2015–16 Dallas Stars season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2015–16
Year:	2015
Team:	Dallas Stars
Conference:	Western
Conferencerank:	1st
Division:	Central
Divisionrank:	1st
Record:	50–23–9
Homerecord:	28–11–2
Roadrecord:	22–12–7
Goalsfor:	267
Goalsagainst:	230
Generalmanager:	Jim Nill
Coach:	Lindy Ruff
Captain:	Jamie Benn
Altcaptain:	Vernon Fiddler Alex Goligoski
Arena:	American Airlines Center
Attendance:	18,342^[1] (30 games)
Minorleague:	Texas Stars (AHL)
Goalsleader:	Jamie Benn (41)
Assistsleader:	Jamie Benn John Klingberg (48)
Pointsleader:	Jamie Benn (89)
Plusminusleader:	John Klingberg (+22)
Pimleader:	Antoine Roussel (123)
Winsleader:	Kari Lehtonen Antti Niemi (25)
Gaaleader:	Antti Niemi (2.67)
Divisionwin:	Yes

The 2015–16 Dallas Stars season was the 49th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967, and 23rd season since the franchise relocated from Minnesota prior to the start of the 1993–94 NHL season.^[2]

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Pre-Season Game Log: 1–6–0 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 0–4–0)^[3]
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22	Dallas	2–3				5,504	0–1–0	Recap
2	September 24	Dallas	0–6				11,876	0–2–0	Recap
3	September 26		3–6	Dallas			14,676	1–2–0	Recap
4	September 27		4–2	Dallas		Lehtonen	10,113	1–3–0	Recap
5	September 29		4–1	Dallas		Niemi	11,544	1–4–0	Recap
6	October 1	Dallas	2–3			Lehtonen	14,226	1–5–0	Recap
7	October 3	Dallas	0–4			Niemi	21,221	1–6–0	Recap

