It was the last year before the DPE really started kicking in, but it was also a very healthy year for a lot of stars. In 97, Jagr, Kariya, Lindros, Sakic and Forsberg all missed a decent amount of time, or else they all would have probably hit 100 points as well. 96 wasn't actually even that high scoring for the most part. Teams averaged 252 goals, which was only 13 more than the 239 they did in 97, and actually 1 less than the average team scored in the first season after the lockout. The lowest average goals for during the 80s was 294, and in Yzerman's season, the average team scored 299 goals.
I think 96 tends to get written off, much like 93, because so many great players had great seasons. For what it's worth, hockey-reference's adjusted stats only drops Jagr's 149 point season to 144, which is just one point less than what they adjust his 99 season.
