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.https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=116460 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.http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/page/calendar2013/2013-14-nhl-calendar
==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 defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks for the third-straight season.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
=== 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==
===Pre-season===
2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 3–2–1 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 22 	Minnesota 	1–2 	Winnipeg 	 	Bryzgalov 	14,448 	0–1–0 	
2 	September 25 	Minnesota 	2–3 	Pittsburgh 	OT 	Bryzgalov 	17,858 	0–1–1 	
3 	September 27 	Winnipeg 	3–4 	Minnesota 	 	Backstrom 	16,822 	1–1–1 	
4 	September 29 	Pittsburgh 	1–4 	Minnesota 	 	Kuemper 	16,106 	2–1–1 	
5 	October 2 	Minnesota 	1–4 	St. Louis 	 	Backstrom 	12,103 	2–2–1 	
6 	October 4 	St. Louis 	4–5 	Minnesota 	OT 	Kuemper 	17,342 	3–2–1 	
===Regular season===
2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log 	2014–15 Game Log
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"
October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)	October: 6–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 2–3–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 9 	Colorado 	0–5 	Minnesota 	 	Kuemper 	19,098 	1–0–0 	2 	
2 	October 11 	Minnesota 	3–0 	Colorado 	 	Kuemper 	18,139 	2–0–0 	4 	
3 	October 17 	Minnesota 	1–2 	Anaheim 	 	Kuemper 	17,306 	2–1–0 	4 	
4 	October 19 	Minnesota 	1–2 	Los Angeles 	 	Backstrom 	18,230 	2–2–0 	4 	
5 	October 23 	Arizona 	0–2 	Minnesota 	 	Kuemper 	18,554 	3–2–0 	6 	
6 	October 25 	Tampa Bay 	2–7 	Minnesota 	 	Kuemper 	18,884 	4–2–0 	8 	
7 	October 27 	Minnesota 	4–5 	NY Rangers 	 	Kuemper 	18,006 	4–3–0 	8 	
8 	October 28 	Minnesota 	4–3 	Boston 	 	Backstrom 	17,565 	5–3–0 	10 	
9 	October 30 	San Jose 	3–4 	Minnesota 	SO 	Kuemper 	18,633 	6–3–0 	12 	
===Playoffs===
2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% 	
Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	Western Conference First Round vs. (C1) St. Louis Blues: Minnesota wins 4–2	
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap 	
1 	April 16 	Minnesota 	4–2 	St. Louis 	 	Dubnyk 	19,671 	1–0 	Recap 	
2 	April 18 	Minnesota 	1–4 	St. Louis 	 	Dubnyk 	19,243 	1–1 	Recap 	
3 	April 20 	St. Louis 	0–3 	Minnesota 	 	Dubnyk 	19,165 	2–1 	Recap 	
4 	April 22 	St. Louis 	6–1 	Minnesota 	 	Dubnyk 	19,390 	2–2 	Recap 	
5 	April 24 	Minnesota 	4–1 	St. Louis 	 	Dubnyk 	19,653 	3–2 	Recap 	
6 	April 26 	St. Louis 	1–4 	Minnesota 	 	Dubnyk 	19,318 	4–2 	Recap 	
==Player statistics==
Final stats 
;Skaters
 Regular Season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	74	33	29	62	21	41
 	82	18	36	54	9 	8
 	80	21	31	52	−6	37
 	80	14	34	48	2 	38
 	68	8 	31	39	17	20
 	77	2 	36	38	7 	48
 	80	24	13	37	2 	28
 	82	11	24	35	13	39
 	71	9 	22	31	13	12
 	51	21	5 	26	−9	18
 	66	9 	16	25	3 	6
 	64	11	12	23	8 	56
 	73	9 	11	20	−6	47
 	71	3 	14	17	21	8
 	58	8 	8 	16	13	23
 	72	7 	7 	14	−7	32
 	53	3 	10	13	3 	55
† 	20	3 	8 	11	4 	25
 	29	4 	6 	10	0 	13
 	40	2 	8 	10	3 	13
 	25	3 	5 	8 	9 	2
 	63	2 	5 	7 	−1	32
 	6 	0 	3 	3 	1 	4
 	12	1 	1 	2 	0 	10
† 	18	0 	1 	1 	1 	8
 	14	0 	1 	1 	−3	26
† 	17	1 	0 	1 	−4	6
 	4 	0 	1 	1 	−3	2
 	9 	0 	1 	1 	1 	46
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
‡ 	13	0 	0 	0 	−6	7
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	10	4	6	10	0 	4
 	10	3	3	6 	−1	0
 	10	2	4	6 	2 	0
 	10	4	1	5 	−2	10
 	10	1	3	4 	−4	2
 	10	0	4	4 	−7	2
 	10	1	3	4 	0 	4
 	10	2	2	4 	−1	2
 	10	0	3	3 	−8	0
 	10	2	1	3 	4 	0
 	10	2	1	3 	−1	2
 	7 	0	2	2 	1 	4
 	8 	0	2	2 	−3	2
 	10	1	1	2 	−3	0
 	6 	1	1	2 	0 	2
 	2 	1	0	1 	1 	0
