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2015–16 Vancouver Canucks season

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2015–16 Vancouver Canucks
Division6th Pacific
Conference13th Western
2015–16 record31–38–13
Home record15–21–5
Road record16–17–8
Goals for191
Goals against243
Team information
General managerJim Benning
CoachWillie Desjardins
CaptainHenrik Sedin
Alternate captainsAlex Burrows
Dan Hamhuis
Daniel Sedin
ArenaRogers Arena
Average attendance18,431 (97.5%)[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)Utica Comets (AHL)
Team leaders
GoalsDaniel Sedin (28)
AssistsHenrik Sedin (44)
PointsDaniel Sedin (61)
Penalty minutesDerek Dorsett (177)
Plus/minusJannik Hansen (+16)
WinsRyan Miller (17)
Goals against averageRyan Miller (2.70)

The 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks season was the 46th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[2] 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.[3]

Off-season

[edit]

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)[4] 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.[5]

On July 1, Zack Kassian and a fifth-round pick in 2016 were traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Brandon Prust.[6] Jim Benning continued by signing various free agents, including former Boston Bruins defenceman Matt Bartkowski[7] and prospects Taylor Fedun[8] and Richard Bachman,[9] 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.[10]

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.[11] One week later, the Canucks resigned Sutter to a five-year contract extension, lasting until the 2020–21 NHL season.[12]

Training camp

[edit]
The Canucks at their 2015 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.[13] 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

[edit]
Pacific Division
Pos Team 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
Source: National Hockey League[14]
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division
Western Conference Wild Card
Pos Div Team 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
Source: National Hockey League[15]
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

[edit]

The Canucks set a franchise record with a goal drought of 234 minutes and 52 seconds beginning after the Daniel Sedin goal at 12:00 of the first period on March 16 against Colorado and ending with the Bo Horvat goal at 6:52 of the first period on March 24 against Nashville.

Pre-season

[edit]

Regular season

[edit]
2015–16 game log

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

Detailed records

[edit]

Player statistics

[edit]

Skaters

[edit]

Goaltenders

[edit]
Regular season[17]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Ryan Miller 51 51 3043:31 17 24 9 137 2.70 1634 .916 1 0 1 2
Jacob Markstrom 33 30 1847:26 13 14 4 84 2.73 988 .915 0 0 2 4
Richard Bachman 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.

Suspensions and fines

[edit]
Player Explanation Length Salary Date issued Ref
Brandon Prust Spearing Boston forward Brad Marchand. $5,000.00 December 6, 2015 [18]
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 [19]
Jake Virtanen Interference against San Jose defenceman Roman Polak. 2 games $9,614.70 March 30, 2016 [20]

Awards and honours

[edit]

Awards

[edit]
Regular season
Player Award Awarded
Daniel Sedin NHL Second Star of the Week[21] November 23, 2015
Daniel Sedin NHL All-Star game selection[22] January 6, 2016

