Tihkonov was returning to the NHL for the first time since his 2009 season with the Phoenix Coyotes. Also, Chicago and Edmonton swapped minor league players, sending goaltender Anders Nilsson to the Oilers in exchange for forward Liam Coughlin. Following season-long trade speculation, the Blackhawks pulled the trigger on another trade by trading another piece of its core Stanley Cup winning teams. Another cap clearing move, Chicago traded alternate captain Patrick Sharp and defenseman Stephen Johns to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Ryan Garbutt and defenseman Trevor Daley. A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Sharp carried a cap hit of $5.9 million in each of the next two seasons, limiting the Blackhawks in what they could do with free agency. A trade was expected following a down year in terms of production and the large aforementioned cap hit. Forward Andrew Desjardins returned on a two-year contract worth $1.6 million, taking less to stay in Chicago. Theteam also extended the contracts of defensemen Viktor Svedberg, forward Marcus Kruger, and defenseman Michal Rozsival. They lost forwards Brad Richards and Antoine Vermette, as well as defenseman Johnny Oduya during free agency. The Blackhawks began their title defense with and average month of October. The Blackhawks went 6–5–0. However, fortunes increased in November (7–3–1) and December (9–5–1). The Blackhawks finished December on two game winning streak, looking to keep the wins coming in 2016. The Blackhawks did just that, winning the first 10 games of January to bring the win streak to 12 games. The streak set a franchise record for consecutive wins. The streak tied the Florida Panthers win streak earlier in the season for the longest winning streak in the NHL that season. Final stats †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blackhawks. Stats reflect time with Blackhawks only. ‡Left team mid-season. Stats reflect time with Blackhawks only. The Blackhawks were involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season. Below are the Chicago Blackhawks' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.