2015–16 Winnipeg Jets season

The 2015–16 Winnipeg Jets season was the 17th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997, and the fifth in Winnipeg, since the franchise relocated from Atlanta prior to the start of the 2011–12 NHL season.^[2]

2015–16 Winnipeg Jets
Division	7th Central
Conference	11th Western
2015–16 record	35–39–8
Home record	18–19–4
Road record	17–20–4
Goals for	215
Goals against	239
Team information
General manager	Kevin Cheveldayoff
Coach	Paul Maurice
Captain	Andrew Ladd (Oct.–Feb.) Vacant (Feb.–Apr.)
Alternate captains	Mark Stuart Blake Wheeler
Arena	MTS Centre
Average attendance	15,294 (101.9%)[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Manitoba Moose (AHL) Tulsa Oilers (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Mark Scheifele (29)
Assists	Blake Wheeler (52)
Points	Blake Wheeler (78)
Penalty minutes	Dustin Byfuglien (119)
Plus/minus	Mark Scheifele (+16)
Wins	Connor Hellebuyck and Ondřej Pavelec (13)
Goals against average	Connor Hellebuyck (2.34)
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–2 (Home: 2–0–2; Road: 1–2–0)[3]
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22	Minnesota	1–0	Winnipeg	OT	Hellebuyck	15,294	0–0–1	Recap
2	September 23	Winnipeg	2–3	Edmonton		Comrie	16,839	0–1–1	Recap
3	September 25	Edmonton	4–3	Winnipeg	OT	Pavelec	15,294	0–1–2	Recap
4	September 27	Winnipeg	1–8	Minnesota		Hutchinson	17,710	0–2–2	Recap
5	September 29	Ottawa	3–4	Winnipeg	OT	Pavelec	15,294	1–2–2	Recap
6	October 1	Calgary	1–3	Winnipeg		Hutchinson	15,294	2–2–2	Recap
7	October 3	Winnipeg	3–2	Calgary		Pavelec	19,289	3–2–2	Recap

