2014–15 Florida Panthers season

The 2014–15 Florida Panthers season was the 21st season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 14, 1993.[2]

2014–15 Florida Panthers
Division6th Atlantic
Conference10th Eastern
2014–15 record38–29–15
Home record21–13–7
Road record17–16–8
Goals for206
Goals against223
Team information
General managerDale Tallon
CoachGerard Gallant
CaptainWillie Mitchell
Alternate captainsDave Bolland
Brian Campbell
Derek MacKenzie
Scottie Upshall
ArenaBB&T Center
Average attendance11,265 (66.1%)[1]
(41 games)
Team leaders
GoalsNick Bjugstad (24)
AssistsJonathan Huberdeau (39)
PointsJonathan Huberdeau (54)
Penalty minutesErik Gudbranson (58)
Plus/minusAaron Ekblad (+12)
WinsRoberto Luongo (28)
Goals against averageLuongo, Ellis (2.35)

Off-season

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On April 29, 2014, General Manager Dale Tallon relieved Interim Head Coach Peter Horachek of his duties, and announced that the Panthers were looking to hire a new head coach with NHL experience prior to June 27, 2014, when the 2014 NHL Entry Draft will be held.[3]

Training camp

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The Panthers will play in six pre-season exhibition games before the start of the 2014–15 regular season.[4]

Memorable events

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On March 3, 2015, in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Roberto Luongo suffered an injury and was forced to leave the game; he was replaced by backup Al Montoya. Later in the same game, however, Montoya also suffered an injury. Without another available goaltender (NHL teams seldom have a third goaltender on the roster), Montoya attempted to continue playing with the injury while the team debated their options, reportedly considered between either having forward Derek MacKenzie play the position or calling on a "local" goaltender. Forty-one-year-old Goaltending Coach Rob Tallas subsequently dressed in goaltending gear, registered with the team's roster and began warming up in the dressing room tunnel in preparation to enter the game as an emergency backup, but before entering the game, however, Luongo was able to return and finish the remainder of the game. Allegedly, Luongo was at the hospital when Montoya was injured and was rushed back to the arena. This marked the second such instance for Tallas being called in as an emergency backup, with the other occurrence happening the previous season and also preventing him from officially entering the game as the original goaltender returned. Had he played, it would have been his first appearance in an NHL game in 14 years. The incident has reportedly lead the NHL to consider reviewing its rules for "emergency" players and led the Panthers to hold open tryouts for a "fill-in" goaltender.

Standings

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Atlantic Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 y – Montreal Canadiens 82 50 22 10 43 221 189 +32 110
2 x – Tampa Bay Lightning 82 50 24 8 47 262 211 +51 108
3 x – Detroit Red Wings 82 43 25 14 39 235 221 +14 100
4 x – Ottawa Senators 82 43 26 13 37 238 215 +23 99
5 Boston Bruins 82 41 27 14 37 213 211 +2 96
6 Florida Panthers 82 38 29 15 30 206 223 −17 91
7 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 8 25 211 262 −51 68
8 Buffalo Sabres 82 23 51 8 15 161 274 −113 54
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 AT x – Ottawa Senators 82 43 26 13 37 238 215 +23 99
2 ME x – Pittsburgh Penguins 82 43 27 12 39 221 210 +11 98
3 AT Boston Bruins 82 41 27 14 37 213 211 +2 96
4 AT Florida Panthers 82 38 29 15 30 206 223 −17 91
5 ME Columbus Blue Jackets 82 42 35 5 33 236 250 −14 89
6 ME Philadelphia Flyers 82 33 31 18 30 215 234 −19 84
7 ME New Jersey Devils 82 32 36 14 27 181 216 −35 78
8 ME Carolina Hurricanes 82 30 41 11 25 188 226 −38 71
9 AT Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 8 25 211 262 −51 68
10 AT Buffalo Sabres 82 23 51 8 15 161 274 −113 54
Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Suspensions/fines

