2015–16 Arizona Coyotes season

2015–16 Arizona Coyotes
Division	4th Pacific
Conference	10th Western
2015–16 record	35–39–8
Home record	22–15–4
Road record	13–24–4
Goals for	209
Goals against	245
Team information
General Manager	Don Maloney
Coach	Dave Tippett
Captain	Shane Doan
Alternate captains	Oliver Ekman-Larsson Martin Hanzal
Arena	Gila River Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Shane Doan (28)
Assists	Max Domi Oliver Ekman-Larsson (34)
Points	Oliver Ekman-Larsson (55)
Penalties in minutes	Shane Doan (99)
Plus/minus	Anthony Duclair (+12)
Wins	Louis Domingue Mike Smith (15)
Goals against average	Mike Smith (2.63)
<2014–15 2016–17>

The 2015–16 Arizona Coyotes season was the 37th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, the 20th season since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg following the 1995–96 NHL season, and the 44th overall, including the World Hockey Association years.

The season began its regular games on October 9, 2015 against the Los Angeles Kings.

Despite being unable to play since 2011 following career-ending injuries, the Coyotes acquired Chris Pronger's contract from the Philadelphia Flyers in a trade that sent Pronger and Nicklas Grossmann to Phoenix in exchange for Sam Gagner and a conditional pick.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Pre-Season Game Log: 0–5–1 (Home: 0–2–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 21	Los Angeles	5–1	Arizona		Lindback	––	0–1–0
2	September 22	Arizona	2–3	Los Angeles	OT	Treutle	12,996	0–1–1
3	September 25	Arizona	1–4	San Jose		Lindback	14,048	0–2–1
4	September 28	Arizona	0–1	Vancouver		Smith	––	0–3–1
5	September 29	Arizona	0–4	Edmonton		Lindback	16,839	0–4–1
6	October 2	San Jose	3–0	Arizona		Smith	9,530	0–5–1
Notes: a Game was played in at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, California.

