1995–96 St. Louis Blues season
| 1995–96 St. Louis Blues | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Central |
| Conference | 5th Western |
| 1995–96 record | 32–34–16 |
| Home record | 15–17–9 |
| Road record | 17–17–7 |
| Goals for | 219 |
| Goals against | 248 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Mike Keenan |
| Coach | Mike Keenan |
| Captain |
Brett Hull (Oct) Shayne Corson (Oct-Feb) Wayne Gretzky (Feb-Apr) |
| Alternate captains | Shayne Corson (Oct, Feb-Apr) Brett Hull (Dec-Feb) Al MacInnis Jay Wells (Oct-Dec) |
| Arena | Kiel Center |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Brett Hull (43) |
| Assists | Al MacInnis (44) |
| Points | Brett Hull (83) |
| Penalties in minutes | Shayne Corson (192) |
| Wins | Grant Fuhr (30) |
| Goals against average | Grant Fuhr (2.87) |
The 1995–96 St. Louis Blues season was the 39th in franchise history. The Blues hired Mike Keenan as coach and general manager. The hard nosed Keenan rubbed many Blues players the wrong way, but brought a tough, winning style of play. One of Keenan's first moves was trading Brendan Shanahan to the Hartford Whalers for Chris Pronger. With Brett Hull in Keenan's dog house, the general manager made a bold move by acquiring Wayne Gretzky for the 1995–96 stretch run, reuniting him with former Oilers such as Glenn Anderson, Charlie Huddy, Craig MacTavish, Grant Fuhr and others. The 'Great One' couldn't do a whole lot during his limited time in St. Louis once goalie Grant Fuhr was hurt in the final game of the regular season. The Blues defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Western Conference Quarter-finals. It would be the last playoff series ever played at Maple Leaf Gardens. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Blues played the President's Trophy winners, the Detroit Red Wings. The Blues had seven current Hockey Hall of Fame members during the season (Gretzky, Hull, MacInnis, Anderson, Fuhr, Hawerchuk and Pronger).
On February 27, the St. Louis Blues acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Los Angeles Kings for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat and draft picks. In 18 regular season games with the Blues, Gretzky notched 21 points as the Blues qualified for the playoffs for the 17th straight season with a record of 32–34–16. He scored 37 points in 31 games for the team in both the regular season and the playoffs, and the Blues came within one overtime game of the Conference finals. He also served as the team's captain (replacing Corson) in his short tenure with the Blues. Despite reuniting with former Edmonton Oilers teammates Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, and Craig MacTavish, whom Gretzky had not played with since the 1988 Stanley Cup win, he never clicked with the team or with his new right-winger, “The Golden Brett” Hull, on the ice as well as many had expected. On July 12, he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, rejoining longtime Oilers teammate Mark Messier.
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