2015–16 New York Islanders season

The 2015–16 New York Islanders season was the 44th season in the franchise's history.^[2] This season was the team's first at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, one of the five boroughs of New York City, which it shares with the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

2015–16 New York Islanders
Division	4th Metropolitan
Conference	5th Eastern
2015–16 record	45–27–10
Home record	25–11–5
Road record	20–16–5
Goals for	232
Goals against	216
Team information
General manager	Garth Snow
Coach	Jack Capuano
Captain	John Tavares
Alternate captains	Frans Nielsen Kyle Okposo
Arena	Barclays Center
Average attendance	13,626 (41 games)[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) Missouri Mavericks (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	John Tavares (33)
Assists	Kyle Okposo (42)
Points	John Tavares (70)
Penalty minutes	Matt Martin (119)
Plus/minus	Johnny Boychuk (+17)
Wins	Thomas Greiss (23)
Goals against average	Jaroslav Halak (2.30)
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The team's regular season began on October 9, 2015, against the Chicago Blackhawks.^[3]

The Islanders qualified for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs after finishing the season in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference with 100 points. The playoff berth was the team's third post-season berth in four seasons, having qualified in 2012–13 and 2014–15, but not in 2013–14. The Islanders' first round matchup had them up against the champions of the Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers. The Islanders won the series in 6 games on a John Tavares goal in double overtime, marking the team's first playoff series victory since 1993. The Islanders' second round matchup had them matched up against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in which they lost the series in 5 games.

Off-season

Regular season

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team v t e	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^[4]
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team v t e	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^[5]
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 2–6–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 0–5–0)[6]
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1[A]	September 21	NY Islanders	3–5	Philadelphia[B]		Greiss	––	0–1–0	Recap
2[A]	September 21	Philadelphia	2–3	NY Islanders		Halak	5,366	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 23	New Jersey	1–2	NY Islanders		Poulin	7,046	2–1–0	Recap
4[A]	September 25	NY Islanders	2–5	Philadelphia		Gibson	17,369	2–2–0	Recap
5[A]	September 25	NY Islanders	2–4	New Jersey		Williams	8,871	2–3–0	Recap
6	September 26	NY Islanders	3–5	Carolina[C]		Greiss	––	2–4–0	Recap
7	September 28	Washington	3–1	NY Islanders		Greiss	––	2–5–0	Recap
8	October 4	NY Islanders	2–6	Washington		Williams	16,073	2–6–0	Recap
A – indicates split-squad game. B – game to be played at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. C – game to be played at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Regular season

