The acquisition of Roy and Keane together would prove to be a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come.

On January 3, 1996, the Avalanche lost at home, 1–0, to the New Jersey Devils. It was the first time in 123 consecutive regular-season games that the team was shut out; the last time the team had been shut out was while they were the Quebec Nordiques. That game took place on January 27, 1994, and the Nordiques lost on the road, 3–0, to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Avalanche finished the regular season with a 47–25–10 record for 104 points, won the Pacific Division and finished second in the Western Conference. They scored 326 goals: an average of nearly 4 per game. Despite allowing the most short-handed goals in the league, with 22, they also scored the most short-handed goals, with 21.^[4] Four Avalanche players throughout the course of the season made it past the 30-goal scoring mark.

December 11, 1995: Patrick Roy earned his first victory in net as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.^[5] It was a 5–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[6]
February 5, 1996: Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.^[7] Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4–2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Canadiens head coach Mario Tremblay.^[8]

Season standings

Pacific Division
No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Colorado Avalanche	82	47	25	10	326	240	104
2	Calgary Flames	82	34	37	11	241	240	79
3	Vancouver Canucks	82	32	35	15	278	278	79
4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	35	39	8	234	247	78
5	Edmonton Oilers	82	30	44	8	240	304	68
6	Los Angeles Kings	82	24	40	18	256	302	66
7	San Jose Sharks	82	20	55	7	252	357	47

Note: 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^[9]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	62	13	7	325	181	131
2	Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	47	25	10	326	240	104
3	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	40	28	14	273	220	94
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	34	36	12	247	252	80
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	32	34	16	219	248	80
6	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	34	37	11	241	240	79
7	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	32	35	15	278	278	79
8	Winnipeg Jets	CEN	82	36	40	6	275	291	78

9	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	35	39	8	234	247	78
10	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	30	44	8	240	304	68
11	Dallas Stars	CEN	82	26	42	14	227	280	66
12	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	24	40	18	256	302	66
13	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	20	55	7	252	357	47

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

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

Playoffs

Colorado progressed to the playoffs and won the series against the Vancouver Canucks, the Chicago Blackhawks and Presidents' Trophy winners Detroit Red Wings. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche met the Florida Panthers, who were also in their first Stanley Cup Finals. The Avalanche swept the series 4–0. In Game Four, during the third overtime and after more than 100 minutes of play with no goals, defenseman Uwe Krupp scored to claim the franchise's first Cup.^[10] Joe Sakic was the playoff's scoring leader with 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists) and won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player to his team during the playoffs. The 1996 Stanley Cup was the first major professional championship won by a Denver team.^[11] With the Stanley Cup win, Russians Alexei Gusarov and Valeri Kamensky and Swede Peter Forsberg became members of the "Triple Gold Club", the exclusive group of ice hockey players who have won Olympic gold, World Championship gold and the Stanley Cup.^[12]

Schedule and results

Regular season

1995–96 regular season^[13]

October: 7–3–1 (home: 5–0–1; road: 2–3–0)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Points	Recap
1	October 6	Detroit	2 – 3	Colorado		Fiset	1–0–0	2	Recap
2	October 7	Colorado	2 – 4	Los Angeles		Fiset	1–1–0	2	Recap
3	October 9	Pittsburgh	6 – 6	Colorado	OT	Fiset	1–1–1	3	Recap
4	October 11	Boston	1 – 3	Colorado		Fiset	2–1–1	5	Recap
5	October 13	Colorado	1 – 3	Washington		Fiset	2–2–1	5	Recap
6	October 14	Colorado	1 – 4	St. Louis		Thibault	2–3–1	5	Recap
7	October 18	Washington	2 – 4	Colorado		Fiset	3–3–1	7	Recap
8	October 23	Anaheim	1 – 3	Colorado		Fiset	4–3–1	9	Recap
9	October 25	Colorado	3 – 2	Calgary		Fiset	5–3–1	11	Recap
10	October 27	Buffalo	4 – 5	Colorado		Fiset	6–3–1	13	Recap
11	October 30	Colorado	6 – 1	Dallas		Thibault	7–3–1	15	Recap

