2015–16 Columbus Blue Jackets season

2015–16 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	8th Metropolitan
Conference	15th Eastern
2015–16 record	34–40–8
Home record	18–17–6
Road record	16–23–2
Goals for	219
Goals against	252
Team information
General manager	Jarmo Kekalainen
Coach	Todd Richards (Oct. 9 – Oct. 21) John Tortorella (Oct. 21 – Apr. 10)
Captain	Nick Foligno
Alternate captains	Brandon Dubinsky Boone Jenner
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Brandon Saad (31)
Assists	Alexander Wennberg (32)
Points	Cam Atkinson Brandon Saad (53)
Penalty minutes	Scott Hartnell (112)
Plus/minus	Kevin Connauton (+10)
Wins	Joonas Korpisalo (16)
Goals against average	Joonas Korpisalo (2.60)

The 2015–16 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the 16th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997. Columbus hired head coach John Tortorella following the firing of Todd Richards, who started the season 0–8–0. The team began its regular season games on October 9, 2015 against the New York Rangers.

Regular season

After a seven game losing streak to start the season, the Blue Jackets fired head coach Todd Richards and hired John Tortorella on October 21.

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	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
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	ME	x – New York Islanders	82	45	27	10	40	232	216	+16	100
2	ME	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	41	27	14	38	214	218	−4	96
3	AT	Boston Bruins	82	42	31	9	38	240	230	+10	93
4	ME	Carolina Hurricanes	82	35	31	16	33	198	226	−28	86
5	AT	Ottawa Senators	82	38	35	9	32	236	247	−11	85
6	ME	New Jersey Devils	82	38	36	8	36	184	208	−24	84
7	AT	Montreal Canadiens	82	38	38	6	33	221	236	−15	82
8	AT	Buffalo Sabres	82	35	36	11	33	201	222	−21	81
9	ME	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	34	40	8	28	219	252	−33	76
10	AT	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	29	42	11	23	198	246	−48	69

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2015 pre-season game log: 5–2–1 (Home: 2–1–1; Road: 3–1–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 21	Pittsburgh	1–0	Columbus	SO	Korpisalo	11,363	0–0–1	Recap
2[A]	September 22	St. Louis	1–3	Columbus		Bobrovsky	10,064	1–0–1	Recap
3[A]	September 22	Columbus	2–5	St. Louis		McElhinney	10,388	1–1–1	Recap
4	September 24	Minnesota	5–2	Columbus		Forsberg	10,209	1–2–1	Recap
5	September 26	Columbus	4–2	Pittsburgh		Bobrovsky	18,265	2–2–1	Recap
6	September 29	Columbus	5–2	Nashville		Bobrovsky	16,027	3–2–1	Recap
7	October 2	Columbus	6–4	Buffalo		McElhinney	17,578	4–2–1	Recap
8	October 3	Nashville	1–7	Columbus		Bobrovsky	13,795	5–2–1	Recap
A – indicates split-squad game.

