2015–16 Buffalo Sabres season
The 2015–16 Buffalo Sabres 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 8, 2015 against the Ottawa Senators with a 3–1 loss.[2]
2015–16 Buffalo Sabres | |
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Division | 7th Atlantic |
Conference | 14th Eastern |
2015–16 record | 35–36–11 |
Home record | 16–19–6 |
Road record | 19–17–5 |
Goals for | 201 |
Goals against | 222 |
Team information | |
General manager | Tim Murray |
Coach | Dan Bylsma |
Captain | Brian Gionta |
Alternate captains | Tyler Ennis Josh Gorges Ryan O'Reilly |
Arena | First Niagara Center |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Rochester Americans (AHL) Elmira Jackals (ECHL) |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Jack Eichel (24) |
Assists | Ryan O'Reilly (39) |
Points | Ryan O'Reilly (60) |
Penalty minutes | Evander Kane (91) |
Plus/minus | Jake McCabe (+6) |
Wins | Chad Johnson (22) |
Goals against average | Chad Johnson (2.36) |
This was originally to be the final season in which Rick Jeanneret serves as the team's play-by-play announcer; he has been in that position since the team's second season in 1971. As in recent years, he will rotate with Dan Dunleavy in the position.[3] However, Jeanneret agreed to continue indefinitely as part-time announcer as long as his health allows it.[4]
Off-season
The Sabres fired head coach Ted Nolan on April 12, 2015, amid poor on-ice record and disagreements with general manager Tim Murray. The team then made overtures to Mike Babcock, the most prominent head coach on the free agent market; despite a record-setting offer, Babcock instead sought (and received) the head coaching position for the Sabres' division and regional rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the Sabres failing to land Babcock, the team's second choice, Dan Bylsma, was subsequently hired on May 28. Bylsma had spent the 2014-15 season out of professional hockey after spending the previous five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Sabres held the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft after finishing last in the league in 2014-15 and losing the draft lottery to the Edmonton Oilers. The Sabres selected Jack Eichel with their pick.
The Sabres fired President Ted Black on July 27, 2015, and replaced him with Russ Brandon. Brandon also serves as President of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and will continue in that capacity in addition to his duties with the Sabres.
Training camp
As in previous years, the Sabres held a summer development camp from July 6–11, 2015. The highlight of the camp was the "blue and gold" scrimmage on July 10; the scrimmage, which pit a "gold" team led by 2015 second overall pick Jack Eichel against a "blue" team led by 2014 second overall pick Sam Reinhart, drew 17,115 paying fans, nearly double the crowd that attended the 2014 event.[5] An additional 1,500 fans attended the less-publicized 3-on-3 scrimmage, which closed out the camp on July 11.[6]
The Sabres did not participate in the Detroit Red Wings' annual prospect tournament in Traverse City, Michigan as they have in recent years and instead launched their own "Prospect Challenge" beginning this season. For the first year, the Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins prospects faced each other in a single round-robin mini-tournament.[7] Buffalo won both of their games and the tournament.[8]
Standings
Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | y – Florida Panthers | 82 | 47 | 26 | 9 | 40 | 239 | 203 | +36 | 103 |
2 | x – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 46 | 31 | 5 | 43 | 227 | 201 | +26 | 97 |
3 | x – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 39 | 211 | 224 | −13 | 93 |
4 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 38 | 240 | 230 | +10 | 93 |
5 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 32 | 236 | 247 | −11 | 85 |
6 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 38 | 38 | 6 | 33 | 221 | 236 | −15 | 82 |
7 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 35 | 36 | 11 | 33 | 201 | 222 | −21 | 81 |
8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 29 | 42 | 11 | 23 | 198 | 246 | −48 | 69 |
Pos | Div | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ME | x – New York Islanders | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 40 | 232 | 216 | +16 | 100 |
2 | ME | x – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 41 | 27 | 14 | 38 | 214 | 218 | −4 | 96 |
3 | AT | Boston Bruins | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 38 | 240 | 230 | +10 | 93 |
4 | ME | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 35 | 31 | 16 | 33 | 198 | 226 | −28 | 86 |
5 | AT | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 32 | 236 | 247 | −11 | 85 |
6 | ME | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 36 | 184 | 208 | −24 | 84 |
7 | AT | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 38 | 38 | 6 | 33 | 221 | 236 | −15 | 82 |
8 | AT | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 35 | 36 | 11 | 33 | 201 | 222 | −21 | 81 |
9 | ME | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 34 | 40 | 8 | 28 | 219 | 252 | −33 | 76 |
10 | AT | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 29 | 42 | 11 | 23 | 198 | 246 | −48 | 69 |
Schedule and results
Preseason
2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 4–3–0 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 3–1–0)[9] | |||||||||
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# | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Recap |
1 | September 21 | Buffalo | 3–2 | Minnesota | Lieuwen | 17,217 | 1–0–0 | Recap | |
2 | September 23 | Ottawa | 5–2 | Buffalo | Lehner | 17,298 | 1–1–0 | Recap | |
3 | September 25 | Buffalo | 6–4 | Toronto | Lieuwen | 17,403 | 2–1–0 | Recap | |
4 | September 26 | Buffalo | 6–4 | Ottawa | Johnson | 16,738 | 3–1–0 | Recap | |
5 | September 29 | Toronto | 0–4 | Buffalo | Lehner | 17,357 | 4–1–0 | Recap | |
6 | October 1 | Buffalo | 1–6 | Minnesota | Johnson | 17,214 | 4–2–0 | Recap | |
7 | October 2 | Columbus | 4–6 | Buffalo | Lehner | 17,578 | 4–3–0 | Recap |
Regular season
2015–16 Game Log[10] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) |
Player stats
Final stats
Skaters
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Goaltenders
Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chad Johnson | 45 | 40 | 2591:05 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 102 | 2.36 | 1270 | .920 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Robin Lehner | 21 | 21 | 1164:05 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 48 | 2.47 | 634 | .924 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
Linus Ullmark | 20 | 20 | 1130:40 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 49 | 2.60 | 565 | .913 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jason Kasdorf | 1 | 1 | 60:00 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.00 | 30 | .867 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sabres. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sabres only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
Awards and honours
Awards
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Milestones
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Transactions
The Sabres have been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season:
Trades
Date | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|
June 26, 2015 | To Ottawa Senators
NYI's 1st-round pick in 2015 |
To Buffalo Sabres
Robin Lehner David Legwand |
[15] |
June 26, 2015 | To Colorado Avalanche
Nikita Zadorov Mikhail Grigorenko J. T. Compher 2nd-round pick in 2015 |
To Buffalo Sabres
Ryan O'Reilly Jamie McGinn |
[16] |
February 23, 2016 | To Washington Capitals
Mike Weber[Note 1] |
To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick in 2017 |
[17] |
February 27, 2016 | To Ottawa Senators
Phil Varone Jason Akeson Jerome Leduc |
To Buffalo Sabres
Cole Schneider Eric O'Dell Alex Guptill Michael Sdao |
[18] |
February 29, 2016 | To Anaheim Ducks
Jamie McGinn |
To Buffalo Sabres
conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016[Note 2] |
[19] |
June 20, 2016 | To Nashville Predators
MIN's 3rd-round pick in 2016 |
To Buffalo Sabres
Jimmy Vesey (rights) |
[20] |
Free agents acquired
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Free agents lost
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Claimed via waivers
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Lost via waivers
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Lost via retirement
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Players released
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Player signings
Draft picksBelow are the Buffalo Sabres' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.
References
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