November: 8–2–3 (home: 3–0–1; road: 5–2–2)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Points	Recap
12	November 1	Calgary	1 – 6	Colorado		Thibault	8–3–1	17	Recap
13	November 3	Colorado	5 – 2	Winnipeg		Fiset	9–3–1	19	Recap
14	November 5	Colorado	7 – 3	Chicago		Fiset	10–3–1	21	Recap
15	November 9	Dallas	1 – 1	Colorado	OT	Thibault	10–3–2	22	Recap
16	November 11	Colorado	8 – 4	Vancouver		Fiset	11–3–2	24	Recap
17	November 15	Colorado	3 – 7	Anaheim		Thibault	11–4–2	24	Recap
18	November 17	Colorado	5 – 3	Calgary		Fiset	12–4–2	26	Recap
19	November 18	Calgary	2 – 5	Colorado		Fiset	13–4–2	28	Recap
20	November 20	Colorado	3 – 3	Edmonton	OT	Fiset	13–4–3	29	Recap
21	November 22	Chicago	2 – 6	Colorado		Fiset	14–4–3	31	Recap
22	November 25	Colorado	2 – 2	Montreal	OT	Thibault	14–4–4	32	Recap
23	November 28	Colorado	7 – 3	NY Islanders		Thibault	15–4–4	34	Recap
24	November 29	Colorado	3 – 4	New Jersey	OT	Thibault	15–5–4	34	Recap

December: 7–6–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 4–3–1)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Points	Recap
25	December 1	Colorado	3 – 5	NY Rangers		Thibault	15–6–4	34	Recap
26	December 3	Dallas	7 – 6	Colorado		Fiset	15–7–4	34	Recap
27	December 5	San Jose	2 – 12	Colorado		Fiset	16–7–4	36	Recap
28	December 7	Edmonton	5 – 3	Colorado		Roy	16–8–4	36	Recap
29	December 9	Colorado	7 – 3	Ottawa		Fiset	17–8–4	38	Recap
30	December 11	Colorado	5 – 1	Toronto		Roy	18–8–4	40	Recap
31	December 13	Colorado	3 – 4	Buffalo		Roy	18–9–4	40	Recap
32	December 15	Colorado	2 – 4	Hartford		Fiset	18–10–4	40	Recap
33	December 18	Vancouver	4 – 2	Colorado		Roy	18–11–4	40	Recap
34	December 20	Colorado	4 – 1	Edmonton		Roy	19–11–4	42	Recap
35	December 22	St. Louis	1 – 2	Colorado		Roy	20–11–4	44	Recap
36	December 23	Colorado	2 – 2	Los Angeles	OT	Fiset	20–11–5	45	Recap
37	December 26	Colorado	5 – 1	San Jose		Roy	21–11–5	47	Recap
38	December 29	Toronto	2 – 3	Colorado		Roy	22–11–5	49	Recap

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

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Points	Recap
39	January 3	New Jersey	1 – 0	Colorado		Roy	22–12–5	49	Recap
40	January 4	Philadelphia	2 – 2	Colorado	OT	Fiset	22–12–6	50	Recap
41	January 6	Colorado	2 – 5	Toronto		Roy	22��13–6	50	Recap
42	January 9	Colorado	3 – 0	Boston		Fiset	23–13–6	52	Recap
43	January 10	Florida	4 – 4	Colorado	OT	Roy	23–13–7	53	Recap
44	January 14	Calgary	4 – 4	Colorado	OT	Fiset	23–13–8	54	Recap
45	January 16	Colorado	5 – 2	Pittsburgh		Roy	24–13–8	56	Recap
46	January 17	Colorado	2 – 3	Detroit		Roy	24–14–8	56	Recap
47	January 22	NY Islanders	3 – 4	Colorado		Roy	25–14–8	58	Recap
48	January 25	Vancouver	2 – 2	Colorado	OT	Fiset	25–14–9	59	Recap
49	January 27	Colorado	4 – 3	San Jose	OT	Roy	26–14–9	61	Recap
50	January 31	Colorado	1 – 2	Anaheim		Roy	26–15–9	61	Recap