Regular season

2015–16 game log
October: 2–10–0 (Home: 0–5–0; Road: 2–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 9 NY Rangers 4–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,027 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 10 Columbus 2–5 NY Rangers Bobrovsky 18,006 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 October 12 Columbus 2–4 Buffalo Bobrovsky 18,075 0–3–0 0 Recap 4 October 14 Ottawa 7–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 13,803 0–4–0 0 Recap 5 October 16 Toronto 6–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 13,885 0–5–0 0 Recap 6 October 17 Columbus 1–4 Chicago McElhinney 21,563 0–6–0 0 Recap 7 October 20 NY Islanders 4–0 Columbus McElhinney 14,295 0–7–0 0 Recap 8 October 22 Columbus 2–3 Minnesota Bobrovsky 18,650 0–8–0 0 Recap 9 October 24 Columbus 4–3 Colorado Bobrovsky 18,007 1–8–0 2 Recap 10 October 27 Columbus 3–1 New Jersey Bobrovsky 12,847 2–8–0 4 Recap 11 October 30 Columbus 1–2 Washington Bobrovsky 18,506 2–9–0 4 Recap 12 October 31 Winnipeg 3–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 12,860 2–10–0 4 Recap
November: 8–5–0 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 3 Columbus 5–2 San Jose Bobrovsky 15,491 3–10–0 6 Recap 14 November 5 Columbus 3–2 Los Angeles Bobrovsky 18,230 4–10–0 8 Recap 15 November 6 Columbus 2–4 Anaheim McElhinney 17,174 4–11–0 8 Recap 16 November 10 Vancouver 5–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 14,148 4–12–0 8 Recap 17 November 13 Columbus 2–1 Pittsburgh Bobrovsky 18,610 5–12–0 10 Recap 18 November 14 Arizona 2–5 Columbus Bobrovsky 13,702 6–12–0 12 Recap 19 November 17 St. Louis 1–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 12,161 7–12–0 14 Recap 20 November 19 Columbus 0–3 Ottawa McElhinney 16,925 7–13–0 14 Recap 21 November 20 Nashville 0–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 13,584 8–13–0 16 Recap 22 November 22 San Jose 5–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 13,397 8–14–0 16 Recap 23 November 25 Columbus 2–1 New Jersey Bobrovsky 13,567 9–14–0 18 Recap 24 November 27 Pittsburgh 1–2 Columbus OT Bobrovsky 18,205 10–14–0 20 Recap 25 November 28 Columbus 1–3 St. Louis Bobrovsky 19,227 10–15–0 20 Recap
December: 4–7–3 (Home: 2–1–3; Road: 2–6–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 26 December 1 Columbus 1–2 Montreal Bobrovsky 21,288 10–16–0 20 Recap 27 December 4 Florida 2–1 Columbus SO Bobrovsky 14,162 10–16–1 21 Recap 28 December 5 Columbus 4–1 Philadelphia Bobrovsky 18,202 11–16–1 23 Recap 29 December 8 Los Angeles 3–2 Columbus OT Bobrovsky 15,633 11–16–2 24 Recap 30 December 10 Columbus 4–6 Winnipeg McElhinney 15,294 11–17–2 24 Recap 31 December 12 NY Islanders 3–2 Columbus OT McElhinney 12,342 11–17–3 25 Recap 32 December 14 Tampa Bay 2–1 Columbus Korpisalo 12,494 11–18–3 25 Recap 33 December 15 Columbus 1–5 Dallas Korpisalo 18,232 11–19–3 25 Recap 34 December 17 Columbus 7–5 Arizona McElhinney 11,120 12–19–3 27 Recap 35 December 19 Philadelphia 2–3 Columbus SO Korpisalo 14,030 13–19–3 29 Recap 36 December 21 Columbus 2–5 Pittsburgh Korpisalo 18,602 13–20–3 29 Recap 37 December 26 Columbus 2–5 Tampa Bay Korpisalo 19,092 13–21–3 29 Recap 38 December 27 Columbus 2–3 Florida McElhinney 16,902 13–22–3 29 Recap 39 December 29 Dallas 3–6 Columbus McElhinney 15,836 14–22–3 31 Recap
January: 5–5–2 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 2–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 40 January 2 Washington 4–5 Columbus SO Forsberg 17,170 15–22–3 33 Recap 41 January 5 Minnesota 4–2 Columbus Forsberg 12,411 15–23–3 33 Recap 42 January 8 Columbus 1–4 Carolina Forsberg 14,241 15–24–3 33 Recap 43 January 9 Carolina 4–3 Columbus OT Korpisalo 16,532 15–24–4 34 Recap 44 January 12 Columbus 2–5 NY Islanders Forsberg 13,115 15–25–4 34 Recap 45 January 13 Columbus 3–1 Toronto Korpisalo 18,903 16–25–4 36 Recap 46 January 16 Colorado 1–2 Columbus Korpisalo 17,776 17–25–4 38 Recap 47 January 19 Washington 6–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 12,291 17–26–4 38 Recap 48 January 21 Calgary 4–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 12,492 17–27–4 38 Recap 49 January 23 Columbus 2–3 Boston SO Korpisalo 17,565 17–27–5 39 Recap 50 January 25 Montreal 2–5 Columbus Korpisalo 11,927 18–27–5 41 Recap 51 January 26 Columbus 5–2 Montreal Korpisalo 21,288 19–27–5 43 Recap