Regular season

Game Log
October: 9–2–0 (Home: 5–1–0 ; Road: 4–1–0) 18 pts Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 8 0–3 Dallas 18,532 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 10 Dallas 3–6 Niemi 16,024 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 13 2–4 Dallas 16,265 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 15 Dallas 5–3 Lehtonen 19,092 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 17 Dallas 4–2 Lehtonen 12,834 4–1–0 8 Recap 6 October 20 Dallas 2–1 Niemi 19,077 5–1–0 10 Recap 7 October 22 Dallas 4–1 Niemi 18,490 6–1–0 12 Recap 8 October 24 6–2 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 6–2–0 12 Recap 9 October 27 3–4 Dallas Niemi 17,798 7–2–0 14 Recap 10 October 29 3–4 Dallas OT Niemi 17,664 8–2–0 16 Recap 11 October 31 3–5 Dallas Niemi 18,178 9–2–0 18 Recap
November: 10–3–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 6–1–0) 20 pts Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 2 Dallas 1–4 19,087 9–3–0 18 Recap 13 November 3 Dallas 5–3 17,565 10–3–0 20 Recap 14 November 6 Dallas 4–1 Lehtonen 10,188 11–3–0 22 Recap 15 November 8 Dallas 4–1 Lehtonen 20,027 12–3–0 24 Recap 16 November 10 3–2 Dallas Niemi 18,266 12–4–0 24 Recap 17 November 12 3–6 Dallas Lehtonen 18,010 13–4–0 26 Recap 18 November 14 2–3 Dallas OT Lehtonen 18,532 14–4–0 28 Recap 19 November 17 Dallas 3–1 Niemi 18,101 15–4–0 30 Recap 20 November 19 Dallas 3–2 Lehtonen 18,506 16–4–0 32 Recap 21 November 21 0–3 Dallas Niemi 18,532 17–4–0 34 Recap 22 November 24 7–4 Dallas Niemi 18,532 17–5–0 34 Recap 23 November 27 2–3 Dallas SO Niemi 18,532 18–5–0 36 Recap 24 November 28 Dallas 4–3 OT Niemi 19,024 19–5–0 38 Recap
December: 9–3–3 (Home: 7–1–0 ; Road: 2–2–3) 21 pts Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 1 Dallas 3–4 SO 19,237 19–5–1 39 Recap 26 December 3 Dallas 4–2 18,302 20–5–1 41 Recap 27 December 4 Dallas 1–2 OT Niemi 16,839 20–5–2 42 Recap 28 December 8 5–6 Dallas Niemi 18,287 21–5–2 44 Recap 29 December 11 1–3 Dallas Niemi 18,532 22–5–2 46 Recap 30 December 12 Dallas 0–3 Niemi 15,023 22–6–2 46 Recap 31 December 15 1–5 Dallas Lehtonen 18,232 23–6–2 48 Recap 32 December 17 3–1 Dallas Lehtonen 18,410 23–7–2 48 Recap 33 December 19 2–6 Dallas Niemi 18,532 24–7–2 50 Recap 34 December 21 Dallas 6–3 Niemi 19,047 25–7–2 52 Recap 35 December 22 0–4 Dallas Niemi 18,532 26–7–2 54 Recap 36 December 26 Dallas 2–3 SO Niemi 19,185 26–7–3 55 Recap 37 December 27 0–3 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 27–7–3 57 Recap 38 December 29 Dallas 3–6 Lehtonen 15,836 27–8–3 57 Recap 39 December 31 1–5 Dallas Niemi 18,532 28–8–3 59 Recap
January: 3–6–2 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 0–4–2) 8 pts Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 40 January 2 Dallas 2–3 OT 16,514 28–8–4 60 Recap 41 January 3 Dallas 5–6 14,054 28–9–4 60 Recap 42 January 5 Dallas 2–6 Niemi 18,006 28–10–4 60 Recap 43 January 7 1–2 Dallas SO Lehtonen 18,532 29–10–4 62 Recap 44 January 9 2–1 Dallas Niemi 18,532 29–11–4 62 Recap 45 January 15 Dallas 2–4 Lehtonen 16,201 29–12–4 62 Recap 46 January 16 Dallas 3–4 OT Niemi 17,562 29–12–5 63 Recap 47 January 19 Dallas 2–3 Lehtonen 18,230 29–13–5 63 Recap 48 January 21 2–3 Dallas Niemi 18,532 30–13–5 65 Recap 49 January 23 3–1 Dallas Niemi 18,532 30–14–5 65 Recap 50 January 25 1–2 Dallas Niemi 18,532 31–14–5 67 Recap
February: 7–5–2 (Home: 1–4–1 ; Road: 6–1–1) 16 pts Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 2 Dallas 5–3 15,294 32–14–5 69 Recap 52 February 4 Dallas 4–3 OT Niemi 14,351 33–14–5 71 Recap 53 February 6 5–1 Dallas Niemi 18,532 33–15–5 71 Recap 54 February 9 Dallas 4–3 OT Niemi 19,087 34–15–5 73 Recap 55 February 11 Dallas 4–2 Lehtonen 22,051 35–15–5 75 Recap 56 February 13 3–4 Dallas 18,532 36–15–5 77 Recap 57 February 15 Dallas 3–2 OT Niemi 17,113 37–15–5 79 Recap 58 February 16 Dallas 1–2 OT Lehtonen 18,156 37–15–6 80 Recap 59 February 18 Dallas 3–6 Niemi 11,853 37–16–6 80 Recap 60 February 20 7–3 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 37–17–6 80 Recap 61 February 23 Dallas 5–3 Niemi 15,294 38–17–6 82 Recap 62 February 25 6–3 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 38–18–6 82 Recap 63 February 27 3–2 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 38–19–6 82 Recap 64 February 29 3–2 Dallas OT Niemi 18,532 38–19–7 83 Recap
March: 9–3–2 (Home: 6–1–1 ; Road: 3–2–1) 20 pts Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 1 Dallas 3–5 17,113 38–20–7 83 Recap 66 March 4 2–4 Dallas 18,117 39–20–7 85 Recap 67 March 6 Dallas 2–1 Lehtonen 19,419 40–20–7 87 Recap 68 March 8 Dallas 3–4 OT Lehtonen 21,288 40–20–8 88 Recap 69 March 11 2–5 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 41–20–8 90 Recap 70 March 12 5–4 Dallas OT Niemi 18,532 41–20–9 91 Recap 71 March 15 5–2 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 41–21–9 91 Recap 72 March 17 3–4 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 42–21–9 93 Recap 73 March 19 0–3 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 43–21–9 95 Recap 74 March 22 Dallas 6–2 Lehtonen 22,034 44–21–9 97 Recap 75 March 24 Dallas 1–3 Lehtonen 11,887 44–22–9 97 Recap 76 March 26 Dallas 4–2 Niemi 16,439 45–22–9 99 Recap 77 March 29 2–5 Dallas Lehtonen 18,265 46–22–9 101 Recap 78 March 31 1–4 Dallas Niemi 18,532 47–22–9 103 Recap
April: 3–1–0 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 1–1–0) 6 pts Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 79 April 2 Dallas 3–2 18,230 48–22–9 105 Recap 80 April 3 Dallas 1–3 16,585 48–23–9 105 Recap 81 April 7 2–4 Dallas Lehtonen 18,532 49–23–9 107 Recap 82 April 9 2–3 Dallas Niemi 18,532 50–23–9 109 Recap
Legend:

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular Season^[4]

Player					data-sort-type="number"
	82	41	48	89	7	64
	72	33	40	73	2	16
	75	33	30	63	4	22
	76	10	48	58	22	30
	76	20	35	55	−3	27
	75	13	26	39	3	20
	82	5	32	37	21	34
	82	16	19	35	3	42
	73	15	14	29	12	16
	80	13	16	29	11	123
	79	9	20	29	2	12
	71	11	12	23	6	21
	62	7	16	23	16	72
	82	12	10	22	5	31
	82	4	17	21	8	26
	54	11	6	17	−5	27
	45	5	7	12	9	16
	64	3	9	12	2	21
	38	0	8	8	−1	14
	40	2	4	6	1	6
^†	11	0	4	4	−1	2
	14	1	2	3	−6	6
	23	0	2	2	−3	21
	19	0	2	2	−5	21
	1	1	0	1	1	0
	8	0	1	1	−3	7
	3	0	0	0	−1	0
	4	0	0	0	−3	0
	3	0	0	0	2	0

Playoffs

Player					data-sort-type="number"
	13	5	10	15	2	10
	13	5	8	13	0	2
	13	1	7	8	−4	8
	13	4	3	7	−6	6
	13	4	2	6	−4	0
	9	3	3	6	3	2
	13	3	2	5	2	2
	12	2	3	5	−3	2
	11	2	3	5	1	0
	13	1	3	4	−5	2
	13	1	3	4	−1	2
	12	0	4	4	1	4
	13	1	2	3	1	2
	13	1	2	3	−1	8
	13	0	3	3	1	8
	13	2	0	2	0	16
	10	0	1	1	−2	2
	6	0	0	0	−1	2
	1	0	0	0	2	4
	1	0	0	0	0	5
	13	0	0	0	0	6
	1	0	0	0	0	0
	2	0	0	0	−2	0

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[5]

Player
style=white-space:nowrap		48	43	2654	25	13	7	118	2.67	1246	.905	3	0	2	2
style=white-space:nowrap		43	39	2279	25	10	2	105	2.76	1121	.906	2	0	3	2

Playoffs

Player
style=white-space:nowrap		11	10	555	6	3	26	2.81	257	.899	1	0	0	0
style=white-space:nowrap		5	3	237	1	3	13	3.29	96	.865	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Stars. Stats reflect time with the Stars only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Suspensions/fines

