2015–16 Washington Capitals season

The 2015–16 Washington Capitals season was the 42nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.^[2] The season began its regular games on October 10, 2015, against the New Jersey Devils.^[3] This was the first of five consecutive Metropolitan Division titles for the Capitals. The 2015-2016 Capitals team was the second one in franchise history to win the Presidents' Trophy, after the 2009-2010 Capitals team. The 2015-2016 Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of NHL playoffs. However, the Capitals were ousted in the second round of NHL playoffs, two games to four, against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins.

2015–16 Washington Capitals
Presidents' Trophy winners
Metropolitan Division champions
Division	1st Metropolitan
Conference	1st Eastern
2015–16 record	56–18–8
Home record	29–8–4
Road record	27–10–4
Goals for	252
Goals against	193
Team information
General manager	Brian MacLellan
Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Alexander Ovechkin
Alternate captains	Nicklas Backstrom Brooks Orpik
Arena	Verizon Center
Average attendance	18,509[1] (27 games)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (50)
Assists	Evgeny Kuznetsov (57)
Points	Evgeny Kuznetsov (77)
Penalty minutes	Tom Wilson (163)
Plus/minus	Evgeny Kuznetsov (+27)
Wins	Braden Holtby (48)
Goals against average	Braden Holtby (2.20)
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	p – Washington Capitals	82	56	18	8	52	252	193	+59	120
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	48	26	8	44	245	203	+42	104
3	x – New York Rangers	82	46	27	9	43	236	217	+19	101
4	x – New York Islanders	82	45	27	10	40	232	216	+16	100
5	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	41	27	14	38	214	218	−4	96
6	Carolina Hurricanes	82	35	31	16	33	198	226	−28	86
7	New Jersey Devils	82	38	36	8	36	184	208	−24	84
8	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	34	40	8	28	219	252	−33	76

Source: National Hockey League^[4]
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 5–0–2 (Home: 3–0–0; Road: 2–0–2)[3]
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 21	Carolina	0–2	Washington		Holtby	15,955	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 22	Washington	1–2	Boston	OT	Grubauer	16,460	1–0–1	Recap
3	September 24	Washington	4–3	Montreal	SO	Ellis	21,287	2–0–1	Recap
4	September 28	Washington	3–1	NY Islanders		Peters	––	3–0–1	Recap
5	September 30	Washington	3–4	Carolina	SO	Peters	6,256	3–0–2	Recap
6	October 2	Boston	1–2	Washington	SO	Holtby	16,243	4–0–2	Recap
7	October 4	NY Islanders	2–6	Washington		Holtby	16,073	5–0–2	Recap