February: 9–3–1 (home: 7–1–1; road: 2–2–0)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Points	Recap
51	February 1	Winnipeg	4 – 6	Colorado		Fiset	27–15–9	63	Recap
52	February 3	NY Rangers	1 – 7	Colorado		Roy	28–15–9	65	Recap
53	February 5	Montreal	2 – 4	Colorado		Roy	29–15–9	67	Recap
54	February 7	Tampa Bay	4 – 4	Colorado	OT	Fiset	29–15–10	68	Recap
55	February 9	Hartford	3 – 2	Colorado	OT	Roy	29–16–10	68	Recap
56	February 11	Colorado	5 – 3	Philadelphia		Fiset	30–16–10	70	Recap
57	February 15	Colorado	2 – 4	Tampa Bay		Roy	30–17–10	70	Recap
58	February 16	Colorado	5 – 4	Florida	OT	Fiset	31–17–10	72	Recap
59	February 19	Edmonton	5 – 7	Colorado		Roy	32–17–10	74	Recap
60	February 23	Los Angeles	2 – 6	Colorado		Fiset	33–17–10	76	Recap
61	February 25	Ottawa	2 – 4	Colorado		Roy	34–17–10	78	Recap
62	February 26	Anaheim	2 – 3	Colorado		Roy	35–17–10	80	Recap
63	February 29	Colorado	3 – 4	Chicago		Roy	35–18–10	80	Recap

March: 8–5–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 5–2–0)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Decision	Record	Points	Recap
64	March 1	Chicago	3 – 5	Colorado	Roy	36–18–10	82	Recap
65	March 3	Toronto	0 – 4	Colorado	Roy	37–18–10	84	Recap
66	March 5	San Jose	5 – 3	Colorado	Fiset	37–19–10	84	Recap
67	March 8	Detroit	4 – 2	Colorado	Roy	37–20–10	84	Recap
68	March 9	Colorado	7 – 5	Vancouver	Fiset	38–20–10	86	Recap
69	March 13	Colorado	0 – 4	Anaheim	Roy	38–21–10	86	Recap
70	March 17	Edmonton	1 – 8	Colorado	Roy	39–21–10	88	Recap
71	March 19	Colorado	4 – 3	Vancouver	Roy	40–21–10	90	Recap
72	March 20	Colorado	5 – 2	Los Angeles	Fiset	41–21–10	92	Recap
73	March 22	Colorado	0 – 7	Detroit	Roy	41–22–10	92	Recap
74	March 24	Colorado	5 – 2	Winnipeg	Roy	42–22–10	94	Recap
75	March 27	Winnipeg	3 – 1	Colorado	Fiset	42–23–10	94	Recap
76	March 28	Colorado	8 – 3	San Jose	Roy	43–23–10	96	Recap

April: 4–2–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–0–0)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Points	Recap
77	April 3	St. Louis	6 – 3	Colorado		Roy	43–24–10	96	Recap
78	April 6	San Jose	1 – 5	Colorado		Roy	44–24–10	98	Recap
79	April 7	Colorado	4 – 1	Dallas		Roy	45–24–10	100	Recap
80	April 10	Anaheim	3 – 7	Colorado		Roy	46–24–10	102	Recap
81	April 11	Colorado	3 – 2	St. Louis		Fiset	47–24–10	104	Recap
82	April 14	Los Angeles	5 – 4	Colorado	OT	Roy	47–25–10	104	Recap

Legend:

