2014–15 Florida Panthers season

The 2014–15 Florida Panthers season was the 22nd 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.http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=717102
=== Training camp ===
The Panthers will play in six pre-season exhibition games before the start of the 2014–15 regular season.http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/22/4195337/florida-panthers-to-open-next.html
==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 a 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==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
=== 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==
===Pre-season===
2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)	2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 0–4–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–3–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap 	
1 	September 24 	Dallas 	4–3 	Florida 	SO 	Houser 	2,841 	0–0–1 	Recap 	
2 	September 27 	Florida 	1–2 	Nashville 	SO 	Montoya 	12,700 	0–0–2 	Recap 	
3 	September 27 	Florida 	1–4 	Nashville 	 	Luongo 	15,741 	0–1–2 	Recap 	
4 	September 29 	Florida 	4–5 	Dallas 	 	Luongo 	14,234 	0–2–2 	Recap 	
5 	October 2 	Tampa Bay 	0–3 	Florida 	 	Luongo 	2,859 	0–3–2 	Recap 	
6 	October 4 	Florida 	1–4 	Tampa Bay 	 	Montoya 	15,411 	0–4–2 	Recap 	
===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 	2014–15 Game Log
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October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)	October: 3–2–3 (Home: 1–2–0 ; Road: 2–0–3)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap 	
1 	October 9 	Florida 	2–3 	Tampa Bay 	OT 	Luongo 	19,204 	0–0–1 	1 	Recap 	
2 	October 11 	New Jersey 	5–1 	Florida 	 	Luongo 	11,419 	0–1–1 	1 	Recap 	
3 	October 13 	Ottawa 	1–0 	Florida 	 	Luongo 	7,311 	0–2–1 	1 	Recap 	
4 	October 17 	Florida 	1–0 	Buffalo 	 	Luongo 	17,864 	1–2–1 	3 	Recap 	
5 	October 18 	Florida 	1–2 	Washington 	 	Montoya 	18,506 	1–2–2 	4 	Recap 	
6 	October 21 	Florida 	4–3 	Colorado 	OT 	Luongo 	14,440 	2–2–2 	6 	Recap 	
7 	October 25 	Florida 	1–2 	Arizona 	OT 	Luongo 	13,202 	2–2–3 	7 	Recap 	
8 	October 30 	Arizona 	1–2 	Florida 	 	Luongo 	7,691 	3–2–3 	9 	Recap 	
== 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	 	 	 	 	 	
 	79	15	39	54	10 	38
 	81	8 	36	44	−2 	34
 	72	24	19	43	−7 	38
 	81	12	27	39	12 	32
 	78	14	24	38	11 	20
 	71	16	20	36	−4 	16
 	72	19	16	35	−4 	20
 	82	3 	24	27	4 	22
 	49	22	2 	24	6 	14
 	53	6 	17	23	4 	48
 	73	3 	19	22	0 	48
 	50	7 	15	22	9 	24
‡ 	52	7 	14	21	12 	8
† 	20	6 	12	18	7 	6
‡ 	39	8 	10	18	2 	34
 	63	8 	7 	15	−8 	28
 	76	4 	9 	13	−4 	58
 	82	5 	6 	11	−17	45
 	66	3 	5 	8 	1 	25
 	64	2 	6 	8 	−19	28
 	44	2 	6 	8 	−7 	20
 	46	1 	4 	5 	−13	50
 	25	2 	2 	4 	−4 	12
 	33	0 	3 	3 	−4 	34
 	9 	0 	1 	1 	−4 	5
 	7 	1 	0 	1 	1 	4
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
‡ 	7 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	2
;Goaltenders
 Regular Season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	61	61	3528	28	19	12	138	2.35	1743	0.921	2	0	0	0
 	20	13	977 	6 	7 	2 	49 	3.01	453 	0.892	0	0	0	2
 	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
 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	December 8, 2014
 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	January 12, 2015
 	NHL All-Star game selection 	January 10, 2015
 	NHL All-Star Game rookie selection	January 10, 2015
=== Milestones ===
 Regular Season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached
 	1st Career NHL Game1st Career NHL Assist1st Career NHL Point	October 9, 2014