Regular season

2015–16 Game Log[3]
October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 4–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 10 New Jersey 3–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 13 San Jose 5–0 Washington Holtby 18,506 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 15 Chicago 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 17 Carolina 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 20 Washington 6–2 Calgary Holtby 18,303 4–1–0 8 Recap 6 October 22 Washington 3–2 Vancouver Holtby 18,188 5–1–0 10 Recap 7 October 23 Washington 7–4 Edmonton Grubauer 16,839 6–1–0 12 Recap 8 October 28 Pittsburgh 3–1 Washington Holtby 18,506 6–2–0 12 Recap 9 October 30 Columbus 1–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 7–2–0 14 Recap 10 October 31 Washington 2–1 Florida OT Grubauer 11,207 8–2–0 16 Recap
November: 9–3–1 (Home: 6–1–1; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 November 3 Washington 2–5 NY Rangers Holtby 18,006 8–3–0 16 Recap 12 November 5 Boston 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 9–3–0 18 Recap 13 November 7 Toronto 2–3 Washington SO Holtby 18,506 10–3–0 20 Recap 14 November 10 Washington 0–1 Detroit Holtby 20,027 10–4–0 20 Recap 15 November 12 Washington 5–2 Philadelphia Holtby 19,414 11–4–0 22 Recap 16 November 13 Calgary 3–2 Washington OT Grubauer 18,506 11–4–1 23 Recap 17 November 18 Washington 2–1 Detroit OT Holtby 20,027 12–4–1 25 Recap 18 November 19 Dallas 3–2 Washington Grubauer 18,506 12–5–1 25 Recap 19 November 21 Colorado 3–7 Washington Holtby 18,506 13–5–1 27 Recap 20 November 23 Edmonton 0–1 Washington Holtby 18,506 14–5–1 29 Recap 21 November 25 Winnipeg 3–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 15–5–1 31 Recap 22 November 27 Tampa Bay 2–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 16–5–1 33 Recap 23 November 28 Washington 4–2 Toronto Holtby 19,053 17–5–1 35 Recap
December: 11–2–1 (Home: 5–0–0; Road: 6–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 3 Washington 3–2 Montreal Holtby 21,288 18–5–1 37 Recap 25 December 5 Washington 1–2 Winnipeg OT Holtby 15,294 18–5–2 38 Recap 26 December 8 Detroit 2–3 Washington SO Holtby 18,506 19–5–2 40 Recap 27 December 10 Washington 1–4 Florida Grubauer 12,810 19–6–2 40 Recap 28 December 12 Washington 2–1 Tampa Bay Holtby 19,092 20–6–2 42 Recap 29 December 14 Washington 4–1 Pittsburgh Holtby 18,520 21–6–2 44 Recap 30 December 16 Ottawa 1–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 22–6–2 46 Recap 31 December 18 Tampa Bay 3–5 Washington Grubauer 18,506 23–6–2 48 Recap 32 December 20 Washington 7–3 NY Rangers Holtby 18,006 24–6–2 50 Recap 33 December 21 Washington 2–1 Carolina Grubauer 13,228 25–6–2 52 Recap 34 December 26 Montreal 1–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 26–6–2 54 Recap 35 December 28 Washington 2–0 Buffalo Holtby 19,070 27–6–2 56 Recap 36 December 30 Buffalo 2–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 28–6–2 58 Recap 37 December 31 Washington 2–4 Carolina Grubauer 14,134 28–7–2 58 Recap
January: 7–1–2 (Home: 3–0–1; Road: 4–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 2 Washington 4–5 Columbus SO Holtby 17,170 28–7–3 59 Recap 39 January 5 Washington 3–2 Boston Holtby 17,565 29–7–3 61 Recap 40 January 7 Washington 4–1 NY Islanders Holtby 14,261 30–7–3 63 Recap 41 January 9 Washington 4–3 NY Rangers OT Holtby 18,006 31–7–3 65 Recap 42 January 10 Ottawa 1–7 Washington Grubauer 18,506 32–7–3 67 Recap 43 January 14 Vancouver 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 33–7–3 69 Recap 44 January 16 Washington 1–4 Buffalo Holtby 19,070 33–8–3 69 Recap 45 January 17 NY Rangers 2–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 34–8–3 71 Recap 46 January 19 Washington 6–3 Columbus Holtby 12,291 35–8–3 73 Recap – January 22 Anaheim Washington Game rescheduled to April 10 due to hazardous weather. – January 24 Pittsburgh Washington Game rescheduled to March 1 due to hazardous weather. 47 January 27 Philadelphia 4–3 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 35–8–4 74 Recap
February: 10–4–0 (Home: 6–2–0; Road: 4–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 48 February 2 Florida 5–2 Washington Grubauer 18,506 35–9–4 74 Recap 49 February 4 NY Islanders 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 36–9–4 76 Recap 50 February 6 Washington 3–2 New Jersey SO Holtby 16,514 37–9–4 78 Recap 51 February 7 Philadelphia 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 38–9–4 80 Recap 52 February 9 Washington 5–3 Nashville Holtby 17,113 39–9–4 82 Recap 53 February 11 Washington 4–3 Minnesota Holtby 19,213 40–9–4 84 Recap 54 February 13 Washington 3–4 Dallas Holtby 18,532 40–10–4 84 Recap 55 February 16 Los Angeles 1–3 Washington Grubauer 18,506 41–10–4 86 Recap 56 February 18 Washington 3–2 NY Islanders OT Holtby 15,795 42–10–4 88 Recap 57 February 20 New Jersey 3–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 43–10–4 90 Recap 58 February 22 Arizona 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 44–10–4 92 Recap 59 February 24 Montreal 4–3 Washington Grubauer 18,506 44–11–4 92 Recap 60 February 26 Minnesota 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 45–11–4 94 Recap 61 February 28 Washington 2–3 Chicago Holtby 22,218 45–12–4 94 Recap
March: 9–4–2 (Home: 5–2–0; Road: 4–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 62 March 1 Pittsburgh 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 46–12–4 96 Recap 63 March 2 Toronto 2–3 Washington Grubauer 18,506 47–12–4 98 Recap 64 March 4 NY Rangers 3–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 47–13–4 98 Recap 65 March 5 Washington 2–1 Boston OT Grubauer 17,565 48–13–4 100 Recap 66 March 7 Washington 2–1 Anaheim SO Holtby 17,174 49–13–4 102 Recap 67 March 9 Washington 3–4 Los Angeles OT Holtby 18,324 49–13–5 103 Recap 68 March 12 Washington 2–5 San Jose Grubauer 17,562 49–14–5 103 Recap 69 March 15 Carolina 1–2 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 50–14–5 105 Recap 70 March 18 Nashville 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 51–14–5 107 Recap 71 March 20 Washington 2–6 Pittsburgh Holtby 18,656 51–15–5 107 Recap 72 March 22 Washington 4–2 Ottawa Holtby 19,313 52–15–5 109 Recap 73 March 25 Washington 1–0 New Jersey OT Holtby 16,514 53–15–5 111 Recap 74 March 26 St. Louis 4–0 Washington Grubauer 18,506 53–16–5 111 Recap 75 March 28 Columbus 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 54–16–5 113 Recap 76 March 30 Washington 1–2 Philadelphia SO Holtby 19,850 54–16–6 114 Recap
April: 2–2–2 (Home: 0–1–2; Road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 1 Washington 4–2 Colorado Holtby 18,049 55–16–6 116 Recap 78 April 2 Washington 0–3 Arizona Grubauer 17,125 55–17–6 116 Recap 79 April 5 NY Islanders 4–3 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 55–17–7 117 Recap 80 April 7 Pittsburgh 4–3 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 55–17–8 118 Recap 81 April 9 Washington 5–1 St. Louis Holtby 19,610 56–17–8 120 Recap 82 April 10 Anaheim 2–0 Washington Grubauer 18,506 56–18–8 120 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2016 Stanley Cup playoffs