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Player Explanation Length Salary Date issued
Vincent Trocheck Diving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 577 in Washington on Sunday, January 4, 2015, at 11:04 of the third period. $2,000.00 January 7, 2015[5]
Dmitri Kulikov Clipping Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin during NHL game No. 820 in Dallas on Friday, February 13, 2015, at 13:05 of the third period. 4 games $93,189.96 February 16, 2015[6]

Schedule and results

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Pre-season

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Regular season

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2014–15 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

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Despite having 91 points, the Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Player stats

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Final stats

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[7]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Roberto Luongo 61 61 3528 28 19 12 138 2.35 1743 0.921 2 0 0 0
Al Montoya 20 13 977 6 7 2 49 3.01 453 0.892 0 0 0 2
Dan Ellis 8 8 486 4 3 1 19 2.35 221 0.914 1 0 0 0

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

Notable achievements

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Awards

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Milestones

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Transactions

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The Panthers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season:

Trades

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Date
Details
June 28, 2014[11] To New York Islanders
3rd-round pick in 2015
To Florida Panthers
3rd-round pick in 2014
October 6, 2014[12] To New York Rangers
Joey Crabb
To Florida Panthers
Steven Kampfer
Andrew Yogan
December 4, 2014[13] To Anaheim Ducks
Colby Robak
To Florida Panthers
Jesse Blacker
future conditional draft pick
January 9, 2015[14] To Calgary Flames
Drew Shore
To Florida Panthers
Corban Knight
February 24, 2015[15] To Minnesota Wild
Sean Bergenheim
7th-round pick in 2016
To Florida Panthers
3rd-round pick in 2016
February 26, 2015[16] To New Jersey Devils
2nd-round pick in 2015
Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016
To Florida Panthers
Jaromir Jagr
February 28, 2015[17] To Anaheim Ducks
Tomas Fleischmann
To Florida Panthers
Dany Heatley
3rd-round pick in 2015
June 19, 2015
[18]
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Zach Hyman
Conditional 7th-round pick in 2017
To Florida Panthers
Greg McKegg

Draft picks

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The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[47] On April 15, 2014, the Panthers won the draft lottery to jump ahead of the Buffalo Sabres and secure the first selection in the draft.[48]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 1 Aaron Ekblad D   Canada Barrie Colts (OHL)
2 32 Jayce Hawryluk RW   Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
3 65[a] Juho Lammikko RW   Finland Assat U20 (FIN U20)
4 92 Joe Wegwerth RW   United States USA U-18 (USHL)
5 143[b] Miguel Fidler LW   United States Edina Hornets (MSHSL)
7 182[c] Hugo Fagerblom G   Sweden Sweden Jr. U18
Draft notes
  • The Florida Panthers' third-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third and fourth-round pick (72nd and 102nd overall) both in 2014 to San Jose in exchange for this pick.[49]
        San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent a first-round pick and the Rangers sixth-round pick both in 2014 (20th and 179th overall) to Chicago in exchange for a first-round pick in 2014 (27th overall) and this pick.[50]
        Chicago previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 2, 2014, that sent Brandon Pirri to Florida in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2016 and this pick.[51]
  • [a]The New York Islanders' third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third-round pick in 2015 to New York in exchange for this pick.[49]
  • Florida's fifth-round pick went to the New York Rangers, as the result of a trade on July 20, 2012, that sent Casey Wellman to Florida, in exchange for this pick.[52]
  • [b]The Pittsburgh Penguins' fifth-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014, that sent Marcel Goc to Pittsburgh in exchange for a third-round pick in 2015 and this pick.[53]
  • Florida's sixth-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils, as the result of a trade on September 28, 2013, that sent Krys Barch and St. Louis' seventh-round pick in 2015 to Florida, in exchange for Scott Timmins and this pick.[54]
  • [c]The Florida Panthers' seventh-round pick was re-acquired as the result of a trade on July 5, 2013, that sent George Parros to Montreal in exchange for Philippe Lefebvre and this pick.[55]
         Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2013 to Florida in exchange for this pick.[56]

