2014–15 Washington Capitals season

The 2014–15 Washington Capitals season was the 41st season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.[2]

2014–15 Washington Capitals
Division2nd Metropolitan
Conference4th Eastern
2014–15 record45–26–11
Home record23–13–5
Road record22–13–6
Goals for242
Goals against203
Team information
General managerBrian MacLellan
CoachBarry Trotz
CaptainAlexander Ovechkin
Alternate captainsNicklas Backstrom
Brooks Orpik
ArenaVerizon Center
Average attendance19,099[1]
(41 games)
Team leaders
GoalsAlexander Ovechkin (53)
AssistsNicklas Backstrom (60)
PointsAlexander Ovechkin (81)
Penalty minutesTom Wilson (172)
Plus/minusMike Green (+15)
WinsBraden Holtby (41)
Goals against averagePhilipp Grubauer (1.85)
The Washington Capitals 40th Anniversary patch

Off-season

edit

Less than two weeks after the end of the Capitals' 2013–14 season, where the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007, the Washington Capitals announced that Head Coach Adam Oates was fired and general manager George McPhee would not have his contract with the team renewed.[3] On May 26, 2014, the Capitals promoted Brian MacLellan to be senior vice president and general manager and named Barry Trotz their new head coach.[4]

In July 2014, the Capitals signed several free agents, including former Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik.

Playoffs

edit

The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Metropolitan Division's second seed. They defeated the New York Islanders in the first round, and were defeated by the New York Rangers in the second round.

Standings

edit
Metropolitan Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 p – New York Rangers 82 53 22 7 49 252 192 +60 113
2 x – Washington Capitals 82 45 26 11 40 242 203 +39 101
3 x – New York Islanders 82 47 28 7 40 252 230 +22 101
4 x – Pittsburgh Penguins 82 43 27 12 39 221 210 +11 98
5 Columbus Blue Jackets 82 42 35 5 33 236 250 −14 89
6 Philadelphia Flyers 82 33 31 18 30 215 234 −19 84
7 New Jersey Devils 82 32 36 14 27 181 216 −35 78
8 Carolina Hurricanes 82 30 41 11 25 188 226 −38 71
Source: National Hockey League
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

edit

Pre-season

edit

Regular season

edit
2014–15 Game Log

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

Playoffs

edit
2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

edit

Final stats

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[5]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Braden Holtby 73 72 4247 41 20 10 157 2.22 2044 .923 9 0 2 2
Justin Peters 12 9 647 3 6 1 35 3.25 294 .881 0 0 0 0
Philipp Grubauer 1 1 65 1 0 0 2 1.85 25 .920 0 0 0 0
Playoffs[6]
Player GP GS TOI W L GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Braden Holtby 13 13 806 6 7 23 1.71 412 .944 1 0 1 0
Philipp Grubauer 1 1 60 1 0 3 3.00 21 .857 0 0 0 0

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

Notable achievements

edit

Awards

edit

Milestones

edit

Transactions

edit

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season.

Trades

edit
June 28, 2014[11] To Buffalo Sabres
2nd-round pick in 2014
3rd-round pick in 2014
To Washington Capitals
2nd-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014[12] To Winnipeg Jets
6th-round pick in 2014
NSH's 7th-round pick in 2014
7th-round pick in 2015
To Washington Capitals
Edward Pasquale
6th-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014 To New York Rangers
4th-round pick in 2014
CHI's 4th-round pick in 2014
To Washington Capitals
3rd-round pick in 2014
February 28, 2015[13] To Carolina Hurricanes
Jack Hillen
ARZ's 4th-round pick in 2015
To Washington Capitals
Tim Gleason
March 1, 2015[14] To Calgary Flames
2nd-round pick in 2015
3rd-round pick in 2015
To Washington Capitals
Curtis Glencross


Player signings

edit
Date Player Contract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
July 1, 2014 Michael Latta 2-years, $1.15 million [27]
July 9, 2014 Edward Pasquale 1-year, $550,000 [28]
July 13, 2014 Nate Schmidt 1-year, $625,000 [29]
July 15, 2014 Vitek Vanecek 3-year, $2.3275 million entry-level contract [30]
July 15, 2014 Jakub Vrana 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract [31]
July 25, 2014 Nathan Walker 3-year, entry-level contract [32]
September 9, 2014 Cameron Schilling 1 year [33]
March 4, 2015 Tyler Lewington 3-year, entry-level contract [34]
March 31, 2015 Travis Boyd 2-year, entry-level contract [35]
April 17, 2015 Riley Barber 2-year, entry-level contract [36]
June 2, 2015 Garrett Mitchell 2-years [37]
June 15, 2015 Philipp Grubauer 2-years, $1.5 million [38]
June 17, 2015 Nate Schmidt 2-years, $1.625 million [39]