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

Playoffs

1996 Stanley Cup playoffs^[13]

Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks – Avalanche win 4–2

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Attendance	Decision	Series	Recap
1	April 16	Vancouver	2 – 5	Colorado		16,061	Roy	1 – 0	Recap
2	April 18	Vancouver	5 – 4	Colorado		16,061	Roy	1 – 1	Recap
3	April 20	Colorado	4 – 0	Vancouver		18,422	Roy	2 – 1	Recap
4	April 22	Colorado	3 – 4	Vancouver		18,422	Roy	2 – 2	Recap
5	April 25	Vancouver	4 – 5	Colorado	OT	16,061	Roy	3 – 2	Recap
6	April 27	Colorado	3 – 2	Vancouver		18,422	Roy	4 – 2	Recap

Western Conference Semifinals vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks – Avalanche win 4–2

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Attendance	Decision	Series	Recap
1	May 2	Chicago	3 – 2	Colorado	OT	16,061	Roy	0 – 1	Recap
2	May 4	Chicago	1 – 5	Colorado		16,061	Roy	1 – 1	Recap
3	May 6	Colorado	3 – 4	Chicago	OT	20,797	Roy	1 – 2	Recap
4	May 8	Colorado	3 – 2	Chicago	3OT	22,454	Roy	2 – 2	Recap
5	May 11	Chicago	1 – 4	Colorado		16,061	Roy	3 – 2	Recap
6	May 13	Colorado	4 – 3	Chicago	2OT	21,356	Roy	4 – 2	Recap

Western Conference Finals vs. (1) Detroit Red Wings – Avalanche win 4–2

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Attendance	Decision	Series	Recap
1	May 19	Colorado	3 – 2	Detroit	OT	19,957	Roy	1 – 0	Recap
2	May 21	Colorado	3 – 0	Detroit		19,983	Roy	2 – 0	Recap
3	May 23	Detroit	6 – 4	Colorado		16,061	Roy	2 – 1	Recap
4	May 25	Detroit	2 – 4	Colorado		16,061	Roy	3 – 1	Recap
5	May 27	Colorado	2 – 5	Detroit		19,983	Roy	3 – 2	Recap
6	May 29	Detroit	1 – 4	Colorado		16,061	Roy	4 – 2	Recap

Stanley Cup Finals vs. (E4) Florida Panthers – Avalanche win 4–0

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Attendance	Decision	Series	Recap
1	June 4	Florida	1 – 3	Colorado		16,061	Roy	1 – 0	Recap
2	June 6	Florida	1 – 8	Colorado		16,061	Roy	2 – 0	Recap
3	June 8	Colorado	3 – 2	Florida		14,703	Roy	3 – 0	Recap
4	June 10	Colorado	1 – 0	Florida	3OT	14,703	Roy	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 Avalanche only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
19	Joe Sakic	C	82	51	69	120	14	44	22	18	16	34	10	14
21	Peter Forsberg	C	82	30	86	116	26	47	22	10	11	21	10	18
13	Valeri Kamensky	LW	81	38	47	85	14	85	22	10	12	22	11	28
22	Claude Lemieux	RW	79	39	32	71	14	117	19	5	7	12	5	55
48	Scott Young	RW	81	21	39	60	2	50	22	3	12	15	6	10
8	Sandis Ozolinsh†	D	66	13	37	50	0	50	22	5	14	19	5	16
18	Adam Deadmarsh	RW	78	21	27	48	20	142	22	5	12	17	8	25
12	Chris Simon	LW	64	16	18	34	10	250	12	1	2	3	−2	11
26	Stephane Yelle	LW	71	13	14	27	15	30	22	1	4	5	2	8
6	Craig Wolanin	D	75	7	20	27	25	50	7	1	0	1	2	8
9	Mike Ricci	C	62	6	21	27	1	52	22	6	11	17	−1	18
51	Andrei Kovalenko‡	LW	26	11	11	22	11	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Troy Murray	C	63	7	14	21	15	22	8	0	0	0	−4	19
25	Mike Keane†	RW	55	10	10	20	1	40	22	3	2	5	1	16
5	Alexei Gusarov	D	65	5	15	20	29	56	21	0	9	9	13	12
7	Curtis Leschyshyn	D	77	4	15	19	32	73	17	1	2	3	4	8
52	Adam Foote	D	73	5	11	16	27	88	22	1	3	4	11	36
2	Sylvain Lefebvre	D	75	5	11	16	26	49	22	0	5	5	6	12
25	Martin Rucinsky‡	LW	22	4	11	15	10	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
24	Jon Klemm	D	56	3	12	15	12	20	15	2	1	3	6	0
20	Rene Corbet	LW	33	3	6	9	10	33	8	3	2	5	3	2
16	Warren Rychel	LW	52	6	2	8	6	147	12	1	0	1	4	23
11	Owen Nolan‡	RW	9	4	4	8	−3	9	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Uwe Krupp	D	6	0	3	3	4	4	22	4	12	16	5	33
27	John Slaney‡	D	7	0	3	3	2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Paul Brousseau	RW	8	1	1	2	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Dave Hannan†	LW	4	1	0	1	1	2	13	0	2	2	3	2
23	Janne Laukkanen‡	D	3	1	0	1	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Landon Wilson	RW	7	1	0	1	3	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Stephane Fiset	G	37	0	1	1		2	1	0	0	0		0
15	Josef Marha	C	2	0	1	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
55	Anders Myrvold	D	4	0	1	1	−2	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
47	Claude Lapointe‡	C	3	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Aaron Miller	D	5	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Patrick Roy†	G	39	0	0	0		4	22	0	0	0		0
41	Jocelyn Thibault‡	G	10	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

† = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only.

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
35	Stephane Fiset	37	35	22	6	7	1,012	103	2.93	.898	1	2,106:38	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00		0	0:40
33	Patrick Roy†	39	38	22	15	1	1,130	103	2.68	.909	1	2,305:15	22	22	16	6	649	51	2.10	.921	3	1,453:53
41	Jocelyn Thibault‡	10	9	3	4	2	222	28	3.01	.874	0	558:22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Conn Smythe Trophy	Joe Sakic	^[14]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Marc Crawford (coach)	^[15]
		Peter Forsberg
		Joe Sakic

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Anders Myrvold	October 6, 1995	^[16]
	Stephane Yelle	October 6, 1995
	Landon Wilson	November 29, 1995
	Paul Brousseau	January 10, 1996
	Josef Marha	March 17, 1996

Transactions

Trades

July 7, 1995	To Calgary Flames David Ling 9th round pick in 1995	To Colorado Avalanche 9th round pick in 1995
July 12, 1995	To Washington Capitals 3rd round pick in 1996	To Colorado Avalanche John Slaney
July 12, 1995	To Philadelphia Flyers Garth Snow	To Colorado Avalanche 3rd and 6th round picks in 1996
October 2, 1995	To Washington Capitals Cash	To Colorado Avalanche Warren Rychel
October 3, 1995	To New York Islanders Wendel Clark	To Colorado Avalanche Claude Lemieux
October 5, 1995	To Tampa Bay Lightning Steven Finn	To Colorado Avalanche 4th round pick in 1997
October 26, 1995	To San Jose Sharks Owen Nolan	To Colorado Avalanche Sandis Ozolinsh
November 1, 1995	To Calgary Flames Claude Lapointe	To Colorado Avalanche 7th round pick in 1996
December 6, 1995	To Montreal Canadiens Andrei Kovalenko Jocelyn Thibault Martin Rucinsky	To Colorado Avalanche Patrick Roy Mike Keane
December 28, 1995	To Los Angeles Kings John Slaney	To Colorado Avalanche Conditional draft pick in 1996
January 26, 1996	To Ottawa Senators Janne Laukkanen	To Colorado Avalanche Brad Larsen
March 19, 1996	To Calgary Flames Paxton Schulte	To Colorado Avalanche Vesa Viitakoski
March 20, 1996	To Buffalo Sabres 6th round pick in 1996	To Colorado Avalanche Dave Hannan
April 3, 1996	To Washington Capitals Anson Carter	To Colorado Avalanche 4th round pick in 1996

