2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The 2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 48th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967. Off-season. On May 16, 2014, Penguins' co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle fired general manager Ray Shero after the team captured the Metropolitan Division title, but failed to beat the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. On June 6, 2014, the Penguins named Jim Rutherford as the new GM, and fired Head Coach Dan Bylsma. On June 25, 2014, over two weeks after new GM Rutherford fired Bylsma, the  Penguins appointed Mike Johnston as their new head coach. They also proceeded to fire Tony Granato and Todd Reirden while hiring Rick Tocchet as an assistant coach to Johnston. On June 27, 2014, during the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the Penguins traded right winger James Neal to the Nashville Predators in exchange for right winger Patric Hornqvist and restricted free agent Nick Spaling. Pre-season. The Penguins released their 2014 pre-season schedule on June 18, 2014. Statistics. Playoffs. Game log. The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the final Wild Card team. Statistics. Goaltenders. Denotes  player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Team only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record. Team. – Denotes league leader. Transactions. The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season: Draft picks. The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.