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The 1996–97 Grand Rapids Griffins season was the franchise's inaugural season in the International Hockey League (IHL). Their regular season began on October 5, 1996, against the Indianapolis Ice and concluded on April 13, 1997, against the Michigan K-Wings. The Penguins looked to improve upon their progress in the 2006–07 season after being eliminated in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Ottawa Senators. During the season, the Penguins wore gold patches with "250" on them, honoring the city of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary in 2008.

Evgeni Malkin scored 106 points in the regular season, helping to offset the gap left while Sidney Crosby was injured. Goaltender Ty Conklin replaced Marc-Andre Fleury, who was also injured, to win 18 games. The team surpassed their record for total attendance, selling out all 41 home games for the first time in franchise history. The Penguins also participated in the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, which set the NHL single-game attendance record.

During the regular season, the Penguins finished second in the Eastern Conference, behind the Montreal Canadiens. With a 12–2 record in the playoffs, the team eliminated the Senators, the New York Rangers and the Flyers, on their way to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, the franchise's first in 16 years. The team was defeated in the Stanley Cup Final by the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

Training camp and preseason
Grand Rapids general manager Bob McNamara began building the roster for his team's inaugural season in July 1996 with the signing of defenseman Todd Nelson. Over the next few months, a core of veteran players with NHL experience, including Pokey Reddick, Don McSween and Michel Picard, was added to the roster. Prospects Jeff Nelson and Kevyn Adams also signed before training camp, which began on September 16 at Belknap Ice Arena in Grand Rapids. More than thirty players took part in the camp, seventeen of whom were under contract. The Griffins played their first exhibition game, a 7–5 win over the Cleveland Lumberjacks, in Cleveland on September 20, and cut their roster from thirty-six to twenty-seven the next day. Following a split of two games against the Milwaukee Admirals, the Griffins cut three more players from their roster, then won exhibition games against the Cincinnati Cyclones and Chicago Wolves to close out the preseason. (All of the team's preseason games were played on the road as construction of the Van Andel Arena was being completed.) Cuts continued before the start of the regular season to make room for late additions Bill Armstrong and Ben Hankinson.

Regular season
The Griffins played their inaugural game on October 5 in Indianapolis against the Ice, a 1–0 win for Grand Rapids. Michel Picard scored the franchise's first goal by redirecting a shot from Don McSween past Indianapolis goaltender Marc Lamothe, and Pokey Reddick stopped 30 shots in the shutout. Following a road shootout loss to the Detroit Vipers, the Griffins returned home for their inaugural game in Van Andel Arena. In the first professional hockey game in Grand Rapids since the Grand Rapids Owls folded in 1980, the Griffins lost 1–3 to the Orlando Solar Bears. The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,834, the first of 39 sellouts over the course of the season. After a 2–5 loss to the San Antonio Dragons on October 22, the Griffins' record stood at 2–4–1, and Jamie Linden was loaned from the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in time to play in the team's next game two days later. That game marked the beginning of a twelve-game span in which starting goaltender Reddick recorded six wins and one shootout loss, while backup Blaine Lacher suffered five losses. Lacher won his next game on November 30 in Indianapolis and ultimately played in eleven, but in mid-December he refused to accept a conditioning assignment to the Muskegon Fury of the Colonial Hockey League and instead retired from hockey. Reddick, in contrast, was twice named IHL Goaltender of the Week in the first month of the season.

Grand Rapids improved its record to 8–7–2 by mid-November – largely on the strength of Reddick's play, as the team's 2.59 goals per game average placed it 18th in the 19-team IHL. Left wing Darin Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Thunder on November 26 in exchange for Pavol Demitra. Head coach Dave Allison placed Demitra on a line with Picard and Jeff Nelson, and the trio accumulated 35 points in the Griffins' next seven games. (Demitra and Picard each tallied six goals and six assists, and Nelson scored four goals and added seven assists.) Grand Rapids won five of its games during the seven-game stretch to improve its record to 15–11–3. Picard scored the team's first hat trick on December 17 in Milwaukee, but the Griffins lost the game 4–6. The franchise's first two shorthanded goals were scored by Keli Corpse and Travis Richards in a 7–0 rout of the Detroit Vipers on December 26. Picard's performance in that game (two goals and two assists) and the next (two goals and one assist) against the Fort Wayne Komets led to his being named IHL Player of the Week. He was also selected IHL Player of the Month for December after recording 16 goals and 11 assists in 14 games.