Other transactions

Date	Player	Transaction
August 8, 1995	Troy Murray	Signed as a free agent
September 8, 1995	Andrei Kovalenko	Signed as a free agent
September 8, 1995	Curtis Leschyshyn	Signed as a free agent
September 9, 1995	Scott Young	Signed as a free agent
October 2, 1995	Ted Drury	Claimed by Ottawa in the waiver draft
October 2, 1995	Bill Huard	Claimed by Dallas in the waiver draft

Draft picks

Colorado's picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.^[17]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	25	Marc Denis	G	Canada	Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
2	51	Nic Beaudoin	LW	Canada	Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL)
3	77	John Tripp	RW	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4¹	81	Tomi Kallio	RW	Finland	Kiekko-67 Turku (FinD1)
5	129	Brent Johnson	G	United States	Owen Sound Platers (OHL).
6	155	John Cirjak	RW	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7	181	Dan Smith	D	Canada	University of British Columbia (CIAU)
8	207	Tomi Hirvonen	C	Finland	Ilves Jrs. (Finland)
9²	228	Chris George	RW	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)

Notes

The Avalanche acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 20, 1994 that sent John Tanner to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
The Avalanche acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 7, 1995 that sent David Ling and a ninth-round pick in 1995 (233rd overall) to Calgary in exchange for this pick.

The Avalanche fourth-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on April 7, 1995 that sent Bill Huard to Quebec in exchange for the rights to Mika Stromberg and this pick (103rd overall).
The Avalanche ninth-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on July 7, 1995 that sent a ninth-round pick in 1995 (228rd overall) to Quebec in exchange for David Ling and this pick (233rd overall).

References

"Colorado Avalanche 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
"1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.

^ https://milehighsticking.com/2020/12/03/colorado-avalanche-fondly-remembering-le-trade-patrick-roy/ ^{[bare URL]}
^ "October 6, 1995 - Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche gamesheet". Colorado Avalanche Database. Retrieved June 17, 2007.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Sadowski, Rick (June 29, 2006). "Roy gets call he's in Hall". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
^ "1995-96 NHL Summary".
^ Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
^ "NHL ROUNDUP : Roy Records First Victory for Avalanche". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 1995. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
^ Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
^ Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.383 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
^ "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
^ Ulman, Howard (June 11, 1996). "No stopping the Avalanche - Colorado completes Cup sweep of Panthers with 3OT victory". Associated Press. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
^ "Miscellaneous/Community/Altitude" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. Retrieved June 17, 2007.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Triple Gold Club" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
^ "Conn Smythe Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
^ "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "1995-96 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
^ "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.

[1] ttps://milehighsticking.com/2020/12/03/colorado-avalanche-fondly-remembering-le-trade-patrick-roy/ ^{[bare URL]}

[2] "October 6, 1995 - Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche gamesheet". Colorado Avalanche Database. Retrieved June 17, 2007.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[3] Sadowski, Rick (June 29, 2006). "Roy gets call he's in Hall". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2007.

[4] "1995-96 NHL Summary".

[5] Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2

[6] "NHL ROUNDUP : Roy Records First Victory for Avalanche". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 1995. Retrieved August 24, 2023.

[7] Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2

[8] Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.383 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2

[9] "1995-1996 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.

[10] Ulman, Howard (June 11, 1996). "No stopping the Avalanche - Colorado completes Cup sweep of Panthers with 3OT victory". Associated Press. Retrieved March 25, 2007.

[mediaguidemisc-11] "Miscellaneous/Community/Altitude" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. Retrieved June 17, 2007.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[triplegoldclub-12] "Triple Gold Club" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2007.

[Gamelog-13] "1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023.

[14] "Conn Smythe Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.

[15] "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.

[16] "1995-96 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.

[17] "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.

[1]

1995–96 Colorado Avalanche season

Contents

Regular season

Season standings

Playoffs

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Other transactions

Draft picks

See also

References