Suspensions/fines

edit
Player Explanation Length Salary Date issued
Tom Wilson Diving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 1057 in Minnesota on Thursday, March 19, 2015, at 14:45 of the second period. $2,000.00 March 27, 2015[40]

Draft picks

edit

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 27–28, 2014, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 13 Jakub Vrana L/RW   Czech Republic Linkopings HC (Sweden)
2 39[a] Vitek Vanecek G   Czech Republic Bili Tygri Liberec (Czech Republic)
3 89[b] Nathan Walker LW   Australia Hershey Bears (AHL)
5 134 Shane Gersich C/LW   United States USA U-18 (USHL)
6 159[c] Steven Spinner RW   United States Eden Prairie High School (USHS–MN)
7 194 Kevin Elgestal RW   Sweden Frolunda HC (J20 SuperElit)
Notes

References

edit
  1. ^ "2014–2015 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN". ESPN.
  2. ^ National Hockey League (2012). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2013. Triumph Books. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-60078-785-0.
  3. ^ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/washington-capitals-fire-head-coach-and-long-time-gm/article18280953/ [dead link]
  4. ^ capitalstoday.com. "CAPITALS PROMOTE BRIAN MACLELLAN TO GENERAL MANAGER, NAME BARRY TROTZ COACH". Caps PR. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "2014-2015 Regular Season Stats - Points - Washington Capitals - Statistics". Washington Capitals. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "2014-2015 Playoffs Season Stats - Points - Washington Capitals - Statistics". Washington Capitals. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  7. ^ "Oshie, Ovechkin, Price named NHL's Three Stars". NHL. January 5, 2015.
  8. ^ "2015 NHL All-Star selections highlighted by three Columbus Blue Jackets". NHL. January 10, 2015.
  9. ^ "Ovechkin, Tavares, Rask named 'Stars' for January". NHL. February 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Dubnyk, Price, Ovechkin named NHL's three stars for February". NHL. March 1, 2015.
  11. ^ "2014 NHL DRAFT: ROUND 2 – Buffalo Sabres – News". Buffalo Sabres. June 28, 2014.
  12. ^ "Jets Make Six Selections & Two Trades on Day Two of Draft". Winnipeg Jets. June 28, 2014.
  13. ^ "Capitals Acquire Tim Gleason from Carolina". Washington Capitals. February 28, 2015.
  14. ^ "Capitals Acquire Curtis Glencross from Calgary". Washington Capitals. March 1, 2015.
  15. ^ "Capitals Sign Brooks Orpik".
  16. ^ "Capitals Sign Justin Peters".
  17. ^ "Capitals Sign Matt Niskanen".
  18. ^ a b "Capitals Sign Jon Landry and Mike Moore".
  19. ^ "Capitals Sign Chris Conner".
  20. ^ a b Capital's Today. "Capitals Sign Tim Kennedy and Kris Newbury - Capital's Today". Capital's Today.
  21. ^ "Capitals Sign Liam O'Brien".
  22. ^ "New York Islanders - Islanders Sign Three To Two-Way Deals".
  23. ^ "Wild Signs Rechlicz To Two-Way Deal".
  24. ^ "New York Islanders - Islanders Agree to Terms with Grabovski".
  25. ^ "SABRES SIGN DEFENSEMAN TYSON STRACHAN".
  26. ^ "Jets Agree to Terms with Julien Brouillette".
  27. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Michael Latta".
  28. ^ "Pasquale signs two-way contract with Capitals". NHL.com.
  29. ^ Capital's Today. "Capitals Re-sign Nate Schmidt - Capital's Today". Capital's Today.
  30. ^ Capital's Today. "Capitals Sign Vitek Vanecek - Capital's Today". Capital's Today.
  31. ^ Capital's Today. "Capitals Sign Jakub Vrana - Capital's Today". Capital's Today. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  32. ^ "Capitals Sign Nathan Walker".
  33. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Cameron Schilling".
  34. ^ "Capitals Sign Tyler Lewington".
  35. ^ "Capitals Sign Travis Boyd".
  36. ^ "Capitals Sign Riley Barber".
  37. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Garrett Mitchell".
  38. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Philipp Grubauer".
  39. ^ "Capitals Re-sign Nate Schmidt".
  40. ^ "Capitals' Wilson fined $2,000 for diving/embellishment". NHL. March 27, 2015.