2015–16 Game Log[3]
October: 6–2–3 (Home: 4–1–2; Road: 2–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 9 Chicago 3–2 NY Islanders OT Greiss 15,795 0–0–1 1 Recap 2 October 10 NY Islanders 1–4 Chicago Berube 21,392 0–1–1 1 Recap 3 October 12 Winnipeg 2–4 NY Islanders Greiss 11,183 1–1–1 3 Recap 4 October 15 Nashville 3–4 NY Islanders Greiss 10,542 2–1–1 5 Recap 5 October 17 San Jose 3–6 NY Islanders Halak 11,577 3–1–1 7 Recap 6 October 20 NY Islanders 4–0 Columbus Halak 14,295 4–1–1 9 Recap 7 October 23 Boston 5–3 NY Islanders Halak 13,113 4–2–1 9 Recap 8 October 24 NY Islanders 3–2 St. Louis OT Greiss 19,186 5–2–1 11 Recap 9 October 26 Calgary 0–4 NY Islanders Halak 11,582 6–2–1 13 Recap 10 October 29 Carolina 3–2 NY Islanders OT Greiss 11,494 6–2–2 14 Recap 11 October 31 NY Islanders 2–3 New Jersey SO Halak 11,605 6–2–3 15 Recap
November: 7–6–1 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 3–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 1 Buffalo 2–1 NY Islanders Greiss 11,278 6–3–3 15 Recap 13 November 3 New Jersey 1–2 NY Islanders Halak 12,122 7–3–3 17 Recap 14 November 5 NY Islanders 1–4 Montreal Halak 21,288 7–4–3 17 Recap 15 November 8 Boston 2–1 NY Islanders Halak 13,197 7–5–3 17 Recap 16 November 10 NY Islanders 4–2 San Jose Greiss 16,558 8–5–3 19 Recap 17 November 12 NY Islanders 1–2 Los Angeles Halak 18,230 8–6–3 19 Recap 18 November 13 NY Islanders 4–1 Anaheim Greiss 17,174 9–6–3 21 Recap 19 November 16 Arizona 2–5 NY Islanders Halak 11,841 10–6–3 23 Recap 20 November 20 Montreal 5–3 NY Islanders Halak 15,171 10–7–3 23 Recap 21 November 22 NY Islanders 2–4 Montreal Greiss 21,288 10–8–3 23 Recap 22 November 25 Philadelphia 1–3 NY Islanders Halak 13,027 11–8–3 25 Recap 23 November 27 NY Islanders 2–3 Florida SO Halak 14,598 11–8–4 26 Recap 24 November 28 NY Islanders 3–2 Tampa Bay Greiss 19,092 12–8–4 28 Recap 25 November 30 Colorado 3–5 NY Islanders Greiss 11,585 13–8–4 30 Recap
December: 8–4–1 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 4–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 26 December 2 NY Rangers 1–2 NY Islanders SO Halak 15,795 14–8–4 32 Recap 27 December 4 St. Louis 1–2 NY Islanders SO Greiss 12,873 15–8–4 34 Recap 28 December 5 NY Islanders 2–3 Ottawa OT Halak 17,281 15–8–5 35 Recap 29 December 8 NY Islanders 4–3 Philadelphia SO Halak 18,108 16–8–5 37 Recap 30 December 12 NY Islanders 3–2 Columbus OT Halak 12,342 17–8–5 39 Recap 31 December 13 New Jersey 0–4 NY Islanders Greiss 13,259 18–8–5 41 Recap 32 December 15 Florida 5–1 NY Islanders Halak 13,656 18–9–5 41 Recap 33 December 17 NY Islanders 1–2 Colorado Greiss 15,811 18–10–5 41 Recap 34 December 19 NY Islanders 0–1 Arizona Halak 11,878 18–11–5 41 Recap 35 December 21 Anaheim 2–5 NY Islanders Halak 13,578 19–11–5 43 Recap 36 December 27 Toronto 3–1 NY Islanders Greiss 15,795 19–12–5 43 Recap 37 December 29 NY Islanders 6–3 Toronto Greiss 19,899 20–12–5 45 Recap 38 December 31 NY Islanders 2–1 Buffalo Greiss 19,070 21–12–5 47 Recap
January: 4–4–1 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 1–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 2 NY Islanders 2–5 Pittsburgh Greiss 18,665 21–13–5 47 Recap 40 January 3 Dallas 5–6 NY Islanders Greiss 14,054 22–13–5 49 Recap 41 January 7 Washington 4–1 NY Islanders Halak 14,261 22–14–5 49 Recap 42 January 9 NY Islanders 0–4 Philadelphia Halak 19,874 22–15–5 49 Recap 43 January 12 Columbus 2–5 NY Islanders Greiss 13,115 23–15–5 51 Recap 44 January 14 NY Rangers 1–3 NY Islanders Halak 15,795 24–15–5 53 Recap 45 January 17 Vancouver 2–1 NY Islanders SO Halak 15,795 24–15–6 54 Recap 46 January 22 NY Islanders 5–2 Ottawa Halak 18,305 25–15–6 56 Recap – January 23 Philadelphia NY Islanders Game rescheduled to April 10 due to hazardous weather. 47 January 25 Detroit 4–2 NY Islanders Halak 12,086 25–16–6 56 Recap