Milestones

[edit]
Regular season
Player Milestone Reached
Ben Hutton 1st NHL game
1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
October 7, 2015
Jared McCann 1st NHL game October 7, 2015
Jared McCann 1st NHL goal
1st NHL point
October 10, 2015
Jake Virtanen 1st NHL game October 13, 2015
Brandon Sutter 500th NHL game
100th NHL goal
October 16, 2015
Henrik Sedin 1,100th NHL game October 24, 2015
Jake Virtanen 1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
October 27, 2015
Derek Dorsett 100th NHL point October 27, 2015
Brendan Gaunce 1st NHL game October 29, 2015
Brendan Gaunce 1st NHL goal
1st NHL point
October 30, 2015
Alex Burrows 700th NHL game November 2, 2015
Jake Virtanen 1st NHL goal November 2, 2015
Jared McCann 1st NHL assist November 4, 2015
Hunter Shinkaruk 1st NHL game November 16, 2015
Alexandre Grenier 1st NHL game November 18, 2015
Daniel Sedin 900th NHL point November 21, 2015
Alexander Edler 200th NHL assist November 21, 2015
Adam Cracknell 100th NHL game November 27, 2015
Andrey Pedan 1st NHL game December 1, 2015
Jannik Hansen 200th NHL point December 3, 2015
Jannik Hansen 500th NHL game December 9, 2015
Radim Vrbata 900th NHL game December 13, 2015
Bo Horvat 100th NHL game December 15, 2015
Alexander Edler 600th NHL game December 17, 2015
Alex Biega 1st NHL assist December 20, 2015
Sven Baertschi 100th NHL game December 26, 2015
Jacob Markstrom 1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
December 26, 2015
Chris Higgins 700th NHL game December 28, 2015
Daniel Sedin 1100th NHL game January 1, 2016
Linden Vey 100th NHL game January 6, 2016
Ben Hutton 1st NHL goal January 17, 2016
Alex Friesen 1st NHL game February 15, 2016
Dan Hamhuis 300th NHL point March 7, 2016
Nikita Tryamkin 1st NHL game
1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
March 16, 2016
Matt Bartkowski 200th NHL game March 22, 2016
Markus Granlund 100th NHL game April 6, 2016
Nikita Tryamkin 1st NHL goal April 7, 2016

Records

[edit]
Player Record Date
Daniel Sedin Most career goals in Canucks history January 21, 2016

Transactions

[edit]

The Canucks been involved in the following transactions:

Trades

[edit]
Date Details Ref
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) To Vancouver Canucks:
3rd round pick (66th overall) in 2015
7th round pick in 2016
To Carolina Hurricanes:
Eddie Lack
[4]
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27) To Vancouver Canucks:
7th round pick in 2015
To San Jose Sharks:
Patrick McNally
[23]
June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30) To Vancouver Canucks:
2nd round pick in 2016
To Anaheim Ducks:
Kevin Bieksa
[5]
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) To Vancouver Canucks:
Brandon Prust
To Montreal Canadiens:
Zack Kassian
5th round pick (124th overall) in 2016
[6]
August 28, 2015 (2015-08-28) 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
[24]
January 8, 2016 (2016-01-08) To Vancouver Canucks:
Emerson Etem
To New York Rangers:
Nicklas Jensen
6th-round pick (157th overall) in 2017
[25]
February 22, 2016 (2016-02-22) To Vancouver Canucks:
Markus Granlund
To Calgary Flames:
Hunter Shinkaruk
[26]
February 24, 2016 (2016-02-24) To Vancouver Canucks:
Philip Larsen
To Edmonton Oilers:
Conditional 5th-round pick (126th overall) in 2017
[27]

Player signings

[edit]
Player Date Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
Joseph LaBate April 30, 2015 (2015-04-30) 2-year, $680,000 entry-level contract [37]
Mackenze Stewart May 12, 2015 (2015-05-12) 3-year, $655,000 entry-level contract [38]
Jordan Subban May 14, 2015 (2015-05-14) 3-year, $755,000 entry-level contract [39]
Linden Vey June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29) 1 year, $1 million [40]
Alex Biega June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30) 1 year, $600,000 [41]
Yannick Weber July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) 1 year, $1.5 million [42]
Sven Baertschi July 28, 2015 (2015-07-28) 1 year, $900,000 [43]
Brandon Sutter August 4, 2015 (2015-08-04) 5 years, $21.875 million contract extension [44]
Guillaume Brisebois December 10, 2015 (2015-12-10) 3-year, $703,333 entry-level contract [45]

Draft picks

[edit]

