2015–16 Vancouver Canucks season

The 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks 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 7, 2015, against the Calgary Flames with a 5−1 win. On March 25, 2016, the Canucks lost 4−0 to the St. Louis Blues and were eliminated from playoff contention. The Canucks missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.
==Off-season==
Off-season changes began in late June at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Due to the Canucks having three goaltenders requiring waivers, goaltender Eddie Lack was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes (for a third-round pick at the draft and a seventh-round pick in 2016) to make room on the roster for Jacob Markstrom. This trade was disliked as fans saw the two draft picks as very little compensation for Lack. The Canucks would draft seven players at the draft. A few days later, long-time Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a second-round pick in 2016.
On July 1, Zack Kassian and a fifth-round pick in 2016 were traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Brandon Prust. Jim Benning continued by signing various free agents, including former Boston Bruins defenceman Matt Bartkowski and prospects Taylor Fedun and Richard Bachman, coming from the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers, respectively.
The following day, Hockey Operations Staff Laurence Gilman, Lorne Henning and Eric Crawford were released by the Canucks.
On July 28, the Canucks traded centre Nick Bonino, defenceman Adam Clendening, as well as the second-round pick acquired in the Bieksa trade, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for centre Brandon Sutter and a conditional third-round pick. One week later, the Canucks resigned Sutter to a five-year contract extension, lasting until the 2020–21 NHL season.
=== Training camp ===
 The Canucks held their training camp at CN Centre in Prince George, British Columbia, from September 18–20.
Training camp consisted of various activities, such as power-play drills, strength and conditioning exercises, and intra-squad scrimmages.
Head coach Willie Desjardins was unable to attend training camp. Desjardins was forced to have surgery on September 8 (a mere 10 days before training camp was due to begin), due to a flare-up of a chronic hip condition. While Desjardins wanted to be in attendance, the Canucks medical staff was unable to give him clearance to head to Prince George. In his place, assistant coach Glen Gulutzan (former Dallas Stars head coach) stepped up to run the training camp. Assistant coaches Perry Pearn and Doug Lidster were also in attendance.
Many Canucks prospects and minor-league players were invited to training camp. Some, such as Nicklas Jensen, Jake Virtanen and Alexandre Grenier were fighting for roster spots on the NHL club. The preseason came to an interesting end when the Canucks placed centre Linden Vey and defensemen Alex Biega and Frank Corrado on waivers in favour of defenceman Ben Hutton and forwards Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann. Corrado was claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs the following day. Biega and Vey cleared waivers and were sent to the Utica Comets. Both were called up in December and would finish the season with the Canucks.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
== Schedule and results ==
=== Pre-season ===
Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)	Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–2–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 21 	San Jose 	0–1 	Vancouver 	OT 	Bachman 	2,800 (approx.) 	1–0–0 	Recap
2 	September 22 	San Jose 	4–0 	Vancouver 	 	Miller 	–– 	1–1–0 	Recap
3 	September 25 	Vancouver 	1–4 	Calgary 	 	Bachman 	19,289 	1–2–0 	Recap
4 	September 26 	Calgary 	4–3 	Vancouver 	OT 	Miller 	–– 	1–2–1 	Recap
5 	September 28 	Arizona 	0–1 	Vancouver 	 	Markstrom 	–– 	2–2–1 	Recap
6 	September 29 	Vancouver 	1–2 	San Jose 	 	Miller 	14,165 	2–3–1 	Recap
7 	October 1 	Vancouver 	5–2 	Edmonton 	 	Markstrom 	16,839 	3–3–1 	Recap
8 	October 3 	Edmonton 	2–3 	Vancouver 	OT 	Miller 	18,448 	4–3–1 	Recap
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).	
Notes:
Game was played at The Q Centre in Colwood, British Columbia (Kraft Hockeyville game).