February: 8–4–1 (Home: 4–0–1; Road: 4–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 48 February 2 Minnesota 3–5 NY Islanders Berube 13,331 26–16–6 58 Recap 49 February 4 NY Islanders 2–3 Washington Halak 18,506 26–17–6 58 Recap 50 February 6 NY Islanders 1–5 Detroit Halak 20,027 26–18–6 58 Recap 51 February 7 Edmonton 1–8 NY Islanders Greiss 14,030 27–18–6 60 Recap 52 February 9 NY Islanders 3–2 Columbus SO Halak 14,303 28–18–6 62 Recap 53 February 11 Los Angeles 2–5 NY Islanders Greiss 13,643 29–18–6 64 Recap 54 February 13 NY Islanders 3–6 Carolina Halak 12,665 29–19–6 64 Recap 55 February 15 Detroit 1–4 NY Islanders Greiss 15,795 30–19–6 66 Recap 56 February 18 Washington 3–2 NY Islanders OT Greiss 15,795 30–19–7 67 Recap 57 February 19 NY Islanders 1–0 New Jersey Halak 16,514 31–19–7 69 Recap 58 February 23 NY Islanders 4–1 Minnesota Halak 19,085 32–19–7 71 Recap 59 February 25 NY Islanders 2–1 Calgary OT Halak 19,289 33–19–7 73 Recap 60 February 28 NY Islanders 1–3 Edmonton Halak 16,839 33–20–7 73 Recap
March: 9–5–2 (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 4–4–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 61 March 1 NY Islanders 3–2 Vancouver Greiss 18,264 34–20–7 75 Recap 62 March 3 NY Islanders 4–3 Winnipeg OT Greiss 15,294 35–20–7 77 Recap 63 March 6 NY Islanders 6–4 NY Rangers Halak 18,006 36–20–7 79 Recap 64 March 8 Pittsburgh 1–2 NY Islanders Halak 14,724 37–20–7 81 Recap 65 March 9 NY Islanders 3–4 Toronto SO Greiss 18,889 37–20–8 82 Recap 66 March 12 NY Islanders 1–3 Boston Greiss 17,565 37–21–8 82 Recap 67 March 14 Florida 2–3 NY Islanders Greiss 14,106 38–21–8 84 Recap 68 March 15 NY Islanders 1–2 Pittsburgh SO Berube 18,456 38–21–9 85 Recap 69 March 17 NY Islanders 2–4 Nashville Greiss 17,113 38–22–9 85 Recap 70 March 19 NY Islanders 0–3 Dallas Greiss 18,532 38–23–9 85 Recap 71 March 21 Philadelphia 4–1 NY Islanders Greiss 14,329 38–24–9 85 Recap 72 March 23 Ottawa 1–3 NY Islanders Berube 13,837 39–24–9 87 Recap 73 March 25 NY Islanders 4–7 Tampa Bay Greiss 19,092 39–25–9 87 Recap 74 March 26 NY Islanders 4–3 Carolina OT Berube 11,636 40–25–9 89 Recap 75 March 29 Carolina 1–2 NY Islanders SO Greiss 13,733 41–25–9 91 Recap 76 March 31 Columbus 3–4 NY Islanders Greiss 13,857 42–25–9 93 Recap
April: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–2–1; Road: 2–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 2 Pittsburgh 5–0 NY Islanders Berube 15,795 42–26–9 93 Recap 78 April 4 Tampa Bay 2–5 NY Islanders Greiss 13,106 43–26–9 95 Recap 79 April 5 NY Islanders 4–3 Washington OT Gibson 18,506 44–26–9 97 Recap 80 April 7 NY Islanders 4–1 NY Rangers Greiss 18,006 45–26–9 99 Recap 81 April 9 Buffalo 4–3 NY Islanders OT Gibson 14,811 45–26–10 100 Recap 82 April 10 Philadelphia 5–2 NY Islanders Gibson 14,244 45–27–10 100 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2016 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference first round vs. (A1) Florida Panthers: Islanders won series 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 14 NY Islanders 5–4 Florida Greiss 17,422 1–0 Recap 2 April 15 NY Islanders 1–3 Florida Greiss 18,373 1–1 Recap 3 April 17 Florida 3–4 NY Islanders OT Greiss 15,795 2–1 Recap 4 April 20 Florida 2–1 NY Islanders Greiss 15,795 2–2 Recap 5 April 22 NY Islanders 2–1 Florida 2OT Greiss 20,247 3–2 Recap 6 April 24 Florida 1–2 NY Islanders 2OT Greiss 15,795 4–2 Recap Eastern Conference second round vs. (A2) Tampa Bay Lightning: Lightning won series 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 27 NY Islanders 5–3 Tampa Bay Greiss 19,092 1–0 Recap 2 April 30 NY Islanders 1–4 Tampa Bay Greiss 19,092 1–1 Recap 3 May 3 Tampa Bay 5–4 NY Islanders OT Greiss 15,795 2–1 Recap 4 May 6 Tampa Bay 2–1 NY Islanders OT Greiss 15,795 3–1 Recap 5 May 8 NY Islanders 0–4 Tampa Bay Greiss 19,092 4–1 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Final Stats

