2015–16 Montreal Canadiens season

2015–16 Montreal Canadiens
Division	6th Atlantic
Conference	13th Eastern
2015–16 record	38–38–6
Home record	22–16–3
Road record	16–22–3
Goals for	221
Goals against	236
Team information
General manager	Marc Bergevin
Coach	Michel Therrien
Captain	Max Pacioretty
Alternate captains	Brendan Gallagher Andrei Markov Tomas Plekanec P. K. Subban
Arena	Bell Centre
Average attendance	21,288 (100%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	St. John's IceCaps (AHL) Brampton Beast (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Alex Galchenyuk Max Pacioretty (30)
Assists	P. K. Subban (45)
Points	Max Pacioretty (64)
Penalty minutes	P. K. Subban (75)
Plus/minus	Brendan Gallagher (+13)
Wins	Mike Condon (21)
Goals against average	Charlie Lindgren (2.00)

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.

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, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec as alternate captains. Gallagher and Markov will be paired and Subban and Plekanec would be their own pair, with a rotating routine with one pair playing their part at home and the other on the road.

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 on the goalie tandem as back-up to starter Carey Price.

Regular season

The team began its regular season on October 7, 2015, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 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' 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, who had suffered a lower-body injury during a 4‒3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on October 29, 2015. He was sidelined with the injury until November 20 in a 5‒3 win against the New York Islanders 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 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 and managed a goal and an assist, also receiving the first star of the game.

On March 10, 2016, defenseman P. K. Subban sustained a neck injury after colliding with defenseman Alexei Emelin in a 3–2 win against the Buffalo Sabres. 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. Similarly, no Canadian team in the NHL made the playoffs that year, marking the first time since 1970 that all Canadian franchises failed to qualify for the postseason.

Standings

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Florida Panthers	82	47	26	9	40	239	203	+36	103
2	x – Tampa Bay Lightning	82	46	31	5	43	227	201	+26	97
3	x – Detroit Red Wings	82	41	30	11	39	211	224	−13	93
4	Boston Bruins	82	42	31	9	38	240	230	+10	93
5	Ottawa Senators	82	38	35	9	32	236	247	−11	85
6	Montreal Canadiens	82	38	38	6	33	221	236	−15	82
7	Buffalo Sabres	82	35	36	11	33	201	222	−21	81
8	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	29	42	11	23	198	246	−48	69

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

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: 2–3–2 (Home: 1–2–2; Road: 1–1–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22	Toronto	2–1	Montreal	OT	Fucale	21,287	0–0–1	Recap
2	September 24	Washington	4–3	Montreal	SO	Condon	21,287	0–0–2	Recap
3	September 25	Chicago	5–1	Montreal		Price	21,287	0–1–2	Recap
4	September 26	Montreal	1–0	Toronto		Condon	17,992	1–1–2	Recap
5	September 28	Pittsburgh	1–4	Montreal		Price	18,259	2–1–2	Recap
6	October 1	Ottawa	5–2	Montreal		Price	21,287	2–2–2	Recap
7	October 3	Montreal	4–5	Ottawa		Tokarski	17,912	2–3–2	Recap
Notes: a Game was played at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec.