Regular season

2015–16 Game Log[3]
October: 7–3–1 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 4–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 8 Winnipeg 6–2 Boston Pavelec 17,565 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 9 Winnipeg 3–1 New Jersey Hutchinson 14,579 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 12 Winnipeg 2–4 NY Islanders Pavelec 11,183 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 13 Winnipeg 4–1 NY Rangers Hutchinson 18,006 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 16 Calgary 1–3 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 4–1–0 8 Recap 6 October 18 St. Louis 4–2 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 4–2–0 8 Recap 7 October 23 Tampa Bay 4–3 Winnipeg OT Pavelec 15,294 4–2–1 9 Recap 8 October 25 Minnesota 4–5 Winnipeg Hutchinson 15,294 5–2–1 11 Recap 9 October 27 Los Angeles 4–1 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 5–3–1 11 Recap 10 October 29 Chicago 1–3 Winnipeg Hutchinson 15,294 6–3–1 13 Recap 11 October 31 Winnipeg 3–2 Columbus Pavelec 12,860 7–3–1 15 Recap
November: 4–9–1 (Home: 2–2–0; Road: 2–7–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 1 Winnipeg 1–5 Montreal Hutchinson 21,288 7–4–1 15 Recap 13 November 4 Winnipeg 4–2 Toronto Pavelec 19,113 8–4–1 17 Recap 14 November 5 Winnipeg 2–3 Ottawa SO Hutchinson 17,195 8–4–2 18 Recap 15 November 7 Philadelphia 3–0 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 8–5–2 18 Recap 16 November 10 Winnipeg 3–5 Minnesota Pavelec 19,153 8–6–2 18 Recap 17 November 12 Winnipeg 3–6 Dallas Pavelec 18,010 8–7–2 18 Recap 18 November 14 Winnipeg 0–7 Nashville Hutchinson 17,113 8–8–2 18 Recap 19 November 16 Winnipeg 2–3 St. Louis Hutchinson 18,680 8–9–2 18 Recap 20 November 18 Vancouver 1–4 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 9–9–2 20 Recap 21 November 21 Arizona 2–3 Winnipeg Hutchinson 15,294 10–9–2 22 Recap 22 November 23 Colorado 4–1 Winnipeg Hutchinson 15,294 10–10–2 22 Recap 23 November 25 Winnipeg 3–5 Washington Hutchinson 18,506 10–11–2 22 Recap 24 November 27 Winnipeg 3–1 Minnesota Hellebuyck 19,055 11–11–2 24 Recap 25 November 28 Winnipeg 3–5 Colorado Hutchinson 16,311 11–12–2 24 Recap
December: 6–6–0 (Home: 6–1–0; Road: 0–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 26 December 2 Toronto 1–6 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 12–12–2 26 Recap 27 December 5 Washington 1–2 Winnipeg OT Hellebuyck 15,294 13–12–2 28 Recap 28 December 6 Winnipeg 1–3 Chicago Hutchinson 21,749 13–13–2 28 Recap 29 December 10 Columbus 4–6 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 14–13–2 30 Recap 30 December 11 Winnipeg 0–2 Chicago Hellebuyck 22,021 14–14–2 30 Recap 31 December 15 St. Louis 4–3 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 14–15–2 30 Recap 32 December 18 NY Rangers 2–5 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 15–15–2 32 Recap 33 December 21 Winnipeg 1–3 Edmonton Hellebuyck 16,839 15–16–2 32 Recap 34 December 22 Winnipeg 1–4 Calgary Hutchinson 19,289 15–17–2 32 Recap 35 December 27 Pittsburgh 0–1 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 16–17–2 34 Recap 36 December 29 Detroit 1–4 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 17–17–2 36 Recap 37 December 31 Winnipeg 2–4 Arizona Hellebuyck 14,027 17–18–2 36 Recap
January: 5–6–1 (Home: 2–5–0; Road: 3–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 2 Winnipeg 4–1 San Jose Hellebuyck 17,562 18–18–2 38 Recap 39 January 3 Winnipeg 1–4 Anaheim Hutchinson 17,174 18–19–2 38 Recap 40 January 5 Winnipeg 4–1 Nashville Hellebuyck 17,113 19–19–2 40 Recap 41 January 7 Winnipeg 1–2 Dallas SO Hellebuyck 18,532 19–19–3 41 Recap 42 January 10 Buffalo 4–2 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 19–20–3 41 Recap 43 January 12 San Jose 4–1 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 19–21–3 41 Recap 44 January 14 Nashville 4–5 Winnipeg OT Hellebuyck 15,294 20–21–3 43 Recap 45 January 15 Winnipeg 1–0 Minnesota Hellebuyck 19,222 21–21–3 45 Recap 46 January 18 Colorado 2–1 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 21–22–3 45 Recap 47 January 21 Nashville 4–1 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 21–23–3 45 Recap 48 January 23 New Jersey 3–1 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 21–24–3 45 Recap 49 January 26 Arizona 2–5 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 22–24–3 47 Recap
February: 4–7–1 (Home: 0–4–0; Road: 4–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 2 Dallas 5–3 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 22–25–3 47 Recap 51 February 5 Carolina 5–3 Winnipeg Hutchinson 15,924 22–26–3 47 Recap 52 February 6 Winnipeg 4–2 Colorado Hutchinson 14,983 23–26–3 49 Recap 53 February 9 Winnipeg 2–1 St. Louis SO Hellebuyck 18,323 24–26–3 51 Recap 54 February 11 Boston 6–2 Winnipeg Hellebuyck 15,294 24–27–3 51 Recap 55 February 13 Winnipeg 2–1 Edmonton SO Pavelec 16,839 25–27–3 53 Recap 56 February 16 Winnipeg 1–2 Carolina Pavelec 10,489 25–28–3 53 Recap 57 February 18 Winnipeg 5–6 Tampa Bay SO Pavelec 19,092 25–28–4 54 Recap 58 February 20 Winnipeg 1–3 Florida Hutchinson 16,210 25–29–4 54 Recap 59 February 23 Dallas 5–3 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 25–30–4 54 Recap 60 February 25 Winnipeg 6–3 Dallas Hutchinson 18,532 26–30–4 56 Recap 61 February 27 Winnipeg 1–4 Pittsburgh Hutchinson 18,650 26–31–4 56 Recap
March: 5–8–3 (Home: 4–5–2; Road: 1–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 62 March 1 Florida 3–2 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 26–32–4 56 Recap 63 March 3 NY Islanders 4–3 Winnipeg OT Hutchinson 15,294 26–32–5 57 Recap 64 March 5 Montreal 2–4 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 27–32–5 59 Recap 65 March 6 Edmonton 2–1 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 27–33–5 59 Recap 66 March 8 Nashville 4–2 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 27–34–5 59 Recap 67 March 10 Winnipeg 2–3 Detroit Hutchinson 20,027 27–35–5 59 Recap 68 March 12 Colorado 2–3 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 28–35–5 61 Recap 69 March 14 Winnipeg 5–2 Vancouver Hutchinson 18,361 29–35–5 63 Recap 70 March 16 Winnipeg 1–4 Calgary Pavelec 18,929 29–36–5 63 Recap 71 March 18 Chicago 4–0 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 29–37–5 63 Recap 72 March 20 Anaheim 3–2 Winnipeg OT Hutchinson 15,294 29–37–6 64 Recap 73 March 22 Vancouver 0–2 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 30–37–6 66 Recap 74 March 24 Los Angeles 1–4 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 31–37–6 68 Recap 75 March 26 Winnipeg 2–3 Buffalo Hutchinson 19,070 31–38–6 68 Recap 76 March 28 Winnipeg 2–3 Philadelphia OT Pavelec 19,100 31–38–7 69 Recap 77 March 30 Ottawa 2–1 Winnipeg Hutchinson 15,294 31–39–7 69 Recap
April: 4–0–1 (Home: 1–0–1; Road: 3–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 1 Chicago 5–4 Winnipeg OT Pavelec 15,294 31–39–8 70 Recap 79 April 3 Minnesota 1–5 Winnipeg Pavelec 15,294 32–39–8 72 Recap 80 April 5 Winnipeg 2–1 Anaheim OT Hutchinson 16,743 33–39–8 74 Recap 81 April 7 Winnipeg 5–4 San Jose Pavelec 15,900 34–39–8 76 Recap 82 April 9 Winnipeg 4–3 Los Angeles SO Pavelec 18,449 35–39–8 78 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular Season[4] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Blake Wheeler 82 26 52 78 8 49 Mark Scheifele 71 29 32 61 16 48 Dustin Byfuglien 81 19 34 53 4 119 Bryan Little 57 17 25 42 −13 12 Mathieu Perreault 71 9 32 41 −11 36 Drew Stafford 78 21 17 38 −23 28 Nikolaj Ehlers 72 15 23 38 3 21 Andrew Ladd‡ 59 17 17 34 −10 39 Tyler Myers 73 9 18 27 6 72 Alexander Burmistrov 81 7 14 21 −11 32 Jacob Trouba 81 6 15 21 10 62 Adam Lowry 74 7 10 17 −9 53 Tobias Enstrom 72 2 14 16 8 44 Andrew Copp 77 7 6 13 8 6 Chris Thorburn 82 6 6 12 −1 81 Joel Armia 43 4 6 10 2 12 Ben Chiarot 70 1 9 10 −9 43 Marko Dano† 21 4 4 8 −7 8 Nic Petan 26 2 4 6 2 10 Anthony Peluso 35 1 4 5 4 44 Mark Stuart 64 1 2 3 −7 66 Matt Halischuk 30 0 3 3 1 4 Scott Kosmachuk 8 0 3 3 1 2 Paul Postma 26 2 0 2 −3 4 JC Lipon 9 0 1 1 0 5 Adam Pardy‡ 14 0 1 1 −3 8 Patrice Cormier 2 0 0 0 0 0 Julian Melchiori 11 0 0 0 1 0 Josh Morrissey 1 0 0 0 0 0 Chase De Leo 2 0 0 0 1 0 Brandon Tanev 3 0 0 0 0 2

