1996–97 New York Rangers season
The 1996–97 New York Rangers season was the Rangers' 71st season. The highlight of the season was that it was Wayne Gretzky's first season in New York.
The Rangers qualified for the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers. This marked the last playoff appearance for the Rangers until the 2005–06 season.Regular season
The Rangers had the fewest power-play opportunities during the regular season, but the best power-play percentage.Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Key: Win Loss;Skaters
| Player | | | | | | |
| 82 | 25 | 72 | 97 | 12 | 28 |
| 71 | 36 | 48 | 84 | 12 | 88 |
| 82 | 20 | 58 | 78 | 31 | 40 |
| 82 | 33 | 28 | 61 | 10 | 66 |
| 82 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 23 | 20 |
| 69 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 16 | 48 |
| 77 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 1 | 59 |
| 45 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 11 | 42 |
| 79 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 8 | 48 |
| 68 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 6 | 26 |
| ‡ | 63 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 5 | 12 |
| 73 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 138 |
| †‡ | 44 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -7 | 28 |
| 67 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 37 |
| 41 | 10 | 3 | 13 | -5 | 10 |
| 80 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 22 | 167 |
| 16 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 6 |
| 60 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -1 | 195 |
| † | 27 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 48 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| † | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -3 | 2 |
| † | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| † | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 27 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 4 |
| 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 30 |
| ‡ | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 |
| 40 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -7 | 147 |
| 45 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -10 | 106 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 6 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 18 |
| ‡ | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 11 |
| Player | | | | | |
| 15 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 2 |
| 15 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 26 |
| 15 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 6 |
| 15 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| 15 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| 15 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| 9 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30 |
| 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 |
| 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
;Goaltenders
| Player | | | | | | | | | | |
| 61 | 3598 | 33 | 22 | 6 | 161 | 2.68 | 1945 | .917 | 4 |
| 23 | 59 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 59 | 2.61 | 632 | .907 | 1 |
| Player | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | 939 | 9 | 6 | 33 | 2.11 | 488 | .932 | 3 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.Draft picks
New York's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in St. Louis, Missouri at the Kiel Center.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 22 | Jeff Brown | D | | Sarnia Sting |
| 2 | 48 | Daniel Goneau | LW | | Granby Predateurs |
| 3 | 76 | Dmitri Subbotin | LW | | CSKA Moscow |
| 5 | 131 | Colin Pepperall | LW | | Niagara Falls Thunder |
| 6 | 158 | Ola Sandberg | D | | Djurgårdens IF |
| 7 | 185 | Jeff Dessner | D | | Taft School |
| 8 | 211 | Ryan McKie | D | | London Knights |
| 9 | 237 | Ronnie Sundin | D | | Frölunda HC |
Awards and records