February: 7–3–3 (Home: 4–1–2; Road: 3–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 2 Columbus 1–5 Edmonton Korpisalo 16,839 19–28–5 43 Recap 53 February 4 Columbus 2–1 Vancouver SO Korpisalo 18,199 20–28–5 45 Recap 54 February 5 Columbus 2–1 Calgary Korpisalo 19,289 21–28–5 47 Recap 55 February 9 NY Islanders 3–2 Columbus SO Korpisalo 14,303 21–28–6 48 Recap 56 February 11 Anaheim 3–4 Columbus SO Korpisalo 12,117 22–28–6 50 Recap 57 February 13 Ottawa 2–4 Columbus Korpisalo 16,164 23–28–6 52 Recap 58 February 16 Boston 2–1 Columbus OT Korpisalo 13,140 23–28–7 53 Recap 59 February 19 Buffalo 4–0 Columbus Korpisalo 14,923 23–29–7 53 Recap 60 February 22 Columbus 6–4 Boston Korpisalo 17,565 24–29–7 55 Recap 61 February 23 Columbus 1–2 Detroit SO McElhinney 20,027 24–29–8 56 Recap 62 February 25 New Jersey 1–6 Columbus Korpisalo 12,590 25–29–8 58 Recap 63 February 27 Florida 3–4 Columbus SO Korpisalo 15,400 26–29–8 60 Recap 64 February 29 Columbus 1–2 NY Rangers Korpisalo 18,006 26–30–8 60 Recap
March: 4–9–0 (Home: 4–4–0; Road: 0–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 4 Edmonton 3–6 Columbus Korpisalo 16,789 27–30–8 62 Recap 66 March 5 Columbus 0–6 Philadelphia McElhinney 19,645 27–31–8 62 Recap 67 March 8 Detroit 3–5 Columbus Korpisalo 14,426 28–31–8 64 Recap 68 March 11 Pittsburgh 3–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,205 28–32–8 64 Recap 69 March 13 Tampa Bay 4–0 Columbus Bobrovsky 14,701 28–33–8 64 Recap 70 March 17 Detroit 3–1 Columbus Bobrovsky 14,415 28–34–8 64 Recap 71 March 19 New Jersey 3–6 Columbus Bobrovsky 14,447 29–34–8 66 Recap 72 March 20 Columbus 1–2 New Jersey Korpisalo 15,146 29–35–8 66 Recap 73 March 22 Philadelphia 2–3 Columbus SO Bobrovsky 16,230 30–35–8 68 Recap 74 March 24 Carolina 3–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 15,624 30–36–8 68 Recap 75 March 26 Columbus 1–5 Nashville Korpisalo 17,113 30–37–8 68 Recap 76 March 28 Columbus 1–4 Washington Bobrovsky 18,506 30–38–8 68 Recap 77 March 31 Columbus 3–4 NY Islanders Bobrovsky 13,857 30–39–8 68 Recap
April: 4–1–0 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 3–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 2 Columbus 5–1 Carolina Korpisalo 11,542 31–39–8 70 Recap 79 April 4 NY Rangers 4–2 Columbus Korpisalo 15,951 31–40–8 70 Recap 80 April 6 Columbus 5–1 Toronto Bobrovsky 18,837 32–40–8 72 Recap 81 April 8 Columbus 4–1 Buffalo Korpisalo 19,070 33–40–8 74 Recap 82 April 9 Chicago 4–5 Columbus OT Bobrovsky 19,177 34–40–8 76 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Brandon Saad	78	31	22	53	1	14
Cam Atkinson	81	27	26	53	−8	22
Boone Jenner	82	30	19	49	−15	77
Scott Hartnell	79	23	26	49	−11	112
Brandon Dubinsky	75	17	31	48	−16	71
Alexander Wennberg	69	8	32	40	−1	2
Nick Foligno	72	12	25	37	−14	53
Ryan Johansen‡	38	6	20	26	−4	25
David Savard	65	4	21	25	−7	45
Ryan Murray	82	4	21	25	−10	40
Matt Calvert	73	11	13	24	1	51
William Karlsson	81	9	11	20	−9	6
Seth Jones†	41	2	18	20	−9	12
Jack Johnson	60	6	8	14	−16	25
Gregory Campbell	82	3	8	11	−6	78
Dalton Prout	64	3	6	9	−6	102
Kerby Rychel	32	2	7	9	5	15
Oliver Bjorkstrand	12	4	4	8	6	0
Rene Bourque	49	3	5	8	−9	38
Cody Goloubef	43	1	7	8	−3	20
Kevin Connauton‡	27	1	7	8	10	21
David Clarkson	23	2	2	4	−8	23
Josh Anderson	12	1	3	4	0	2
Justin Falk	24	0	4	4	2	17
Fedor Tyutin	61	1	2	3	−6	28
Jared Boll	30	1	2	3	−3	61
Michael Chaput	8	1	1	2	3	5
Andrew Bodnarchuk‡	16	0	2	2	−6	8
Sonny Milano	3	0	1	1	1	0
John Ramage	1	0	0	0	−2	0
Michael Paliotta	1	0	0	0	0	4
Markus Hannikainen	4	0	0	0	−2	0
Dean Kukan	8	0	0	0	9	0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Sergei Bobrovsky	37	37	2,116	15	19	1	97	2.75	1049	.908	1	0	2	2
Joonas Korpisalo	31	30	1,803	16	11	4	78	2.60	969	.920	0	0	0	2
Curtis McElhinney	18	12	835	2	7	3	46	3.31	417	.890	0	0	1	0
Anton Forsberg	4	3	178	1	3	0	9	3.03	97	.907	0	0	0	0