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[5]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Ondrej Pavelec	33	31	1,899	13	13	4	88	2.78	918	.904	1	0	0	0
Michael Hutchinson	30	25	1,586	9	15	3	75	2.84	805	.907	0	0	0	0
Connor Hellebuyck	26	26	1,433	13	11	1	56	2.34	683	.918	2	0	0	0

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

Suspensions/fines

Player	Explanation	Length	Salary	Date issued
Alexander Burmistrov	Elbowing Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon during NHL Game No. 118 in Winnipeg on Sunday, October 25, 2015, at 13:11 of the second period.	—	$4,166.67	October 26, 2015[6]
Nikolaj Ehlers	Diving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 547 in Winnipeg on Tuesday, December 29, 2015.	—	$2,000.00	January 7, 2016[7]
Tyler Myers	Cross-checking San Jose Sharks forward Tommy Wingels during NHL Game No. 638 in Winnipeg on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, at 12:55 of the third period.	—	$5,000.00	January 13, 2016[8]
Drew Stafford	High-sticking Colorado Avalanche forward Nick Holden during NHL Game No. 785 in Denver on Saturday, February 6, 2016, at 15:15 of the second period.	1 game	$23,387.10	February 8, 2016[9]

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular Season Player Award Awarded D. Byfuglien NHL All-Star game selection[10] January 6, 2016

