2015–16 CSC season

The 2015–16 CSC season was the fourth season of operation of the Conn Smythe Corner (CSC). The regular season began on October 7, 2015 and ended on March 13, 2016, with the playoffs to follow until April 3.

This season marked the first time that several GMs gathered outside Montreal, the location of the league's headquarters, for the CSC Draft. The draft took place in The Fun Barn in Hardwick, VT. To accommodate those who could not be there in person, the draft was held online over Yahoo!.

Team Movement
Two franchises were moved following the end of the 2014-2015 CSC season, both members of the Original 16 franchises.

The North Stars relocated to Seattle and undertook a new identity: the SEA Metropolitans. Thibault Deneufbourg was named GM after Alessandro Power stepped down from the position.

Miami Matadors general manager Jake Murad was forced to announce his own firing by Miami ownership, citing disappointing results and over-reliance on Blackhawks players as reasons. The Matadors were then relocated and became the Atlanta Flames, with a new GM in Carlos Ranjan.

The Downgrade System 2.0
Due to a yearning for improvement gathered by an end-of-season survey, the CSC commissioners devised a new downgrade system. In short:

- Only Tier C or D players can be downgraded.

- If a player is NOT set to transition, their keeper position drops by two rounds after a successful downgrade.

- If a player is set to transition, their keeper position remains the same as the previous season after a successful downgrade.

- Players claimed from downgrade waivers MUST be kept, but not necessarily by the team that claimed him.

New Waiver Rules
The CSC introduced a hard and soft waiver cap beginning in 2015-16. Along with the hard waiver cap introduced at the league's inception. there would be a set soft cap of waiver money that could be surpassed, but this would essentially result in a given team spending next season's waiver money.

Despite the constant growth of the league in consecutive seasons, a formula that was arbitrarily decided upon led to the setting of the soft cap at $42 million (USD), and the hard cap at $52 million (USD).

Offer Sheets
Beginning at the end of the 2015-16 season, an offer sheet system would be implemented. In short:

- One week after the end of the season, each team would chose to protect up to two players from outside offers. These players do not necessarily have to be kept by the protecting team. After the list of protected players is complete, teams may submit offer sheets, and owners of offer-sheeted players may choose whether or not to match an offer.

- If an offer is matched, the player gains a special designation on their keeper status that forces the GM to use a higher draft pick to keep said player. If said player is traded to another GM before the draft, the designation is removed.

- If an offer sheet is NOT matched, the player moves to his new team and said player's original owner receives compensation.

The PTO Draft
Immediately after the 2016 CSC draft, the first PTO Draft was held. Players selected here were NOT on an NHL team, and as a result had an "NA" designation on Yahoo!. Upon making an NHL team, the CSC franchise with a given players rights has two weeks to decide whether or not to add said player before losing the player's rights. Draft order is randomly selected.

The results of the 2016 PTO Draft were:

VAN Millionaires: Rene Bourque

Montreal Maroons: Leon Draisaitl

St. Louis Eagles: Curtis Glencross

Brooklyn Americans: Patrik Berglund

SEA Metropolitans: Ales Hemsky

QC Athletic Club: John Gibson

Hartford Whalers: Brad Boyes

Philadelphia Quakers: Dylan Larkin

Cornwall Aces: Ryan Hartman

Colorado Rockies: Shea Theodore

Atlanta Flames: Darnell Nurse

Cal Golden Seals: Ivan Provorov

Montreal Wanderers: Griffin Reinhart

Cleveland Barons: Calvin Pickard

Atlanta Thrashers: Julius Honka

KC Scouts: N/A

Because the KC Scouts did not submit their selection in time, their pick was voided.

League Structure
The CSC maintained a conference structure during the 2015-16 season.

The Draft
The fourth CSC Draft was held on October 3rd, with the draft order being determined based on the previous season's results. The higher a team's finish in the regular season, the higher the draft pick, with the two finalists picking first and second. This season, the top eight picks would be dependent on their playoff finish as opposed to only the top two. Due to a midseason trade, the Brooklyn Americans held the first round pick of the two-time champion Atlanta Thrashers. After much debate among other GMs, Brooklyn GM Jade Karim would select Sidney Crosby first overall.

Regular season
Beginning on October 3rd, each team would play 21 matches. Each team would play each other at least once, with thirteen matches within a team's conference.

Postponements
Three games were postponed due to the January 2016 United States blizzard: the Anaheim Ducks–Washington Capitals game originally scheduled for January 22, the Philadelphia Flyers–New York Islanders game originally scheduled for January 23, and the Pittsburgh Penguins–Washington Capitals game originally scheduled for January 24. The Penguins–Capitals game was rescheduled for March 1, while the Ducks–Capitals and Flyers–Islanders games were rescheduled for April 10.

As a result of these postponements, the players scheduled to play these games were unavailable for their respective CSC franchises on these nights.

Milestones
The Atlanta Thrashers, Atlanta Flames, and CAL Golden Seals would become the first teams to break the soft cap in the CSC's history.

After winning back-to-back titles, a first in the CSC's history, the Atlanta Thrashers became the first defending champion to miss the CSC playoffs.

The SEA Metropolitans would set the record for wins in a season with 17 under rookie GM Thibault Deneufbourg.

The Montreal Wanderers made the playoffs for the fourth season in a row, the only team to reach the playoffs in each season of the CSC's history.