Eastern Conference First Round vs. (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers: Washington wins 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 14 Philadelphia 0–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 1–0 Recap 2 April 16 Philadelphia 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 2–0 Recap 3 April 18 Washington 6–1 Philadelphia Holtby 19,678 3–0 Recap 4 April 20 Washington 1–2 Philadelphia Holtby 19,692 3–1 Recap 5 April 22 Philadelphia 2–0 Washington Holtby 18,506 3–2 Recap 6 April 24 Washington 1–0 Philadelphia Holtby 19,925 4–2 Recap Eastern Conference Second Round vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins: Pittsburgh wins 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 28 Pittsburgh 3–4 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 1–0 Recap 2 April 30 Pittsburgh 2–1 Washington Holtby 18,506 1–1 Recap 3 May 2 Washington 2–3 Pittsburgh Holtby 18,601 1–2 Recap 4 May 4 Washington 2–3 Pittsburgh OT Holtby 18,614 1–3 Recap 5 May 7 Pittsburgh 1–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 2–3 Recap 6 May 10 Washington 3–4 Pittsburgh OT Holtby 18,650 2–4 Recap Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular Season[5] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Evgeny Kuznetsov 82 20 57 77 27 32 Alexander Ovechkin 79 50 21 71 21 53 Nicklas Backstrom 75 20 50 70 17 36 Justin Williams 82 22 30 52 15 36 T. J. Oshie 80 26 25 51 16 34 Marcus Johansson 74 17 29 46 12 16 Jason Chimera 82 20 20 40 0 22 John Carlson 56 8 31 39 16 14 Andre Burakovsky 79 17 21 38 4 12 Matt Niskanen 82 5 27 32 10 38 Dmitry Orlov 82 8 21 29 8 26 Tom Wilson 82 7 16 23 3 163 Karl Alzner 82 4 17 21 14 26 Jay Beagle 57 8 9 17 0 24 Nate Schmidt 72 2 14 16 12 16 Brooks Orpik 41 3 7 10 11 24 Michael Latta 43 3 4 7 0 50 Brooks Laich‡ 60 1 6 7 −7 16 Taylor Chorney 55 1 5 6 8 21 Mike Richards 39 2 3 5 −2 8 Daniel Winnik† 20 2 3 5 7 22 Stanislav Galiev 24 0 3 3 2 4 Aaron Ness 8 0 2 2 4 2 Paul Carey 4 1 0 1 0 0 Zach Sill 10 1 0 1 0 2 Mike Weber† 10 0 0 0 −1 28 Sean Collins 2 0 0 0 −1 2 Ryan Stanton 1 0 0 0 −1 2 Chandler Stephenson 9 0 0 0 −3 2 Chris Brown‡ 1 0 0 0 0 0 Connor Carrick‡ 3 0 0 0 −2 0

