# 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.

## Off-season

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.

### Training camp

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

## Memorable events

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

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | 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 |
Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | 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 |

## Suspensions/fines

| 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 |
| 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 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

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

## Playoffs

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

## Player stats

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | 79 | 15 | 39 | 54 | 10 | 38 |
| Jussi Jokinen | 81 | 8 | 36 | 44 | −2 | 34 |
| Nick Bjugstad | 72 | 24 | 19 | 43 | −7 | 38 |
| Aaron Ekblad | 81 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 12 | 32 |
| Brad Boyes | 78 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 11 | 20 |
| Aleksander Barkov | 71 | 16 | 20 | 36 | −4 | 16 |
| Jimmy Hayes | 72 | 19 | 16 | 35 | −4 | 20 |
| Brian Campbell | 82 | 3 | 24 | 27 | 4 | 22 |
| Brandon Pirri | 49 | 22 | 2 | 24 | 6 | 14 |
| Dave Bolland | 53 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 4 | 48 |
| Vincent Trocheck | 50 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 9 | 24 |
| Dmitri Kulikov | 73 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 0 | 48 |
| Tomas Fleischmann$^‡$ | 52 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 12 | 8 |
| Sean Bergenheim$^‡$ | 39 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 34 |
| Jaromir Jagr$^†$ | 20 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 7 | 6 |
| Scottie Upshall | 63 | 8 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 28 |
| Erik Gudbranson | 76 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 58 |
| Derek MacKenzie | 82 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −17 | 45 |
| Willie Mitchell | 66 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 25 |
| Tomas Kopecky | 64 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −19 | 28 |
| Dylan Olsen | 44 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −7 | 20 |
| Shawn Thornton | 46 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −13 | 50 |
| Steven Kampfer | 25 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 12 |
| Alex Petrovic | 33 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 34 |
| Rocco Grimaldi | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Shane O'Brien | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 5 |
| Garrett Wilson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| Colby Robak$^‡$ | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| 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
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Aaron Ekblad | NHL Third Star of the Week | December 8, 2014 |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | NHL Third Star of the Week | January 12, 2015 |
| Roberto Luongo | NHL All-Star game selection | January 10, 2015 |
| Aaron Ekblad | NHL All-Star Game rookie selection | January 10, 2015 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| A. Ekblad | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | October 9, 2014 |
| D. Kulikov | 100th Career NHL Point | October 17, 2014 |
| W. Mitchell | 800th Career NHL Game | October 18, 2014 |
| R. Grimaldi | 1st Career NHL Game | November 1, 2014 |
| A. Ekblad | 1st Career NHL Goal | November 1, 2014 |
| S. Upshall | 500th Career NHL Game | November 4, 2014 |
| J. Hayes | 100th Career NHL Game | November 4, 2014 |
| N. Bjugstad | 100th Career NHL Game | November 11, 2014 |
| B. Boyes | 700th Career NHL Game | November 18, 2014 |
| R. Grimaldi | 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point | November 22, 2014 |
| A. Montoya | 100th Career NHL Game | December 13, 2014 |
| D. Olsen | 100th Career NHL Game | December 16, 2014 |
| E. Gudbranson | 200th Career NHL Game | December 20, 2014 |
| J. Jokinen | 700th Career NHL Game | January 13, 2015 |
| T. Fleischmann | 300th Career NHL Point | February 10, 2015 |
| A. Barkov | 100th Career NHL Game | February 19, 2015 |
| B. Campbell | 900th Career NHL Game | February 28, 2015 |
| B. Boyes | 200th Career NHL Goal | March 1, 2015 |
| J. Huberdeau | 100th Career NHL Point | March 12, 2015 |
| S. Thornton | 600th Career NHL Game | March 21, 2015 |
| D. Bolland | 400th Career NHL Game | March 26, 2015 |
| D. Bolland | 200th Career NHL Point | March 29, 2015 |
| B. Pirri | 100th Career NHL Game | April 2, 2015 |
| R. Luongo | 400th Career NHL Win | April 2, 2015 |
| J. Jagr | 1,800th Career NHL Point | April 9, 2015 |
| J. Jokinen | 300th Career NHL Assist | April 9, 2015 |

## Transactions

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

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 28, 2014 | To New York Islanders3rd-round pick in 2015 | To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2014 |
| October 6, 2014 | To New York RangersJoey Crabb | To Florida Panthers Steven Kampfer Andrew Yogan |
| December 4, 2014 | To Anaheim DucksColby Robak | To Florida Panthers Jesse Blacker future conditional draft pick |
| January 9, 2015 | To Calgary FlamesDrew Shore | To Florida Panthers Corban Knight |
| February 24, 2015 | To Minnesota WildSean Bergenheim 7th-round pick in 2016 | To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2016 |
| February 26, 2015 | To New Jersey Devils2nd-round pick in 2015 Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016 | To Florida Panthers Jaromir Jagr |
| February 28, 2015 | To Anaheim DucksTomas Fleischmann | To Florida Panthers Dany Heatley 3rd-round pick in 2015 |
| June 19, 2015 | To Toronto Maple LeafsZach Hyman Conditional 7th-round pick in 2017 | To Florida PanthersGreg McKegg |
Lost via retirement
Player
Players released
Date
Player
Via
Ref
June 30, 2014
Ed Jovanovski
Compliance buyout :
Player signings
DatePlayerContract terms (in U.S. dollars)Ref
July 2, 2014Sam Brittain2 year, $1.51 million entry-level contract
July 10, 2014Erik Gudbranson2 years, $5 million
July 14, 2014Dylan Olsen2 years, $1.55 million
July 14, 2014Garrett Wilson1 year, $715,000
July 14, 2014Ryan Martindale1 year, $715,000
July 16, 2014Brandon Pirri2 years, $1.85 million
July 18, 2014Dmitri Kulikov3 years, $13 million
July 29, 2014Jimmy Hayes1 year, $925,000
September 3, 2014Aaron Ekblad3 years, $11.325 million entry-level contract
March 14, 2015Steven Kampfer2 years, contract extension
March 29, 2015Kyle Rauentry-level contract
April 1, 2015Mike Mathesonentry-level contract
April 9, 2015Josh Brownentry-level contract
April 12, 2015Jaromir Jagr1 year
May 28, 2015Brett Olson1 year :

## Draft picks

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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.
| 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 | Juho Lammikko | RW | Finland | Assat U20 (FIN U20) |
| 4 | 92 | Joe Wegwerth | RW | United States | USA U-18 (USHL) |
| 5 | 143 | Miguel Fidler | LW | United States | Edina Hornets (MSHSL) |
| 7 | 182 | 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. 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. 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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. 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.