Awards and honors

Awards

Regular season

Player	Award	Awarded
	NHL Second Star of the Week^[7]	October 19, 2015
	NHL First Star of the Month^[8]	November 2, 2015
	NHL Second Star of the Week^[9]	November 9, 2015
	NHL First Star of the Week^[10]	November 30, 2015
	NHL Second Star of the Week^[11]	December 28, 2015
	NHL All-Star game selection^[12]	January 6, 2016
	NHL All-Star game selection	January 6, 2016

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	Reached
	1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	October 8, 2015
	100th career NHL assist	October 10, 2015
	100th career NHL game	October 13, 2015
M. Janmark	1st career NHL assist	October 13, 2015
	250th career NHL win	October 15, 2015
	1st career NHL game	October 17, 2015
	20,000 career NHL minutes	October 27, 2015
	1st career NHL game	November 3, 2015
	300th career NHL point	November 3, 2015
	1st career NHL goal	November 3, 2015
R. Faksa	1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	November 6, 2015
	100th career NHL game	November 8, 2015
	500th career NHL game	November 19, 2015
	200th career NHL game	November 19, 2015
K. Lehtonen	30,000 career NHL minutes	November 19, 2015
	500th career NHL game	November 28, 2015
A. Niemi	200th career NHL wins	November 28, 2015
	400th career NHL point	December 15, 2015
	800th career NHL game	December 17, 2015
A. Goligoski	200th career NHL assist	December 19, 2015
	100th career NHL game	December 22, 2015
	700th career NHL game	December 26, 2015
J. Spezza	500th career NHL assist	January 5, 2016

Transactions

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

Trades

Date			Ref
	To San Jose Sharks 7th-round pick in 2015	To Dallas Stars Antti Niemi (rights)	^[13]
	To Chicago Blackhawks Trevor Daley Ryan Garbutt	To Dallas Stars Patrick Sharp Stephen Johns	^[14]
	To Calgary Flames Jyrki Jokipakka Brett Pollock Conditional 2nd-round pick in 2016	To Dallas Stars Kris Russell	^[15]

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			2 years, $7.5 million	^[16]

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			1 year, $1.25 million	^[17]
			1 year, $1.75 million	^[18]

Claimed via waivers

Player

Previous team

Date

Ref

Lost via retirement

Date	Player	Ref
	Rich Peverley	^[19]

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
		3 years, $13.5 million	^[20]
		1 year, $1.15 million	^[21]
		2 years, $1.35 million	^[22]
		1 year, $875,000	^[23]
		4 years, $15.4 million contract extension	^[24]
		2 years, contract extension	^[25]
		3 years, entry-level contract	^[26]
		3 years, entry-level contract	^[27]
	Chris Martenet	3 years, entry-level contract	^[28]
		1 year	^[29]
		1 year
		1 year	^[30]
		1 year	^[31]

Draft picks

See also: List of Dallas Stars draft picks. Below are the Dallas Stars' 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	12	Denis Guryanov	RW		Lada Togliatti-2 (Russia-Jr.)
2	49	Roope Hintz	LW		Ilves (Finland)
4	103	Chris Martenet	D		London Knights (OHL)
5	133	Joseph Cecconi	D		Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
6	163	Markus Ruusu	G		JYP Jr. (Finland-Jr.)

Draft notes^[32]