=== Regular season ===
2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log 	2015–16 game log
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October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)	October: 5–2–4 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–0–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 7 	Vancouver 	5–1 	Calgary 	 	Miller 	19,289 	1–0–0 	2 	Recap
2 	October 10 	Calgary 	3–2 	Vancouver 	OT 	Miller 	18,570 	1–0–1 	3 	Recap
3 	October 12 	Vancouver 	2–1 	Anaheim 	SO 	Miller 	17,174 	2–0–1 	5 	Recap
4 	October 13 	Vancouver 	3–0 	Los Angeles 	 	Miller 	18,230 	3–0–1 	7 	Recap
5 	October 16 	St. Louis 	4–3 	Vancouver 	 	Miller 	18,362 	3–1–1 	7 	Recap
6 	October 18 	Edmonton 	2–1 	Vancouver 	OT 	Miller 	18,261 	3–1–2 	8 	Recap
7 	October 22 	Washington 	3–2 	Vancouver 	 	Miller 	18,188 	3–2–2 	8 	Recap
8 	October 24 	Detroit 	3–2 	Vancouver 	OT 	Miller 	18,312 	3–2–3 	9 	Recap
9 	October 27 	Montreal 	1–5 	Vancouver 	 	Miller 	18,570 	4–2–3 	11 	Recap
10 	October 29 	Vancouver 	3–4 	Dallas 	OT 	Miller 	17,664 	4–2–4 	12 	Recap
11 	October 30 	Vancouver 	4–3 	Arizona 	 	Bachman 	12,166 	5–2–4 	14 	Recap
====Detailed records====
 Western Conference
Central Division 	Central Division	Central Division	Central Division	Central Division	Central Division	Central Division
Opponent 	Home 	Away 	Total 	Pts. 	Goals scored 	Goals allowed
Chicago Blackhawks 	1–1–0 	0–1–0 	1–2–0 	2 	8 	10
Colorado Avalanche 	1–1–0 	1–0–0 	2–1–0 	4 	9 	5
Dallas Stars 	0–1–0 	0–0–2 	0–1–2 	2 	7 	11
Minnesota Wild 	0–1–0 	1–1–0 	1–2–0 	2 	6 	14
Nashville Predators	1–1–0 	0–0–1 	1–1–1 	3 	7 	7
St. Louis Blues 	0–2–0 	0–1–0 	0–3–0 	0 	3 	11
Winnipeg Jets 	0–1–0 	0–2–0 	0–3–0 	0 	2 	11
Total 	3–8–0 	2–5–3 	5–13–3 	13 	42 	69
Pacific Division 	Pacific Division	Pacific Division	Pacific Division	Pacific Division	Pacific Division	Pacific Division
Opponent 	Home 	Away 	Total 	Pts. 	Goals scored 	Goals allowed
Anaheim Ducks 	1–1–0 	2–1–0 	3–2–0 	6 	9 	13
Arizona Coyotes 	1–1–0 	2–0–0 	3–1–0 	6 	11 	9
Calgary Flames 	0–1–1 	1–2–0 	1–3–1 	3 	13 	20
Edmonton Oilers 	2–0–1 	0–2–0 	2–2–1 	5 	9 	14
Los Angeles Kings 	1–1–0 	1–1–1 	2–2–1 	5 	8 	14
San Jose Sharks 	0–3–0 	2–0–0 	2–3–0 	4 	12 	15
Vancouver Canucks 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	–
Total 	5–7–2 	8–6–1 	13–13–3 	29 	62 	85
 Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division 	Atlantic Division 	Atlantic Division 	Atlantic Division 	Atlantic Division 	Atlantic Division 	Atlantic Division
Opponent 	Home 	Away 	Total 	Pts. 	Goals scored 	Goals allowed
Boston Bruins 	0–1–0 	1–0–0 	1–1–0 	2 	4 	6
Buffalo Sabres 	1–0–0 	0–1–0 	1–1–0 	2 	7 	5
Detroit Red Wings 	0–0–1 	1–0–0 	1–0–1 	3 	5 	5
Florida Panthers 	1–0–0 	0–0–1 	1–0–1 	3 	7 	7
Montreal Canadiens 	1–0–0 	0–0–1 	1–0–1 	3 	8 	5
Ottawa Senators 	1–0–0 	0–1–0 	1–1–0 	2 	7 	6
Tampa Bay Lightning 	0–0–1 	1–0–0 	1–0–1 	3 	4 	4
Toronto Maple Leafs 	0–1–0 	0–1–0 	0–2–0 	0 	4 	9
Total 	4–2–2 	3–3–2 	7–5–4 	18 	46 	47
Metropolitan Division	Metropolitan Division	Metropolitan Division	Metropolitan Division	Metropolitan Division	Metropolitan Division	Metropolitan Division
Opponent 	Home 	Away 	Total 	Pts. 	Goals scored 	Goals allowed
Carolina Hurricanes 	1–0–0 	1–0–0 	2–0–0 	4 	6 	4
Columbus Blue Jackets	0–0–1 	1–0–0 	1–0–1 	3 	6 	4
New Jersey Devils 	0–1–0 	0–0–1 	0–1–1 	1 	5 	7
New York Islanders 	0–1–0 	1–0–0 	1–1–0 	2 	4 	4
New York Rangers 	1–0–0 	0–0–1 	1–0–1 	3 	4 	4
Philadelphia Flyers 	1–0–0 	0–1–0 	1–1–0 	2 	4 	3
Pittsburgh Penguins 	0–1–0 	0–1–0 	0–2–0 	0 	6 	8
Washington Capitals 	0–1–0 	0–1–0 	0–2–0 	0 	3 	7
Total 	3–4–1 	3–3–2 	6–7–3 	15 	38 	41
==Player statistics==
===Skaters===
 Regular season 
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	82	28	33	61	7 	36
 	74	11	44	55	0 	24
 	82	16	24	40	−30	18
 	67	22	16	38	16 	32
 	69	15	13	28	−14	14
 	63	13	14	27	−30	12
