2015–16 NHL season


The 2015–16 NHL season was the 99th season of operation of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams competed in 82-game regular season schedules from October 7, 2015 to April 10, 2016.
The 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs following the regular season began on April 13 and ended June 12 with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning their fourth Stanley Cup. None of the seven Canadian-based teams qualified for the playoffs; this was the second season in league history that the playoff field consisted of only United States-based teams. The only other time in league history that no Canadian teams qualified for the postseason was in 1970.

League business

Salary cap

In December 2014, commissioner Gary Bettman told teams that he projected the salary cap to increase to at least $73 million for the 2015–16 season, citing the fluctuating value of the Canadian dollar. The cap was ultimately set at $71.4 million.

Rule changes

Rule changes approved by the NHL Board of Governors on June 24, 2015, include:
For the second time since 2000, the league ended a moratorium on potential expansion teams and began accepting bids for potential expansion teams that, if approved, would begin play in the 2017–18 season. During the 2015 offseason, two ownership groups offered bids: Quebecor, which planned on reviving the Quebec Nordiques at a new arena in Quebec City, Quebec, and Bill Foley's Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, which intended to place an expansion team at a new arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The league concluded the vetting process on September 4, 2015, with a final decision to follow in June 2016.

Media rights

In August 2015, the league announced a six-year deal with MLB Advanced Media to take over the technical operations of the NHL's in-house digital properties. Under the agreement, MLBAM took over the operations of the NHL's websites, apps, streaming services, and other digital properties starting in January 2016. MLBAM also took over international distribution of the league's digital out-of-market streaming services outside of Canada and Scandinavia. The NHL also took an equity stake of up to 10 percent in BAM Tech, a spin-off of MLBAM's streaming media business. As an aspect of the deal, the U.S. version of NHL Network was also relocated to the facilities of MLB Network. The Canadian version of NHL Network was shut down August 31, 2015.
The re-launch of the league's digital properties under MLBAM occurred in February 2016, with the launch of the new NHL.com website and mobile app following the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. The re-launched NHL GameCenter Live service outside of Canada was re-branded as NHL.tv, while the Canadian service remains branded as Rogers NHL GameCentre Live. Both services were upgraded to utilize a new client on MLBAM architecture with support for 60 FPS streaming. The re-launch of the services, however, was marred by technical issues caused by a malfunctioning content delivery network.
As the result of a lawsuit settlement, the NHL agreed to offer single-team packages for its out-of-market services in the United States. The updated NHL app also offers a downsized out-of-market subscription service known as NHL Premium, which streams the conclusion of each game.
In Canada, the Sunday-night Hometown Hockey game of the week on City was moved to Sportsnet. Both Sportsnet and TSN announced plans to produce telecasts of selected national and regional games in 4K ultra high-definition television.
On March 10, 2016, the NHL announced a deal with Yahoo! Sports, in which it will offer free online streaming in the U.S. of up to four out-of-market games per-week. The site will also feature additional NHL content, such as condensed games and highlight showcases. The deal expands upon an ongoing relationship with U.S. rightsholder NBC, as well as a relationship with Major League Baseball to host the MLB.tv Game of the Day stream.
On May 5, 2016, NBC Sports announced that it would provide national radio broadcasts of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals via NBC Sports Radio. NHL Radio broadcasts had not been heard continent-wide since 2008.

Change in jersey supplier

On September 15, 2015, the NHL announced that Adidas would replace Reebok as the supplier of all team jerseys beginning in the 2017–18 season.

Coaching changes

Indicates interim.

Arena changes

The regular season began on October 7, 2015, and ended on April 10, 2016. The playoffs began on Wednesday, April 13, 2016.

Winter Classic

The 2016 NHL Winter Classic was held on January 1, 2016. The game, the eighth Winter Classic, saw the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins, 5–1, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a significant event in one of the NHL's best-known rivalries. A Bruins and Canadiens alumni game was also played on December 31, 2015. The Boston Pride women's professional hockey team played before the alumni game against Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League to a 1–1 tie in the first ever Women's Winter Classic.

Stadium Series

There were two Stadium Series games planned. The first one featured the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday, February 21, 2016, where the Wild defeated the Blackhawks 6–1. The other game was the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche at Coors Field on Saturday, February 27, 2016, where the Red Wings defeated the Avalanche 5–3.

All–Star Game

The 61st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Nashville, Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators, on January 31, 2016. The All-Star Game adopted a new, three-on-three tournament format; there were three 20-minute games, with four All-Star teams based on the league's four divisions. The Atlantic Division All-Stars faced the Metropolitan Division All-Stars, while the Central Division All-Stars played against the Pacific Division All-Stars. The winners of these two games then met in an All-Star Game Final. Had a tie remained after 20 minutes, then it would have immediately gone to a shootout to determine the winner; there would be no standard overtime. The Pacific Division All-Stars, led by fan-voted captain and MVP John Scott, won the tournament, beating the Atlantic All-Stars in the finals

Postponed games

Three games were postponed due to the January 2016 United States blizzard: the Anaheim Ducks–Washington Capitals game originally scheduled for January 22, the Philadelphia Flyers–New York Islanders game originally scheduled for January 23, and the Pittsburgh Penguins–Washington Capitals game originally scheduled for January 24. The Penguins–Capitals game was rescheduled for March 1, while the Ducks–Capitals and Flyers–Islanders games were rescheduled for April 10.