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

Player suspensions/fines

Player	Explanation	Length	Salary	Date issued
Brandon Dubinsky	Cross-checking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby during NHL game No. 337 in Columbus on Friday, November 27, 2015, at 18:40 of the second period.	1 game	$31,451.61	November 28, 2015

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular Season

Player	Award	Awarded
Brandon Saad	NHL All-Star game selection	January 6, 2016
C. Atkinson	NHL Second Star of the Week	February 1, 2016

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	Reached
S. Hartnell	600th career NHL point	October 16, 2015
D. Savard	200th career NHL game	November 3, 2015
R. Johansen	100th career NHL assist	November 3, 2015
J. Boll	500th career NHL game	November 17, 2015
R. Murray	100th career NHL game	November 22, 2015
M. Hannikainen	1st career NHL game	November 28, 2015
R. Johansen	300th career NHL game	December 12, 2015
J. Johnson	600th career NHL game	December 12, 2015
J. Korpisalo	1st career NHL game	December 14, 2015
J. Korpisalo	1st career NHL win	December 19, 2015

Transactions

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

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 26, 2015	To Toronto Maple Leafs TOR's 2nd-round pick in 2015 PHI's 3rd-round pick in 2015	To Columbus Blue Jackets TBL's 1st-round pick in 2015
June 30, 2015	To Chicago Blackhawks Artem Anisimov Marko Dano Jeremy Morin Corey Tropp 4th-round pick in 2016	To Columbus Blue Jackets Brandon Saad Michael Paliotta Alex Broadhurst
January 6, 2016	To Nashville Predators Ryan Johansen	To Columbus Blue Jackets Seth Jones

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2015	Gregory Campbell	Boston Bruins	2 years, $3 million
July 2, 2015	Andrew Bodnarchuk	Manchester Monarchs	1 year, $650,000
July 2, 2015	Brett Gallant	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	2 years, $1.5 million
July 2, 2015	Jaime Sifers	Springfield Falcons	2 years, $1.25 million
July 3, 2015	John Ramage	Calgary Flames	1 year, $600,000
July 7, 2015	Kole Sherwood	Youngstown Phantoms	3 years, entry-level contract
October 1, 2015	Oleg Yevenko	Adirondack Flames	1 year, entry-level contract
March 21, 2016	Jordan Maletta	Niagara IceDogs	3 years, entry-level contract
April 15, 2016	Justin Scott	Barrie Colts	3 years, entry-level contract