Skaters

Regular season[7] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM John Tavares 78 33 37 70 6 38 Kyle Okposo 79 22 42 64 −4 51 Frans Nielsen 81 20 32 52 1 12 Brock Nelson 81 26 14 40 −3 30 Nick Leddy 81 5 35 40 −9 25 Anders Lee 80 15 21 36 −2 51 Josh Bailey 81 12 20 32 −7 22 Casey Cizikas 80 8 21 29 4 31 Ryan Strome 71 8 20 28 −9 28 Johnny Boychuk 70 9 16 25 17 31 Mikhail Grabovski 58 9 16 25 3 33 Cal Clutterbuck 77 15 8 23 7 22 Nikolay Kulemin 81 9 13 22 13 22 Travis Hamonic 72 5 16 21 −5 35 Matt Martin 80 10 9 19 2 119 Thomas Hickey 62 6 12 18 9 30 Marek Zidlicky 53 4 12 16 5 20 Calvin de Haan 72 2 14 16 3 20 Steve Bernier 24 1 5 6 3 9 Brian Strait 52 1 5 6 1 31 Shane Prince† 20 3 2 5 3 4 Ryan Pulock 15 2 2 4 1 5 Adam Pelech 9 0 2 2 −1 0 Alan Quine 2 1 0 1 0 0 Scott Mayfield 6 1 0 1 −4 11 Bracken Kearns 2 0 1 1 1 4 Eric Boulton 6 0 0 0 −3 2 Ross Johnston 1 0 0 0 0 4 Taylor Beck‡ 2 0 0 0 0 2

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM John Tavares 11 6 5 11 −3 6 Kyle Okposo 11 2 6 8 −3 4 Frans Nielsen 11 3 3 6 −3 2 Alan Quine 10 1 4 5 −1 2 Brock Nelson 11 1 4 5 −5 6 Thomas Hickey 11 1 4 5 −5 8 Shane Prince 11 3 1 4 −1 0 Ryan Strome 8 1 3 4 1 2 Nick Leddy 11 1 3 4 1 0 Nikolay Kulemin 11 1 3 4 −5 2 Josh Bailey 9 2 1 3 −4 2 Cal Clutterbuck 11 2 1 3 −2 12 Travis Hamonic 11 1 2 3 −2 8 Ryan Pulock 6 1 2 3 −4 0 Casey Cizikas 11 0 3 3 −1 16 Calvin de Haan 11 0 2 2 −5 2 Marek Zidlicky 5 0 1 1 2 4 Matt Martin 11 0 0 0 −1 12 Steve Bernier 6 0 0 0 −2 0 Johnny Boychuk 11 0 0 0 −7 4

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[7]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Thomas Greiss	41	38	2287	23	11	4	90	2.36	1197	0.925	1	0	1	2
Jaroslav Halak	36	36	2091	18	13	4	80	2.30	984	0.919	3	0	1	0
Jean-Francois Berube	7	6	399	3	2	1	18	2.71	210	0.914	0	0	0	0
Christopher Gibson	4	2	194	1	1	1	11	3.40	93	0.882	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Thomas Greiss	11	11	733	5	6	2	30	2.46	388	.923	0	0	0	0
Jean-Francois Berube	1	0	5	0	0	0	0	0.00	2	1.000	0	0	0	0

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

Notable achievements

Awards Regular Season Player Award Awarded John Tavares NHL All-Star game selection[8] January 6, 2016 John Tavares NHL All-Star game replacement captain[9] January 28, 2016 John Tavares NHL First Star of the Week[10] April 11, 2016

