2015–16 Nashville Predators season

The 2015–16 Nashville Predators season was the 18th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997. It was also the first time that the Predators played in a game 7 in a playoff series.
==Off-season==
==Schedule and results==
===Pre-season===
2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)	2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1 ; Road: 1–1–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 20 	Florida 	2–5 	Nashville 	 	Hutton 	15,432 	1–0–0 	Recap
2 	September 20 	Florida 	3–2 	Nashville 	OT 	Saros 	12,711 	1–0–1 	Recap
3 	September 22 	Nashville 	3–2 	Tampa Bay 	OT 	Hutton 	14,324 	2–0–1 	Recap
4 	September 23 	Tampa Bay 	2–5 	Nashville 	 	Rinne 	14,186 	3–0–1 	Recap
5 	September 29 	Columbus 	5–2 	Nashville 	 	Hutton 	16,027 	3–1–1 	Recap
6 	October 3 	Nashville 	1–7 	Columbus 	 	Rinne 	13,795 	3–2–1 	Recap
===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: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)	October: 7–1–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 8 	Carolina 	1–2 	Nashville 	 	Rinne 	17,204 	1–0–0 	2 	Recap
2 	October 10 	Edmonton 	0–2 	Nashville 	 	Rinne 	17,113 	2–0–0 	4 	Recap
3 	October 13 	Nashville 	3–1 	New Jersey 	 	Rinne 	11,117 	3–0–0 	6 	Recap
4 	October 15 	Nashville 	3–4 	NY Islanders 	 	Rinne 	10,542 	3–1–0 	6 	Recap
5 	October 17 	Nashville 	4–3 	Ottawa 	SO 	Hutton 	16,895 	4–1–0 	8 	Recap
6 	October 20 	Tampa Bay 	4–5 	Nashville 	SO 	Rinne 	17,113 	5–1–0 	10 	Recap
7 	October 22 	Anaheim 	1–5 	Nashville 	 	Rinne 	17,113 	6–1–0 	12 	Recap
8 	October 24 	Pittsburgh 	2–1 	Nashville 	OT 	Rinne 	17,163 	6–1–1 	13 	Recap
9 	October 28 	Nashville 	2–1 	San Jose 	 	Rinne 	15,219 	7–1–1 	15 	Recap
10 	October 31 	Nashville 	3–4 	Los Angeles 	OT 	Rinne 	18,230 	7–1–2 	16 	Recap
===Playoffs===
====Summary====
=====First round: Anaheim=====
After trailing 2-1 in the second period, the Predators opened their playoff run with a 3-2 victory over the Ducks. The Predators took a 2-0 lead in the series with a 3-2 victory over the Ducks. Back home in Nashville for Game 3, the Predators were shut out in a 3-0 loss and the Ducks pushed the series to 2-1. The Ducks evened the series in a 4-1 victory in Game 4. The Ducks pulled to a one-game lead over the Predators with a 5-2 victory in Game 5. Back in Nashville for Game 6, the Predators kept the series alive with a 3-1 victory over the Ducks. The Predators scored two goals in the first period and held off a late rally by the Ducks to win Game 7 2-1 and advance on to the Western Conference semifinals.
=====Second round: San Jose=====
Despite scoring the first goal, the Predators fell 5-2 to the Sharks in Game 1 of the second round. The Predators fell to a two-game deficit in a 3-2 loss to the Sharks in Game 2. After allowing a power play goal in the first period, the Predators scored four unanswered goals – including two on power plays – to take Game 3. A third overtime goal by Mike Fisher gave the Predators a 4-3 victory in Game 4 and evened the series at two games a piece. The Predators fell 5-1 to the Sharks in Game 5. Despite trailing two goals in the first period of Game 6, the Predators rallied back to tie the game in the third period and score the winning goal in overtime to force a Game 7, which they lost 5–0.
