1996 Stanley Cup Finals
1 2 3 4 Total Florida Panthers 1 1 2 0*** 0 Colorado Avalanche 3 8 3 1*** 4
* indicates overtime period
Location(s)	Denver: McNichols Sports Arena (1, 2) Miami: Miami Arena (3, 4)
Coaches	Florida: Doug MacLean Colorado: Marc Crawford
Captains	Florida: Brian Skrudland Colorado: Joe Sakic
National anthems	Florida: Jim Salestrom Colorado: Aaron Bergell
Referees	Bill McCreary (1, 4) Don Koharski (2) Andy Van Hellemond (3)
Dates	June 4–10, 1996
MVP	Joe Sakic (Avalanche)
Series-winning goal	Uwe Krupp (4:31, 3OT, G4)
Hall of Famers	Avalanche: Peter Forsberg (2014) Patrick Roy (2006) Joe Sakic (2012)
Networks	Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (English): Fox (1, 3), ESPN (2, 4)
Announcers	(CBC) Bob Cole and Harry Neale (SRC) Claude Quenneville and Gilles Tremblay (Fox) Mike Emrick and John Davidson (ESPN) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement
← 1995 Stanley Cup Finals 1997 →

The 1996 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche and the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers, two teams in the Finals for the first time. Colorado defeated Florida in a four-game sweep to win their first Stanley Cup becoming the seventh post-1967 expansion team and the second former WHA team (after the Edmonton Oilers) to win the Cup. Colorado's Joe Sakic earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 1996 Playoffs.

It was Colorado's first appearance in the Finals, in only their first season in Denver since moving from Quebec City (where they had formerly played as the Nordiques) in 1995. It was also Florida's first appearance in the Finals, in only the franchise's third season since entering the NHL in 1993 and they would not appear again until 2023, after they swept the Carolina Hurricanes in four games in the Eastern Conference final. Only four other teams have made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance faster: the Toronto Arenas winning the Stanley Cup in the NHL inaugural season in 1917–18, the St. Louis Blues in their debut season in 1967–68 (they lost the 1968 Finals to the Montreal Canadiens), the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural year in 2017–18, and the 1928 Cup-winning New York Rangers (who were in their second season of play, having been formed for the 1926–27 season). This was also the first time since the formation of the NHL in 1917 that the two teams competing for the Cup were making their first Finals appearance. The Panthers are currently the second Stanley Cup finalist team after the 1982 Vancouver Canucks without any Hall of Famers on their roster.

This was the first championship ever won by a team based in Denver: the Avalanche would go on to win two more Stanley Cups (2001 and 2022), while the Denver Broncos won Super Bowls XXXII, XXXIII and 50, and the Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Finals (which was also the next time Denver and Miami contested a championship).

Paths to the Finals

Colorado defeated the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings in six games each to advance to the Finals.

Florida defeated the Boston Bruins in five games, the Philadelphia Flyers in six, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven.

Game summaries

Game one

The series opened on June 4, at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. Patrick Roy was in goal for Colorado, and John Vanbiesbrouck was between the pipes for Florida (a rematch from the 1986 Wales Conference Finals when Roy was with the Montreal Canadiens and Vanbiesbrouck was with the New York Rangers). Although Colorado was the heavy favorite in the series, Florida got on the board first on Tom Fitzgerald's goal at 16:51 of the first period. That would be all the Panthers would get, however, as Colorado scored three times within five minutes in the second period. Scott Young scored at 10:32, Mike Ricci scored at 12:21, and Uwe Krupp scored at 14:21. The Avalanche went on to win the game 3–1, with Roy making 25 saves in the victory.

Game two

Peter Forsberg got the Avalanche on the board first in game two, scoring an unassisted goal at 4:11 of the first period. The Panthers tied the game on Stu Barnes' power-play goal at 7:52. Rene Corbet broke the 1–1 tie with a power-play goal at 10:43, and then Forsberg scored two power-play goals of his own at 13:46 and 15:05 to complete the hat trick. Colorado led 4–1 after just one period. The Avalanche would make it 5–1 with Corbet's second goal of the game at 4:37 of the second period. Valeri Kamensky followed with a goal just 31 seconds later, and Jon Klemm scored at 10:03 to give Colorado a dominating 7–1 lead after two periods. Klemm would add another goal at 17:28 of the third period. It was the Avalanche's fourth power-play goal of the game. Colorado won the game 8–1, with three players scoring at least twice.

Game three

The Avalanche went to the Miami Arena in Florida with a 2–0 series lead. Claude Lemieux, back after his two-game suspension, scored the first goal of the game at 2:44 of the first period to give Colorado a 1–0 lead. Florida played determinedly, however, and tied the game on Ray Sheppard's power-play goal at 9:14. Rob Niedermayer scored at 11:19 to give the Panthers their second lead of the series. The score was 2–1 Florida after one period. At 1:38 of the second period, Colorado's Mike Keane scored a game-tying goal. Captain Joe Sakic scored the go-ahead goal just 82 seconds later, and Colorado went on to win 3–2 and take a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series. Patrick Roy made 32 saves in the win.

Game four

With their backs to the wall, the Panthers played a defensive game. Florida goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck went save for save with Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy. The two teams played a marathon game that took until the third overtime period. Uwe Krupp's unassisted goal at 4:31 ended 44 minutes and 31 seconds of overtime and gave the Avalanche a 1–0 win and a four-game series sweep. Goaltender Patrick Roy stopped all 63 shots he faced. Colorado outscored Florida 15–4 in the series, and Patrick Roy stopped 147 of 151 shots, for a save percentage of .974. Joe Sakic was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, having led all skaters in goals with 18, and points with 34. For both Patrick Roy and Claude Lemieux, it was one of their three Stanley Cup wins in 11 years. Roy and Lemieux first won the Cup in 1986 with the Montreal Canadiens. Roy won a second Cup with Montreal in 1993. Lemieux won a second cup with New Jersey in 1995.