Milestones Regular Season Player Milestone Reached Jean-Francois Berube 1st Career NHL Game October 10, 2015 Nikolay Kulemin 100th Career NHL Goal October 15, 2015 Cal Clutterbuck 500th Career NHL Game October 17, 2015 Frans Nielsen 100th Career NHL Goal 200th Career NHL Assist 300th Career NHL Point October 17, 2015 Johnny Boychuk 400th Career NHL Game October 23, 2015 Adam Pelech 1st Career NHL Game November 13, 2015 Marek Zidlicky 800th Career NHL Game November 16, 2015 Kyle Okposo 200th Career NHL Assist November 16, 2015 Thomas Greiss 100th Career NHL Game November 28, 2015 Mikhail Grabovski 500th Career NHL Game November 28, 2015 Josh Bailey 500th Career NHL Game November 30, 2015 Christopher Gibson 1st Career NHL Game January 2, 2016 Matt Martin 400th Career NHL Game January 9, 2016 Adam Pelech 1st Career NHL Point 1st Career NHL Assist January 13, 2016 Brock Nelson 200th Career NHL Game January 22, 2016 Travis Hamonic 100th Career NHL Assist January 22, 2016 Jean-Francois Berube 1st Career NHL Win February 2. 2016 Kyle Okposo 500th Career NHL Game February 9, 2016 Brock Nelson 100th Career NHL Point February 15, 2016 Ryan Pulock 1st Career NHL Game February 28, 2016 Jack Capuano 200th Career NHL Head Coaching Win March 3, 2016 Jaroslav Halak 200th Career NHL Win March 8, 2016 Nick Leddy 400th Career NHL Game March 8, 2016 John Tavares 200th Career NHL Goal March 12, 2016 Ryan Pulock 1st Career NHL Point 1st Career NHL Goal March 17, 2016 John Tavares 500th Career NHL Game March 21, 2016 Frans Nielsen 600th Career NHL Game March 29, 2016 Christopher Gibson 1st Career NHL Win April 5, 2016 Scott Mayfield 1st Career NHL Point 1st Career NHL Goal April 9, 2016 Alan Quine 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Point 1st Career NHL Goal April 9, 2016 Ross Johnston 1st Career NHL Game April 10, 2016 Ryan Pulock 1st Career NHL Assist April 10, 2016

Transactions

Following the end of the Islanders' 2014–15 season, and during the 2015–16 season, this team has been involved in the following transactions:

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26)	To Edmonton Oilers Griffin Reinhart	To New York Islanders PIT's 1st-round pick in 2015 2nd-round pick in 2015	[11]
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)	To Tampa Bay Lightning EDM's 2nd-round pick in 2015 FLA's 3rd-round pick in 2015	To New York Islanders NYR's 1st-round pick in 2015	[11]
June 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)	To Florida Panthers 5th-round pick in 2016	To New York Islanders MTL's 5th-round pick in 2015	[11]
September 16, 2015 (2015-09-16)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Michael Grabner	To New York Islanders Taylor Beck Carter Verhaeghe Matt Finn Tom Nilsson Christopher Gibson	[12]
February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29)	To Colorado Avalanche Taylor Beck	To New York Islanders Marc-Andre Cliche	[13]
	To Ottawa Senators 3rd-round pick in 2016	To New York Islanders Shane Prince 7th-round pick in 2016	[14]

Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Thomas Greiss Pittsburgh Penguins 2 years, $3 million [15] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Justin Florek Providence Bruins 1 year, $725,000 [16] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Ben Holmstrom Charlotte Checkers 1 year, $750,000 [16] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Bracken Kearns Espoo Blues 1 year, $775,000 [16] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Justin Vaive Hartford Wolf Pack 1 year, $650,000 [16] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Joe Whitney New Jersey Devils 1 year, $750,000 [16] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) James Wright KHL Medvescak Zagreb 1 year, $800,000 [16] July 17, 2015 (2015-07-17) Louis Leblanc Norfolk Admirals 1 year, $605,000 [17] September 17, 2015 (2015-09-17) Steve Bernier New Jersey Devils 1 year, $750,000 [18] September 18, 2015 (2015-09-18) Marek Zidlicky Detroit Red Wings 1 year, $1.5 million [19]

Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Matt Donovan Buffalo Sabres 1 year, $825,000 [20] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Kael Mouillierat Pittsburgh Penguins 1 year, $575,000 [21] July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Aaron Ness Washington Capitals 1 year, $575,000 July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01) Michal Neuvirth Philadelphia Flyers 2 years, $3.25 million [22] July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02) Brett Gallant Columbus Blue Jackets 2 years, $1.5 million July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03) Colin McDonald Philadelphia Flyers 1 year, $625,000 [23] July 3, 2015 (2015-07-03) Harry Zolnierczyk Anaheim Ducks 1 year, $600,000 [24] October 27, 2015 (2015-10-27) Lubomir Visnovsky HC Slovan Bratislava undisclosed [25]