====Results====
2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2016 Stanley Cup playoffs
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Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P1) Anaheim Ducks: Nashville wins 4–3	
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap 	
1 	April 15 	Nashville 	3–2 	Anaheim 	 	Rinne 	17,236 	1–0 	Recap 	
2 	April 17 	Nashville 	3–2 	Anaheim 	 	Rinne 	17,174 	2–0 	Recap 	
3 	April 19 	Anaheim 	3–0 	Nashville 	 	Rinne 	17,204 	2–1 	Recap 	
4 	April 21 	Anaheim 	4–1 	Nashville 	 	Rinne 	17,232 	2–2 	Recap 	
5 	April 23 	Nashville 	2–5 	Anaheim 	 	Rinne 	17,360 	2–3 	Recap 	
6 	April 25 	Anaheim 	1–3 	Nashville 	 	Rinne 	17,113 	3–3 	Recap 	
7 	April 27 	Nashville 	2–1 	Anaheim 	 	Rinne 	17,407 	4–3 	Recap 	
==Player stats==
Final stats
===Skaters===
 Regular Season 
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	82	33	31	64	1 	47
 	81	14	47	61	−3 	43
 	82	31	27	58	27 	65
 	78	20	31	51	−7 	27
 	81	7 	43	50	11 	62
 	82	21	16	37	4 	40
 	82	8 	27	35	14 	44
† 	42	8 	26	34	10 	36
 	79	10	22	32	13 	35
 	81	16	14	30	1 	14
 	64	6 	18	24	−1 	14
 	70	13	10	23	−14	29
 	56	8 	8 	16	−8 	35
‡ 	40	1 	10	11	−5 	10
 	61	5 	5 	10	−1 	28
 	57	3 	7 	10	−4 	32
 	39	3 	5 	8 	2 	6
 	46	7 	0 	7 	−6 	20
 	34	4 	2 	6 	5 	12
 	63	2 	4 	6 	−4 	46
 	28	1 	5 	6 	0 	19
 	73	1 	4 	5 	1 	76
 	22	1 	3 	4 	0 	18
 	27	0 	2 	2 	1 	13
 	5 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0
 	17	0 	0 	0 	−1 	17
‡ 	1 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	0
† 	2 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	14	5	8	13	8 	0
 	14	1	8	9 	–6 	12
 	14	4	4	8 	1 	8
 	14	4	4	8 	0 	16
 	14	5	2	7 	–1 	2
 	14	3	4	7 	−7 	18
 	14	3	4	7 	2 	4
 	14	0	6	6 	0 	4
 	14	2	2	4 	–11	2
 	12	0	2	2 	–3 	16
 	11	1	1	2 	1 	4
 	14	1	1	2 	2 	6
 	14	1	1	2 	–3 	8
 	14	1	0	1 	0 	0
 	14	0	1	1 	–5 	4
 	14	0	0	0 	1 	22
 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	2
 	6 	0	0	0 	–2 	2
 	14	0	0	0 	1 	6
 	2 	0	0	0 	0 	0
 	10	0	0	0 	–1 	8
===Goaltenders===
 Regular Season 
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	66	66	3895:22	34	21	10	161	2.48	1744	.908	4	0	2	6
 	17	15	978:56 	7 	5 	4 	38 	2.33	464 	.918	2	0	1	0
 	1 	1 	58:01 	0 	1 	0 	3 	3.10	23 	.870	0	0	0	0
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	14	14	866	7	7	38	2.63	404	.906	0	0	1	0
 	3 	0 	20 	0	0	1 	3.00	3 	.667	0	0	0	0
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Predators. Stats reflect time with the Predators only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Predators only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record
==Roster==
==Awards and honours==
=== Awards ===
 Regular Season
Player	Award 	Awarded
 	NHL Second Star of the Week 	December 7, 2015
 	NHL All-Star game selection 	January 6, 2016
 	NHL All-Star game selection 	January 6, 2016
 	NHL All-Star game selection 	January 6, 2016
 	NHL All-Star game replacement selection	January 28, 2016
=== Milestones ===
 Regular Season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached
 	1st Career NHL Goal1st Career NHL Point	October 8, 2015
 	300th Career NHL Game 	November 1, 2015
 	400th Career NHL Point 	November 10, 2015
S. Weber	700th Career NHL Game 	November 12, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Game 	November 12, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Assist 	November 17, 2015
 	500th Career NHL Game 	November 23, 2015
 	400th Career NHL Game 	November 27, 2015
 	300th Career NHL Game 	November 28, 2015
== Transactions ==
The Predators have been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season.
