2015–16 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 2015–16 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 49th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967. Their regular season games began on October 8, 2015 against the Dallas Stars. On December 12, the team had a record of 15–10–3. The organization then fired head coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with Mike Sullivan, head coach of the organization's American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.

The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. They earned second place in the Metropolitan Division with 104 points. They began the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 13 against the New York Rangers, the team they were eliminated by in the Stanley Cup playoffs both of the previous two seasons. They went on to beat the Rangers in five games. In the second round the Pens defeated the Washington Capitals, the winners of the Presidents' Trophy, in six games. The team then played in their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2013 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Pens defeated the Lightning in seven games, despite trailing the series 3–2 after Game 5, to earn the franchise's fifth berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games to win the franchise's fourth league title.

Game log

 * - style="text-align:center;"
 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss       = OT/SO Loss Kraft Hockeyville game

Statistics
Final Note – Statistics compiled from Official Game/Event Summaries from NHL.com

Game log

 * - style="text-align:center;"
 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss       = OT/SO Loss – Alternate Jersey

Detailed records
Final

Playoffs
The Penguins announced on April 11, 2016 that they will wear their Alternate jersey for all home games throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Game log

 * ''Legend:      = Win       = Loss       = Playoff series win
 * ''Legend:      = Win       = Loss       = Playoff series win

Player statistics

 * Skaters

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
 * Goaltenders

‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Team awards
Awarded week of March 27

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

Trades

 * Notes
 * Toronto to retain 15% ($1.25 million) of salary as part of trade.
 * Pittsburgh to retain 33% ($1.125 million) of salary as part of trade.
 * Edmonton to retain 50% ($1.95 million) of salary as part of trade.

Other

 * Notes
 * – Two-way contract
 * – Entry-level contract

Draft picks
The 2015 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.


 * Draft notes
 * The Pittsburgh Penguins first-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as a result of a trade on January 2, 2015 that sent David Perron to the Penguins in exchange for Rob Klinkhammer and this pick.
 * The Pittsburgh Penguins third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as a result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Marcel Goc to the Penguins in exchange for a 2014 fifth-round pick (#143–Miguel Fidler) and this pick.
 * The Pittsburgh Penguins fourth-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as a result of a trade on February 25, 2015 that sent Daniel Winnik to the Penguins in exchange for Zach Sill, a 2016 second-round pick, and this pick.