1995-96 NHL season

The 1995-96 NHL season was the 79th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who swept the Florida Panthers in four games.

League Business
1995-96 was the first season in Denver for the Avalanche, who had relocated from Quebec City where they were previously known as the Quebec Nordiques.

It was also the last season of existence for the Winnipeg Jets, as they announced that they would be moving from Manitoba to Arizona and become the Phoenix Coyotes at season's end.

Regular season
The Detroit Red Wings had a spectacular season, finishing with the second-highest regular-season point total in NHL history (131 points), yet they fell to the Avalanche in the Western Conference final, the sixth game of which marked the beginning of the heated Detroit-Colorado rivalry.

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

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


 * Kyle McLaren, Boston Bruins
 * Jay McKee, Buffalo Sabres
 * Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres
 * Jarome Iginla*, Calgary Flames
 * Stephane Yelle, Colorado Avalanche
 * Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
 * Miroslav Satan, Edmonton Oilers
 * Ed Jovanovski, Florida Panthers
 * Jeff O'Neill, Hartford Whalers
 * Sami Kapanen, Hartford Whalers
 * Darcy Tucker, Montreal Canadiens
 * 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
 * Brendan Witt, Washington Capitals

Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1995-96 (listed with their last team):
 * Cam Neely, Boston Bruins
 * Alexei Kasatonov, Boston Bruins
 * Troy Murray, Colorado Avalanche
 * Paul Cavallini, Dallas Stars
 * Jimmy Carson, Hartford Whalers
 * Glenn Anderson, St. Louis Blues
 * Greg Gilbert, St. Louis Blues