# 2015–16 Edmonton Oilers season

The 2015–16 Edmonton Oilers season was the 37th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, and 44th season, including their play in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The season began its regular games on October 8, 2015, against the St. Louis Blues, and concluded with a home and away series on April 6 and 9, 2016 against the Vancouver Canucks; the Oilers' final home game on April 6 was their final game at Rexall Place, its home arena since 1974. The team moved to the new downtown Rogers Place for the 2016–17 season.

## Standings

Pacific Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 43 | 218 | 192 | +26 | 103 |
| 2 | x – Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 48 | 28 | 6 | 46 | 225 | 195 | +30 | 102 |
| 3 | x – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 42 | 241 | 210 | +31 | 98 |
| 4 | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 34 | 209 | 245 | −36 | 78 |
| 5 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 33 | 231 | 260 | −29 | 77 |
| 6 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 31 | 38 | 13 | 26 | 191 | 243 | −52 | 75 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 31 | 43 | 8 | 27 | 203 | 245 | −42 | 70 |
Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | CE | x – Nashville Predators | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 37 | 228 | 215 | +13 | 96 |
| 2 | CE | x – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 35 | 216 | 206 | +10 | 87 |
| 3 | CE | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 39 | 39 | 4 | 35 | 216 | 240 | −24 | 82 |
| 4 | PA | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 34 | 209 | 245 | −36 | 78 |
| 5 | CE | Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 32 | 215 | 239 | −24 | 78 |
| 6 | PA | Calgary Flames | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 33 | 231 | 260 | −29 | 77 |
| 7 | PA | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 31 | 38 | 13 | 26 | 191 | 243 | −52 | 75 |
| 8 | PA | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 31 | 43 | 8 | 27 | 203 | 245 | −42 | 70 |

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

The Oilers finished 1st in the West for the preseason; the Red Wings finished first in the East.
2015 Edmonton Oilers Pre-season game log :

### Regular season

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

## Playoffs

The Oilers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 10th consecutive year.

## Player statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Taylor Hall | 82 | 26 | 39 | 65 | −4 | 54 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 72 | 19 | 32 | 51 | −2 | 20 |
| Connor McDavid | 45 | 16 | 32 | 48 | −1 | 18 |
| Jordan Eberle | 69 | 25 | 22 | 47 | −12 | 14 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 55 | 14 | 22 | 36 | −6 | 30 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 55 | 12 | 22 | 34 | −9 | 18 |
| Teddy Purcell$^‡$ | 61 | 11 | 21 | 32 | −9 | 10 |
| Andrej Sekera | 81 | 6 | 24 | 30 | −15 | 12 |
| Mark Letestu | 82 | 10 | 15 | 25 | −21 | 10 |
| Nail Yakupov | 60 | 8 | 15 | 23 | −16 | 24 |
| Lauri Korpikoski | 71 | 10 | 12 | 22 | −17 | 10 |
| Patrick Maroon$^†$ | 16 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 34 |
| Iiro Pakarinen | 63 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −10 | 8 |
| Matt Hendricks | 68 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 82 |
| Oscar Klefbom | 30 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 6 |
| Brandon Davidson | 51 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 20 |
| Darnell Nurse | 69 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −13 | 60 |
| Justin Schultz$^‡$ | 45 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −22 | 14 |
| Zack Kassian | 36 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −7 | 114 |
| Mark Fayne | 69 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −6 | 18 |
| Eric Gryba | 53 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 75 |
| Adam Clendening$^†$ | 20 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| Jordan Oesterle | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Anton Lander | 61 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −9 | 18 |
| Adam Pardy$^†$ | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 6 |
| Jujhar Khaira | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 13 |
| Luke Gazdic | 29 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −6 | 24 |
| Rob Klinkhammer | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −6 | 6 |
| Nikita Nikitin | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 8 |
| Griffin Reinhart | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 20 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 2 |
| Andrew Ference | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 6 |
| Adam Cracknell$^†$ | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 |
| Brad Hunt | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Andrew Miller | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Cam Talbot | 56 | 53 | 3223:52 | 21 | 27 | 5 | 137 | 2.55 | 1648 | .917 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Anders Nilsson$^‡$ | 26 | 24 | 1413:17 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 74 | 3.14 | 745 | .901 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Laurent Brossoit | 5 | 5 | 299:31 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 3.60 | 142 | .873 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Oilers. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Taylor Hall | NHL Third Star of the Week | November 2, 2015 |
| Connor McDavid | NHL Rookie of the Month - October | November 2, 2015 |
| Taylor Hall | NHL Second Star of the Week | December 14, 2015 |
| Taylor Hall | NHL All-Star game selection | January 6, 2016 |
| Connor McDavid | NHL Rookie of the Month - February | March 1, 2016 |
| Cam Talbot | NHL First Star of the Week | March 5, 2016 |
| Connor McDavid | NHL Rookie of the Month - March | April 1, 2016 |

## Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Taylor Hall | 300th NHL Game | October 8, 2015 |
| Connor McDavid | 1st NHL Game | October 8, 2015 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 1st NHL Game | October 8, 2015 |
| Connor McDavid | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | October 13, 2015 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 100th NHL Assist | October 13, 2015 |
| Connor McDavid | 1st NHL Assist | October 17, 2015 |
| Anton Slepyshev | 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point | October 23, 2015 |
| Nail Yakupov | 200th NHL Game | October 23, 2015 |
| Eric Gryba | 200th NHL PIM | October 27, 2015 |
| Darnell Nurse | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | October 27, 2015 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 200th NHL Point | October 27, 2015 |
| Darnell Nurse | 1st NHL Assist | October 29, 2015 |
| Andrej Sekera | 500th NHL Game | November 6, 2015 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 200th NHL Point | November 8, 2015 |
| Anders Nilsson | 1st NHL Assist | November 11, 2015 |
| Teddy Purcell | 500th NHL Game | November 12, 2015 |
| Brandon Davidson | 1st NHL Assist | November 18, 2015 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 100th NHL Goal | November 25, 2015 |
| Nail Yakupov | 100th NHL Point | November 25, 2015 |
| Oscar Klefbom | 100th NHL Game | November 27, 2015 |
| Jujhar Khaira | 1st NHL Game | November 28, 2015 |
| Jujhar Khaira | 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point | December 4, 2015 |
| Taylor Hall | 200th NHL PIM | December 9, 2015 |
| Lauri Korpikoski | 1st NHL Hat-trick | December 11, 2015 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 300th NHL PIM | December 19, 2015 |
| Taylor Hall | 300th NHL Point | December 21, 2015 |
| Lauri Korpikoski | 500th NHL Game | December 31, 2015 |
| Jordan Eberle | 300th NHL Point | January 2, 2016 |
| Eric Gryba | 200th NHL Game | January 2, 2016 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 300th NHL Game | January 10, 2016 |
| Zack Kassian | 200th NHL Game | January 16, 2016 |
| Matt Hendricks | 600th NHL PIM | January 18, 2016 |
| Justin Schultz | 100th NHL Point | January 21, 2016 |
| Jordan Eberle | 1st NHL Hat-trick | February 11, 2016 |
| Jordan Eberle | 400th NHL Game | February 13, 2016 |
| Teddy Purcell | 100th NHL PIM | February 13, 2016 |
| Lauri Korpikoski | 100th NHL Assist | February 16, 2016 |
| Cam Talbot | 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point | February 26, 2016 |
| Cam Talbot | 100th NHL Game | March 1, 2016 |
| Cam Talbot | 10th NHL Shutout | March 3, 2016 |
| Jordan Eberle | 100th NHL PIM | March 10, 2016 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 100th NHL Game | March 16, 2016 |
| Zack Kassian | 400th NHL PIM | March 24, 2016 |
| Nail Yakupov | 100th NHL PIM | April 2, 2016 |
| Mark Letestu | 400th NHL Game | April 9, 2016 |

## Transactions

Following the end of the Oilers' 2014–15 season, and during the 2015–16 season, this team has been involved in the following transactions:

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26) | To New York Islanders PIT's 1st-round pick in 2015 2nd-round pick in 2015 | To Edmonton Oilers Griffin Reinhart |
| June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) | To New York Rangers MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2015 OTT's 3rd-round pick in 2015 7th-round pick in 2015 | To Edmonton Oilers Cam Talbot 7th-round pick in 2015 |
| June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) | To Toronto Maple Leafs Martin Marincin | To Edmonton Oilers Brad Ross PIT's 4th-round pick in 2015 |
| June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) | To Ottawa Senators Travis Ewanyk PIT's 4th-round pick in 2015 | To Edmonton Oilers Eric Gryba |
| June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) | To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th-round pick in 2016 | To Edmonton Oilers ANA's 7th-round pick in 2015 |
| June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30) | To Arizona Coyotes Boyd Gordon | To Edmonton Oilers Lauri Korpikoski |
| July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06) | To Chicago Blackhawks Liam Coughlin | To Edmonton Oilers Anders Nilsson |
| December 28, 2015 (2015-12-28) | To Montreal Canadiens Ben Scrivens | To Edmonton Oilers Zack Kassian |
| February 24, 2016 (2016-02-24) | To Vancouver Canucks Philip Larsen | To Edmonton Oilers 5th-round pick in 2017 |
| February 27, 2016 (2016-02-27) | To St. Louis Blues Anders Nilsson | To Edmonton Oilers Niklas Lundstrom 5th-round pick in 2016 |
| February 27, 2016 (2016-02-27) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Justin Schultz | To Edmonton Oilers 3rd-round pick in 2016 |
| February 27, 2016 (2016-02-27) | To Florida Panthers Teddy Purcell | To Edmonton Oilers 3rd-round pick in 2016 |
| February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) | To Anaheim Ducks Martin Gernat 4th-round pick in 2016 | To Edmonton Oilers Patrick Maroon |

#### Notes

* $^{Note1}$ Edmonton to retain 50% ($1.95 million) of salary as part of trade.
* $^{Note2}$ Anaheim to retain 25% ($0.5 million) of salary as part of trade.
Lost via retirement
Player
Ref
Player signings
DatePlayerContract terms (in U.S. dollars)Ref
July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03)Connor McDavid3 years, $2.875 million entry-level contract
July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06)Anders Nilsson1 year, $1 million
July 15, 2015 (2015-07-15)Justin Schultz1 year, $3.9 million
July 16, 2015 (2015-07-16)Brandon Davidson1 year, $585,000
Tyler Pitlick1 year, $761,250
September 20, 2015 (2015-09-20)Oscar Klefbom7 years, $29 million contract extension
October 5, 2015 (2015-10-05)Braden Christoffer3 years, $1.95 million entry-level contract
January 17, 2016 (2016-01-17)Cam Talbot3 years, $12 million contract extension
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)Laurent Brossoit2 years, $1.5 million contract extension
Brandon Davidson2 years, $2.85 million contract extension
April 7, 2016 (2016-04-07)Caleb Jones3 years, $2.115 million entry-level contract :

## Draft picks

Below are the Edmonton Oilers' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The Edmonton Oilers won the 2015 draft lottery that took place on April 18, 2015.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 1 | Connor McDavid | Centre | Canada | Erie Otters (OHL) |
| 4 | 117 | Caleb Jones | Defense | United States | USA Hockey National Team Development Program |
| 5 | 124 | Ethan Bear | Defence | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 6 | 154 | John Marino | Defense | United States | South Shore Kings (USPHL) |
| 7 | 208 | Miroslav Svoboda | Goaltender | Czech Republic | Oceláři Třinec U20 (Jr. A Czech Extraliga) |
| 7 | 209 | Ziyat Paigin | Defence | Russia | Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) |
Draft notes
* The Edmonton Oilers' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015, that sent the Rangers' first-round pick in 2015 to the New York Islanders in exchange for Florida's third-round pick in 2015 and this pick. The Islanders previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015, that sent Griffin Reinhart to Edmonton in exchange for Pittsburgh's first-round pick in 2015 and this pick.
* The Edmonton Oilers' third-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on November 28, 2014, that sent Eric Brewer to Anaheim in exchange for this pick. Anaheim previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 4, 2014 that sent Viktor Fasth to Edmonton in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and this pick.
* The Edmonton Oilers' fourth-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on July 10, 2013, that sent David Perron and a third-round pick in 2015 to Edmonton in exchange for Magnus Paajarvi, a second-round pick in 2014 and this pick.
* $^a$ The Montreal Canadiens' fourth-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015, that sent Jeff Petry to Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Edmonton will receive a fourth-round pick in 2015 if Montreal advances to the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on April 26, 2015 when Montreal eliminated Ottawa in first-round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.
* The Edmonton Oilers' seventh-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Cam Talbot and a seventh-round pick in 2015 to Edmonton in exchange for Montreal's second-round pick in 2015, Ottawa's third-round pick in 2015, and this pick.
* $^b$ The Anaheim Ducks' seventh-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Dallas' seventh-round pick in 2016 to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.
* $^c$ The New York Rangers' seventh-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Montreal's second-round pick in 2015, Ottawa's third-round pick in 2015, and a seventh-round pick in 2015 to the Rangers in exchange for Cam Talbot and this pick.