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2015–16 Buffalo Sabres season

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2015–16 Buffalo Sabres
Division7th Atlantic
Conference14th Eastern
2015–16 record35–36–11
Home record16–19–6
Road record19–17–5
Goals for201
Goals against222
Team information
General managerTim Murray
CoachDan Bylsma
CaptainBrian Gionta
Alternate captainsTyler Ennis
Josh Gorges
Ryan O'Reilly
ArenaFirst Niagara Center
Minor league affiliate(s)Rochester Americans (AHL)
Elmira Jackals (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsJack Eichel (24)
AssistsRyan O'Reilly (39)
PointsRyan O'Reilly (60)
Penalty minutesEvander Kane (91)
Plus/minusJake McCabe (+6)
WinsChad Johnson (22)
Goals against averageChad Johnson (2.36)

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]

This was originally to be the final season in which Rick Jeanneret serves as the team's play-by-play announcer; he had been in that position since the team's second season in 1971. As he did until 2022, he rotated with Dan Dunleavy in the position.[3] However, Jeanneret agreed to continue indefinitely as part-time announcer as long as his health allowed it.[4]

Off-season

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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

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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

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Atlantic Division
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
Source: National Hockey League[9]
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division
Eastern Conference Wild Card
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
Source: National Hockey League[10]
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

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Preseason

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Regular season

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2015–16 Game Log[12]

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

Player stats

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Final stats

Skaters

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Goaltenders

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Regular Season[14]
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

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Awards

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Milestones

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Transactions

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

Trades

[edit]
Date
Details
Ref
June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26) To Ottawa Senators
NYI's 1st-round pick in 2015
To Buffalo Sabres
Robin Lehner
David Legwand
[17]
June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26) To Colorado Avalanche
Nikita Zadorov
Mikhail Grigorenko
J. T. Compher
2nd-round pick in 2015
To Buffalo Sabres
Ryan O'Reilly
Jamie McGinn
[18]
February 23, 2016 (2016-02-23) To Washington Capitals
Mike Weber[Note 1]
To Buffalo Sabres
3rd-round pick in 2017
[19]
February 27, 2016 (2016-02-27) To Ottawa Senators
Phil Varone
Jason Akeson
Jerome Leduc
To Buffalo Sabres
Cole Schneider
Eric O'Dell
Alex Guptill
Michael Sdao
[20]
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) To Anaheim Ducks
Jamie McGinn
To Buffalo Sabres
conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016[Note 2]
[21]
June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20) To Nashville Predators
MIN's 3rd-round pick in 2016
To Buffalo Sabres
Jimmy Vesey (rights)
[22]

Player signings

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Date Player Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Jack Eichel 3 years, entry-level contract [38]
July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03) Ryan O'Reilly 7 years, $52.5 million contract extension [39]
July 13, 2015 (2015-07-13) Phil Varone 1 year, $600,000, two-way contract [40]
July 14, 2015 (2015-07-14) Mark Pysyk 2 years, $2.25 million [41]
July 21, 2015 (2015-07-21) Johan Larsson 1 year, $800,000 [42]
July 23, 2015 (2015-07-23) Jerry D'Amigo 1 year, $700,000, two-way contract [43]
July 27, 2015 (2015-07-27) Brendan Guhle 3 years, entry-level contract [44]
March 14, 2016 (2016-03-14) Jason Kasdorf entry-level contract [45]
March 21, 2016 (2016-03-21) Hudson Fasching entry-level contract [46]
March 25, 2016 (2016-03-25) Eric Cornel entry-level contract [47]
April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29) Johan Larsson 1 year [48]
May 21, 2016 (2016-05-21) Brycen Martin 3 years, entry-level contract [49]
May 26, 2016 (2016-05-26) Vaclav Karabacek 3 years, entry-level contract [50]
June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20) Nicolas Deslauriers 2 years, contract extension [51]

Draft picks

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Below 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.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 2 Jack Eichel C  United States Boston University (Hockey East)
2 51[b] Brendan Guhle D  Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
4 92 William Borgen D  United States Moorhead Spuds (HS-Minnesota)
5 122 Devante Stephens D  Canada Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
6 152 Georgio Estephan C  Canada Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
7 182 Ivan Chukarov D  United States Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
Draft notes[52]