Milestones

Regular Season Player Milestone Reached N. Petan 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point October 8, 2015 N. Ehlers 1st Career NHL Game October 8, 2015 N. Ehlers 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point October 9, 2015 N. Ehlers 1st Career NHL Goal October 13, 2015 A. Ladd 700th Career NHL Game October 27, 2015 M. Perreault 300th Career NHL Game October 29, 2015 D. Stafford 600th Career NHL Game October 31, 2015 T. Myers 400th Career NHL Game October 31, 2015 A. Copp 1st Career NHL Goal October 31, 2015 C. Hellebuyck 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Win November 27, 2015 M. Perreault 100th Career NHL Assist December 2, 2015 M. Scheifele 100th Career NHL Point December 2, 2015 M. Stuart 600th Career NHL Game December 21, 2015

Transactions

Winnipeg has been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
February 25, 2016	To Chicago Blackhawks Andrew LaddNote 1 Jay Harrison Matt Fraser	To Winnipeg Jets Marko Dano 1st-round pick in 2016 conditional 3rd-round pick in 2018	[11]

• ^{Note 1} Winnipeg to retain 36% ($1.584 million) of salary as part of trade.

Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Matt Fraser Edmonton Oilers 1 year, $650,000 [12] July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03) Andrew MacWilliam Toronto Maple Leafs 1 year, $600,000 [13] October 6, 2015 (2015-10-06) Thomas Raffl Red Bull Salzburg 1 year, $575,000 [14] March 30, 2016 (2016-03-30) Brandon Tanev Providence College 1 year, $925,000 [15]

Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Michael Frolik Calgary Flames 5 years, $21.5 million [16] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Eric O'Dell Ottawa Senators 1 year, $700,000 [17] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Will O'Neill Pittsburgh Penguins 1 year, $575,000 [18] July 7, 2015 (2015-07-07) Keaton Ellerby Barys Astana (KHL) 1 year [19] September 17, 2015 (2015-09-17) Jiri Tlusty New Jersey Devils 1 year, $800,000 [20] October 3, 2015 (2015-10-03) Lee Stempniak New Jersey Devils 1 year, $850,000 [21]

Claimed via waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waivers Ref

Lost via waivers Player New team Date claimed off waivers Ref Adam Pardy Edmonton Oilers February 29, 2016 [22]

Lost via retirement Player Ref Player signings Date Player Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29) Drew Stafford 2 years, $8.7 million [23] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Adam Pardy 1 year, $1 million [24] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Matt Halischuk 1 year, $750,000 [25] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Alexander Burmistrov 2 years, 3.1 million [26] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Patrice Cormier 1 year, $650,000 [12] July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03) Brendan Lemieux 3 year, $3.375 million entry-level contract [27] July 10, 2015 (2015-07-10) Paul Postma 2 years, $1.775 million [28] February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08) Dustin Byfuglien 5 years, $38 million contract extension [29] April 11, 2016 (2016-04-11) Kyle Connor 3 years, $5.325 million entry-level contract [30] June 1, 2016 (2016-06-01) Nelson Nogier 3 years, $2.32 million entry-level contract [31] June 21, 2016 (2016-06-21) Michael Hutchinson 2 years, $2.3 million [32]

Draft picks

See also: List of Winnipeg Jets draft picks

Below are the Winnipeg Jets' 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	17	Kyle Connor	Left wing	United States	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
1	25[a]	Jack Roslovic	Centre	United States	U.S. National Team Development Program
2	47	Jansen Harkins	Centre	Canada	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
3	78	Erik Foley	Left wing	United States	Cedar Rapids Roughriders (USHL)
4	108	Michael Spacek	Right wing	Czech Republic	HC Pardubice (Czech)
6	168	Mason Appleton	Centre	United States	Tri-City Storm (USHL)
7	198	Sami Niku	Defense	Finland	JYP (Liiga)
7	203[b]	Matteo Gennaro	Centre	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)

Draft notes^[33]

• ^a The Sabres' first-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on February 11, 2015 that sent Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian and Jason Kasdorf to Buffalo in exchange for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[34] The condition – Winnipeg will receive the lowest of Buffalo's first-round picks in 2015 – was converted on April 27, 2015 when the Islanders were eliminated from the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, ensuring that the Blues' first-round pick would be lower.
• The Winnipeg Jets' fifth-round pick went to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 25, 2015 that sent Jiri Tlusty to Winnipeg in exchange for a third-round pick in 2016 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[35] The condition – Carolina will receive a fifth-round pick in 2015 if Winnipeg qualifies for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on April 9, 2015.^[36]
• ^b The Washington Capitals' seventh-round pick went 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.^[37]