Regular season

Game Log
October: 5–5–1 (Home: 1–3–0 ; Road: 4–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 9 Arizona 4–1 Los Angeles Smith 18,230 1–0–0 2 2 October 10 Pittsburgh 1–2 Arizona Smith 17,125 2–0–0 4 3 October 14 Arizona 4–0 Anaheim Smith 15,172 3–0–0 6 4 October 15 Minnesota 4–3 Arizona Smith 12,029 3–1–0 6 5 October 17 Boston 5–3 Arizona Smith 13,411 3–2–0 6 6 October 20 Arizona 2–3 New Jersey OT Smith 12,171 3–2–1 7 7 October 22 Arizona 1–4 NY Rangers Smith 18,006 3–3–1 7 8 October 24 Arizona 4–1 Ottawa Lindback 17,270 4–3–1 9 9 October 26 Arizona 4–3 Toronto Smith 18,944 5–3–1 11 10 October 27 Arizona 0–6 Boston Smith 17,565 5–4–1 11 11 October 30 Vancouver 4–3 Arizona Lindback 12,166 5–5–1 11
November: 8–4–0 (Home: 5–1–0 ; Road: 3–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 5 Colorado 2–4 Arizona Smith 10,270 6–5–1 13 13 November 7 NY Rangers 4–1 Arizona Smith 13,029 6–6–1 13 14 November 9 Arizona 4–3 Anaheim OT Lindback 13,864 7–6–1 15 15 November 10 Arizona 3–2 Los Angeles Smith 18,230 8–6–1 17 16 November 12 Edmonton 1–4 Arizona Smith 15,545 9–6–1 19 17 November 14 Arizona 2–5 Columbus Smith 13,702 9–7–1 19 18 November 16 Arizona 2–5 NY Islanders Lindback 11,841 9–8–1 19 19 November 19 Arizona 3–2 Montreal Smith 21,288 10–8–1 21 20 November 21 Arizona 2–3 Winnipeg Lindback 15,294 10–9–1 21 21 November 25 Anaheim 2–4 Arizona Smith 11,578 11–9–1 23 22 November 27 Calgary 1–2 Arizona OT Smith 11,495 12–9–1 25 23 November 28 Ottawa 3–4 Arizona Lindback 12,727 13–9–1 27
December: 5–7–2 (Home: 4–2–2 ; Road: 1–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 1 Arizona 2–5 Nashville Smith 15,091 13–10–1 27 25 December 3 Arizona 1–5 Detroit Smith 20,027 13–11–1 27 26 December 4 Arizona 2–5 Buffalo Smith 18,204 13–12–1 27 27 December 6 Arizona 4–5 Carolina Lindback 9,021 13–13–1 27 28 December 8 Arizona 1–4 St. Louis Smith 16,301 13–14–1 27 29 December 11 Minnesota 1–2 Arizona OT Lindback 14,404 14–14–1 29 30 December 12 Carolina 5–4 Arizona OT Lindback 12,668 14–14–2 30 31 December 17 Columbus 7–5 Arizona Lindback 11,120 14–15–2 30 32 December 19 NY Islanders 0–1 Arizona Domingue 11,878 15–15–2 32 33 December 22 Toronto 2–3 Arizona Domingue 12,234 16–15–2 34 34 December 26 Los Angeles 4–3 Arizona OT Domingue 15,277 16–15–3 35 35 December 27 Arizona 2–1 Colorado OT Lindback 18,064 17–15–3 37 36 December 29 Chicago 7–5 Arizona Domingue 17,197 17–16–3 37 37 December 31 Winnipeg 2–4 Arizona Domingue 14,027 18–16–3 39
January: 6–4–2 (Home: 3–3–1 ; Road: 3–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 2 Arizona 3–4 Edmonton SO Domingue 16,839 18–16–4 40 39 January 4 Arizona 3–2 Vancouver Domingue 18,377 19–16–4 42 40 January 7 Arizona 2–1 Calgary Domingue 19,272 20–16–4 44 41 January 9 Nashville 0–4 Arizona Domingue 12,345 21–16–4 46 42 January 12 Edmonton 3–4 Arizona OT Domingue 11,391 22–16–4 48 43 January 14 Detroit 3–2 Arizona OT Domingue 12,014 22–16–5 49 44 January 16 New Jersey 2–0 Arizona Lindback 11,745 22–17–5 49 45 January 18 Buffalo 2–1 Arizona Domingue 11,134 22–18–5 49 46 January 21 San Jose 3–1 Arizona Domingue 12,251 22–19–5 49 47 January 23 Los Angeles 2–3 Arizona Domingue 14,195 23–19–5 51 48 January 25 Arizona 2–1 Minnesota SO Domingue 19,020 24–19–5 53 49 January 26 Arizona 2–5 Winnipeg Domingue 15,294 24–20–5 53
February: 3–10–1 (Home: 3–3–1 ; Road: 0–7–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 2 Los Angeles 6–2 Arizona Domingue 12,261 24–21–5 53 51 February 4 Chicago 5–4 Arizona OT Domingue 17,125 24–21–6 54 52 February 5 Arizona 2–5 Anaheim Lindback 17,342 24–22–6 54 53 February 10 Vancouver 2–1 Arizona Domingue 14,436 24–23–6 54 54 February 12 Calgary 1–4 Arizona Domingue 13,643 25–23–6 56 55 February 13 Arizona 1–4 San Jose Domingue 17,562 25–24–6 56 56 February 15 Montreal 2–6 Arizona Domingue 14,338 26–24–6 58 57 February 18 Dallas 3–6 Arizona Domingue 13,165 27–24–6 60 58 February 20 St. Louis 6–4 Arizona Domingue 15,839 27–25–6 60 59 February 22 Arizona 2–3 Washington Domingue 18,506 27–26–6 60 60 February 23 Arizona 1–2 Tampa Bay Domingue 19,092 27–27–6 60 61 February 25 Arizona 2–3 Florida Domingue 13,134 27–28–6 60 62 February 27 Arizona 2–4 Philadelphia Domingue 19,773 27–29–6 60 63 February 29 Arizona 0–6 Pittsburgh Domingue 18,435 27–30–6 60
March: 7–6–1 (Home: 5–3–0 ; Road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 3 Anaheim 5–1 Arizona Treutle 11,999 27–31–6 60 65 March 5 Florida 1–5 Arizona Domingue 12,361 28–31–6 62 66 March 7 Arizona 1–3 Colorado Domingue 15,393 28–32–6 62 67 March 9 Arizona 2–3 Vancouver OT Domingue 18,374 28–32–7 63 68 March 11 Arizona 4–1 Calgary Domingue 19,289 29–32–7 65 69 March 12 Arizona 4–0 Edmonton Smith 16,839 30–32–7 67 70 March 17 San Jose 1–3 Arizona Smith 13,005 31–32–7 69 71 March 19 Tampa Bay 2–0 Arizona Domingue 14,183 31–33–7 69 72 March 20 Arizona 0–3 San Jose Smith 15,756 31–34–7 69 73 March 22 Edmonton 2–4 Arizona Smith 13,408 32–34–7 71 74 March 24 Dallas 1–3 Arizona Domingue 11,887 33–34–7 73 75 March 26 Philadelphia 1–2 Arizona Smith 16,002 34–34–7 75 76 March 28 Calgary 5–2 Arizona Domingue 14,347 34–35–7 75 77 March 31 Arizona 1–4 Dallas Smith 18,532 34–36–7 75
April: 1–3–1 (Home: 1–0–0 ; Road: 0–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 2 Washington 0–3 Arizona Smith 17,125 35–36–7 77 79 April 4 Arizona 2–5 St. Louis Smith 19,465 35–37–7 77 80 April 5 Arizona 2–6 Chicago Domingue 21,884 35–38–7 77 81 April 7 Arizona 2–3 Nashville OT Smith 17,113 35–38–8 78 82 April 9 Arizona 0–1 San Jose Smith 17,562 35–39–8 78
Legend:       Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final stats

