# 2015–16 Buffalo Sabres season

The 2015–16 Buffalo Sabres season was the 46th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. The season began its regular games on October 8, 2015 against the Ottawa Senators with a 3–1 loss.
This was originally to be the final season in which Rick Jeanneret serves as the team's play-by-play announcer; he had been in that position since the team's second season in 1971. As he did until 2022, he rotated with Dan Dunleavy in the position. However, Jeanneret agreed to continue indefinitely as part-time announcer as long as his health allowed it.
The Sabres failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

## Off-season

The Sabres fired head coach Ted Nolan on April 12, 2015, amid poor on-ice record and disagreements with general manager Tim Murray. The team then made overtures to Mike Babcock, the most prominent head coach on the free agent market; despite a record-setting offer, Babcock instead sought (and received) the head coaching position for the Sabres' division and regional rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the Sabres failing to land Babcock, the team's second choice, Dan Bylsma, was subsequently hired on May 28. Bylsma had spent the 2014-15 season out of professional hockey after spending the previous five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Sabres held the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft after finishing last in the league in 2014-15 and losing the draft lottery to the Edmonton Oilers. The Sabres selected Jack Eichel with their pick.
The Sabres fired President Ted Black on July 27, 2015, and replaced him with Russ Brandon. Brandon also serves as President of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and will continue in that capacity in addition to his duties with the Sabres.

### Training camp

As in previous years, the Sabres held a summer development camp from July 6–11, 2015. The highlight of the camp was the "blue and gold" scrimmage on July 10; the scrimmage, which pit a "gold" team led by 2015 second overall pick Jack Eichel against a "blue" team led by 2014 second overall pick Sam Reinhart, drew 17,115 paying fans, nearly double the crowd that attended the 2014 event. An additional 1,500 fans attended the less-publicized 3-on-3 scrimmage, which closed out the camp on July 11.
The Sabres did not participate in the Detroit Red Wings' annual prospect tournament in Traverse City, Michigan as they have in recent years and instead launched their own "Prospect Challenge" beginning this season. For the first year, the Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins prospects faced each other in a single round-robin mini-tournament. Buffalo won both of their games and the tournament.

## Standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Florida Panthers | 82 | 47 | 26 | 9 | 40 | 239 | 203 | +36 | 103 |
| 2 | x – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 46 | 31 | 5 | 43 | 227 | 201 | +26 | 97 |
| 3 | x – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 39 | 211 | 224 | −13 | 93 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 38 | 240 | 230 | +10 | 93 |
| 5 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 32 | 236 | 247 | −11 | 85 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 38 | 38 | 6 | 33 | 221 | 236 | −15 | 82 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 35 | 36 | 11 | 33 | 201 | 222 | −21 | 81 |
| 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 29 | 42 | 11 | 23 | 198 | 246 | −48 | 69 |
Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | ME | x – New York Islanders | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 40 | 232 | 216 | +16 | 100 |
| 2 | ME | x – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 38 | 214 | 218 | −4 | 96 |
| 3 | AT | Boston Bruins | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 38 | 240 | 230 | +10 | 93 |
| 4 | ME | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 35 | 31 | 16 | 33 | 198 | 226 | −28 | 86 |
| 5 | AT | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 32 | 236 | 247 | −11 | 85 |
| 6 | ME | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 36 | 184 | 208 | −24 | 84 |
| 7 | AT | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 38 | 38 | 6 | 33 | 221 | 236 | −15 | 82 |
| 8 | AT | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 35 | 36 | 11 | 33 | 201 | 222 | −21 | 81 |
| 9 | ME | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 34 | 40 | 8 | 28 | 219 | 252 | −33 | 76 |
| 10 | AT | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 29 | 42 | 11 | 23 | 198 | 246 | −48 | 69 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2015–16 Game Log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player stats

