# 2014–15 Minnesota Wild season

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

## Off-season

Following the team's 4–2 Western Conference Semifinals loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, General Manager Chuck Fletcher was tasked with deciding how to deal with the Wild's 21 free-agents, including 13 unrestricted and nine restricted free agents. The contract situation for all players, including UFAs Dany Heatley, Cody McCormick, Matt Moulson and Nate Prosser, needed to be decided before heading into the NHL's free agency period beginning on July 1, 2014.

## Playoffs

The Minnesota Wild entered the playoffs as the Western Conference's first wild-card. After defeating the St. Louis Blues 4–2 in the first round, they advanced to the second round, where they were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks for the third-straight season.
As of 2024, this remains the last time the Wild have won a playoff series.

## 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 |
Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | CE | x – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 42 | 231 | 201 | +30 | 100 |
| 2 | CE | x – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 43 | 26 | 13 | 36 | 230 | 210 | +20 | 99 |
| 3 | PA | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 40 | 27 | 15 | 38 | 220 | 205 | +15 | 95 |
| 4 | CE | Dallas Stars | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 37 | 261 | 260 | +1 | 92 |
| 5 | CE | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 29 | 219 | 227 | −8 | 90 |
| 6 | PA | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 36 | 228 | 232 | −4 | 89 |
| 7 | PA | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 24 | 44 | 14 | 19 | 198 | 283 | −85 | 62 |
| 8 | PA | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 24 | 50 | 8 | 19 | 170 | 272 | −102 | 56 |

## Suspensions/fines

| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued |
| Marco Scandella | Illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues forward T. J. Oshie during NHL Game No. 351 in St. Paul on Saturday, November 29, 2014, at 8:45 of the first period. | — | $2,755.38 | December 1, 2014 |
| Marco Scandella | Illegal check to the head of New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson during NHL Game No. 415 in St. Paul on Tuesday, December 9, 2014, at 17:32 of the third period. | 2 games (1–1 in absence) | $11,021.50 | December 10, 2014 |
| Ryan Suter | Elbowing Pittsburgh Penguins forward Steve Downie during NHL Game No. 633 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at 4:22 of the second period. | 2 games (2–0 in absence) | $81,058.72 | January 14, 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 statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Zach Parise | 74 | 33 | 29 | 62 | 21 | 41 |
| Jason Pominville | 82 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 9 | 8 |
| Thomas Vanek | 80 | 21 | 31 | 52 | −6 | 37 |
| Mikko Koivu | 80 | 14 | 34 | 48 | 2 | 38 |
| Mikael Granlund | 68 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 17 | 20 |
| Ryan Suter | 77 | 2 | 36 | 38 | 7 | 48 |
| Nino Niederreiter | 80 | 24 | 13 | 37 | 2 | 28 |
| Charlie Coyle | 82 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 13 | 39 |
| Justin Fontaine | 71 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 13 | 12 |
| Jason Zucker | 51 | 21 | 5 | 26 | −9 | 18 |
| Jared Spurgeon | 66 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 3 | 6 |
| Marco Scandella | 64 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 8 | 56 |
| Kyle Brodziak | 73 | 9 | 11 | 20 | −6 | 47 |
| Jonas Brodin | 71 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 8 |
| Matt Dumba | 58 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 23 |
| Erik Haula | 72 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 32 |
| Ryan Carter | 53 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 55 |
| Chris Stewart$^†$ | 20 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 25 |
| Matt Cooke | 29 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| Christian Folin | 40 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| Jordan Schroeder | 25 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 2 |
| Nate Prosser | 63 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −1 | 32 |
| Brett Sutter | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Stephane Veilleux | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Sean Bergenheim$^†$ | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −4 | 6 |
| Jordan Leopold$^†$ | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Keith Ballard | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 26 |
| Jonathon Blum | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
| Stu Bickel | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 46 |
| Tyler Graovac | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Falk$^‡$ | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 7 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Zach Parise | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Jason Pominville | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −1 | 0 |
| Mikael Granlund | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Nino Niederreiter | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −2 | 10 |
| Matt Dumba | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
| Jared Spurgeon | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Mikko Koivu | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −4 | 2 |
| Thomas Vanek | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −7 | 2 |
| Marco Scandella | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Jason Zucker | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| Ryan Suter | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −8 | 0 |
| Charlie Coyle | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 0 |
| Justin Fontaine | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Matt Cooke | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Chris Stewart | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 2 |
| Erik Haula | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jordan Leopold | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| Sean Bergenheim | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| Kyle Brodziak | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| Ryan Carter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Schroeder | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nate Prosser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Jonas Brodin | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Devan Dubnyk$^†$ | 39 | 39 | 2293 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 1.78 | 1064 | .936 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Darcy Kuemper | 31 | 28 | 1569 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 68 | 2.60 | 718 | .905 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Niklas Backstrom | 19 | 14 | 1005 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 51 | 3.04 | 452 | .887 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| John Curry | 2 | 1 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4.17 | 25 | .800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Devan Dubnyk | 10 | 10 | 570 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 2.53 | 260 | .908 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Darcy Kuemper | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 9 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Wild. Stats reflect time with the Wild only. $^‡$Traded mid-season