Regular season

2015–16 Game Log
October: 10–2–0 (Home: 4–0–0; Road: 6–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 7 Montreal 3–1 Toronto Price 19,241 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 10 Montreal 4–2 Boston Price 17,565 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 11 Montreal 3–1 Ottawa Condon 19,177 3–0–0 6 Recap 4 October 13 Montreal 3–2 Pittsburgh Price 18,626 4–0–0 8 Recap 5 October 15 NY Rangers 0–3 Montreal Price 21,288 5–0–0 10 Recap 6 October 17 Detroit 1–4 Montreal Price 21,288 6–0–0 12 Recap 7 October 20 St. Louis 0–3 Montreal Price 21,288 7–0–0 14 Recap 8 October 23 Montreal 7–2 Buffalo Condon 18,214 8–0–0 16 Recap 9 October 24 Toronto 3–5 Montreal Price 21,288 9–0–0 18 Recap 10 October 27 Montreal 1–5 Vancouver Price 18,570 9–1–0 18 Recap 11 October 29 Montreal 3–4 Edmonton Price 16,839 9–2–0 18 Recap 12 October 30 Montreal 6–2 Calgary Condon 19,289 10–2–0 20 Recap
November: 8–2–3 (Home: 5–2–2; Road: 3–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 1 Winnipeg 1–5 Montreal Condon 21,288 11–2–0 22 Recap 14 November 3 Ottawa 2–1 Montreal OT Condon 21,288 11–2–1 23 Recap 15 November 5 NY Islanders 1–4 Montreal Condon 21,288 12–2–1 25 Recap 16 November 7 Boston 2–4 Montreal Condon 21,288 13–2–1 27 Recap 17 November 11 Montreal 3–4 Pittsburgh SO Condon 18,455 13–2–2 28 Recap 18 November 14 Colorado 6–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 13–3–2 28 Recap 19 November 16 Vancouver 3–4 Montreal OT Condon 21,288 14–3–2 30 Recap 20 November 19 Arizona 3–2 Montreal Condon 21,288 14–4–2 30 Recap 21 November 20 Montreal 5–3 NY Islanders Price 15,171 15–4–2 32 Recap 22 November 22 NY Islanders 2–4 Montreal Price 21,288 16–4–2 34 Recap 23 November 25 Montreal 5–1 NY Rangers Price 18,006 17–4–2 36 Recap 24 November 27 Montreal 3–2 New Jersey SO Condon 16,514 18–4–2 38 Recap 25 November 28 New Jersey 3–2 Montreal OT Condon 21,288 18–4–3 39 Recap
December: 3–11–0 (Home: 2–4–0; Road: 1–7–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 26 December 1 Columbus 1–2 Montreal Condon 21,288 19–4–3 41 Recap 27 December 3 Washington 3–2 Montreal Condon 21,288 19–5–3 41 Recap 28 December 5 Montreal 2–3 Carolina Condon 10,687 19–6–3 41 Recap 29 December 9 Boston 3–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 19–7–3 41 Recap 30 December 10 Montreal 2–3 Detroit Tokarski 20,027 19–8–3 41 Recap 31 December 12 Ottawa 1–3 Montreal Tokarski 21,288 20–8–3 43 Recap 32 December 15 San Jose 3–1 Montreal Tokarski 21,288 20–9–3 43 Recap 33 December 17 Los Angeles 3–0 Montreal Condon 21,288 20–10–3 43 Recap 34 December 19 Montreal 2–6 Dallas Condon 18,532 20–11–3 43 Recap 35 December 21 Montreal 1–5 Nashville Tokarski 17,113 20–12–3 43 Recap 36 December 22 Montreal 1–2 Minnesota Condon 19,105 20–13–3 43 Recap 37 December 26 Montreal 1–3 Washington Condon 18,506 20–14–3 43 Recap 38 December 28 Montreal 4–3 Tampa Bay SO Condon 19,092 21–14–3 45 Recap 39 December 29 Montreal 1–3 Florida Scrivens 19,822 21–15–3 45 Recap
January: 3–7–1 (Home: 1–4–0; Road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 40 January 1 Montreal 5–1 Boston Condon 67,246 22–15–3 47 Recap 41 January 5 Montreal 3–4 Philadelphia Scrivens 19,163 22–16–3 47 Recap 42 January 6 New Jersey 1–2 Montreal Condon 21,288 23–16–3 49 Recap 43 January 9 Pittsburgh 3–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 23–17–3 49 Recap 44 January 14 Chicago 2–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 23–18–3 49 Recap 45 January 16 Montreal 3–4 St. Louis OT Condon 19,501 23–18–4 50 Recap 46 January 17 Montreal 2–5 Chicago Scrivens 22,030 23–19–4 50 Recap 47 January 19 Boston 4–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 23–20–4 50 Recap 48 January 23 Montreal 3–2 Toronto SO Condon 19,807 24–20–4 52 Recap 49 January 25 Montreal 2–5 Columbus Condon 11,927 24–21–4 52 Recap 50 January 26 Columbus 5–2 Montreal Scrivens 21,288 24–22–4 52 Recap