References

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  1. ^ "2014–2015 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008.
  2. ^ National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
  3. ^ "Panthers fire Horachek, seek experienced coach".
  4. ^ "Florida Panthers to open 2014-15 season at Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers - MiamiHerald.com". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on June 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "Trocheck fined $2,000 for diving/embellishment". NHL. January 7, 2015.
  6. ^ "Kulikov suspended four games for clipping". NHL. February 16, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "2014-2015 Regular Season Stats - Points - Florida Panthers - Statistics". Florida Panthers. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  8. ^ "Datsyuk, Bobrovsky, Ekblad named stars of the week". NHL. December 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "Backes, Varlamov and Huberdeau named week's stars". NHL. January 12, 2015. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "2015 NHL All-Star selections highlighted by three Columbus Blue Jackets". NHL. January 10, 2015.
  11. ^ Florida Panthers Make Five Selections on Day Two of NHL Draft
  12. ^ Florida Panthers Acquire D Steven Kampfer and F Andrew Yogan from New York Rangers
  13. ^ Florida Panthers Acquire D Jesse Blacker from Anaheim
  14. ^ Florida Panthers acquire F Corban Knight from Calgary
  15. ^ Florida Panthers Acquire Minnesota’s 2016 Third-Round Draft Choice in exchange for F Sean Bergenheim
  16. ^ Florida Panthers Acquire F Jaromir Jagr
  17. ^ Florida Panthers Acquire F Dany Heatley & 2015 Third-Round Draft Choice from Anaheim in Exchange for F Tomas Fleischmann
  18. ^ "Florida Panthers Acquire F Greg McKegg". Florida Panthers. June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  19. ^ G Al Montoya Agrees to Two Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  20. ^ C Derek MacKenzie Agrees to Three-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  21. ^ Shawn Thornton Agrees to Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  22. ^ C Dave Bolland Agrees to Five-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  23. ^ LW Jussi Jokinen Agrees to Four-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  24. ^ D Willie Mitchell Agrees to Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  25. ^ a b Florida Panthers Agree to Entry Level Contract with G Sam Brittain
  26. ^ a b C Brett Olson and D Greg Zanon Agree to One-Year Contracts with Florida Panthers
  27. ^ Florida Panthers Sign D Shane O’Brien
  28. ^ Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with G Colin Stevens
  29. ^ Florida Panthers Agree to Entry Level Contract with F Chase Balisy
  30. ^ Canadiens agree to terms on a two-year contract with free agent defenseman Tom Gilbert
  31. ^ Clemmensen signs with Devils
  32. ^ Avalanche Signs Four Players
  33. ^ Devils bring back veteran center Gomez
  34. ^ "Florida Panthers Exercise Compliance Buyout on D ed Jovanovski".
  35. ^ D Erik Gudbranson Inks Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  36. ^ a b c Florida Panthers Sign D Dylan Olsen
  37. ^ C Brandon Pirri Inks Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  38. ^ D Dmitry Kulikov Inks Three-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
  39. ^ Florida Panthers Agree to One-Year Contract with F Jimmy Hayes
  40. ^ Florida Panthers Sign No. 1 Overall Draft Pick D Aaron Ekblads
  41. ^ Florida Panthers Agree to Two-Year Contract Extension with D Steven Kampfer
  42. ^ Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with F Kyle Rau
  43. ^ Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with D Michael Matheson
  44. ^ Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with D Josh Brown
  45. ^ Florida Panthers Re-sign F Jaromir Jagr
  46. ^ Florida Panthers Sign F Brett Olson
  47. ^ "New Jersey, Philadelphia to host next two Drafts". nhl.com. June 22, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  48. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  49. ^ a b "Notes from the 2014 NHL Draft". June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  50. ^ "Blackhawks select Schmaltz in first round of the 2014 NHL draft and acquire picks from San Jose". June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  51. ^ "Panthers acquire Pirri in trade with Blackhawks". National Hockey League. March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  52. ^ "Panthers get Wellman in trade with Rangers". NHL.com. July 20, 2012.
  53. ^ "Penguins Acquire Goc from Panthers for Draft Picks". March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  54. ^ "Devils, Panthers swap depth forwards, picks". National Hockey League. May 17, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  55. ^ "Habs obtain enforcer George Parros". CTV Television Network. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  56. ^ "Canucks-Devils trade highlights day of deals at draft". National Hockey League. June 30, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.