2015–16 Washington Capitals season

The 2015–16 Washington Capitals season was the 42nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.[2] The season began its regular games on October 10, 2015, against the New Jersey Devils.[3] This was the first of five consecutive Metropolitan Division titles for the Capitals.

2015–16 Washington Capitals
Metropolitan Division champions
Division1st Metropolitan
Conference1st Eastern
2015–16 record56–18–8
Home record29–8–4
Road record27–10–4
Goals for252
Goals against193
Team information
General managerBrian MacLellan
CoachBarry Trotz
CaptainAlexander Ovechkin
Alternate captainsNicklas Backstrom
Brooks Orpik
ArenaVerizon Center
Average attendance18,509[1]
(27 games)
Minor league affiliate(s)Hershey Bears (AHL)
South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsAlexander Ovechkin (50)
AssistsEvgeny Kuznetsov (57)
PointsEvgeny Kuznetsov (77)
Penalty minutesTom Wilson (163)
Plus/minusEvgeny Kuznetsov ( 27)
WinsBraden Holtby (48)
Goals against averageBraden Holtby (2.20)

Standings

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Metropolitan Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 p – Washington Capitals 82 56 18 8 52 252 193 59 120
2 x – Pittsburgh Penguins 82 48 26 8 44 245 203 42 104
3 x – New York Rangers 82 46 27 9 43 236 217 19 101
4 x – New York Islanders 82 45 27 10 40 232 216 16 100
5 x – Philadelphia Flyers 82 41 27 14 38 214 218 −4 96
6 Carolina Hurricanes 82 35 31 16 33 198 226 −28 86
7 New Jersey Devils 82 38 36 8 36 184 208 −24 84
8 Columbus Blue Jackets 82 34 40 8 28 219 252 −33 76
Source: National Hockey League[4]
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

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Pre-season

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Regular season

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2015–16 Game Log[3]

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

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2016 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

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Final stats

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[5]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Braden Holtby 66 66 3841:11 48 9 7 141 2.20 1802 .922 3 0 1 6
Philipp Grubauer 22 16 1111:53 8 9 1 43 2.32 523 .918 0 0 0 2
Playoffs
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Braden Holtby 12 12 732 6 6 2 21 1.72 363 .942 2 0 1 0

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Player suspensions/fines

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Player Explanation Length Salary Date issued
Zach Sill Boarding on Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid during NHL Game No. 588 in Boston on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, at 4:43 of the second period. 2 games $6,182.80 January 6, 2016[6]
Marcus Johansson Illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey during NHL Game No. 601 in New York on Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 8:42 of the first period. 2 games $40,322.58 January 8, 2016[7]

Notable achievements

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Awards

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Milestones

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Transactions

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The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season.

Trades

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Date
Details
Ref
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) To New York Rangers
BUF's 3rd-round pick in 2015
4th-round pick in 2015
To Washington Capitals
MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2015
[18]
July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) To St. Louis Blues
Troy Brouwer
Pheonix Copley
3rd-round pick in 2016
To Washington Capitals
T. J. Oshie
[19]
February 23, 2016 (2016-02-23) To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick in 2017
To Washington Capitals
Mike Weber[Note 1]
[20]
February 28, 2016 (2016-02-28) To New York Rangers
Chris Brown
To Washington Capitals
Ryan Bourque
[21]
February 28, 2016 (2016-02-28) To Toronto Maple Leafs
Brooks Laich
Connor Carrick
2nd-round pick in 2016
To Washington Capitals
Daniel Winnik
ANA's 5th-round pick in 2016
[22]

Lost via retirement

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Date Player Ref
June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29) Patrick Wey [40]

Player signings

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Date Player Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29) Jay Beagle 3-years, $5.25 million [41]
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Stanislav Galiev 2-years, $2.3 million [42]
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Mike Moore 1 year, $575,000 [25]
July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06) Evgeny Kuznetsov 2-years, $6 million [43]
July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06) Chris Brown 2-years, $1.701 million [44]
July 24, 2015 (2015-07-24) Braden Holtby 5-years, $30.5 million [45]
July 30, 2015 (2015-07-30) Jonas Siegenthaler 3-years, entry-level contract [46]
July 31, 2015 (2015-07-31) Marcus Johansson 1-year, $3.75 million [47]
February 19, 2016 (2016-02-19) Taylor Chorney 2-years, $1.6 million contract extension [48]