=== Trades ===
Date	Details 	Details 	Ref
 	To Calgary Flames Conditional 4th-round pick in 2016	To Nashville Predators Max Reinhart 	
 	To New York Rangers Magnus Hellberg 	To Nashville Predators 6th-round pick in 2017 	
 	To Toronto Maple Leafs Taylor Beck 	To Nashville Predators Jamie Devane 	
 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Seth Jones 	To Nashville Predators Ryan Johansen 	
 	To Ottawa Senators Conor Allen 	To Nashville Predators Patrick Mullen 	
 	To Arizona Coyotes Victor Bartley 	To Nashville Predators Stefan Elliott 	
 	To Arizona Coyotes Future considerations 	To Nashville Predators Corey Potter 	
 	To Buffalo Sabres Jimmy Vesey (rights) 	To Nashville Predators MIN's 3rd-round pick in 2016	
=== Free agents acquired ===
Date	Player 	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
 	Barret Jackman 	St. Louis Blues 	2 year, $4 million 	
 	Cody Hodgson 	Buffalo Sabres 	1 year, $1.05 million 	
 	Conor Allen 	New York Rangers 	1 year, $575,000 	
 	Cody Bass 	Rockford IceHogs 	1 year, $575,000 	
 	Frederick Gaudreau	Milwaukee Admirals	2 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Adam Payerl 	Milwaukee Admirals	1 year, $575,000 	
 	Jonas Gunnarsson 	Malmo Redhawks 	1 year, entry-level contract 	
=== Free agents lost ===
Date 	Player 	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
 	Viktor Stalberg	New York Rangers 	1 year, $1.1 million 	
 	Joe Piskula 	Anaheim Ducks 	1 year, $600,000 	
 	Matt Cullen 	Pittsburgh Penguins	1 year, $800,000 	
August 17, 2015 	Mike Santorelli	Anaheim Ducks 	1 year, $875,000 	
September 10, 2015	Cody Franson 	Buffalo Sabres 	2 years, $6.65 million 	
===Claimed via waivers===
Player 	Previous team 	Date
Petter Granberg	Toronto Maple Leafs	November 22, 2015
=== Lost via waivers ===
Player	New team	Date
===Player signings===
Date	Player 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
 	Mike Fisher 	2 years, $8.8 million 	
 	Austin Watson 	2 years, $1.15 million 	
 	Mike Ribeiro 	2 years, $7 million 	
 	Gabriel Bourque 	1 year, $866,250 	
 	Max Reinhart 	1 year, $575,000 	
 	Vladislav Kamenev	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Yakov Trenin 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Anthony Bitetto 	1 year, $665,500 	
 	Taylor Aronson 	1 year, $605,000 	
 	Calle Jarnkrok 	1 year, $735,000 	
 	Craig Smith 	5 years, $21.25 million 	
 	Jack Dougherty 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Colin Wilson 	4 years, $15.75 million 	
 	Mattias Ekholm 	6 years, $22.5 million contract extension 	
 	Alexandre Carrier	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Colton Sissons 	3 years, $1.875 million contract extension	
 	Anthony Bitetto 	2 years, $1.225 million contract extension	
 	Miikka Salomaki 	2 years, $1.225 million contract extension	
 	Justin Kirkland 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
 	Cody Bass 	2 years, $1.225 million contract extension	
 	Marek Mazanec 	1 year, $575,000 	
==Draft picks==
Below are the Nashville Predators' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, that was held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Round	# 	Player 	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2 	55 	Iakov Trenin 	C 	 	Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
3 	85 	Thomas Novak 	C 	 	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
4 	100	Anthony Richards 	C 	 	Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
4 	115	Alexandre Carrier	D 	 	Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
5 	145	Karel Vejmelka 	G 	 	HC Dynamo Pardubice (Czech U20)
6 	175	Tyler Moy 	C 	 	Harvard University (NCAA)
7 	205	Evan Smith 	G 	 	Austin Bruins (NAHL)
;Draft notes
* The Nashville Predators' first-round pick was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs (later sent Philadelphia) as the result of a trade on February 15, 2015, that sent Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to Nashville in exchange for Olli Jokinen, Brendan Leipsic and this pick.
* The San Jose Sharks' fourth-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent Detroit's second-round pick in 2014 to San Jose in exchange for a second-round pick in 2014 and this pick.
==References==
Category:Nashville Predators seasons
Nashville Predators season, 2015-16
Category:National Hockey League All-Star Game hosts