 	75	1 	24	25	−21	14
 	79	9 	13	22	−13	49
 	52	6 	14	20	−8 	46
 	69	4 	14	18	−8 	8
 	69	9 	9 	18	−6 	32
 	80	6 	12	18	−19	50
 	71	5 	11	16	−13	177
 	41	4 	11	15	−14	6
 	55	7 	6 	13	−7 	45
 	58	3 	10	13	−2 	28
† 	39	7 	5 	12	−8 	9
‡ 	44	5 	5 	10	1 	14
 	20	5 	4 	9 	3 	2
 	41	2 	6 	8 	5 	26
 	35	1 	6 	7 	−3 	59
 	45	0 	7 	7 	−17	24
 	51	0 	7 	7 	−11	22
 	33	3 	1 	4 	−14	4
† 	16	2 	1 	3 	−3 	6
 	13	1 	1 	2 	−3 	10
 	1 	0 	1 	1 	1 	0
 	3 	0 	1 	1 	1 	2
 	20	1 	0 	1 	−9 	2
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
 	6 	0 	0 	0 	−4 	2
 	8 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	6
 	13	0 	0 	0 	−3 	16
‡ 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
===Goaltenders===
 Regular season 
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	51	51	3043:31	17	24	9	137	2.70	1634	.916	1	0	1	2
 	33	30	1847:26	13	14	4	84 	2.73	988 	.915	0	0	2	4
 	1 	1 	59:52 	1 	0 	0	3 	3.01	31 	.903	0	0	0	0
†Traded to Canucks mid-season. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.
‡Traded (or lost by waivers) to another team mid-season. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.
==Roster==
|}
=== Suspensions and fines ===
Player 	Explanation 	Length 	Salary 	Date issued 	Ref
Brandon Prust	Spearing Boston forward Brad Marchand. 	– 	$5,000.00	December 6, 2015 	
Jannik Hansen	Diving/embellishment during NHL game no. 510 in Tampa Bay on December 22, 2015, at 10:15 of the third period.	– 	$2,000.00	December 31, 2015	
Jake Virtanen	Interference against San Jose defenceman Roman Polak. 	2 games	$9,614.70	March 30, 2016 	
==Awards and honours==
=== Awards ===
 Regular season
Player	Award 	Awarded
 	NHL Second Star of the Week	November 23, 2015
 	NHL All-Star game selection	January 6, 2016
===Milestones===
 Regular season
Player	Milestone 	Reached
 	1st NHL game1st NHL assist1st NHL point	October 7, 2015
 	1st NHL game 	October 7, 2015
 	1st NHL goal1st NHL point 	October 10, 2015
 	1st NHL game 	October 13, 2015
 	500th NHL game100th NHL goal 	October 16, 2015
 	1,100th NHL game 	October 24, 2015
 	1st NHL assist1st NHL point 	October 27, 2015
 	100th NHL point 	October 27, 2015
 	1st NHL game 	October 29, 2015
 	1st NHL goal1st NHL point 	October 30, 2015
 	700th NHL game 	November 2, 2015
 	1st NHL goal 	November 2, 2015
 	1st NHL assist 	November 4, 2015
 	1st NHL game 	November 16, 2015
 	1st NHL game 	November 18, 2015
 	900th NHL point 	November 21, 2015
 	200th NHL assist 	November 21, 2015
 	100th NHL game 	November 27, 2015
 	1st NHL game 	December 1, 2015
 	200th NHL point 	December 3, 2015
 	500th NHL game 	December 9, 2015
 	900th NHL game 	December 13, 2015
 	100th NHL game 	December 15, 2015
 	600th NHL game 	December 17, 2015
 	1st NHL assist 	December 20, 2015
 	100th NHL game 	December 26, 2015
 	1st NHL assist1st NHL point 	December 26, 2015
 	700th NHL game 	December 28, 2015
 	1100th NHL game 	January 1, 2016
 	100th NHL game 	January 6, 2016
 	1st NHL goal 	January 17, 2016
 	1st NHL game 	February 15, 2016
 	300th NHL point 	March 7, 2016
 	1st NHL game1st NHL assist1st NHL point	March 16, 2016
 	200th NHL game 	March 22, 2016
 	100th NHL game 	April 6, 2016
 	1st NHL goal 	April 7, 2016
===Records===
Player 	Record 	Date
Daniel Sedin	Most career goals in Canucks history	January 21, 2016
==Transactions==
The Canucks been involved in the following transactions:
===Trades===
Date	Details 	Details 	Ref
 	To Vancouver Canucks:3rd round pick in 2015 7th round pick in 2016	To Carolina Hurricanes:Eddie Lack 	
 	To Vancouver Canucks:7th round pick in 2015 	To San Jose Sharks:Patrick McNally 	
 	To Vancouver Canucks:2nd round pick in 2016 	To Anaheim Ducks:Kevin Bieksa 	
 	To Vancouver Canucks:Brandon Prust 	To Montreal Canadiens:Zack Kassian 5th round pick in 2016 	
 	To Vancouver Canucks:Brandon Sutter BUF's 3rd round pick in 2016 	To Pittsburgh Penguins:Nick Bonino Adam Clendening ANA's 2nd round pick in 2016	
