The 2015–16 Montreal Canadiens season was the
107th season of the franchise that was founded on December 4, 1909, and their
99th season in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
.
Off-season
On September 18, 2015, it was announced that
Max Pacioretty was named the 29th captain after a player vote, with
Andrei Markov,
P. K. Subban
Pernell-Karl Sylvester Subban ( ; born May 13, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 2009 and 2022, he played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and ...
,
Brendan Gallagher and
Tomas Plekanec as alternate captains.
Gallagher and Markov will serve as alternates in home games, while Subban and Plekanec serve in road games.
The introduction of rookie goaltender
Mike Condon to the main roster also highlighted notable off season moves by the club. After a stellar pre-season performance, Condon was ultimately rewarded for his play, subsequently replacing
Dustin Tokarski
Dustin Michael Tokarski (born September 16, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He ...
on the goalie tandem as back-up to starter
Carey Price
Carey Price (born August 16, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently under contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the best goaltenders in the world during his career, ...
.
Regular season
The team began its regular season on October 7, 2015, against the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
, recording a 3–1 victory. This season also marked the franchise's best start to a campaign with 9 consecutive wins.
The Canadiens did not suffer a loss until their 10th game of the season, falling to the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
' 5–1 on October 27.
Despite this, the notoriety of the 2015–16 Montreal Canadiens season had been the extensive amount of injuries which had plagued members of the main roster. At the forefront of this misfortune was starting goaltender
Carey Price
Carey Price (born August 16, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently under contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the best goaltenders in the world during his career, ...
, who had suffered a lower-body injury during a 4‒3 loss to the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
on October 29, 2015. He was sidelined with the injury until November 20 in a 5‒3 win against the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
after having missed nine games with a 5‒2‒2 record.
However, on November 25, Price re-aggravated his lower-body injury in a 5‒1 victory against the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
and did not return for the third period.
At the time, Price was expected to miss an additional 6 weeks.
Ultimately, Price's return did not actualize, and, on April 6, 2016, the Montreal Canadiens announced that Price would not return for the 2015–16 season. The extent of Price's injury was revealed to be a medial collateral ligament injury (MCL sprain).
On November 22, against the New York Islanders, right winger
Brendan Gallagher sustained injuries to his fingers after attempting to block a shot. His injuries required surgery and was expected to miss at least six weeks. Gallagher returned for the
2016 Winter Classic in a 5‒1 win against the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
and managed a goal and an assist, also receiving the first star of the game.
On March 10, 2016, defenseman
P. K. Subban
Pernell-Karl Sylvester Subban ( ; born May 13, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 2009 and 2022, he played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, and ...
sustained a neck injury after colliding with defenseman
Alexei Emelin
Alexei Vyacheslavovich Emelin (Russian: Алексей Вячеславович Емелин; born 25 April 1986) is a Russians, Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He was selected in the third ...
in a 3–2 win against the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...
.
Subban was sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure, but was released the following day with a non-serious injury.
On April 6, the club announced that Subban would miss the last two games of the 2015–16 season.
Other notable injuries included those to defencemen
Tom Gilbert,
Jeff Petry, as well as
Nathan Beaulieu. Due to the magnitude of sidelined players, many prospects had gained the opportunity to draw select time in the lineup, with
Michael McCarron,
Morgan Ellis,
Joel Hanley,
Darren Dietz,
Daniel Carr,
Charles Hudon,
Brett Lernout,
Ryan Johnston, and goaltender
Charlie Lindgren all making their respective NHL debuts at some point throughout the season.
The latter half of the Canadiens' season saw them face their worst slump since the
1939-40 season. With this, Montreal
missed the playoffs for the first time since
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
. Similarly, no Canadian team in the NHL made the playoffs
that year, marking the first time since
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
that all Canadian franchises failed to qualify for the postseason.
Standings
Schedule and results
Pre-season
Regular season
Player statistics
Final stats
Skaters
Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Canadiens. Stats reflect time with Canadiens only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Canadiens only.
Suspensions/fines
Awards and honours
Awards
Milestones
Transactions
The Canadiens have been involved in the following
transactions during the 2015–16 season:
Trades
Free agents acquired
Free agents lost
Claimed via waivers
Lost via release
Player signings
Draft picks
Below are the Montreal Canadiens' selections at the
2015 NHL entry draft, held on June 26–27, 2015 at the
BB&T Center in
Sunrise, Florida
Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Early history
In ...
.
Notes
* The
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
' second-round pick went to the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015, that sent
Jeff Petry to Montreal in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in 2015 and this pick.
* The
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
' fourth-round pick went to the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015, that sent
Jeff Petry to Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
The condition – Edmonton will receive a fourth-round pick in 2015 if Montreal advances to the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on April 26, 2015, when Montreal eliminated Ottawa in first-round of the
2015 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2014–15 season. They began on April 15, 2015, and ended on June 15, 2015, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning fou ...
.
* The
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
' fifth-round pick went to the
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...
as the result of a trade on March 4, 2014, that sent
Mike Weaver to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
* The
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
's fifth-round pick went to the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
as the result of a trade on June 30, 2014, that sent
Daniel Briere to Colorado in exchange for
P. A. Parenteau
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (born March 24, 1983) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger.
In the National Hockey League (NHL) he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, New York Isla ...
and this pick.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 Montreal Canadiens Season
Montreal Canadiens seasons
Montreal Canadiens season, 2015-16
2015 in sports in Quebec
2016 in sports in Quebec
Montr
2015 in Montreal
2016 in Montreal