1996-97 NHL season

The 1996-97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years.

League Business
This was the first season for the Phoenix Coyotes, who had relocated from Winnipeg, Manitoba and had previously been known as the Winnipeg Jets.

On March 25, 1997, the Hartford Whalers announced that they would move from Connecticut following the 1996-97 season. Starting in the 1997-98 NHL season, they were known as the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 1996-97 season marked the retirement of Craig MacTavish, the last active NHL player who played without a protective helmet. He had been grandfathered under the old rule requiring them to be worn because he had signed a pro contract before the rule was established.

Regular season
The Boston Bruins recorded the league's worst record, missing the playoffs for the first time in thirty seasons and ending the longest consecutive playoff streak ever recorded in the history of North American professional sport.

Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

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

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

NHL Awards
The NHL Awards presentation took place on June 19, 1997.

Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1996-97 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
 * Dwayne Roloson, Calgary Flames
 * Marc Denis, Colorado Avalanche
 * Roman Turek, Dallas Stars
 * Tomas Holmstrom, Detroit Red Wings
 * Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Hartford Whalers
 * Tomas Vokoun, Montreal Canadiens
 * Jay Pandolfo, New Jersey Devils
 * Bryan Berard, New York Islanders
 * Wade Redden, Ottawa Senators
 * Janne Niinimaa, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Vaclav Prospal, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Patrick Lalime, Pittsburgh Penguins

Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1996-97 (listed with their last team):
 * Tim Cheveldae, Boston Bruins
 * Charlie Huddy, Buffalo Sabres
 * Denis Savard, Chicago Blackhawks
 * Sergei Makarov, Dallas Stars
 * Neal Broten, Dallas Stars
 * Mike Ramsey, Detroit Red Wings
 * Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
 * Dale Hawerchuk, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Brad McCrimmon, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Dan Quinn, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Joe Mullen, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Tim Hunter, San Jose Sharks
 * Craig MacTavish, St. Louis Blues
 * Gary Leeman, St. Louis Blues
 * Jon Casey, St. Louis Blues
 * Jay Wells, Tampa Bay Lightning
 * Don Beaupre, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Nick Kypreos, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Mike Ridley, Vancouver Canucks