References

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  1. ^ National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
  2. ^ Yerdon, Joe (October 9, 2015). "Eichel scores first goal, but Sabres lose to Senators". NHL. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  3. ^ "Rick Jeanneret on cancer, criticism and why you never heard him talk about tanking - City & Region - The Buffalo News". Archived from the original on April 26, 2015.
  4. ^ "Rick Jeanneret puts off retirement as Sabres' play-by-play man - Talkin' TV". Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  5. ^ What you need to know for the Sabres scrimmage Archived July 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. WGR. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Hoppe, Bill (July 12, 2015). Josh Chapman unlikely standout at Sabres development camp. Olean Times Herald. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  7. ^ "Sabres Introduce Prospects Challenge".
  8. ^ "Sabres rookie Jack Eichel wows with overtime winner against Bruins". September 15, 2015.
  9. ^ "2015-2016 NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com.
  10. ^ "2015-2016 NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com.
  11. ^ "SABRES ANNOUNCE 2015 PRESEASON SCHEDULE". Sabres.nhl.com. June 16, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  12. ^ "2015-2016 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Buffalo Sabres - Schedule". Sabres.nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  13. ^ "2015–2016 – Regular Season – Buffalo Sabres – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  14. ^ "2015–2016 – Regular Season – Buffalo Sabres – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  15. ^ "Star-studded Central roster highlights All-Star reveal". NHL. January 6, 2016.
  16. ^ "Scott, Atkinson, Eichel named stars of week". NHL. February 1, 2016.
  17. ^ "SABRES TRADE FOR LEHNER, LEGWAND FROM SENATORS". Buffalo Sabres. June 26, 2015.
  18. ^ "SABRES ACQUIRE O'REILLY, McGINN FROM COLORADO". Buffalo Sabres. June 26, 2015.
  19. ^ "SABRES ACQUIRE THIRD-ROUND PICK IN 2017 FOR MIKE WEBER". Buffalo Sabres. February 23, 2016.
  20. ^ "SABRES ACQUIRE FOUR FROM SENATORS". Buffalo Sabres. February 27, 2016.
  21. ^ "SABRES ACQUIRE CONDITIONAL 3RD-ROUND PICK FOR McGINN". Buffalo Sabres. February 29, 2016.
  22. ^ "SABRES ACQUIRE RIGHTS TO VESEY". Buffalo Sabres. June 20, 2016.
  23. ^ a b "Jason Akeson, Matt Donovan sign one-year deals with Buffalo Sabres". NHL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  24. ^ "Sabres Sign Bobby Sanguinetti". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  25. ^ "Sabres sign Cal O'Reilly". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  26. ^ "Colaiacovo signs one-year deal with Sabres". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  27. ^ "SABRES SIGN FRANSON". nhl.com. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  28. ^ "SABRES SIGN DEFENSEMAN CASEY NELSON". nhl.com. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  29. ^ "Coyotes Sign Lindback to One-Year Contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  30. ^ "Matt Hacket, Chris Mueller, Joe Piskula sign with Anaheim Ducks". NHL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  31. ^ "Mikael Granlund, Nate Prosser sign two-year contracts with Minnesota Wild". NHL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  32. ^ "Mike Ribeiro, Barret Jackman, Cody Hodgson sign with Nashville Predators". NHL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  33. ^ "Wild Agrees To Terms Tyson Strachan and Signed Jared Knight". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  34. ^ "Blues Sign Benoit to Two-Way Contract". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  35. ^ "June transfer news". Kontinental Hockey League. June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  36. ^ "Blood clots will force Sabres' Cody McCormick to retire". April 12, 2016.
  37. ^ "Cody Hodgson signs with Predators, hopes for career turnaround". Yahoo Sports. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  38. ^ "SABRES SIGN EICHEL TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  39. ^ "O'Reilly signs seven-year extension with Sabres". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  40. ^ "SABRES RE-SIGN VARONE TO 2-WAY CONTRACT". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  41. ^ "SABRES SIGN PYSYK TO 2-YEAR CONTRACT". nhl.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  42. ^ "SABRES SIGN LARSSON TO 1-YEAR DEAL". nhl.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  43. ^ "SABRES SIGN D'AMIGO TO 2-WAY CONTRACT". nhl.com. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  44. ^ "SABRES SIGN GUHLE TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT". nhl.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  45. ^ "SABRES SIGN KASDORF TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT". nhl.com. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  46. ^ "SABRES SIGN FASCHING TO ENTRY-LEVEL DEAL". nhl.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  47. ^ "SABRES INK FORWARD CORNEL". nhl.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  48. ^ "SABRES EXTEND FORWARD LARSSON". nhl.com. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  49. ^ "SABRES INK MARTIN TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT". nhl.com. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  50. ^ "SABRES SIGN KARABACEK TO ENTRY-LEVEL DEAL". nhl.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  51. ^ "SABRES, DESLAURIERS AGREE TO TWO-YEAR EXTENSION". nhl.com. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  52. ^ "2015 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  53. ^ "Trades completed during 2015 NHL Draft weekend". June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  54. ^ "Avalanche trade O'Reilly to Sabres". June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  55. ^ "Islanders acquire Vanek from Sabres". National Hockey League. October 27, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  56. ^ "Capitals acquire goalie Halak for Neuvirth, Klesla". March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.