Playoffs[5] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Alexander Ovechkin 12 5 7 12 3 2 John Carlson 12 5 7 12 −2 4 Nicklas Backstrom 12 2 9 11 3 8 T. J. Oshie 12 6 4 10 2 11 Justin Williams 12 3 4 7 −3 14 Marcus Johansson 12 2 5 7 −2 2 Jay Beagle 12 3 0 3 1 2 Matt Niskanen 12 0 3 3 3 6 Jason Chimera 12 1 1 2 −1 12 Evgeny Kuznetsov 12 1 1 2 −4 8 Karl Alzner 12 0 2 2 3 6 Andre Burakovsky 12 1 0 1 −1 6 Taylor Chorney 7 0 1 1 −1 4 Dmitry Orlov 11 0 1 1 0 2 Tom Wilson 12 0 1 1 −3 13 Nate Schmidt 10 0 1 1 −3 2 Brooks Orpik 6 0 0 0 −3 10 Mike Richards 12 0 0 0 0 4 Daniel Winnik 12 0 0 0 0 4 Mike Weber 2 0 0 0 −1 0

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[5]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Braden Holtby	66	66	3841:11	48	9	7	141	2.20	1802	.922	3	0	1	6
Philipp Grubauer	22	16	1111:53	8	9	1	43	2.32	523	.918	0	0	0	2

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Braden Holtby	12	12	732	6	6	2	21	1.72	363	.942	2	0	1	0

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

Player suspensions/fines

Player	Explanation	Length	Salary	Date issued
Zach Sill	Boarding on Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid during NHL Game No. 588 in Boston on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, at 4:43 of the second period.	2 games	$6,182.80	January 6, 2016[6]
Marcus Johansson	Illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey during NHL Game No. 601 in New York on Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 8:42 of the first period.	2 games	$40,322.58	January 8, 2016[7]

Notable achievements

Awards

Regular Season Player Award Awarded E. Kuznetsov NHL First Star of the Week[8] October 26, 2015 B. Holtby NHL Second Star of the Week[9] November 30, 2015 B. Holtby NHL Second Star of the Month[10] December 1, 2015 T. Oshie NHL Second Star of the Week[11] December 21, 2015 A. Ovechkin NHL All-Star game captain[12] January 2, 2016 B. Holtby NHL Second Star of the Month[13] January 4, 2016 B. Holtby NHL All-Star game selection[14] January 6, 2016 N. Backstrom NHL All-Star game selection[14] January 6, 2016 A. Ovechkin NHL First Star of the Week[15] January 11, 2016 E. Kuznetsov NHL All-Star game replacement selection[16] January 28, 2016 E. Kuznetsov NHL First Star of the Month[17] February 1, 2016

Milestones

Regular Season Player Milestone Reached M. Niskanen 200th Career NHL Point October 10, 2015 J. Carlson 400th Career NHL Game October 13, 2015 C. Stephenson 1st Career NHL Game October 15, 2015 E. Kuznetsov 100th Career NHL Game October 15, 2015 S. Galiev 1st Career NHL Assist October 15, 2015 A. Ovechkin 900th Career NHL Point October 20, 2015 J. Carlson 200th Career NHL Point November 5, 2015 A. Ovechkin 484th Career Goal; Most Goals scored by Russian November 19, 2015 B. Laich 700th Career NHL Game November 19, 2015 B. Holtby 200th Career NHL Game December 8, 2015 N. Backstrom 600th Career NHL Game December 8, 2015 M. Johansson 200th Career NHL Point December 8, 2015 J. Williams 600th Career NHL Point December 8, 2015 M. Niskanen 600th Career NHL Game December 10, 2015 J. Chimera 900th Career NHL Game December 18, 2015 N. Backstrom 600th Career NHL Point December 18, 2015 N. Schmidt 100th Career NHL Game December 31, 2015 A. Ovechkin 800th Career NHL Game January 9, 2016 T. Chorney 100th Career NHL Game January 9, 2016 A. Ovechkin 500th Career NHL Goal January 10, 2016

Transactions

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

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)	To New York Rangers BUF's 3rd-round pick in 2015 4th-round pick in 2015	To Washington Capitals MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2015	[18]
July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02)	To St. Louis Blues Troy Brouwer Pheonix Copley 3rd-round pick in 2016	To Washington Capitals T. J. Oshie	[19]
February 23, 2016 (2016-02-23)	To Buffalo Sabres 3rd-round pick in 2017	To Washington Capitals Mike Weber[Note 1]	[20]
February 28, 2016 (2016-02-28)	To New York Rangers Chris Brown	To Washington Capitals Ryan Bourque	[21]
February 28, 2016 (2016-02-28)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Brooks Laich Connor Carrick 2nd-round pick in 2016	To Washington Capitals Daniel Winnik ANA's 5th-round pick in 2016	[22]

