The 2015-16 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 90th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. They entered the season as defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blackhawks finished the season with a 47-26-9 record and qualified for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs as the #3 seed in the Central Division. They lost in the first round to the St. Louis Blues, 4 games to 3.
Video 2015-16 Chicago Blackhawks season
Off-season
The Blackhawks faced an offseason of change after being crowned Stanley Cup Champions for a third time in six years. Coming into the offseason, it was well known Chicago was facing impending cap space struggles and moves would need to be made.
On June 27, Chicago traded backup goaltender Antti Raanta to the New York Rangers in exchange for AHL forward Ryan Haggerty. Two days after the trade, defenseman David Rundblad received a 2-year, $2 million contract extension on June 29.
The Blackhawks attempted to negotiate a contract for restricted free agent winger Brandon Saad who was a restricted free agent, but were unsuccessful. Unlikely to match any sizeable offer sheets due to cap constraints, Chicago struck a trade Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Chicago sent Saad and prospects Michael Paliotta and Alex Broadhurst to Columbus in exchange for center Artem Anisimov, wingers Jeremy Morin and Corey Tropp, as well as prospect Marko Dano and their 2016 4th round pick. Anisimov subsequently signed a 5-year, $22.75 million contract with the Blackhawks. The move did not sit well with the Chicago fanbase, as Saad was viewed as another top young player on the Stanley Cup-winning squad, even though Anisimov would score 42 points for the Blackhawks in 2015-16.
Chicago turned to Russia a few times throughout the offseason. KHL winger Viktor Tihkonov, the grandson of legendary Soviet coach by the same name, signed a 1-year, $1.04 million contract with Chicago on July 1. Tihkonov was returning to the NHL for the first time since his 2009 season with the Phoenix Coyotes. Also, Chicago and Edmonton swapped minor league players, sending goaltender Anders Nilsson to the Oilers in exchange for forward Liam Coughlin.
Following season-long trade speculation, the Blackhawks pulled the trigger on another trade by trading another piece of its core Stanley Cup winning teams. Another cap clearing move, Chicago traded alternate captain Patrick Sharp and defenseman Stephen Johns to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Ryan Garbutt and defenseman Trevor Daley. The 3-time Stanley Cup winner carried a cap hit of $5.9 million in each of the next two seasons, limiting the Blackhawks in what they could do with free agency. A trade was expected following a down year in terms of production and the large aforementioned cap hit.
Forward Andrew Desjardins returned on a 2-year deal worth $1.6 million, taking less to stay in Chicago. The Chicago Blackhawks extended the contracts of defensemen Viktor Svedberg, forward Marcus Krüger, and defenseman Michal Rozsival. They lost forwards Brad Richards and Antoine Vermette, as well as defenseman Johnny Oduya during free agency.
Maps 2015-16 Chicago Blackhawks season
Season summary
The Blackhawks began their title defense with and average month of October. The Hawks went 6-5-0. However fortunes increased in November (7-3-1) and December (9-5-1). The Hawks finished December on two game winning streak, looking to keep the wins coming in 2016. The Blackhawks did just that, winning the first 10 games of January to bring the win streak to 12 games. The streak set a franchise record for consecutive wins. The streak tied the Florida Panthers win streak earlier in the season for the longest winning streak in the NHL that season.
Schedule and results
Pre-season
Regular season
- Detailed records
Playoffs
Player statistics
Updated as of games played through April 17, 2016
Skaters
Goaltenders
+Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blackhawks. Stats reflect time with Blackhawks only.
?Left team mid-season. Stats reflect time with Blackhawks only.
Roster
Updated January 10, 2018
Awards and honours
Awards
Milestones
Source of article : Wikipedia
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