Draft picks

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Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 22 Ilya Samsonov G   Russia Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)
2 57[a] Jonas Siegenthaler D    Switzerland ZSC Lions (NLA)
5 143 Conner Hobbs D   Canada Regina Pats (WHL)
6 173 Colby Williams D   Canada Regina Pats (WHL)
Draft notes[49]
  • The Washington Capitals' second-round pick will go to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015, that sent Curtis Glencross to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick in 2015 and this pick.[50]
  • a The Montreal Canadiens' second-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Buffalo's third-round pick in 2015 (62nd overall) and a fourth-round pick in 2015 (113th overall) to New York in exchange for this pick.[51] The Rangers previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Cam Talbot and a seventh-round pick in 2015 (209th overall) to Edmonton in exchange for Ottawa's third-round pick in 2015 (79th overall), a seventh-round pick in 2015 (184th overall) and this pick.[51]
  • The Washington Capitals' third-round pick will go to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015, that sent Curtis Glencross to Washington in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick.[50]
  • The Washington Capitals' fourth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Montreal's second-round pick in 2015 (57th overall) to Washington in exchange for and Buffalo's third-round pick in 2015 (62nd overall) and this pick.[51]
  • The Washington Capitals' seventh-round pick will go to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent Edward Pasquale and a sixth-round pick in 2014 to Washington in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2014, Nashville's seventh-round pick in 2014 and this pick.[52]

References

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  1. ^ "2015–2016 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN". ESPN.
  2. ^ National Hockey League (2012). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2013. Triumph Books. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-60078-785-0.
  3. ^ a b c "2015-2016 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Washington Capitals - Schedule". Capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  4. ^ "2015-2016 NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com.
  5. ^ a b c "2015-2016 Regular Season Stats - Points - Washington Capitals - Statistics". Washington Capitals. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Capitals' Sill suspended two games for boarding". NHL. January 6, 2016.
  7. ^ "Capitals forward Johansson suspended two games". NHL. January 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "Kuznetsov, Markov and Quick named stars of week". NHL. October 26, 2015.
  9. ^ "Benn, Holtby and Galchenyuk named stars of week". NHL. November 30, 2015.
  10. ^ "Kane, Holtby and Duchene named stars for November". NHL. December 1, 2015.
  11. ^ "Varlamov, Oshie and Koivu named stars of week". NHL. December 21, 2015.
  12. ^ "Fans elect division captains for 2016 All-Star Game". NHL. January 2, 2016.
  13. ^ "Gaudreau, Holtby and Kane named stars for December". NHL. January 4, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Star-studded Central roster highlights All-Star reveal". NHL. January 6, 2016.
  15. ^ "Ovechkin, Mrazek and Barrie named stars of week". NHL. January 11, 2016.
  16. ^ "Kuznetsov, Neal added to All-Star Game rosters". NHL. January 28, 2015.
  17. ^ "Kuznetsov, Crawford, Letang named stars for January". NHL. February 1, 2016.
  18. ^ "Trades completed during 2015 NHL Draft weekend". Washington Capitals. June 27, 2015.
  19. ^ "Capitals Acquire T.J. Oshie from St. Louis". Washington Capitals. July 2, 2015.
  20. ^ "Capitals Acquire Mike Weber from Buffalo". Washington Capitals. February 23, 2016.
  21. ^ "Capitals Acquire Ryan Bourque from NY Rangers". Washington Capitals. February 28, 2016.
  22. ^ "Capitals Acquire Daniel Winnik from Toronto". Washington Capitals. February 28, 2016.
  23. ^ "Capitals Sign Taylor Chorney". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  24. ^ "Capitals Sign Justin Williams". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  25. ^ a b c d "Capitals Sign Carter Camper, Sean Collins, Mike Moore and Aaron Ness". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  26. ^ "Capitals Sign Chris Bourque". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  27. ^ "Capitals Sign Dan Ellis". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  28. ^ "Capitals Sign Paul Carey". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  29. ^ "Capitals Sign Zach Sill". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  30. ^ "Capitals Sign Ryan Stanton". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  31. ^ "Capitals Sign Tim McGauley". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  32. ^ "Capitals Agree to Terms with Mike Richards". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  33. ^ "Capitals Sign Adam Carlson". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  34. ^ "Green agrees to three-year deal with Wings". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  35. ^ "Penguins Sign Defenseman Steve Oleksy". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  36. ^ "Flyers sign C Tim Brent, RW Chris Connor, D Davis Drewiske". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  37. ^ "Blackhawks agree to terms with Schilling and Liambas". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  38. ^ "Sharks Sign Forward Joel Ward". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  39. ^ "Penguins Agree to Terms with Forward Eric Fehr to a Three-Year Contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  40. ^ Vogel, Mike (June 29, 2015). "In wake of back to back concussions, Patrick Wey has elected to retire and pursue educational interests. Great kid, wish him the best. #Caps". @VogsCaps.
  41. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Jay Beagle". Capital's Today. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  42. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Stanislav Galiev". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  43. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Evgeny Kuznetsov". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  44. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Chris Brown". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  45. ^ "CAPITALS RE-SIGN BRADEN HOLTBY". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  46. ^ "Capitals Sign Jonas Siegenthaler". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  47. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Marcus Johansson". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  48. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Taylor Chorney". capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  49. ^ "2015 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  50. ^ a b "Flames deal Glencross to Capitals". March 1, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  51. ^ a b c "Trades completed during 2015 NHL Draft weekend". June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  52. ^ "Notes from the 2014 NHL Draft". June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.