February: 6–6–1 (Home: 5–1–1; Road: 1–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 2 Montreal 2–4 Philadelphia Condon 19,031 24–23–4 52 Recap 52 February 3 Buffalo 4–2 Montreal Condon 21,288 24–24–4 52 Recap 53 February 6 Edmonton 1–5 Montreal Scrivens 21,288 25–24–4 54 Recap 54 February 7 Carolina 1–2 Montreal SO Scrivens 21,288 26–24–4 56 Recap 55 February 9 Tampa Bay 2–4 Montreal Scrivens 21,288 27–24–4 58 Recap 56 February 12 Montreal 4–6 Buffalo Condon 18,505 27–25–4 58 Recap 57 February 15 Montreal 2–6 Arizona Condon 14,338 27–26–4 58 Recap 58 February 17 Montreal 2–3 Colorado Scrivens 16,271 27–27–4 58 Recap 59 February 19 Philadelphia 2–3 Montreal SO Condon 21,288 28–27–4 60 Recap 60 February 22 Nashville 2–1 Montreal SO Condon 21,288 28–27–5 61 Recap 61 February 24 Montreal 4–3 Washington Condon 18,506 29–27–5 63 Recap 62 February 27 Toronto 1–4 Montreal Condon 21,288 30–27–5 65 Recap 63 February 29 Montreal 2–6 San Jose Condon 16,205 30–28–5 65 Recap
March: 6–8–1 (Home: 4–4–0; Road: 2–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 2 Montreal 2–3 Anaheim SO Condon 15,273 30–28–6 66 Recap 65 March 3 Montreal 2–3 Los Angeles Scrivens 18,230 30–29–6 66 Recap 66 March 5 Montreal 2–4 Winnipeg Condon 15,294 30–30–6 66 Recap 67 March 8 Dallas 3–4 Montreal OT Scrivens 21,288 31–30–6 68 Recap 68 March 10 Buffalo 2–3 Montreal Condon 21,288 32–30–6 70 Recap 69 March 12 Minnesota 4–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 32–31–6 70 Recap 70 March 15 Florida 4–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 32–32–6 70 Recap 71 March 16 Montreal 3–2 Buffalo OT Scrivens 18,815 33–32–6 72 Recap 72 March 19 Montreal 0–5 Ottawa Scrivens 19,722 33–33–6 72 Recap 73 March 20 Calgary 4–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 33–34–6 72 Recap 74 March 22 Anaheim 3–4 Montreal Condon 21,288 34–34–6 74 Recap 75 March 24 Montreal 3–4 Detroit Scrivens 20,027 34–35–6 74 Recap 76 March 26 NY Rangers 5–2 Montreal Condon 21,288 34–36–6 74 Recap 77 March 29 Detroit 3–4 Montreal Condon 21,288 35–36–6 76 Recap 78 March 31 Montreal 3–0 Tampa Bay Condon 19,092 36–36–6 78 Recap
April: 2–2–0 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 1–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 79 April 2 Montreal 3–4 Florida Condon 17,427 36–37–6 78 Recap 80 April 5 Florida 4–1 Montreal Condon 21,288 36–38–6 78 Recap 81 April 7 Montreal 4–2 Carolina Lindgren 15,120 37–38–6 80 Recap 82 April 9 Tampa Bay 2–5 Montreal Condon 21,288 38–38–6 82 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
Max Pacioretty	82	30	34	64	−10	34
Alex Galchenyuk	82	30	26	56	−8	20
Tomas Plekanec	82	14	40	54	4	36
P. K. Subban	68	6	45	51	4	75
Andrei Markov	82	5	39	44	−6	38
Brendan Gallagher	53	19	21	40	13	24
David Desharnais	65	11	18	29	−6	20
Dale Weise‡	56	14	12	26	0	22
Lars Eller	79	13	13	26	−13	28
Tomas Fleischmann‡	57	10	10	20	−1	28
Torrey Mitchell	71	11	8	19	2	51
Nathan Beaulieu	64	2	17	19	−6	55
Paul Byron	62	11	7	18	−9	11
Sven Andrighetto	44	7	10	17	1	6
Jeff Petry	51	5	11	16	−6	16
Devante Smith-Pelly‡	46	6	6	12	−2	22
Alexei Emelin	72	0	12	12	−7	71
Brian Flynn	56	4	6	10	−3	6
Mark Barberio	30	2	8	10	0	6
Daniel Carr	23	6	3	9	0	8
Greg Pateryn	38	1	6	7	−8	49
Joel Hanley	10	0	6	6	0	0
Phillip Danault†	21	3	2	5	−2	8
Darren Dietz	13	1	4	5	−1	13
Alexander Semin‡	15	1	3	4	1	12
Michael McCarron	20	1	1	2	−10	37
Tom Gilbert	45	1	1	2	3	12
Mike Brown†	14	1	1	2	−2	27
Lucas Lessio	12	1	1	2	1	2
Charles Hudon	3	0	2	2	2	0
Christian Thomas‡	5	0	2	2	1	2
Stefan Matteau†	12	0	1	1	−4	4
Jacob de la Rose	22	0	1	1	−6	6
Bud Holloway	1	0	0	0	0	0
Victor Bartley†	9	0	0	0	3	6
John Scott†	1	0	0	0	−1	2
Morgan Ellis	3	0	0	0	0	2
Brett Lernout	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ryan Johnston	3	0	0	0	1	0
Jarred Tinordi‡	3	0	0	0	−3	5

