# 2014–15 Nashville Predators season

The 2014–15 Nashville Predators season was the 17th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 25, 1997.

## Off-season

The day after the end of the Predators' 2013–14 season, where the team missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second-straight year, it was announced that after 17 years at the helm of the Nashville Predators, Barry Trotz was relieved of his duties as head coach.
On May 6, 2014, it was announced that Peter Laviolette, former head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, was hired to replace Trotz as the new head coach of the Predators. The team also hired Kevin McCarthy as an assistant coach.
On June 27, 2014, during the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the Predators traded right winger Patric Hornqvist and restricted free agent Nick Spaling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for right winger James Neal.

## Playoffs

The Nashville Predators entered the playoffs as the Central Division's second seed. They lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the first round.

## Standings

Central Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – St. Louis Blues | 82 | 51 | 24 | 7 | 42 | 248 | 201 | +47 | 109 |
| 2 | x – Nashville Predators | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 41 | 232 | 208 | +24 | 104 |
| 3 | x – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 48 | 28 | 6 | 39 | 229 | 189 | +40 | 102 |
| 4 | x – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 42 | 231 | 201 | +30 | 100 |
| 5 | x – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 43 | 26 | 13 | 36 | 230 | 210 | +20 | 99 |
| 6 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 37 | 261 | 260 | +1 | 92 |
| 7 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 29 | 219 | 227 | −8 | 90 |

## Suspensions/fines

| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued |
| Anton Volchenkov | Illegal check to the head of Calgary Flames forward Micheal Ferland during NHL Game No. 151 in Calgary on Friday, October 31, 2014, at 19:06 of the second period. | 4 games | $21,505.36 | November 2, 2014 |
| James Neal | Diving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 447 in San Jose on Saturday, December 13, 2014, at 19:39 of the third period. | — | $2,000.00 | December 17, 2014 |
| Craig Smith | High-sticking on Buffalo Sabres forward Jerry D'Amigo during NHL Game No. 1075 in Nashville on Saturday, March 21, 2015, at 17:50 of the first period. | — | $5,000.00 | March 22, 2015 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2014–15 Game Log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs :

## Player stats

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Filip Forsberg | 82 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 15 | 24 |
| Mike Ribeiro | 82 | 15 | 47 | 62 | 11 | 52 |
| Roman Josi | 81 | 15 | 40 | 55 | 15 | 26 |
| Shea Weber | 78 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 15 | 72 |
| Craig Smith | 82 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 11 | 44 |
| Colin Wilson | 77 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 19 | 22 |
| Mike Fisher | 59 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 4 | 39 |
| James Neal | 67 | 23 | 14 | 37 | 12 | 57 |
| Ryan Ellis | 58 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 8 | 27 |
| Seth Jones | 82 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 3 | 20 |
| Matt Cullen | 62 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 8 | 16 |
| Mattias Ekholm | 80 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 12 | 52 |
| Calle Jarnkrok | 74 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 18 |
| Taylor Beck | 62 | 8 | 8 | 16 | −4 | 18 |
| Paul Gaustad | 73 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 60 |
| Gabriel Bourque | 69 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −13 | 10 |
| Eric Nystrom | 60 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 15 |
| Viktor Stalberg | 25 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 18 |
| Derek Roy$^‡$ | 26 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Victor Bartley | 37 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 26 |
| Anton Volchenkov | 46 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 14 |
| Olli Jokinen$^‡$ | 48 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
| Mike Santorelli$^†$ | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −7 | 6 |
| Cody Franson$^†$ | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Miikka Salomaki | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Arcobello$^{†‡}$ | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Clune | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Piskula | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Anthony Bitetto | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 7 |
| Kevin Fiala | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Viktor Arvidsson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Filip Forsberg | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Colin Wilson | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 | −1 | 0 |
| James Neal | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| Craig Smith | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Ribeiro | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Seth Jones | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −6 | 6 |
| Viktor Stalberg | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Ryan Ellis | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Matt Cullen | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| Cody Franson | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Calle Jarnkrok | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 0 |
| Mike Santorelli | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Roman Josi | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 0 |
| Mattias Ekholm | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Anton Volchenkov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Fisher | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shea Weber | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Paul Gaustad | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 22 |
| Victor Bartley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Taylor Beck | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Gabriel Bourque | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| Kevin Fiala | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Pekka Rinne | 64 | 64 | 3,851 | 41 | 17 | 6 | 140 | 2.18 | 1807 | .923 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Carter Hutton | 18 | 17 | 1010 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 44 | 2.61 | 450 | .902 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marek Mazanec | 2 | 1 | 106 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2.26 | 47 | .915 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Pekka Rinne | 6 | 6 | 425 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 2.68 | 208 | .909 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Predators. Stats reflect time with the Predators only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Predators only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Notable achievements
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| F. Forsberg | NHL Third Star of the Week | November 17, 2014 |
| F. Forsberg | NHL Rookie of the Month | December 1, 2014 |
| P. Rinne | NHL Third Star of the Month | December 1, 2014 |
| C. Wilson | NHL Second Star of the Week | December 29, 2014 |
| P. Rinne | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2015 |
| S. Weber | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2015 |
| F. Forsberg | NHL All-Star game rookie selection | January 10, 2015 |
| P. Rinne | NHL Third Star of the Week | February 16, 2015 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| C. Smith | 200th Career NHL Game | October 18, 2014 |
| P. Gaustad | 600th Career NHL Game | October 29, 2014 |
| C. Wilson | 300th Career NHL Game | October 29, 2014 |
| E. Nystrom | 500th Career NHL Game | November 6, 2014 |
| D. Roy | 500th Career NHL Point | November 18, 2014 |
| S. Jones | 100th Career NHL Game | November 29, 2014 |
| R. Josi | 200th Career NHL Game | December 11, 2014 |
| O. Jokinen | 1,200th Career NHL Game | December 20, 2014 |
| M. Fisher | 900th Career NHL Game | December 27, 2014 |
| M. Ribeiro | 900th Career NHL Game | December 29, 2014 |
| M. Ekholm | 100th Career NHL Game | December 29, 2014 |
| P. Rinne | 20,000 Career NHL Minutes | December 30, 2014 |
| M. Salomäki | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point | January 8, 2015 |
| R. Josi | 100th Career NHL Point | January 8, 2015 |
| A. Bitetto | 1st Career NHL Game | January 17, 2015 |
| M. Fisher | 500th Career NHL Point | January 29, 2015 |
| M. Ribeiro | 700th Career NHL Point | February 7, 2015 |
| V. Bartley | 100th Career NHL Game | February 10, 2015 |
| G. Bourque | 200th Career NHL Game | February 26, 2015 |
| M. Cullen | 400th Career NHL Assist | February 26, 2015 |
| M. Cullen | 1,200th Career NHL Game | March 3, 2015 |
| P. Rinne | 200th Career NHL Win | March 14, 2015 |
| K. Fiala | 1st Career NHL Game | March 24, 2015 |
| C. Wilson | 100th Career NHL Assist | March 24, 2015 |
| M. Ribeiro | 500th Career NHL Assist | April 4, 2015 |
| R. Ellis | 200th Career NHL Game | April 7, 2015 |
| C. Franson | 400th Career NHL Game | April 9, 2015 |
| F. Forsberg | 100th Career NHL Game | April 11, 2015 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| F. Forsberg | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 15, 2015 |
| M. Ekholm | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 15, 2015 |
| G. Bourque | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 15, 2015 |
| T. Beck | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 15, 2015 |
| S. Jones | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | April 15, 2015 |
| C. Jarnkrok | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | April 15, 2015 |
| R. Ellis | 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | April 15, 2015 |
| M. Santorelli | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | April 17, 2015 |
| F. Forsberg | 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | April 17, 2015 |
| R. Josi | 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | April 17, 2015 |
| C. Smith | 1st Career Playoff Goal | April 17, 2015 |
| V. Bartley | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 19, 2015 |
| M. Ekholm | 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | April 19, 2015 |
| K. Fiala | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 21, 2015 |
| F. Forsberg | 1st Career Playoff Hat-Trick | April 23, 2015 |