Standings

Tie Breakers:
1. Fewer number of games played.
2. Greater Regulation + OT Wins
3. Greatest number of points earned in head-to-head play
4. Greater Goal differential

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of games played on April 10, 2016.
PlayerTeam
Chicago Blackhawks824660106+1730
Dallas Stars82414889+764
Pittsburgh Penguins80364985+1942
San Jose Sharks82196382+2554
Ottawa Senators82166682–250
San Jose Sharks82384078+2530
Calgary Flames79304878+420
Winnipeg Jets82265278+849
Chicago Blackhawks80304777+832
Washington Capitals82205777+2732

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average at the conclusion of games played on April 10, 2016, while playing at least 1800 minutes.
PlayerTeam
Tampa Bay Lightning61352141236.9262.06
St. Louis Blues422386784.9302.07
Anaheim Ducks4021134794.9202.07
New Jersey Devils58272561224.9242.15
Washington Capitals6648971413.9222.20
Los Angeles Kings68402351495.9182.22
Philadelphia Flyers321884693.9242.27
San Jose Sharks65372341436.9182.27
Pittsburgh Penguins58351761325.9212.29
Anaheim Ducks432297883.9192.30
New York Islanders3618134803.9192.30

Playoffs

Bracket

NHL awards

Awards were presented at the NHL Awards ceremony, to be held following the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. Finalists for voted awards are announced during the playoffs and winners are presented at the award ceremony. Voting will conclude immediately after the end of the regular season. The Presidents' Trophy, the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl are not presented at the awards ceremony. The Lester Patrick Trophy is announced during the summer and presented in the fall.
AwardRecipientRunner-up/Finalists
Stanley CupPittsburgh PenguinsSan Jose Sharks
Presidents' Trophy
Washington CapitalsDallas Stars
Prince of Wales Trophy
Pittsburgh PenguinsTampa Bay Lightning
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
San Jose SharksSt. Louis Blues
Art Ross Trophy
Patrick Kane Jamie Benn
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Jaromir Jagr Pascal Dupuis
Jaromir Jagr
Mats Zuccarello
Calder Memorial Trophy
Artemi Panarin Shayne Gostisbehere
Connor McDavid
Artemi Panarin
Conn Smythe Trophy
Sidney Crosby N/A
Frank J. Selke Trophy
Anze Kopitar Patrice Bergeron
Ryan Kesler
Anze Kopitar
Hart Memorial Trophy
Patrick Kane Jamie Benn
Sidney Crosby
Patrick Kane
Jack Adams Award
Barry Trotz Gerard Gallant
Lindy Ruff
Barry Trotz
James Norris Memorial Trophy
Drew Doughty Brent Burns
Drew Doughty
Erik Karlsson
King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Henrik Sedin
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Anze Kopitar Aleksander Barkov
Loui Eriksson
Anze Kopitar
Ted Lindsay Award
Patrick Kane Jamie Benn
Braden Holtby
Patrick Kane
Mark Messier Leadership Award
Shea Weber Alexander Ovechkin
John Tavares
Shea Weber
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
Alexander Ovechkin Patrick Kane
NHL Foundation Player Award
Mark Giordano Mark Giordano
Matt Martin
P. K. Subban
NHL General Manager of the Year Award
Jim Rutherford Brian MacLellan
Jim Nill
Jim Rutherford
Vezina Trophy
Braden Holtby Ben Bishop
Braden Holtby
Jonathan Quick
William M. Jennings Trophy
Frederik Andersen and John Gibson
Braden Holtby
Lester Patrick Trophy
Mark Howe and Pat KellyN/A

All-Star teams

Milestones

First games

The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game during the 2015–16 season, listed with their first team.
PlayerTeamNotability
Connor McDavidEdmonton OilersFirst overall pick in the 2015 Draft
Artemi PanarinChicago BlackhawksCalder Memorial Trophy winner

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2015–16, listed with their team:
PlayerTeamNotability
Niklas BackstromCalgary FlamesRoger Crozier Saving Grace Award winner, William M. Jennings Trophy winner
Dan BoyleNew York RangersOver 1,000 games played
Pavel DatsyukDetroit Red Wings9-time NHL All Star, 4-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner, 3-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner, over 1,000 games played
Patrik EliasNew Jersey DevilsOver 1,200 games played
Andrew FerenceEdmonton OilersKing Clancy Memorial Trophy winner
Scott GomezOttawa SenatorsCalder Memorial Trophy winner, over 1,000 games played
Shawn HorcoffAnaheim DucksOver 1,000 games played
Barret JackmanNashville PredatorsCalder Memorial Trophy winner
Vincent LecavalierLos Angeles KingsMaurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner, over 1,200 games played
David LegwandBuffalo SabresOver 1,100 games played
Brad RichardsDetroit Red WingsLady Byng Memorial Trophy winner, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, over 1,100 games played
Alex TanguayArizona CoyotesOver 1,000 games played
Dainius ZubrusSan Jose SharksOver 1,200 games played

Major milestones reached