Notes Note 1 Buffalo to retain 50% ($1.67 million) of salary as part of trade. Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Taylor Chorney Pittsburgh Penguins 1 year, $700,000 [23] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Justin Williams Los Angeles Kings 2 years, $6.5 million [24] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Aaron Ness Bridgeport Sound Tigers 1 year, $575,000 [25] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Carter Camper Binghamton Senators 1 year, $575,000 [25] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Sean Collins Columbus Blue Jackets 1 year, $575,000 [25] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Chris Bourque Hartford Wolf Pack 2 years, $1.2 million [26] July 4, 2015 (2015-07-04) Dan Ellis Florida Panthers 1 year, $650,000 [27] July 8, 2015 (2015-07-08) Paul Carey Providence Bruins 1 year, $575,000 [28] July 16, 2015 (2015-07-16) Zach Sill Toronto Maple Leafs 1 year, $575,000 [29] July 24, 2015 (2015-07-24) Ryan Stanton Vancouver Canucks 1 year, $575,000 [30] October 5, 2015 (2015-10-05) Tim McGauley Brandon Wheat Kings 3 years, entry-level contract [31] January 6, 2016 (2016-01-06) Mike Richards Los Angeles Kings 1 year, $1 million [32] March 28, 2016 (2016-03-28) Adam Carlson Mercyhurst College 2 years, entry-level contract [33]

Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Mike Green Detroit Red Wings 3 years, $18 million [34] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Steve Oleksy Pittsburgh Penguins 1 years, $575,000 [35] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Chris Conner Philadelphia Flyers 1 years, $575,000 [36] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Cameron Schilling Chicago Blackhawks 1 years, $575,000 [37] July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03) Joel Ward San Jose Sharks 3 years, $9.825 million [38] July 28, 2015 (2015-07-28) Eric Fehr Pittsburgh Penguins 3 years, $6 million [39]

Claimed via waivers Player Previous team Date Ref

Lost via waivers Player New team Date Ref

Lost via retirement

Date	Player	Ref
June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29)	Patrick Wey	[40]

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29)	Jay Beagle	3-years, $5.25 million	[41]
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Stanislav Galiev	2-years, $2.3 million	[42]
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Mike Moore	1 year, $575,000	[25]
July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06)	Evgeny Kuznetsov	2-years, $6 million	[43]
July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06)	Chris Brown	2-years, $1.701 million	[44]
July 24, 2015 (2015-07-24)	Braden Holtby	5-years, $30.5 million	[45]
July 30, 2015 (2015-07-30)	Jonas Siegenthaler	3-years, entry-level contract	[46]
July 31, 2015 (2015-07-31)	Marcus Johansson	1-year, $3.75 million	[47]
February 19, 2016 (2016-02-19)	Taylor Chorney	2-years, $1.6 million contract extension	[48]

Draft picks

See also: List of Washington Capitals draft picks

Below are the Washington Capitals' 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	22	Ilya Samsonov	G	Russia	Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)
2	57[a]	Jonas Siegenthaler	D	Switzerland	ZSC Lions (NLA)
5	143	Conner Hobbs	D	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
6	173	Colby Williams	D	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)

Draft notes^[49]

• The Washington Capitals' second-round pick will go to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015, that sent Curtis Glencross to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick in 2015 and this pick.^[50]
• ^a The Montreal Canadiens' second-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Buffalo's third-round pick in 2015 (62nd overall) and a fourth-round pick in 2015 (113th overall) to New York in exchange for this pick.^[51] The Rangers previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Cam Talbot and a seventh-round pick in 2015 (209th overall) to Edmonton in exchange for Ottawa's third-round pick in 2015 (79th overall), a seventh-round pick in 2015 (184th overall) and this pick.^[51]
• The Washington Capitals' third-round pick will go to the Calgary Flames 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.^[50]
• The Washington Capitals' fourth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Montreal's second-round pick in 2015 (57th overall) to Washington in exchange for and Buffalo's third-round pick in 2015 (62nd overall) and this pick.^[51]
• The Washington Capitals' seventh-round pick will go to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent Edward Pasquale and a sixth-round pick in 2014 to Washington in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2014, Nashville's seventh-round pick in 2014 and this pick.^[52]