## Transactions

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

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 27, 2014 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Patric Hornqvist Nick Spaling | To Nashville Predators James Neal |
| June 28, 2014 | To San Jose SharksDET's 2nd-round pick in 2014 | To Nashville Predators2nd-round pick in 2014 4th-round pick in 2015 |
| June 28, 2014 | To San Jose Sharks3rd-round pick in 2014 4th-round pick in 2014 | To Nashville PredatorsFLA's 3rd-round pick in 2014 |
| December 29, 2014 | To Edmonton OilersDerek Roy | To Nashville PredatorsMark Arcobello |
| February 15, 2015 | To Toronto Maple LeafsOlli Jokinen Brendan Leipsic 1st-round pick in 2015 | To Nashville PredatorsCody Franson Mike Santorelli |
Player signings
DatePlayerContract terms (in U.S. dollars)Ref
July 4, 2014Joe Piskula1 year, $550,000
July 8, 2014Anthony Bitetto1 year, $605,000
July 9, 2014Mattias Ekholm2 years, $2.075 million
July 15, 2014Viktor Arvidsson3 year, $1.895 million entry-level contract
July 15, 2014Kevin Fiala3 year, $2.775 million entry-level contract
September 25, 2014Ryan Ellis5 years, $12.5 million
September 30, 2014Taylor Beck1 year, $550,000
May 6, 2015Marek Mazanec1 year, $575,000
June 16, 2015Juuse Saros3 years, entry-level contract :

## Draft picks

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 | 11 | Kevin Fiala | LW | Switzerland | HV71 (Sweden-Jr.) |
| 2 | 42 | Vladislav Kamenev | LW | Russia | Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) |
| 2 | 51 | Jack Dougherty | D | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 3 | 62 | Justin Kirkland | LW | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 4 | 112 | Viktor Arvidsson | LW | Sweden | Skellefteå AIK (SHL) |
| 5 | 132 | Joonas Lyytinen | D | Finland | KalPa (Finland) |
| 6 | 162 | Aaron Irving | D | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) |

### Draft notes

* $^a$ The San Jose Sharks' second-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014 that sent Detroit's second-round pick in 2014 (46th overall) to San Jose in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2015 and this pick.
* $^b$ The Florida Panthers' third-round pick (previously acquired by San Jose) 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.
* The Nashville Predators third-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014 that sent Florida's third-round pick in 2014 (62nd overall) to Nashville in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2014 (102nd overall) and this pick.
* The Nashville Predators fourth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014 that sent Florida's third-round pick in 2014 (62nd overall) to Nashville in exchange for a third-round pick in 2014 (72nd overall) and this pick.
* $^c$ The St. Louis Blues' fourth-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013 that sent a fourth-round pick in 2013 to St. Louis in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2013 and this pick.
* The Nashville Predators' seventh-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as a result of a trade on April 19, 2014 that sent Jaynen Rissling to Nashville in exchange for this pick.