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 the season's end.
1995–96 would mark the last season the Buffalo Sabres would play in the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, the Flyers at the Spectrum, and Canadiens at the Montreal Forum.
The Detroit Red Wings had a great 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.
March 20, 1996: C Jesse Belanger traded from Florida to Vancouver for Vancouver's 3rd round pick in 1996 Entry Draft and future considerations.
March 20, 1996: LW Ken Baumgartner traded from Toronto to Anaheim for Winnipeg's 4th round pick in 1996 Entry Draft (previously acquired).
March 20, 1996: D J-J Daigneault traded from St. Louis to Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh's 6th round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
March 20, 1996: LW Kevin Miller traded from San Jose to Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh's 5th round choice in 1996 Entry Draft and future considerations.
March 20, 1996: LW Pat Conacher and Calgary's 6th round pick in 1997 Entry Draft traded from Calgary to NY Islanders for C Bob Sweeney.
March 20, 1996: RW Kirk Maltby traded from Edmonton to Detroit for D Dan McGillis.
March 20, 1996: D Jaroslav Modry and Ottawa's 8th round pick in 1996 Entry Draft traded from Ottawa to Los Angeles for RW Kevin Brown.
March 20, 1996: LW Patrick Poulin, D Igor Ulanov and Chicago's 2nd round pick in 1996 Entry Draft traded from Chicago to Tampa Bay for D Enrico Ciccone and Tampa Bay's 2nd round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
March 20, 1996: LW Yuri Khmylev and Buffalo's 8th round pick in 1996 Entry Draft traded from Buffalo to St. Louis for D Jean-Luc Grand Pierre, Ottawa's 2nd round pick in 1996 Entry Draft (previously acquired) and St. Louis' 3rd round pick in 1997 Entry Draft.
March 20, 1996: C Dave Hannan traded from Buffalo to Colorado for Colorado's 6th round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
March 20, 1996: RW Alek Stojanov traded from Vancouver to Pittsburgh for RW Markus Naslund.
March 20, 1996: RW Ravil Gusmanov traded from Winnipeg to Chicago for Chicago's 4th round pick in 1996 Entry Draft.
March 20, 1996: RW Joe Kocur traded from NY Rangers to Vancouver for G Kay Whitmore.