 	100th Career NHL Point 	October 17, 2014
 	800th Career NHL Game 	October 18, 2014
 	1st Career NHL Game 	November 1, 2014
A. Ekblad 	1st Career NHL Goal 	November 1, 2014
 	500th Career NHL Game 	November 4, 2014
 	100th Career NHL Game 	November 4, 2014
 	100th Career NHL Game 	November 11, 2014
 	700th Career NHL Game 	November 18, 2014
R. Grimaldi	1st Career NHL Goal1st Career NHL Point 	November 22, 2014
 	100th Career NHL Game 	December 13, 2014
 	100th Career NHL Game 	December 16, 2014
 	200th Career NHL Game 	December 20, 2014
 	700th Career NHL Game 	January 13, 2015
 	300th Career NHL Point 	February 10, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Game 	February 19, 2015
 	900th Career NHL Game 	February 28, 2015
B. Boyes 	200th Career NHL Goal 	March 1, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Point 	March 12, 2015
 	600th Career NHL Game 	March 21, 2015
 	400th Career NHL Game 	March 26, 2015
D. Bolland 	200th Career NHL Point 	March 29, 2015
 	100th Career NHL Game 	April 2, 2015
 	400th Career NHL Win 	April 2, 2015
 	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, 2014Florida Panthers Make Five Selections on Day Two of NHL Draft 	To New York Islanders3rd-round pick in 2015 	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2014
October 6, 2014Florida Panthers Acquire D Steven Kampfer and F Andrew Yogan from New York Rangers 	To New York RangersJoey Crabb 	To Florida Panthers Steven KampferAndrew Yogan
December 4, 2014Florida Panthers Acquire D Jesse Blacker from Anaheim 	To Anaheim DucksColby Robak 	To Florida Panthers Jesse Blackerfuture conditional draft pick
January 9, 2015Florida Panthers acquire F Corban Knight from Calgary 	To Calgary FlamesDrew Shore 	To Florida Panthers Corban Knight
February 24, 2015Florida Panthers Acquire Minnesota’s 2016 Third-Round Draft Choice in exchange for F Sean Bergenheim 	To Minnesota WildSean Bergenheim7th-round pick in 2016 	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2016
February 26, 2015Florida Panthers Acquire F Jaromir Jagr 	To New Jersey Devils2nd-round pick in 2015Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016	To Florida Panthers Jaromir Jagr
February 28, 2015Florida Panthers Acquire F Dany Heatley & 2015 Third-Round Draft Choice from Anaheim in Exchange for F Tomas Fleischmann	To Anaheim DucksTomas Fleischmann 	To Florida Panthers Dany Heatley3rd-round pick in 2015
June 19, 2015 	To Toronto Maple LeafsZach HymanConditional 7th-round pick in 2017 	To Florida PanthersGreg McKegg
=== Free agents acquired ===
Date 	Player 	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2014 	Al Montoya 	Winnipeg Jets 	2 years, $2.1 million 	G Al Montoya Agrees to Two Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 1, 2014 	Derek MacKenzie	Columbus Blue Jackets	3 years, $3.9 million 	C Derek MacKenzie Agrees to Three-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 1, 2014 	Shawn Thornton 	Boston Bruins 	2 years, $2.4 million 	Shawn Thornton Agrees to Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 1, 2014 	Dave Bolland 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	5 years, $27.5 million 	C Dave Bolland Agrees to Five-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 1, 2014 	Jussi Jokinen 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	4 years, $16 million 	LW Jussi Jokinen Agrees to Four-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 1, 2014 	Willie Mitchell	Los Angeles Kings 	2 years, $8.5 million 	D Willie Mitchell Agrees to Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 1, 2014 	Blake Parlett 	Providence Bruins 	1 year, $575,000 	Florida Panthers Agree to Entry Level Contract with G Sam Brittain