 	9 	0	0	0 	−3	0
 	3 	0	0	0 	−2	0
 	10	0	0	0 	−3	2
 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0	0	0 	0 	0
 	1 	0	0	0 	−1	2
 	10	0	0	0 	−2	0
;Goaltenders
 Regular Season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
† 	39	39	2293	27	9 	2	68	1.78	1064	.936	5	0	2	2
 	31	28	1569	14	12	2	68	2.60	718 	.905	3	0	0	0
 	19	14	1005	5 	7 	3	51	3.04	452 	.887	0	0	0	2
 	2 	1 	72 	0 	0 	1	5 	4.17	25 	.800	0	0	0	0
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	10	10	570	4	6	24	2.53	260	.908 	1	0	1	0
 	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
==Roster==
== Notable achievements ==
=== Awards ===
 Regular Season
Player 	Award 	Awarded
 	NHL Second Star of the Week	October 13, 2014
 	NHL Second Star of the Week	December 15, 2014
R. Suter 	NHL All-Star game selection	January 10, 2015
 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	January 26, 2015
 	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
 	100th Career NHL Game 	November 1, 2014
 	1st Career NHL Hat Trick	November 13, 2014
 	600th Career NHL Game 	November 26, 2014
 	400th Career NHL Game 	December 9, 2014
 	1st Career NHL Goal 	December 11, 2014
 	700th Career NHL Game 	December 17, 2014
 	700th Career NHL Game 	December 17, 2014
 	1st Career NHL Game 	December 29, 2014
 	700th Career NHL Game 	January 3, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Game 	January 8, 2015
 	200th Career NHL Game 	January 17, 2015
 	400th Career NHL Game 	January 17, 2015
T. Vanek 	300th Career NHL Assist 	January 29, 2015
 	200th Career NHL Game 	February 3, 2015
 	500th Career NHL Game 	February 12, 2015
N. Niederreiter	200th Career NHL Game 	February 14, 2015
 	600th Career NHL Game 	February 20, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Game 	February 26, 2015
 	500th Career NHL Game 	March 27, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Point 	March 27, 2015
T. Vanek 	600th Career NHL Point 	March 14, 2015
D. Dubnyk 	38th Consecutive Start 	April 7, 2015
 	500th Career NHL Point 	April 9, 2015
 Playoffs
Player 	Milestone 	Reached
 	1st Career Playoff Game1st Career Playoff Win 	April 16, 2015
 	1st Career Playoff Game1st Career Playoff Goal1st Career Playoff Point	April 16, 2015
 	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, 2014Wild Adds Seven On Day 2 Of NHL Draft 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 3rd-round pick in 2014 	To Minnesota Wild3rd-round pick in 20147th-round pick in 2015
January 14, 2015Wild Acquires Dubnyk From Arizona 	To Arizona Coyotes 3rd-round pick in 2015 	To Minnesota WildDevan Dubnyk
February 24, 2015Wild Acquires Bergenheim 	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2016 	To Minnesota WildSean Bergenheim7th-round pick in 2016
March 2, 2015Wild Acquires Leopold At Deadline 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Justin Falk5th-round pick in 2015	To Minnesota WildJordan Leopold
March 2, 2015In Second Deal Of The Day, Wild Acquires Stewart	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2017 	To Minnesota WildChris Stewart
March 2, 2015Wild Acquires Knight, Reassigns Veilleux 	To Boston Bruins Zack Phillips 	To Minnesota WildJared Knight
=== Free agents acquired ===
Date 	Player 	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
July 1, 2014 	Thomas Vanek 	Montreal Canadiens 	3 years, $19.5 million 	Wild Signs Vanek To Three-Year Deal
July 1, 2014 	Stu Bickel 	Hartford Wolf Pack 	1 year, $600,000 	Wild Inks Three More On FA Opening Day
July 1, 2014 	Brett Sutter 	Carolina Hurricanes 	2 years, $1.2 million 	
July 1, 2014 	Guillaume Gelinas	Val-d'Or Foreurs 	3 year, $1.79 million entry-level contract	
July 2, 2014 	Joel Rechlicz 	Washington Capitals 	1 year, $600,000 	Wild Signs Rechlicz To Two-Way Deal
July 9, 2014 	Cody Almond 	Geneve-Servette HC 	1 year, $550,000 	Wild Signs Almond