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2015	Mike Reilly	Minnesota Wild	2 years, entry-level contract
July 1, 2015	Mark Letestu	Edmonton Oilers	3 years, $5.4 million
July 1, 2015	Brian Gibbons	New York Rangers	1 year, $600,000
July 1, 2015	Sean Collins	Washington Capitals	1 year, $575,000
July 3, 2015	Luke Adam	New York Rangers	1 year, $600,000
October 6, 2015 (2015-10-06)	Jack Skille	Colorado Avalanche	1 year

Claimed via waivers

Player	Previous team	Date

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date
Andrew Bodnarchuk	Colorado Avalanche	January 5, 2016
Kevin Connauton	Arizona Coyotes	January 13, 2016

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 3, 2015	Brandon Saad	6 years, $36 million contract extension
July 9, 2015	Matt Calvert	3 years, $6.6 million contract extension
July 23, 2015	Michael Chaput	1 year, $650,000 contract extension
August 20, 2015	Paul Bittner	3 years, entry-level contract
September 8, 2015	David Savard	5 years, $21.25 million contract extension
December 20, 2015	Keegan Kolesar	3 years, entry-level contract
February 11, 2016	Ryan Murray	2 years, $5.65 million contract extension
February 29, 2016	Boone Jenner	2 years, $5.8 million contract extension
March 1, 2016	John Ramage	2 years, contract extension
March 7, 2016	Oleg Yevenko	1 year, contract extension
March 25, 2016	Dalton Prout	2 years, contract extension
March 29, 2016	Zach Werenski	3 years, entry-level contract
April 19, 2016	Gabriel Carlsson	3 years, entry-level contract
May 3, 2016	Markus Nutivaara	2 years, entry-level contract
May 25, 2016	Lukas Sedlak	1 year
June 17, 2016	Anton Forsberg	1 year
June 23, 2016	William Karlsson	2 years, $2 million

Draft picks

See also: List of Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks

Below are the Columbus Blue Jackets' 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	8	Zach Werenski	D	United States	University of Michigan (Big Ten)
1	29[a]	Gabriel Carlsson	D	Sweden	Linkopings HC (SHL)
2	38	Paul Bittner	LW	United States	Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
2	58[b]	Kevin Stenlund	C	Sweden	HV71 J20 (J20 SuperElit)
3	69	Keegan Kolesar	RW	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
5	129	Sam Ruopp	D	Canada	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
5	141[c]	Veeti Vainio	D	Finland	Espoo Blues Jr. (Finland Jr.)
6	159	Vladislav Gavrikov	D	Russia	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)
7	189	Markus Nutivaara	D	Finland	Oulun Kärpät (Finland)

Draft notes

• ^a The Tampa Bay Lightning's first-round pick went to the Columbus Blue Jackets as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015 that sent Toronto's second-round pick in 2015 (34th overall) and Philadelphia's third-round pick in 2015 (68th overall) to Toronto in exchange for this pick.

  Toronto previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015 that sent Nashville's first-round pick in 2015 (24th overall) to Philadelphia in exchange for Chicago's second-round pick in 2015 (61st overall) and this pick.

  Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015 that sent Braydon Coburn to Tampa Bay in exchange for Radko Gudas, a third-round pick in 2015 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Philadelphia will receive the Lightning's first-round draft pick in 2015 if it is not the first overall selection – was converted on March 30, 2015 when Tampa Bay qualified for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs ensuring that this pick could not be a lottery selection.

• ^b The Anaheim Ducks' second-round pick went to the Columbus Blue Jackets as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015 that sent James Wisniewski and Detroit's third-round pick in 2015 to Anaheim in exchange for Rene Bourque, William Karlsson and this pick.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets' fourth-round pick went to the Los Angeles Kings as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015 that sent a fourth-round pick in 2015 (104th overall) and a sixth-round pick in 2016 to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.

  Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 23, 2014 that sent Scott Hartnell to Columbus in exchange for R.J. Umberger and this pick.

• ^c The Minnesota Wild's fifth-round pick went to the Columbus Blue Jackets as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015 that sent Jordan Leopold to Minnesota in exchange for Justin Falk and this pick.