July 4, 2014 	Brett Olson 	Abbotsford Heat 	1 year, $550,000 	C Brett Olson and D Greg Zanon Agree to One-Year Contracts with Florida Panthers
July 4, 2014 	Greg Zanon 	San Antonio Rampage 	1 year, $600,000 	
October 6, 2014	Shane O'Brien 	Calgary Flames 	1 year, $650,000 	Florida Panthers Sign D Shane O’Brien
March 20, 2015 	Colin Stevens 	Union College 	entry-level contract 	Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with G Colin Stevens
June 1, 2015 	Chase Balisy 	St. John's IceCaps 	entry-level contract 	Florida Panthers Agree to Entry Level Contract with F Chase Balisy
=== Free agents lost ===
Date 	Player 	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2014 	Tom Gilbert 	Montreal Canadiens	2 years, $5.6 million 	Canadiens agree to terms on a two-year contract with free agent defenseman Tom Gilbert
July 1, 2014 	Scott Clemmensen	New Jersey Devils 	1 year, $600,000 	Clemmensen signs with Devils
July 1, 2014 	Jesse Winchester	Colorado Avalanche	2 years, $1.8 million 	Avalanche Signs Four Players
December 1, 2014	Scott Gomez 	New Jersey Devils 	1 year, $550,000 	Devils bring back veteran center Gomez
=== Claimed via waivers ===
Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers
=== Lost via waivers ===
Player	New team	Date claimed off waivers
=== Lost via retirement ===
Player
=== Players released ===
Date 	Player 	Via 	Ref
June 30, 2014	Ed Jovanovski	Compliance buyout	http://panthers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=724649
===Player signings===
Date 	Player 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
July 2, 2014 	Sam Brittain 	2 year, $1.51 million entry-level contract 	
July 10, 2014 	Erik Gudbranson	2 years, $5 million 	D Erik Gudbranson Inks Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 14, 2014 	Dylan Olsen 	2 years, $1.55 million 	Florida Panthers Sign D Dylan Olsen
July 14, 2014 	Garrett Wilson 	1 year, $715,000 	
July 14, 2014 	Ryan Martindale	1 year, $715,000 	
July 16, 2014 	Brandon Pirri 	2 years, $1.85 million 	C Brandon Pirri Inks Two-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 18, 2014 	Dmitri Kulikov 	3 years, $13 million 	D Dmitry Kulikov Inks Three-Year Contract with Florida Panthers
July 29, 2014 	Jimmy Hayes 	1 year, $925,000 	Florida Panthers Agree to One-Year Contract with F Jimmy Hayes
September 3, 2014	Aaron Ekblad 	3 years, $11.325 million entry-level contract	Florida Panthers Sign No. 1 Overall Draft Pick D Aaron Ekblads
March 14, 2015 	Steven Kampfer 	2 years, contract extension 	Florida Panthers Agree to Two-Year Contract Extension with D Steven Kampfer
March 29, 2015 	Kyle Rau 	entry-level contract 	Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with F Kyle Rau
April 1, 2015 	Mike Matheson 	entry-level contract 	Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with D Michael Matheson
April 9, 2015 	Josh Brown 	entry-level contract 	Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with D Josh Brown
April 12, 2015 	Jaromir Jagr 	1 year 	Florida Panthers Re-sign F Jaromir Jagr
May 28, 2015 	Brett Olson 	1 year 	Florida Panthers Sign F Brett Olson
==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.http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/04/15/florida-panthers-win-nhl-draft-lottery-as-buffalo-sabres-drop-to-no-2/
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.
==References==
Category:Florida Panthers seasons
Florida
Florida Panthers season, 2014-15