2015–16 Vancouver Canucks season explained

The 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks season was the 46th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.[1] 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.[2]

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)[3] 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.[4]

On July 1, Zack Kassian and a fifth-round pick in 2016 were traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Brandon Prust.[5] Jim Benning continued by signing various free agents, including former Boston Bruins defenceman Matt Bartkowski[6] and prospects Taylor Fedun[7] and Richard Bachman,[8] 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.[9]

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

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.[12] 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.

Schedule and results

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

Regular season

2015–16 game log
Legend:

Detailed records

Western Conference
Central Division
Opponent Home Away Total Pts. Goals scored Goals allowed
1–1–0 0–1–0 1–2–0 2 8 10
1–1–0 1–0–0 2–1–0 4 9 5
0–1–0 0–0–2 0–1–2 2 7 11
0–1–0 1–1–0 1–2–0 2 6 14
1–1–0 0–0–1 1–1–1 3 7 7
0–2–0 0–1–0 0–3–0 0 3 11
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
Opponent Home Away Total Pts. Goals scored Goals allowed
1–1–0 2–1–0 3–2–0 6 9 13
1–1–0 2–0–0 3–1–0 6 11 9
0–1–1 1–2–0 1–3–1 3 13 20
2–0–1 0–2–0 2–2–1 5 9 14
1–1–0 1–1–1 2–2–1 5 8 14
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
Opponent Home Away Total Pts. Goals scored Goals allowed
0–1–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 2 4 6
1–0–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 2 7 5
0–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 3 5 5
1–0–0 0–0–1 1–0–1 3 7 7
1–0–0 0–0–1 1–0–1 3 8 5
1–0–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 2 7 6
0–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 3 4 4
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
Opponent Home Away Total Pts. Goals scored Goals allowed
1–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 4 6 4
0–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 3 6 4
0–1–0 0–0–1 0–1–1 1 5 7
0–1–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 2 4 4
1–0–0 0–0–1 1–0–1 3 4 4
1–0–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 2 4 3
0–1–0 0–1–0 0–2–0 0 6 8
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[13]
Playerdata-sort-type="number"
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 9 9 18 −6 32
80 6 12 18 −19 50
69 4 14 18 −8 8
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
20 1 0 1 −9 2
1 0 1 1 1 0
3 0 1 1 1 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[14]
Player
style=white-space:nowrap 51 51 3043:31 17 24 9 137 2.70 1634 .916 1 0 1 2
style=white-space:nowrap 33 30 1847:26 13 14 4 84 2.73 988 .915 0 0 2 4
style=white-space:nowrap 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

PlayerExplanationLengthSalaryDate issuedRef
Spearing Boston forward Brad Marchand. $5,000.00 December 6, 2015 [15]
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 [16]
Interference against San Jose defenceman Roman Polak. 2 games $9,614.70 March 30, 2016 [17]

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular season
PlayerAwardAwarded
NHL Second Star of the Week[18] November 23, 2015
NHL All-Star game selection[19] January 6, 2016

Milestones

Regular season
PlayerMilestoneReached
1st NHL game
1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
October 7, 2015
1st NHL game October 7, 2015
1st NHL goal
1st NHL point
October 10, 2015
1st NHL game October 13, 2015
500th NHL game
100th NHL goal
October 16, 2015
1,100th NHL game October 24, 2015
1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
October 27, 2015
100th NHL point October 27, 2015
1st NHL game October 29, 2015
1st NHL goal
1st 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 assist
1st 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 game
1st NHL assist
1st 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
Most career goals in Canucks history January 21, 2016

Transactions

The Canucks been involved in the following transactions:

Trades

Date Details Ref
To Vancouver Canucks:
3rd round pick (66th overall) 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
[20]
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 (124th overall) 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
[21]
To Vancouver Canucks:
Emerson Etem
To New York Rangers:
Nicklas Jensen
6th-round pick (157th overall) in 2017
[22]
To Vancouver Canucks:
Markus Granlund
To Calgary Flames:
Hunter Shinkaruk
[23]
To Vancouver Canucks:
Philip Larsen
To Edmonton Oilers:
Conditional 5th-round pick (126th overall) in 2017
[24]

Free agents acquired

Player Date Former team Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
1 year, $1.75 million
1 year, $575,000
1 year, $600,000
1 year, $600,000 [25]
1 year, $575,000 [26]

Free agents lost

Player Date New team Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
3 years, $6.25 million [27]
2 years, $1.4 million [28]
1 year, $600,000 [29]
1 year, $2.3 million [30]
1 year, $575,000 [31]

Lost via waivers

Player New team Date claimed off waivers Ref
October 6, 2015[32]
February 29, 2016[33]

Player signings

Player Date Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
2-year, $680,000 entry-level contract [34]
3-year, $655,000 entry-level contract [35]
3-year, $755,000 entry-level contract [36]
1 year, $1 million [37]
1 year, $600,000 [38]
1 year, $1.5 million [39]
1 year, $900,000 [40]
5 years, $21.875 million contract extension [41]
3-year, $703,333 entry-level contract [42]

Draft picks

See also: List of Vancouver Canucks 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.