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Ryan O'Reilly | 71 | 21 | 39 | 60 | −16 | 8 |
| Jack Eichel | 81 | 24 | 32 | 56 | −16 | 22 |
| Sam Reinhart | 79 | 23 | 19 | 42 | −8 | 8 |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | 82 | 9 | 32 | 41 | −21 | 33 |
| Evander Kane | 65 | 20 | 15 | 35 | −14 | 91 |
| Brian Gionta | 79 | 12 | 21 | 33 | −5 | 12 |
| Jamie McGinn$^‡$ | 63 | 14 | 13 | 27 | −10 | 10 |
| Zach Bogosian | 64 | 7 | 17 | 24 | −11 | 68 |
| Marcus Foligno | 75 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 4 | 79 |
| Matt Moulson | 81 | 8 | 13 | 21 | −5 | 16 |
| Zemgus Girgensons | 71 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 20 |
| Johan Larsson | 74 | 10 | 7 | 17 | −4 | 27 |
| Cody Franson | 59 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −5 | 26 |
| David Legwand | 79 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −4 | 14 |
| Jake McCabe | 77 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 51 |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | 70 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −14 | 59 |
| Josh Gorges | 77 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −7 | 72 |
| Tyler Ennis | 23 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −9 | 11 |
| Mark Pysyk | 55 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 32 |
| Cal O'Reilly | 20 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −1 | 2 |
| Carlo Colaiacovo | 36 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −11 | 10 |
| Mike Weber$^‡$ | 35 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 32 |
| Casey Nelson | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Tim Schaller | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Hudson Fasching | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Evan Rodrigues | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Phil Varone$^‡$ | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Daniel Catenacci | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| Cole Schneider | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chad Ruhwedel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Justin Bailey | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Chad Johnson | 45 | 40 | 2591:05 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 102 | 2.36 | 1270 | .920 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Robin Lehner | 21 | 21 | 1164:05 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 48 | 2.47 | 634 | .924 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Linus Ullmark | 20 | 20 | 1130:40 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 49 | 2.60 | 565 | .913 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Kasdorf | 1 | 1 | 60:00 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.00 | 30 | .867 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| R. O'Reilly | NHL All-Star game selection | January 6, 2016 |
| J. Eichel | NHL Third Star of the Week | February 1, 2016 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| J. Eichel | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Goal | October 8, 2015 |
| J. McCabe | 1st Career NHL Goal | October 15, 2015 |
| S. Reinhart | 1st Career NHL Goal | October 17, 2015 |
| L. Ullmark | 1st Career NHL Game | October 24, 2015 |
| M. Foligno | 200th Career NHL Game | October 27, 2015 |
| L. Ullmark | 1st Career NHL Win | October 30, 2015 |
| J. Eichel | 1st Career NHL Assist | November 7, 2015 |
| M. Moulson | 500th Career NHL Game | December 4, 2015 |
| R. Ristolainen | 1st Career NHL Hat Trick | December 10, 2015 |
| R. O'Reilly | 100th Career NHL Goal | December 12, 2015 |
| J. McGinn | 400th Career NHL Game | December 19, 2015 |
| J. Larsson | 100th Career NHL Game | December 26, 2015 |
| S. Reinhart | 1st Career NHL Hat Trick | January 10, 2016 |
| D. Catenacci | 1st Career NHL Game | February 6, 2016 |
| J. Bailey | 1st Career NHL Game | February 11, 2016 |
| H. Fasching | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Goal | March 26, 2016 |
| C. Nelson | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist | March 26, 2016 |
| C. Schneider | 1st Career NHL Game | April 8, 2016 |
| E. Rodrigues | 1st Career NHL Game | April 8, 2016 |
| J. Kasdorf | 1st Career NHL Game | April 8, 2016 |
| E. Rodrigues | 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Assist | April 9, 2016 |
| H. Fasching | 1st Career NHL Assist | April 9, 2016 |
| J. Gorges | 100th Career NHL Assist | April 9, 2016 |

## Transactions

The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season:

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26) | To Ottawa Senators NYI's 1st-round pick in 2015 | To Buffalo Sabres Robin Lehner David Legwand |
| June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26) | To Colorado Avalanche Nikita Zadorov Mikhail Grigorenko J. T. Compher 2nd-round pick in 2015 | To Buffalo Sabres Ryan O'Reilly Jamie McGinn |
| February 23, 2016 (2016-02-23) | To Washington Capitals Mike Weber | To Buffalo Sabres 3rd-round pick in 2017 |
| February 27, 2016 (2016-02-27) | To Ottawa Senators Phil Varone Jason Akeson Jerome Leduc | To Buffalo Sabres Cole Schneider Eric O'Dell Alex Guptill Michael Sdao |
| February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) | To Anaheim Ducks Jamie McGinn | To Buffalo Sabres conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016 |
| June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20) | To Nashville Predators MIN's 3rd-round pick in 2016 | To Buffalo Sabres Jimmy Vesey (rights) |

### Player signings

| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) |
| July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) | Jack Eichel | 3 years, entry-level contract |
| July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03) | Ryan O'Reilly | 7 years, $52.5 million contract extension |
| July 13, 2015 (2015-07-13) | Phil Varone | 1 year, $600,000, two-way contract |
| July 14, 2015 (2015-07-14) | Mark Pysyk | 2 years, $2.25 million |
| July 21, 2015 (2015-07-21) | Johan Larsson | 1 year, $800,000 |
| July 23, 2015 (2015-07-23) | Jerry D'Amigo | 1 year, $700,000, two-way contract |
| July 27, 2015 (2015-07-27) | Brendan Guhle | 3 years, entry-level contract |
| March 14, 2016 (2016-03-14) | Jason Kasdorf | entry-level contract |
| March 21, 2016 (2016-03-21) | Hudson Fasching | entry-level contract |
| March 25, 2016 (2016-03-25) | Eric Cornel | entry-level contract |
| April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29) | Johan Larsson | 1 year |
| May 21, 2016 (2016-05-21) | Brycen Martin | 3 years, entry-level contract |
| May 26, 2016 (2016-05-26) | Vaclav Karabacek | 3 years, entry-level contract |
| June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20) | Nicolas Deslauriers | 2 years, contract extension |

## Draft picks

Below are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 2 | Jack Eichel | C | United States | Boston University (Hockey East) |
| 2 | 51 | Brendan Guhle | D | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 4 | 92 | William Borgen | D | United States | Moorhead Spuds (HS-Minnesota) |
| 5 | 122 | Devante Stephens | D | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 6 | 152 | Georgio Estephan | C | Canada | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
| 7 | 182 | Ivan Chukarov | D | United States | Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) |

### Draft notes

* The Buffalo Sabres' second-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent a second-round pick in 2015 (39th overall), Colorado's second-round pick in 2016 and Colorado's sixth-round pick in 2017 to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
    Colorado previously acquired this pick from as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015 that sent Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn to Buffalo in exchange for Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, J.T. Compher and this pick.
* $^b$ The New York Islanders' second-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on October 27, 2013 that sent Thomas Vanek to New York in exchange for Matt Moulson, a conditional first-round pick in 2014 and this pick.
* The Buffalo Sabres' third-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla to Buffalo in exchange for Jaroslav Halak and this pick.