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	75	21	34	55	−6	96
Max Domi	81	18	34	52	3	72
Shane Doan	72	28	19	47	4	98
Anthony Duclair	81	20	24	44	12	49
Martin Hanzal	64	13	28	41	−5	77
Mikkel Boedker‡	62	13	26	39	−28	10
Antoine Vermette	76	17	21	38	−14	93
Tobias Rieder	82	14	23	37	−21	10
Michael Stone	75	6	30	36	−10	62
Brad Richardson	82	11	20	31	8	46
Jordan Martinook	81	9	15	24	−9	18
Connor Murphy	78	6	11	17	5	48
Alex Tanguay†	18	4	9	13	5	8
Kyle Chipchura	70	4	8	12	−10	38
Kevin Connauton†	38	4	5	9	−3	39
Klas Dahlbeck	71	2	6	8	−5	28
Nicklas Grossmann	58	3	4	7	−3	24
Zbynek Michalek	70	2	5	7	3	20
Steve Downie	26	3	3	6	1	53
Viktor Tikhonov†	39	3	3	6	−6	14
Stefan Elliott‡	19	2	4	6	−2	4
Boyd Gordon	65	2	2	4	−7	10
Tyler Gaudet	14	1	2	3	−2	0
Dustin Jeffrey‡	7	1	1	2	2	2
Jiri Sekac†	11	0	2	2	−4	10
Laurent Dauphin	8	1	0	1	0	4
Craig Cunningham	10	0	1	1	−1	2
Sergei Plotnikov†	13	0	1	1	0	4
John Scott‡	11	0	1	1	0	25
Joe Vitale	1	0	0	0	1	5
Alex Grant	5	0	0	0	−2	7
Eric Selleck	1	0	0	0	0	5
Philip Samuelsson	4	0	0	0	0	2
Christian Thomas†	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jarred Tinordi†	7	0	0	0	−2	12

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Louis Domingue	39	36	2,206	15	18	5	101	2.75	1142	0.912	2	0	1	0
Mike Smith	32	32	1,754	15	13	2	77	2.63	921	0.916	3	0	1	2
Anders Lindback	19	13	906:08	5	7	1	47	3.11	443	0.894	0	0	1	0
Niklas Treutle	2	1	50	0	1	0	5	6.00	20	.750	0	0	0	2