 	To Vancouver Canucks:Emerson Etem 	To New York Rangers:Nicklas Jensen6th-round pick in 2017 	
 	To Vancouver Canucks:Markus Granlund 	To Calgary Flames:Hunter Shinkaruk 	
 	To Vancouver Canucks:Philip Larsen 	To Edmonton Oilers:Conditional 5th-round pick in 2017 	
 
===Free agents acquired===
Player 	Date	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
Matt Bartkowski	 	Boston Bruins 	1 year, $1.75 million 	
Richard Bachman	 	Edmonton Oilers 	1 year, $575,000 	
Taylor Fedun 	 	San Jose Sharks 	1 year, $600,000 	
Blair Jones 	 	Philadelphia Flyers	1 year, $600,000 	
Adam Cracknell 	 	St. Louis Blues 	1 year, $575,000 	
===Free agents lost===
Player 	Date	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
Brad Richardson 	 	Arizona Coyotes 	3 years, $6.25 million 	
Cal O'Reilly 	 	Buffalo Sabres 	2 years, $1.4 million 	
Bobby Sanguinetti	 	Buffalo Sabres 	1 year, $600,000 	
Shawn Matthias 	 	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 year, $2.3 million 	
Ryan Stanton 	 	Washington Capitals	1 year, $575,000 	
===Claimed via waivers===
Player	Previous team	Date	Ref
===Lost via waivers===
Player 	New team 	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Frank Corrado 	Toronto Maple Leafs	October 6, 2015 	
Adam Cracknell	Edmonton Oilers 	February 29, 2016 	
===Player signings===
Player 	Date	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
Joseph LaBate 	 	2 year, $680,000 entry-level contract 	
Mackenze Stewart 	 	3 year, $655,000 entry-level contract 	
Jordan Subban 	 	3 year, $755,000 entry-level contract 	
Linden Vey 	 	1 year, $1 million 	
Alex Biega 	 	1 year, $600,000 	
Yannick Weber 	 	1 year, $1.5 million 	
Sven Baertschi 	 	1 year, $900,000 	
Brandon Sutter 	 	5 years, $21.875 million contract extension	
Guillaume Brisebois	 	3 year, $703,333 entry-level contract 	
==Draft picks==
Below are the Vancouver Canucks' 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 	23 	Brock Boeser 	RW 	 	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
3 	66 	Guillaume Brisebois	D 	 	Acadie–Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
4 	114	Dmitry Zhukenov 	C 	 	Omskie Yastreby (MHL)
5 	144	Carl Neill 	D 	 	Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
5 	149	Adam Gaudette 	C 	 	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
6 	174	Lukas Jasek 	RW 	 	Ocelari Trinec (Czech Extraliga)
7 	210	Tate Olson 	D 	 	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
;Draft notes
* The Vancouver Canucks' second-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015, that sent Sven Baertschi to Vancouver in exchange for this pick.
* The Carolina Hurricanes' third-round pick went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Eddie Lack to Carolina in exchange for a 2016 seventh-round pick and this pick.
* The Vancouver Canucks' third-round pick went to the Anaheim Ducks as the result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent Nick Bonino, Luca Sbisa and a first and third-round pick in 2014 to Vancouver in exchange for Ryan Kesler and this pick.
* The New York Rangers' fifth-round pick went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014, that sent Raphael Diaz to New York in exchange for this pick.
* The Vancouver Canucks' seventh-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third-round pick in 2014 to Tampa Bay in exchange for a third-round pick in 2014 and this pick. Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent a second-round pick in 2014 to Vancouver in exchange for Jason Garrison, the rights to Jeff Costello and this pick.
* The San Jose Sharks' seventh-round pick (from New York Islanders via Tampa Bay Lightning) went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Patrick McNally to San Jose in exchange for this pick.
==References==
Category:Vancouver Canucks seasons
Vancouver Canucks season, 2015-16