1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 30th in the National Hockey League. This was the final season for Mario Lemieux before his first retirement.
Off-season
Regular season
The 1996–97 season featured Mario Lemieux in his final season before his first retirement. Lemieux won his sixth Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, with 122 points. The Penguins had an up-and-down season en route to a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. A 2–9–0 start was followed by a hot middle-of-the-season stretch, highlighted by the play of rookie phenom goaltender Patrick Lalime. A shoulder injury to Tom Barrasso ended his season after five unmemorable games and led to the promotion of Lalime from the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League. Lalime debuted in relief of Ken Wregget in a loss to the New York Rangers on November 16. His first win came in relief of Wregget on December 6, and the next day, on December 7, he was given the start against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, beating the Mighty Dcuks and setting him well on his way to setting the NHL record for consecutive games unbeaten to begin a career for an NHL goaltender, going 14–0–2. However, the Penguins cooled down after that, as the team did not win a road game after February 5, which led to a coaching change on March 4. Eddie Johnston was relieved of his duties as head coach after losing eight of his last nine games and was replaced on an interim basis by General Manager Craig Patrick. Patrick went 7–10–3 down the stretch, enough to get the Penguins into the playoffs as the sixth seed at 38–36–8. The Penguins finished the season first in scoring, with 285 goals for.In the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals, the Penguins took-on the third-seeded Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers dismantled the Penguins in five games en route to an Eastern Conference championship of their own. The Pens' lone win in the series was in Game 4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, in which Lemieux scored on a breakaway against Flyers goaltender Garth Snow in the closing minutes for his final goal before his first retirement.
Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Player statistics
;Skaters;Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Awards and records
Awards
Transactions
The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season:Trades
| October 25, 1996 | To Los Angeles Kings ---- 1997 conditional pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Petr Klima |
| November 17, 1996 | To New York Islanders ---- Bryan Smolinski | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Andreas Johansson Darius Kasparaitis |
| November 19, 1996 | To Florida Panthers ---- Chris Wells | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Stu Barnes Jason Woolley |
| November 19, 1996 | To Anaheim Ducks ---- Shawn Antoski Dmitri Mironov | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Alex Hicks Fredrik Olausson |
| January 27, 1997 | To Detroit Red Wings ---- Tomas Sandstrom | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Greg Johnson |
| February 21, 1997 | To Anaheim Ducks ---- Jean-Jacques Daigneault | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Garry Valk |
| March 18, 1997 | To Anaheim Ducks ---- Richard Park | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Roman Oksiuta |
| March 18, 1997 | To Los Angeles Kings ---- Glen Murray | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Ed Olczyk |
| March 18, 1997 | To Vancouver Canucks ---- future considerations | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Josef Beranek |
Free agents acquired
Free agents lost
Lost via waivers
Other
| Player | Date | Details |
| Craig Patrick | June 27, 1996 | 5-year extension |
| Eddie Johnston | June 27, 1996 | Extension |
| Craig Patrick | March 3, 1997 | Hired as Head Coach |
| Eddie Johnston | March 3, 1997 | Reassigned to Assistant GM |
| Craig Patrick | April 26, 1997 | Replaced as Head Coach |
| Mario Lemieux | April 26, 1997 | Retired |
| Kevin Constantine | June 12, 1997 | Hired as Head Coach |
Personnel
Draft picks
Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 23 | Craig Hillier | Goaltender | Ottawa 67's | |
| 2 | 28 | Pavel Skrbek | Defense | HC Kladno | |
| 3 | 72 | Boyd Kane | Left Wing | Regina Pats | |
| 3 | 77 | Borys Protsenko | Right Wing | Calgary Hitmen | |
| 4 | 105 | Michal Rozsival | Defense | Dukla Jihlava | |
| 6 | 150 | Peter Bergman | Center | Kamloops Blazers | |
| 7 | 186 | Eric Meloche | Right Wing | Cornwall Colts | |
| 9 | 238 | Timo Seikkula | Center | Junkkarit |
;Draft notes
- The New Jersey Devils' second-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent two second-round picks to the Devils in exchange for this pick.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent a second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for a second-round pick and this pick.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent a second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for a second-round pick and this pick.
- The Boston Bruins' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of an August 1, 1995, trade that sent Kevin Stevens and Shawn McEachern to the Bruins in exchange for Glen Murray, Bryan Smolinski and this pick.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a March 20, 1996, trade that sent Kevin Miller to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
- Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for free agent Joe Mullen.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' sixth-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a March 20, 1996, trade that sent J. J. Daigneault to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a June 22, 1996, trade that sent Tyler Wright to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' eighth-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a March 1, 1996, trade that sent Dave McLlwain to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
Farm teams
The IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks finished second in the Central Division with a record of 40–32–10. They defeated the Indianapolis Ice in the first round 3–1, then defeated the Orlando Solar Bears in the second round 4–1 before losing to the eventual Turner Cup champion Detroit Vipers, 4–1.