• The Dallas Stars' second-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent a second-round pick in 2015 (36th overall) to Ottawa in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2015 or 2016 and this pick.^[33] Ottawa previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 1, 2014 that sent Jason Spezza and Ludwig Karlsson to the Stars in exchange for Alex Chiasson, Nick Paul, Alex Guptill and this pick.^[34]
• The Detroit Red Wings' second-round pick went to the Dallas Stars as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015 that sent Erik Cole and a conditional third-round pick in 2015 to Detroit in exchange for Mattias Janmark, Mattias Backman and this pick.^[35]
• The Dallas Stars' third-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015 that sent Mattias Janmark, Mattias Backman, and a second-round pick in 2015 to Dallas in exchange for Erik Cole and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[36] The condition – Detroit will receive a third-round pick in 2015 if they do not qualify for the 2015 Eastern Conference Final and Cole does not play in 50% of Detroit's playoff games – was converted on April 8, 2015 when Cole was injured for the remainder of the season.^[37]
• The Dallas Stars' seventh-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent Antti Niemi to Dallas in exchange for this pick.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2015–2016 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN. ESPN.
2. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. 2013. Diamond Sports Data, Inc.. 53. 978-1-894801-26-3.
3. Web site: 2015-2016 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Dallas Stars - Schedule. July 17, 2015. Stars.nhl.com.
4. Web site: 2015–2016 – Regular Season – Dallas Stars – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
5. Web site: 2015–2016 – Regular Season – Dallas Stars – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats. NHL.
6. Web site: Stars' Demers suspended two games for elbowing. NHL. October 23, 2015.
7. Web site: Price, Seguin and Tarasenko named stars of week. NHL. October 19, 2015.
8. Web site: Benn, Price, Krejci named Stars of the Month. NHL. November 2, 2015.
9. Web site: Kane, Seguin and Condon named stars of week. NHL. November 9, 2015.
10. Web site: Benn, Holtby and Galchenyuk named stars of week. NHL. November 30, 2015.
11. Web site: Gaudreau, Niemi, Bozak named NHL's Three Stars. NHL. December 28, 2015.
12. Web site: Star-studded Central roster highlights All-Star reveal. NHL. January 6, 2016.
13. Web site: Dallas Stars Acquire Goaltender Antti Niemi From The San Jose Sharks In Exchange For A Seventh Round Selection In The 2015 NHL Draft. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
14. Web site: Dallas Stars Acquire Forward Patrick Sharp and Defenseman Stephen Johns From The Chicago Blackhawks In Exchange For Defenseman Trevor Daley And Forward Ryan Garbutt. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
15. Web site: Dallas Stars Acquire Defenseman Kris Russell From Calgary Flames. nhl.com. March 1, 2016.
16. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Johnny Oduya To A Two-Year Contract. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
17. Web site: Kings Agreed to terms with Goaltender Jhonas Enroth To One-Year Contract. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
18. Web site: Ducks Sign Horcoff to One-Year Contract. Anaheim Ducks. July 3, 2015.
19. Web site: Rich Peverley Announces Retirement. Dallas Stars. September 4, 2015.
20. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Goaltender Antti Niemi To A Three-Year Contract. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
21. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Forward Patrick Eaves To A One-Year Contract. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
22. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Left Wing Curtis McKenzie To A Two-Year Contract. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
23. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak To A One-Year Contract. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
24. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Center Cody Eakin To A Four-Year Contract Extension. nhl.com. August 28, 2015.
25. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Stephen Johns To A Two-Year Contract Extension. nhl.com. March 23, 2016.
26. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Niklas Hansson To Three-Year Entry-Level Contract. nhl.com. March 28, 2016.
27. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Forward Denis Gurianov to Three-Year Entry-Level Contract. nhl.com. May 13, 2016.
28. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Chris Martenet to Three-Year Entry-Level Contract. nhl.com. May 19, 2016.
29. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Forwards Justin Dowling and Brendan Ranford . NHL.com . May 31, 2016 . June 1, 2016.
30. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Mattias Backman To One-Year Contract. nhl.com. June 13, 2016.
31. Web site: Dallas Stars Sign Right Wing Brett Ritchie to One-Year Contract. nhl.com. June 13, 2016.
32. Web site: 2015 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions. Pro Sports Transactions. June 3, 2015.
33. Web site: Trades completed during 2015 NHL Draft weekend. June 27, 2015. June 27, 2015.
34. Web site: SENATORS TRADE SPEZZA TO STARS FOR TRIO OF FORWARDS, PICK. TSN. July 1, 2014. July 1, 2014.
35. Web site: Stars deal F Cole to Red Wings. TSN. March 1, 2015. March 1, 2015.
36. Web site: Red Wings acquire forward Erik Cole from Stars. March 1, 2015. March 1, 2015.
37. Web site: Red Wings' Cole out for season with spine contusion. April 8, 2015. April 8, 2015.