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

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular season

Player	Award	Awarded
M. Smith	NHL Third Star of the Week	October 12, 2015
J. Scott	NHL All-Star game captain	January 2, 2016
S. Doan	NHL Second Star of the Week	January 4, 2016
L. Domingue	NHL Rookie of the Month	February 1, 2016

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	Reached
M. Domi	1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	October 9, 2015
J. Martinook	1st career NHL goal	October 10, 2015
A. Duclair	1st career NHL hat-trick	October 14, 2015
S. Doan	900th career NHL point	October 17, 2015
O. Ekman-Larsson	100th career NHL assist	October 17, 2015
S. Doan	1,400th career NHL game	October 20, 2015
M. Hanzal	500th career NHL game	October 22, 2015
M. Smith	400th career NHL game	November 10, 2015
M. Boedker	400th career NHL game	November 14, 2015
K. Chipchura	100th career NHL point	December 1, 2015
T. Rieder	100th career NHL game	December 8, 2015
L. Domingue	1st career NHL shutout	December 19, 2015

Transactions

The Coyotes have been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)	To Philadelphia Flyers Sam Gagner Conditional 4th-round pick in 2016	To Arizona Coyotes Nicklas Grossmann injured contract of Chris Pronger
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)	To Calgary Flames NYR's 2nd-round pick in 2015	To Arizona Coyotes 3rd-round pick in 2015 WSH's 3rd-round pick in 2015
June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30)	To Edmonton Oilers Lauri Korpikoski	To Arizona Coyotes Boyd Gordon
September 9, 2015 (2015-09-09)	To Colorado Avalanche Brandon Gormley	To Arizona Coyotes Stefan Elliott
December 15, 2015 (2015-12-15)	To Montreal Canadiens Lucas Lessio	To Arizona Coyotes Christian Thomas
January 15, 2016 (2016-01-15)	To Nashville Predators Stefan Elliott	To Arizona Coyotes Victor Bartley
January 15, 2016 (2016-01-15)	To Montreal Canadiens Victor Bartley John Scott	To Arizona Coyotes Jarred Tinordi Stefan Fournier
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Matthias Plachta conditional 7th-round pick in 2017	To Arizona Coyotes Sergei Plotnikov
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To Colorado Avalanche Mikkel Boedker	To Arizona Coyotes Alex Tanguay Conner Bleackley Kyle Wood
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To Nashville Predators Corey Potter	To Arizona Coyotes Future Considerations
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Dustin Jeffrey Dan O'Donoghue James Melindy	To Arizona Coyotes Matia Marcantuoni
June 16, 2016 (2016-06-16)	To Dallas Stars 5th-round pick in 2016	To Arizona Coyotes Alex Goligoski (negotiating rights)
June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20)	To San Jose Sharks Maxim Letunov 6th-round pick in 2017	To Arizona Coyotes 4th-round pick in 2016 DET's 3rd-round pick in 2017

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Brad Richardson	Vancouver Canucks	3 years, $6.25 million
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Zbynek Michalek	St. Louis Blues	2 years, $6.4 million
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Anders Lindback	Buffalo Sabres	1 years, $875,000
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Steve Downie	Pittsburgh Penguins	1 year, $1.75 million
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Dakota Mermis	Oshawa Generals	3 years, entry-level contract
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Dustin Jeffrey	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	3 years, entry-level contract
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Antoine Vermette	Chicago Blackhawks	2 years, $7.5 million
July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02)	Alex Grant	Binghamton Senators	1 year, $600,000*
July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03)	Eric Selleck	Portland Pirates	1 year, $575,000*
July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03)	Derek Smith	ZSC Lions	1 year, $650,000*
July 10, 2015 (2015-07-10)	John Scott	San Jose Sharks	1 year, $575,000
July 29, 2015 (2015-07-29)	Niklas Treutle	EHC Munchen	1 year, entry-level contract
October 2, 2015 (2015-10-02)	Corey Potter	Calgary Flames	1 year, $650,000

