2015-2016 NHL season
| 2015–16 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 7, 2015 – June 12, 2016 |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| Regular season | |
| Presidents' Trophy | Washington Capitals |
| Season MVP | Patrick Kane (Blackhawks) |
| Top scorer | Patrick Kane (Blackhawks) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Eastern runners-up | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Western champions | San Jose Sharks |
| Western runners-up | St. Louis Blues |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Runners-up | San Jose Sharks |
| Conn Smythe Trophy | Sidney Crosby (Penguins) |
The 2015–16 NHL season was the 99th season of operation (98th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). Thirty teams competed in 82-game regular season schedules from October 7, 2015 to April 10, 2016.
The 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs following the regular season began on April 13, 2016 and ended June 12 with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning their fourth Stanley Cup. None of the seven Canadian-based teams qualified for the playoffs; this was the second season in league history that the playoff field consisted of only United States-based teams. The only other time in league history that no Canadian teams qualified for the postseason was in 1970.
In December 2014, commissioner Gary Bettman told teams that he projected the salary cap to increase to at least $73 million for the 2015–16 season, citing the fluctuating value of the Canadian dollar. The cap was ultimately set at $71.4 million.
Rule changes approved by the NHL Board of Governors on June 24, 2015, include:
For the second time since 2000, the league ended a moratorium on potential expansion teams and began accepting bids for potential expansion teams that, if approved, would begin play in the 2017–18 season. During the 2015 offseason, two ownership groups offered bids: Quebecor, which planned on reviving the Quebec Nordiques at a new arena in Quebec City, Quebec, and Bill Foley's Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, which intended to place an expansion team at a new arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The league concluded the vetting process on September 4, 2015, with a final decision to follow in June 2016.
In August 2015, the league announced a six-year deal with MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) to take over the technical operations of the NHL's in-house digital properties. Under the agreement, MLBAM took over the operations of the NHL's websites, apps, streaming services, and other digital properties starting in January 2016. MLBAM also took over international distribution of the league's digital out-of-market streaming services outside of Canada and Scandinavia. The NHL also took an equity stake of up to 10 percent in BAM Tech, a spin-off of MLBAM's streaming media business. As an aspect of the deal, the U.S. version of NHL Network was also relocated to the facilities of MLB Network. The Canadian version of NHL Network was shut down August 31, 2015.
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