The Griffins followed a three-game losing streak – during which the team gave up 20 goals and Allison called his team's play "embarrassing" – with one regulation loss in their next nine games. Allison partially attributed the reversal in the team's fortunes to a change in demeanor. Enforcers Bruce Ramsay and Matt Ruchty became more willing to defend teammates, and because "[t]hey're sticking together, our skilled players don't get intimidated", said Allison. In mid-January, the Griffins added forward Danton Cole from the Krefeld Pinguine of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Cole, who won an NCAA championship with the Michigan State Spartans and a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils, notched two assists in his first game with the Griffins. The addition of Cole made Bill Armstrong, underperforming with only one goal in 35 games, expendable, and he was loaned to the Solar Bears in late January for the remainder of the season.

Grand Rapids endured a four-game winless streak to start February, which coincided with the absence of forwards Cole and Demitra. Cole was sidelined with a minor injury, and Demitra was in Europe helping his native Slovakia qualify for the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Griffins hosted the 1997 IHL All-Star Game at the Van Andel Arena on February 18, which sold out the arena. Reddick and Picard were voted among the Eastern Conference starters in the league's first-ever fan balloting; Jeff Nelson was named to the team by the coaches. The Western Conference won the game 6–4; Reddick stopped 10 of 12 shots and Picard and Nelson were held scoreless. Demitra's return was delayed by one day due to visa issues, and he scored a goal in consecutive games upon rejoining the team on February 22. Defenseman Darcy Simon took a blindside punch from Indianapolis enforcer Steve McLaren on February 27 while being escorted to the penalty box. Simon suffered a concussion and required more than 20 stitches in his jaw, and ultimately missed ten games. The IHL suspended McLaren for three games, a punishment that Simon called "a joke".

Season results
The Penguins clinched their second consecutive playoff berth on March 25 in a 2–0 victory against the New Jersey Devils and earned the second-seed in the Eastern Conference. Two years removed from their last-place Eastern Conference finish in 2006, the Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division for the first time ever, when they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4–2. The division championship was the first for the Penguins since winning the Northeast Division in 1998. It was the best finish by the team since finishing second in the 1997–98 season. The 102 points the Penguins gained during the season was the team's fifth 100-point season. The Penguins raised banners for their top finishes in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division prior to their first game at Mellon Arena during the 2008–09 season.

Schedule and results

 * Green background indicates win (2 points)
 * Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points)
 * White background indicates shootout loss (1 point)

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
The Penguins opened the playoffs against the 7th-seed Ottawa Senators, in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. In the opening game on April 9 in Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena, the Penguins defeated the Senators 4–0. In the game, Evgeni Malkin scored his first career playoff goal, Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his first career playoff shutout, Petr Sykora added a goal, and Gary Roberts scored twice. In Game Two, the Penguins took a lead of 3–0 following a goal from Sergei Gonchar and two from Sykora. The Senators came back to tie the game in the third period, before Ryan Malone scored twice to give the Penguins their second victory in the series. The Pens got four unanswered goals from Max Talbot, Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Marian Hossa to defeat the Senators 4–1 in Game Three, the first game in Ottawa's Scotiabank Place. Two days later, the Penguins managed to eliminate the Senators in four games, the only team to do so in the first round. The team got goals from Malkin, Crosby, and the series-winner from Jarkko Ruutu in the second period, to defeat the Senators, 3–1. The Penguins were the first team to advance from the opening round. The series win was the team's first since the 2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the first sweep of a playoff series in 16 years.

Playoff log

 * Green background indicates win,
 * Red indicates loss.

Player in italics scored winning goal.

Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; SV = Saves; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts

Personnel

 * Executive operations
 * Owner/President & CEO/Governor – Dan DeVos
 * Owner/Chairman – David Van Andel


 * Hockey operations
 * General manager – Bob McNamara
 * Head coach – Dave Allison
 * Assistant coach – Curtis Hunt
 * Medical therapist – Rob Snitzer
 * Equipment manager – Tim Paris
 * Assistant equipment manager – Vince Guerrero