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Mike McKenna	Florida Panthers	2 years, $1.15 million
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Mark Arcobello	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 year, $1.1 million
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	John Moore	New Jersey Devils	3 years, $5 million
July 7, 2015 (2015-07-07)	Justin Hodgman	St. Louis Blues	1 year, $575,000
July 21, 2015 (2015-07-21)	Tye McGinn	Tampa Bay Lightning	1 year, $660,000
September 17, 2015 (2015-09-17)	Martin Erat	Avangard Omsk	undisclosed
September 29, 2015 (2015-09-29)	Andrew Campbell	Toronto Maple Leafs	2 years, $1.15 million

Claimed via waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Viktor Tikhonov	Chicago Blackhawks	December 6, 2015
Kevin Connauton	Columbus Blue Jackets	January 13, 2016
Jiri Sekac	Chicago Blackhawks	February 27, 2016

Lost via waivers

Player

New team

Date claimed off waivers

Ref

Player signings

The following players were signed by the Coyotes. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30)	Craig Cunningham	1 year, $600,000*
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Dylan Reese	1 year, $575,000*
July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06)	Dylan Strome	3 years, entry-level contract*
July 7, 2015 (2015-07-07)	Mikkel Boedker	1 year, $3.75 million
July 15, 2015 (2015-07-15)	Philip Samuelsson	1 year, $600,000*
July 15, 2015 (2015-07-15)	Brendan Shinnimin	1 year, $600,000*
July 20, 2015 (2015-07-20)	Klas Dahlbeck	1 year, $605,000*
July 20, 2015 (2015-07-20)	Jordan Martinook	1 year, $600,000*
July 23, 2015 (2015-07-23)	Michael Bunting	3 years, entry-level contract*
September 3, 2015 (2015-09-03)	Nick Merkley	3 years, entry-level contract*
September 5, 2015 (2015-09-05)	Louis Domingue	1 year, $605,000
December 23, 2015 (2015-12-23)	Conor Garland	3 years, entry-level contract*
December 26, 2015 (2015-12-26)	Dysin Mayo	3 years, entry-level contract*
March 30, 2016 (2016-03-30)	Kyle Wood	3 years, entry-level contract*
April 5, 2016 (2016-04-05)	Adin Hill	3 years, entry-level contract*
June 17, 2016 (2016-06-17)	Craig Cunningham	1 year*
June 22, 2016 (2016-06-22)	Alex Goligoski	5 years, $27.375 million

Draft picks

See also: List of Arizona Coyotes draft picks

Below are the Arizona Coyotes' 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	3	Dylan Strome	C	Canada	Erie Otters (OHL)
1	30	Nicholas Merkley	RW	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
2	32	Christian Fischer	RW	United States	USA U-18 (USHL)
3	63	Kyle Capobianco	D	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
3	76	Adin Hill	G	Canada	Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
3	81	Brendan Warren	LW	United States	USA U-18 (USHL)
3	83	Jens Looke	RW	Sweden	Brynäs IF (SHL)
5	123	Conor Garland	RW	United States	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
7	183	Erik Kallgren	G	Sweden	Linköpings HC (SHL)

Draft notes

• ^a The Chicago Blackhawks' first-round pick went to the Arizona Coyotes as the result of a trade on February 28, 2015 that sent Antoine Vermette to Chicago in exchange for Klas Dahlbeck and this pick.
• ^b The Calgary Flames' third-round pick went to the Arizona Coyotes as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent a 2015 second-round pick to Calgary in exchange for a 2013 third round pick (from Washington) and this pick.
• ^c The Minnesota Wild's third-round pick went to the Arizona Coyotes as the result of a trade on January 14, 2015 that sent Devan Dubnyk to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.
• ^d The Washington Capitals' third-round pick went to the Arizona Coyotes as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent Tampa Bay's second-round pick in 2015 (60th overall) to Calgary in exchange for a third-round pick in 2015 (76th overall) and this pick.

Calgary previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015 that sent Curtis Glencross to Washington in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick.

• The Arizona Coyotes' fourth-round pick went to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 28, 2015 that sent Tim Gleason to Washington in exchange for Jack Hillen and this pick.

Washington previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 4, 2014 that sent Martin Erat and John Mitchell to Phoenix in exchange for Rostislav Klesla, Chris Brown and this pick.

• The Arizona Coyotes' sixth-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 29, 2014 that sent Sam Gagner and B. J. Crombeen to Arizona in exchange for this pick.

References