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  United States Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
3 66[a] Guillaume Brisebois D  Canada Acadie–Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
4 114 Dmitry Zhukenov C  Russia Omskie Yastreby (MHL)
5 144 Carl Neill D  Canada Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
5 149[b] Adam Gaudette C  United States Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
6 174 Lukas Jasek RW  Czech Republic Ocelari Trinec (Czech Extraliga)
7 210[c] Tate Olson D  Canada Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Draft notes[46]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "NHL Attendance Report - 2015-16". ESPN. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. ^ National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.
  3. ^ "2015-2016 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Vancouver Canucks - Schedule". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Canucks acquire two draft picks from Hurricanes". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Canucks acquire 2016 2nd round pick from Ducks". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Prust to Canucks for Kassian & 5th round pick". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Canucks sign defenceman Matt Bartkowski". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Canucks sign defenceman Taylor Fedun". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Canucks sign goaltender Richard Bachman". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  10. ^ "HOCKEY OPERATIONS". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  11. ^ "Brandon Sutter traded from Pittsburgh Penguins to Vancouver Canucks for Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening". National Hockey League.
  12. ^ "Brandon Sutter of Vancouver Canucks signs five-year contract extension". National Hockey League.
  13. ^ "Corrado hopes to stick in NHL as Maple Leafs claim him off waivers from Canucks". National Hockey League.
  14. ^ "2015-2016 NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com.
  15. ^ "NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com.
  16. ^ "2015–2016 – Regular Season – Vancouver Canucks – All Skaters – Summary – Points – National Hockey League.com – Stats". National Hockey League.
  17. ^ "2015–2016 – Regular Season – Vancouver Canucks – Goalie – Summary – Wins – National Hockey League.com – Stats". National Hockey League.
  18. ^ "Canucks' Prust fined $5,000 for spearing". National Hockey League. December 6, 2015.
  19. ^ "Canucks forward Jannik Hansen fined $2,000 for embellishment vs Lightning". National Hockey League. December 31, 2015.
  20. ^ "Canucks' Jake Virtanen suspended two games". National Hockey League. March 30, 2016.
  21. ^ "Jones, Sedin, Shattenkirk named NHL's 'Three Stars'". National Hockey League. November 23, 2015.
  22. ^ "Star-studded Central roster highlights All-Star reveal". National Hockey League. January 6, 2016.
  23. ^ "Canucks send defenceman Patrick McNally to Sharks". Sportsnet. June 27, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  24. ^ "Canucks acquire Sutter & 3rd rounder from Pens". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  25. ^ "Canucks acquire Emerson Etem from Rangers". National Hockey League. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  26. ^ "Canucks acquire Granlund from Flames".
  27. ^ "Canucks acquire Philip Larsen from Oilers". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  28. ^ Dadoun, Ryan (July 4, 2015). "Canucks ink journeyman Blair Jones". NBC Sports. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ^ "Canucks sign Adam Cracknell". National Hockey League. August 26, 2015.
  30. ^ "Coyotes Sign Richardson to Three-Year Contract". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  31. ^ "Sabres sign Cal O'Reilly". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  32. ^ "Sabres Sign Bobby Sanguinetti". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  33. ^ "Leafs Sign Shawn Matthias". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  34. ^ "Capitals Sign Ryan Stanton". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  35. ^ "Maple Leafs claim Toronto native Corrado from Canucks". sportsnet.ca. October 6, 2015.
  36. ^ "Oilers add two". National Hockey League. February 29, 2016.
  37. ^ "Canucks sign forward Labate to contract". Vancouver Canucks. April 30, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  38. ^ "Canucks sign defenceman Mackenze Stewart". Vancouver Canucks. May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  39. ^ "Canucks sign Subban to entry-level contract". Vancouver Canucks. May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  40. ^ "Canucks re-sign right wing Linden Vey". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  41. ^ "Canucks re-sign defenceman Alex Biega". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  42. ^ "Canucks re-sign Yannick Weber". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  43. ^ "Canucks re-sign Sven Baertschi". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  44. ^ "Canucks sign Sutter to five-year extension". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  45. ^ "Canucks sign Guillaume Brisebois to three-year, entry-level contract". National Hockey League. December 10, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  46. ^ "2015 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  47. ^ "Flames trade Baertschi to Canucks for draft pick". March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  48. ^ "Ducks acquire forward Kesler from Canucks". June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  49. ^ "Rangers pick up defenseman Diaz from Canucks". March 5, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  50. ^ "Notes from the 2014 NHL Draft". June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  51. ^ "Lightning acquire defenseman Garrison from Canucks". National Hockey League. June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.