RoundPlayerPosNationalityCollege/Junior/Club team (League)
123Brock BoeserRWWaterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
366Guillaume BriseboisDAcadie–Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
4114Dmitry ZhukenovCOmskie Yastreby (MHL)
5144Carl NeillDSherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
5149Adam GaudetteCCedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
6174Lukas JasekRWOcelari Trinec (Czech Extraliga)
7210Tate OlsonDPrince George Cougars (WHL)
Draft notes[43]

Notes and References

  1. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. 2013. Diamond Sports Data, Inc.. 129. 978-1-894801-26-3.
  2. Web site: 2015-2016 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Vancouver Canucks - Schedule. July 17, 2015. National Hockey League.
  3. Web site: Canucks acquire two draft picks from Hurricanes. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  4. Web site: Canucks acquire 2016 2nd round pick from Ducks. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  5. Web site: Prust to Canucks for Kassian & 5th round pick. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  6. Web site: Canucks sign defenceman Matt Bartkowski. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  7. Web site: Canucks sign defenceman Taylor Fedun. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  8. Web site: Canucks sign goaltender Richard Bachman. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  9. Web site: HOCKEY OPERATIONS. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  10. Web site: Brandon Sutter traded from Pittsburgh Penguins to Vancouver Canucks for Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening. National Hockey League.
  11. Web site: Brandon Sutter of Vancouver Canucks signs five-year contract extension. National Hockey League.
  12. Web site: Corrado hopes to stick in NHL as Maple Leafs claim him off waivers from Canucks. National Hockey League.
  13. Web site: 2015–2016 – Regular Season – Vancouver Canucks – All Skaters – Summary – Points – National Hockey League.com – Stats. National Hockey League.
  14. Web site: 2015–2016 – Regular Season – Vancouver Canucks – Goalie – Summary – Wins – National Hockey League.com – Stats. National Hockey League.
  15. Web site: Canucks' Prust fined $5,000 for spearing. . December 6, 2015.
  16. Web site: Canucks forward Jannik Hansen fined $2,000 for embellishment vs Lightning. . December 31, 2015.
  17. Web site: Canucks' Jake Virtanen suspended two games. . March 30, 2016.
  18. Web site: Jones, Sedin, Shattenkirk named NHL's 'Three Stars'. National Hockey League. November 23, 2015.
  19. Web site: Star-studded Central roster highlights All-Star reveal. National Hockey League. January 6, 2016.
  20. Web site: Canucks send defenceman Patrick McNally to Sharks. Sportsnet. August 8, 2015. June 27, 2015.
  21. Web site: Canucks acquire Sutter & 3rd rounder from Pens. National Hockey League. July 28, 2015.
  22. Web site: Canucks acquire Emerson Etem from Rangers. National Hockey League. January 8, 2016.
  23. Web site: Canucks acquire Granlund from Flames.
  24. Web site: Canucks acquire Philip Larsen from Oilers. National Hockey League. March 1, 2016.
  25. Web site: Dadoun . Ryan . Canucks ink journeyman Blair Jones . NBC Sports . 8 September 2020 . Jul 4, 2015.
  26. Web site: Canucks sign Adam Cracknell. National Hockey League. 2015-08-26.
  27. Web site: Coyotes Sign Richardson to Three-Year Contract. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  28. Web site: Sabres sign Cal O'Reilly. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  29. Web site: Sabres Sign Bobby Sanguinetti. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  30. Web site: Leafs Sign Shawn Matthias. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  31. Web site: Capitals Sign Ryan Stanton. National Hockey League. July 24, 2015.
  32. Web site: Maple Leafs claim Toronto native Corrado from Canucks . sportsnet.ca . 2015-10-06.
  33. Web site: Oilers add two . National Hockey League . 2016-02-29.
  34. Web site: Canucks sign forward Labate to contract . . 2015-04-30 . 2015-05-14.
  35. Web site: Canucks sign defenceman Mackenze Stewart . . 2015-05-12 . 2015-05-14.
  36. Web site: Canucks sign Subban to entry-level contract . . 2015-05-14 . 2015-05-14.
  37. Web site: Canucks re-sign right wing Linden Vey. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  38. Web site: Canucks re-sign defenceman Alex Biega. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  39. Web site: Canucks re-sign Yannick Weber. National Hockey League. July 17, 2015.
  40. Web site: Canucks re-sign Sven Baertschi. National Hockey League. July 28, 2015.
  41. Web site: Canucks sign Sutter to five-year extension. National Hockey League. August 4, 2015.
  42. Web site: Canucks sign Guillaume Brisebois to three-year, entry-level contract. National Hockey League. December 10, 2015. October 23, 2016.
  43. Web site: 2015 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions. Pro Sports Transactions. June 3, 2015.
  44. Web site: Flames trade Baertschi to Canucks for draft pick. March 2, 2015. March 2, 2015.
  45. Web site: Ducks acquire forward Kesler from Canucks. June 27, 2014. June 27, 2014.
  46. Web site: Rangers pick up defenseman Diaz from Canucks. March 5, 2014. June 28, 2014.
  47. Web site: Notes from the 2014 NHL Draft. June 28, 2014. June 28, 2014.
  48. Web site: Lightning acquire defenseman Garrison from Canucks. National Hockey League. June 27, 2014. June 27, 2014.