## Notable achievements
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| D. Kuemper | NHL Second Star of the Week | October 13, 2014 |
| R. Suter | NHL Second Star of the Week | December 15, 2014 |
| R. Suter | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2015 |
| Z. Parise | NHL Third Star of the Week | January 26, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | NHL Third Star of the Week | February 2, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | NHL First Star of the Week | February 9, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | NHL First Star of the Month | March 1, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | NHL First Star of the Week | March 30, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | NHL Third Star of the Month | April 1, 2015 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| M. Granlund | 100th Career NHL Game | November 1, 2014 |
| N. Niederreiter | 1st Career NHL Hat Trick | November 13, 2014 |
| K. Ballard | 600th Career NHL Game | November 26, 2014 |
| N. Backstrom | 400th Career NHL Game | December 9, 2014 |
| C. Folin | 1st Career NHL Goal | December 11, 2014 |
| J. Pominville | 700th Career NHL Game | December 17, 2014 |
| R. Suter | 700th Career NHL Game | December 17, 2014 |
| T. Graovac | 1st Career NHL Game | December 29, 2014 |
| T. Vanek | 700th Career NHL Game | January 3, 2015 |
| J. Fontaine | 100th Career NHL Game | January 8, 2015 |
| M. Scandella | 200th Career NHL Game | January 17, 2015 |
| R. Carter | 400th Career NHL Game | January 17, 2015 |
| T. Vanek | 300th Career NHL Assist | January 29, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | 200th Career NHL Game | February 3, 2015 |
| S. Veilleux | 500th Career NHL Game | February 12, 2015 |
| N. Niederreiter | 200th Career NHL Game | February 14, 2015 |
| K. Brodziak | 600th Career NHL Game | February 20, 2015 |
| E. Haula | 100th Career NHL Game | February 26, 2015 |
| S. Bergenheim | 500th Career NHL Game | March 27, 2015 |
| J. Spurgeon | 100th Career NHL Point | March 27, 2015 |
| T. Vanek | 600th Career NHL Point | March 14, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | 38th Consecutive Start (Wild franchise record) | April 7, 2015 |
| M. Koivu | 500th Career NHL Point | April 9, 2015 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| D. Dubnyk | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Win | April 16, 2015 |
| M. Dumba | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | April 16, 2015 |
| J. Schroeder | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 18, 2015 |
| D. Dubnyk | 1st Career Playoff Shutout | April 20, 2015 |

## Transactions

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

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 28, 2014 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 3rd-round pick in 2014 | To Minnesota Wild3rd-round pick in 2014 7th-round pick in 2015 |
| January 14, 2015 | To Arizona Coyotes 3rd-round pick in 2015 | To Minnesota WildDevan Dubnyk |
| February 24, 2015 | To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2016 | To Minnesota WildSean Bergenheim 7th-round pick in 2016 |
| March 2, 2015 | To Columbus Blue Jackets Justin Falk 5th-round pick in 2015 | To Minnesota WildJordan Leopold |
| March 2, 2015 | To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2017 | To Minnesota WildChris Stewart |
| March 2, 2015 | To Boston Bruins Zack Phillips | To Minnesota WildJared Knight |
Player signings
DatePlayerContract terms (in U.S. dollars)Ref
July 11, 2014Jonathon Blum1 year, $675,000
July 15, 2014Jason Zucker2 years, $1,800,500
July 17, 2014John Curry1 year, $575,000
July 29, 2014Justin Fontaine2 years, $2 million
September 11, 2014Nino Niederreiter3 years, $8 million
October 12, 2014Jonas Brodin6 years, $25 million (extension)
October 22, 2014Charlie Coyle5 years, $16 million (extension)
April 9, 2015Dylan Labbe3 years, entry-level contract
May 4, 2015Pavel Jenys3 years, entry-level contract
May 22, 2015Michael Keranen1 year :

## Draft picks

Below are the Minnesota Wild's selections made at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 18 | Alex Tuch | RW | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL) |
| 3 | 80 | Louis Belpedio | D | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL) |
| 4 | 109 | Kaapo Kahkonen | G | Finland | Espoo Blues (Liiga) |
| 5 | 139 | Tanner Faith | D | Canada | Kootenay Ice (WHL) |
| 6 | 160 | Pontus Sjalin | D | Sweden | Ostersunds IK (J20 Elit) |
| 6 | 167 | Chase Lang | C | Canada | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |
| 6 | 169 | Reid Duke | C | Canada | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
| 7 | 199 | Pavel Jenys | C | Czech Republic | Kometa Brno (Czrep) |

### Draft notes

* The Minnesota Wild's second-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of trade on April 3, 2013 that sent Jason Pominville, and a fourth-round pick in 2014 to Minnesota in exchange for Matt Hackett, Johan Larsson, a first-round pick in 2013 and this pick.
* $^a$ The Ottawa Senators' sixth-round pick went to Minnesota as the result of a trade on March 12, 2013 that sent Matt Kassian to Ottawa in exchange for this pick.
* $^b$ The Columbus Blue Jackets' sixth-round pick (previously acquired by the New York Rangers) went to Minnesota as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013 that sent Justin Falk to the Rangers in exchange for Benn Ferriero, and this pick.