July 11, 2014 	Jordan Schroeder 	Vancouver Canucks 	2 years, $1.2 million 	Minnesota Wild Agrees to Terms with Blum, Schroeder
August 1, 2014 	Justin Falk 	New York Rangers 	1 year, $700,000 	Wild Ink Falk To One-Year Deal
September 23, 2014	Alex Gudbranson 	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 	3 years, entry-level contract 	Wild Signs Gudbranson And Warner
September 23, 2014	Hunter Warner 	Fargo Force 	3 years, entry-level contract 	
October 6, 2014 	Ryan Carter 	New Jersey Devils 	1 year, $725,000 	Wild Inks Carter To One-Year Deal
March 24, 2015 	Grayson Downing 	University of New Hampshire 	2 years, entry-level contract 	Wild Inks Downing
March 30, 2015 	Brody Hoffman 	University of Vermont 	entry-level contract 	Wild Agrees To Terms With Brody Hoffman And Zach Palmquist
March 30, 2015 	Zach Palmquist 	Minnesota State University, Mankato	entry-level contract 	
=== Free agents lost ===
Date 	Player 	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2014 	Clayton Stoner	Anaheim Ducks 	4 years, $13 million 	Ducks Sign Stoner to Four-Year Contract
July 1, 2014 	Cody McCormick	Buffalo Sabres 	3 years, $4.5 million 	McCORMICK RETURNS TO BUFFALO
July 1, 2014 	Matt Moulson 	Buffalo Sabres 	5 years, $25 million 	MOULSON SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL
July 1, 2014 	Jon Landry 	Washington Capitals	1 year, $550,000 	Capitals Sign Jon Landry and Mike Moore
July 1, 2014 	Steven Kampfer	New York Rangers 	1 year, $550,000 	Dan Boyle highlights hectic day of Rangers signings
July 9, 2014 	Dany Heatley 	Anaheim Ducks 	1 year, $1 million 	Ducks Sign LW Heatley to One-Year Contract
July 21, 2014 	Nate Prosser 	St. Louis Blues 	1 year, $700,000 	Prosser, Welsh agree to contracts with Blues
December 9, 2014	Ilya Bryzgalov	Anaheim Ducks 	1 year, $2.88 million 	Ducks Sign Goaltender Bryzgalov to One-Year Contract
=== Claimed via waivers ===
Player 	Former team 	Date claimed off waivers	Ref
Nate Prosser	St. Louis Blues	October 2, 2014 	Wild Claims Prosser Off Waivers
===Player signings===
Date 	Player 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
July 11, 2014 	Jonathon Blum 	1 year, $675,000 	
July 15, 2014 	Jason Zucker 	2 years, $1,800,500 	Wild Re-signs Zucker
July 17, 2014 	John Curry 	1 year, $575,000 	Wild Agrees To Terms With Curry
July 29, 2014 	Justin Fontaine 	2 years, $2 million 	Wild Re-Signs Fontaine
September 11, 2014	Nino Niederreiter	3 years, $8 million 	Wild Agrees To Terms With Niederreiter
October 12, 2014 	Jonas Brodin 	6 years, $25 million (extension)	Wild Signs Brodin To Six-Year Extension
October 22, 2014 	Charlie Coyle 	5 years, $16 million (extension)	Charlie Coyle Signs Extension
April 9, 2015 	Dylan Labbe 	3 years, entry-level contract 	Wild Agrees To Terms With Labbe
May 4, 2015 	Pavel Jenys 	3 years, entry-level contract 	Wild Agrees To Terms With Pavel Jenys On An Entry-Level Contract
May 22, 2015 	Michael Keranen 	1 year 	Wild Agrees To Terms With Michael Keranen
==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.http://www.litterboxcats.com/2014/4/15/5618872/panther-win-panthers-win-the-draft-lottery-that-is 
Round	# 	Player 	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	18 	Alex Tuch 	RW 	 	USA U-18 (USHL)
3 	80 	Louis Belpedio	D 	 	USA U-18 (USHL)
4 	109	Kaapo Kahkonen	G 	 	Espoo Blues (Liiga)
5 	139	Tanner Faith 	D 	 	Kootenay Ice (WHL)
6 	160	Pontus Sjalin 	D 	 	Ostersunds IK (J20 Elit)
6 	167	Chase Lang 	C 	 	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
6 	169	Reid Duke 	C 	 	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
7 	199	Pavel Jenys 	C 	 	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.
*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.
*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.
==References==
Category:Minnesota Wild seasons
Minnesota