Claimed via waivers Player Previous team Date Jean-Francois Berube[26] Los Angeles Kings October 6, 2015

Lost via waivers Player New team Date Kevin Poulin[27] Tampa Bay Lightning September 27, 2015

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 30, 2015 (2015-06-30)	Anders Lee	4 years, $15 million	[28]
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Thomas Hickey	3 years, $6.6 million	[29]
July 1, 2015 (2015-07-01)	Kirill Petrov	1 year, entry-level contract	[30]
August 11, 2015 (2015-08-11)	Kevin Poulin	1 year, $600,000	[31]
September 10, 2015 (2015-09-10)	Mathew Barzal	3 years, entry-level contract	[32]
September 16, 2015 (2015-09-16)	Brock Nelson	3 years, $7.5 million	[33]
October 13, 2015 (2015-10-13)	Eric Boulton	1 year, $575,000	[34]
October 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)	Anthony Beauvillier	3 years, entry-level contract	[35]
March 23, 2016 (2016-03-23)	Eamon McAdam	3 years, entry-level contract	[36]
March 29, 2016 (2016-03-29)	Kyle Schempp	2 years, entry-level contract	[37]
April 15, 2016 (2016-04-15)	Devon Toews	3 years, entry-level contract	[38]
May 2, 2016 (2016-05-02)	Parker Wotherspoon	3 years, entry-level contract	[39]
June 1, 2016 (2016-06-01)	Bracken Kearns	1 year, $800,000	[40]
June 2, 2016 (2016-06-02)	Ben Holmstrom	1 year, $800,000	[41]
June 2, 2016 (2016-06-02)	Casey Cizikas	5 years, $16.75 million	[42]

Draft picks

See also: List of New York Islanders draft picks

Below are the New York Islanders' 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	16	Mathew Barzal	Centre	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
1	28	Anthony Beauvillier	LW	Canada	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
3	82	Mitchell Vande Sompel	D	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4	112	Parker Wotherspoon	D	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
5	147	Ryan Pilon	D	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
6	172	Andong Song	D	China	Lawrenceville School (HS-New Jersey)
7	202	Peter Hansson	D	Sweden	Linköpings J20 (J20 SuperElit)

Draft notes^[43]

• The Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015, that sent Griffin Reinhart to Edmonton in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015 (33rd overall) and this pick.^[44]

  Edmonton previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on January 2, 2015, that sent David Perron to Pittsburgh in exchange for Rob Klinkhammer and this pick.^[45]

• The New York Islanders' first-round pick will go to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on October 27, 2013, that sent Thomas Vanek to New York in exchange for Matt Moulson, a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[46] The condition – Buffalo will receive a first-round pick in 2014 or 2015 at New York's choice – was converted on May 22, 2014, when the Islanders elected to keep their 2014 first-round pick.^[47]
• The New York Islanders' first-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015, that sent Robin Lehner and David Legwand to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.^[48]

  Buffalo previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on October 27, 2013, that sent Thomas Vanek to New York in exchange for Matt Moulson, a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[46] The condition – Buffalo will receive a first-round pick in 2014 or 2015 at New York's choice – was converted on May 22, 2014, when the Islanders elected to keep their 2014 first-round pick.^[49]

The New York Rangers' first-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 26, 2015, that sent Edmonton's second-round pick in 2015 (33rd overall) and Florida's third-round pick in 2015 (72nd overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.^[50]

• Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick as the result of trade on March 5, 2014, that sent Martin St. Louis and a conditional second-round pick in 2015 to New York in exchange for Ryan Callahan, a conditional first-round pick in 2014, a conditional seventh-round pick in 2015 and this pick.^[51]

• The New York Islanders' fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 5, 2014, that sent Dan Boyle to New York in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[52] The condition – San Jose will receive a fifth-round pick in 2015 if Boyle is not re-signed by the Islanders for the 2014–15 NHL season – was converted on July 1, 2014.^[53]
• The Montreal Canadiens' fifth-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent a fifth-round pick in 2016 to Florida in exchange for this pick.

  Florida previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 4, 2014, that sent Mike Weaver to Montreal in exchange for this pick.^[54]