The Avalanche became the third team to win the cup after relocating: the 1989 Calgary Flames won the Cup after moving from Atlanta and the New Jersey Devils in 1995 won the Cup 13 years after they played their last game in the same city and same arena that the Avs played in as the Colorado Rockies.

Team rosters

Bolded years under Finals appearance indicates year won Stanley Cup.

Colorado Avalanche

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
35		Stephane Fiset	G	L	1988	Montreal, Quebec	first (did not play)
33		Patrick Roy	G	L	1995–96	Quebec City, Quebec	fourth (1986, 1989, 1993)
2		Sylvain Lefebvre – A	D	L	1994–95	Richmond, Quebec	first
4		Uwe Krupp	D	R	1994–95	Cologne, West Germany	first
5		Alexei Gusarov	D	L	1988	Leningrad, Soviet Union	first
6		Craig Wolanin – A	D	L	1989–90	Grosse Pointe, Michigan	first (did not play)
7		Curtis Leschyshyn – A	D	L	1988	Thompson, Manitoba	first
8		Sandis Ozolinsh	D	L	1995–96	Riga, Soviet Union	first
24		Jon Klemm	D	R	1991–92	Cranbrook, British Columbia	first
52		Adam Foote	D	R	1988	Toronto, Ontario	first
9		Mike Ricci – A	C	L	1991–92	Scarborough, Ontario	first
10		Troy Murray	C	R	1995–96	Calgary, Alberta	first (did not play)
12		Chris Simon	LW	L	1992–93	Wawa, Ontario	first (did not play)
13		Valeri Kamensky	LW	R	1988	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	first
14		Dave Hannan	C/LW	L	1995–96	Onaping Falls, Ontario	second (1988)
16		Warren Rychel	LW	L	1995–96	Strathroy, Ontario	second (1993)
18		Adam Deadmarsh	RW	R	1993	Trail, British Columbia	first
19		Joe Sakic – C	C	L	1987	Burnaby, British Columbia	first
20		Rene Corbet	LW	R	1991	Victoriaville, Quebec	first
21		Peter Forsberg	C	L	1994–95	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden	first
22		Claude Lemieux	RW	R	1995–96	Buckingham, Quebec	fourth (1986, 1989, 1995)
25		Mike Keane	RW	R	1995–96	Winnipeg, Manitoba	third (1989, 1993)
26		Stephane Yelle	C	L	1993–94	Ottawa, Ontario	first
48		Scott Young	RW	R	1992–93	Clinton, Massachusetts	second (1991)

Florida Panthers

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
30		Mark Fitzpatrick	G	L	1993–94	Toronto, Ontario	first
34		John Vanbiesbrouck	G	L	1993–94	Detroit, Michigan	first
2		Terry Carkner	D	L	1995–96	Smiths Falls, Ontario	first
3		Paul Laus	D	R	1993–94	Beamsville, Ontario	first
5		Gord Murphy – A	D	R	1993–94	North York, Ontario	first
6		Jason Woolley	D	L	1994–95	Toronto, Ontario	first
23		Rhett Warrener	D	R	1994	Shaunavon, Saskatchewan	first
24		Robert Svehla	D	R	1993–94	Martin, Czechoslovakia	first
55		Ed Jovanovski	D	L	1994	Windsor, Ontario	first
10		Dave Lowry	LW	L	1993–94	Sudbury, Ontario	first
11		Bill Lindsay	LW	L	1993–94	Bigfork, Montana	first
12		Jody Hull	RW	R	1993–94	Petrolia, Ontario	first
14		Stu Barnes	C	R	1993–94	Spruce Grove, Alberta	first
18		Mike Hough	LW	L	1993–94	Montreal, Quebec	first
9		Radek Dvorak	RW	R	1995	Tábor, Czechoslovakia	first
20		Brian Skrudland – C	C	L	1993–94	Peace River, Alberta	third (1986, 1989)
21		Tom Fitzgerald	RW	R	1993–94	Billerica, Massachusetts	first
26		Ray Sheppard	RW	R	1995–96	Pembroke, Ontario	second (1995)
27		Scott Mellanby – A	RW	R	1993–94	Montreal, Quebec	second (1987)
28		Martin Straka	C	L	1995–96	Plzeň, Czechoslovakia	first
29		Johan Garpenlov	LW	L	1995–96	Stockholm, Sweden	first
44		Rob Niedermayer	C	L	1993	Cassiar, British Columbia	first

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1996 Stanley Cup was presented to Avalanche captain Joe Sakic by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Avalanche's 1–0 triple overtime win over the Panthers in game four.

The following Avalanche players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1995–96 Colorado Avalanche

Players

Note:

• Sandis Ozolinsh was first Latvian born and trained player to win the Stanley Cup.
• Uwe Krupp was first the German born and trained player to win the Stanley Cup.

Stanley Cup engravings

Adam Deadmarsh's name was misspelled ADAM DEADMARCH. This mistake was corrected by stamping an "S" over the "C" twice. Deadmarsh's name was the first player's name to be corrected on the Presentation Stanley Cup.

Broadcasting

In Canada, the series was televised on CBC. In the United States, this was the second year that coverage was split between Fox and ESPN. Fox broadcast games 1 and 3 while ESPN televised games 2 and 4. The Stanley Cup-clinching game thus aired on cable. Had the series extended, Fox would have televised games 5 and 7, and ESPN would have aired game 6.