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Mike Condon	55	51	3,122:44	21	25	6	141	2.71	1458	.903	1	0	0	0
Carey Price	12	12	698:20	10	2	0	24	2.06	365	.934	2	0	0	0
Ben Scrivens	15	14	821:58	5	8	0	42	3.07	447	.906	0	0	0	0
Charlie Lindgren	1	1	60:00	1	0	0	2	2.00	28	.929	0	0	0	0
Dustin Tokarski‡	6	4	226:10	1	3	0	12	3.18	98	.878	0	0	0	0

^†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

Player	Explanation	Length	Salary	Date issued	Ref
Zack Kassian	Suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program	2 months	N/A	October 5, 2015

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular Season

Player	Award	Awarded	Ref
Carey Price	NHL First Star of the Week	October 19, 2015
Andrei Markov	NHL Second Star of the Week	October 26, 2015
Carey Price	NHL Second Star of the Month	November 2, 2015
Mike Condon	NHL Third Star of the Week	November 9, 2015
Alex Galchenyuk	NHL Third Star of the Week	November 30, 2015
P. K. Subban	NHL All-Star Game selection	January 6, 2016
John Scott	NHL First Star of the Week	February 1, 2016
Mike Condon	NHL Third Star of the Week	February 29, 2016

Milestones

Regular Season

Player	Milestone	Reached	Ref
Max Pacioretty	400th Career NHL Game	October 7, 2015
Tomas Plekanec	500th Career NHL Point	October 10, 2015
Mike Condon	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Win	October 11, 2015
Alex Galchenyuk	200th Career NHL Game	October 20, 2015
Andrei Markov	500th Career NHL Point	October 23, 2015
Tomas Plekanec	300th Career NHL Assist	October 23, 2015
Tom Gilbert	600th Career NHL Game	October 23, 2015
Dale Weise	1st Career NHL Hat-trick	October 31, 2015
Nathan Beaulieu	100th Career NHL Game	November 1, 2015
Tomas Fleischmann	600th Career NHL Game	November 16, 2015
Max Pacioretty	300th Career NHL Point	November 23, 2015
Bud Holloway	1st Career NHL Game	November 27, 2015
Daniel Carr	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point	December 5, 2015
Charles Hudon	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	December 10, 2015
Brian Flynn	200th Career NHL Game	December 15, 2015
Michael McCarron	1st Career NHL Game	December 19, 2015
Dale Weise	300th Career NHL Game	January 17, 2016
Torrey Mitchell	500th Career NHL Game	February 7, 2016
Michael McCarron	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	February 27, 2016
Morgan Ellis	1st Career NHL Game	March 2, 2016
Darren Dietz	1st Career NHL Game	March 12, 2016
Greg Pateryn	1st Career NHL Goal	March 16, 2016
Mike Brown	400th Career NHL Game	March 18, 2016
Joel Hanley	1st Career NHL Game	March 20, 2016
Michael McCarron	1st Career NHL Goal	March 20, 2016
Joel Hanley	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	March 22, 2016
Darren Dietz	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	March 22, 2016
Mike Condon	1st Career Shutout	March 31, 2016
David Desharnais	400th Career NHL Game	March 31, 2016
Alexei Emelin	300th Career NHL Game	March 31, 2016
Brett Lernout	1st Career NHL Game	April 2, 2016
Ryan Johnston	1st Career NHL Game	April 5, 2016
Charlie Lindgren	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Win	April 7, 2016
Darren Dietz	1st Career NHL Goal	April 7, 2016
Paul Byron	200th Career NHL Game	April 9, 2016

Transactions

The Canadiens have been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season:

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	To Vancouver Canucks Brandon Prust	To Montreal Canadiens Zack Kassian 5th-round pick in 2016
December 15, 2015 (2015-12-15)	To Arizona Coyotes Christian Thomas	To Montreal Canadiens Lucas Lessio
December 28, 2015 (2015-12-28)	To Edmonton Oilers Zack Kassian	To Montreal Canadiens Ben Scrivens
January 7, 2016 (2016-01-07)	To Anaheim Ducks Dustin Tokarski	To Montreal Canadiens Max Friberg
January 15, 2016 (2016-01-15)	To Arizona Coyotes Jarred Tinordi Stefan Fournier	To Montreal Canadiens Victor Bartley John Scott
February 26, 2016 (2016-02-26)	To Chicago Blackhawks Dale Weise Tomas Fleischmann	To Montreal Canadiens Phillip Danault 2nd-round pick in 2018
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To New Jersey Devils Devante Smith-Pelly	To Montreal Canadiens Stefan Matteau

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Joel Hanley	Portland Pirates	1 year, two-way contract
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Mark Barberio	Tampa Bay Lightning	1 year, two-way contract
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Bud Holloway	SC Bern	1 year, two-way contract
July 13, 2015 (2015-07-13)	Ryan Johnston	Colgate University Raiders	2 years, two-way contract
July 24, 2015 (2015-07-24)	Alexander Semin	Carolina Hurricanes	1 year, $1.1 million
October 4, 2015 (2015-10-04)	Tomas Fleischmann	Anaheim Ducks	1 year, $750,000
March 26, 2016 (2016-03-26)	Tom Parisi	Providence Friars	2 years, two-way contract
March 30, 2016 (2016-03-30)	Charlie Lindgren	St. Cloud State Huskies	2 years, two-way contract

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
May 8, 2015 (2015-05-08)	Magnus Nygren	Färjestad BK	1 year
June 19, 2015 (2015-06-19)	Joey MacDonald	Schwenninger Wild Wings	1 year
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	P. A. Parenteau	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 year, $1.5 million
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Davis Drewiske	Philadelphia Flyers	1 year, two-way contract
July 8, 2015 (2015-07-08)	Eric Tangradi	Detroit Red Wings	1 year, $575,000
October 12, 2015 (2015-10-12)	Drayson Bowman	Colorado Eagles	1 year
December 3, 2015 (2015-12-03)	Manny Malhotra	Lake Erie Monsters	1 year

Claimed via waivers

Player	Previous team	Date	Ref
Paul Byron	Calgary Flames	October 6, 2015
Mike Brown	San Jose Sharks	February 29, 2016

Lost via release

Player	Date	Ref
Alexander Semin	December 10, 2015 (2015-12-10)

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30)	Brian Flynn	2 years, $1.9 million contract extension
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Greg Pateryn	2 years, $1.6 million contract extension
July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02)	Christian Thomas	1 year, two-way contract extension
July 9, 2015 (2015-07-09)	Noah Juulsen	3 years, entry-level contract
July 14, 2015 (2015-07-14)	Michael Bournival	1 year, two-way contract extension
July 15, 2015 (2015-07-15)	Jarred Tinordi	1 year, two-way contract extension
July 24, 2015 (2015-07-24)	Daniel Audette	3 years, entry-level contract
July 30, 2015 (2015-07-30)	Alex Galchenyuk	2 years, $5.6 million contract extension
September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)	Michael McNiven	3 years, entry-level contract
October 16, 2015 (2015-10-16)	Tomas Plekanec	2 years, $12 million contract extension
February 23, 2016 (2016-02-23)	Paul Byron	3 years, $3.5 million contract extension
May 8, 2016 (2016-05-08)	Artturi Lehkonen	3 years, entry-level contract
May 18, 2016 (2016-05-18)	Martin Reway	3 years, entry-level contract
June 11, 2016 (2016-06-11)	Sven Andrighetto	1 year, contract extension
June 13, 2016 (2016-06-13)	Mark Barberio	2 years, $1.5 million contract extension
June 22, 2016 (2016-06-22)	Joel Hanley	1 year, two-way contract extension

Draft picks

See also: List of Montreal Canadiens 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.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	26	Noah Juulsen	D	Canada	Everett Silvertips (WHL)
3	87	Lukas Vejdemo	C	Sweden	Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
5	131a	Matthew Bradley	C	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
6	177	Simon Bourque	D	Canada	Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
7	207	Jeremiah Addison	LW	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)

Notes

• The Montreal Canadiens' second-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers 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' fourth-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers 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 Montreal Canadiens' fifth-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on March 4, 2014, that sent Mike Weaver to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
• ^a The Colorado Avalanche's fifth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 30, 2014, that sent Daniel Briere to Colorado in exchange for P. A. Parenteau and this pick.