2014–15 Florida Panthers season

2014–15 Florida Panthers
Division	6th Atlantic
Conference	10th Eastern
2014–15 record	38–29–15
Home record	21–13–7
Road record	17–16–8
Goals for	206
Goals against	223
Team information
General Manager	Dale Tallon
Coach	Gerard Gallant
Captain	Willie Mitchell
Alternate captains	Dave Bolland Brian Campbell Derek MacKenzie Scottie Upshall
Arena	BB&T Center
Average attendance	11,265 (66.1%) (41 games)
Team leaders
Goals	Nick Bjugstad (24)
Assists	Jonathan Huberdeau (39)
Points	Jonathan Huberdeau (54)
Penalties in minutes	Erik Gudbranson (58)
Plus/minus	Aaron Ekblad (+12)
Wins	Roberto Luongo (28)
Goals against average	Luongo, Ellis (2.35)
<2013–14 2015–16>

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.

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.

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)
#	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
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
November: 6–4–3 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 3–1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 9 November 1 Philadelphia 1–2 Florida Luongo 9,774 4–2–3 11 Recap 10 November 4 Florida 1–2 Boston OT Luongo 17,565 4–2–4 12 Recap 11 November 6 Florida 1–4 Philadelphia Luongo 19,777 4–3–4 12 Recap 12 November 8 Calgary 6–4 Florida Montoya 9,230 4–4–4 12 Recap 13 November 11 San Jose 4–1 Florida Luongo 8,075 5–4–4 14 Recap 14 November 14 NY Islanders 4–3 Florida SO Luongo 10,010 5–4–5 15 Recap 15 November 16 Florida 6–2 Anaheim Montoya 16,128 6–4–5 17 Recap 16 November 18 Florida 2–5 Los Angeles Luongo 18,230 6–5–5 17 Recap 17 November 20 Florida 3–2 San Jose SO Luongo 17,331 7–5–5 19 Recap 18 November 22 Florida 2–3 Nashville SO Luongo 17,163 7–5–6 20 Recap 19 November 24 Minnesota 4–1 Florida Luongo 8,426 7–6–6 20 Recap 20 November 26 Carolina 0–1 Florida Luongo 8,119 8–6–6 22 Recap 21 November 28 Ottawa 2–3 Florida Montoya 9,758 9–6–6 24 Recap
December: 7–4–3 (Home: 4–1–2 ; Road: 3–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 22 December 1 Florida 1–2 Columbus Montoya 12,309 9–7–6 24 Recap 23 December 2 Florida 4–3 Detroit Luongo 20,027 10–7–6 26 Recap 24 December 4 Columbus 4–3 Florida SO Luongo 7,788 10–7–7 27 Recap 25 December 6 Buffalo 2–3 Florida Luongo 8,597 11–7–7 29 Recap 26 December 8 Florida 2–4 St. Louis Luongo 17,330 11–8–7 29 Recap 27 December 12 Florida 3–2 Detroit SO Luongo 20,027 12–8–7 31 Recap 28 December 13 Florida 3–4 Buffalo SO Montoya 18,450 12–8–8 32 Recap 29 December 16 Washington 1–2 Florida SO* Luongo 10,012 13–8–8 34 Recap 30 December 18 Florida 2–1 Philadelphia SO Luongo 19,582 14–8–8 36 Recap 31 December 20 Florida 1–3 Pittsburgh Luongo 18,668 14–9–8 36 Recap 32 December 22 Pittsburgh 3–4 Florida SO Luongo 15,947 15–9–8 38 Recap 33 December 28 Toronto 4–6 Florida Luongo 17,877 16–9–8 40 Recap 34 December 30 Montreal 2–1 Florida SO Luongo 19,614 16–9–9 41 Recap 35 December 31 NY Rangers 5–2 Florida Montoya 15,090 16–10–9 41 Recap * The shootout between the Panthers and the Washington Capitals on December 16, 2014, was the longest to date in NHL history, at 20 rounds.
January: 5–6–1 (Home: 1–3–1 ; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 36 January 2 Florida 2–0 Buffalo Luongo 19,070 17–10–9 43 Recap 37 January 4 Florida 3–4 Washington Montoya 18,506 17–11–9 43 Recap 38 January 8 Florida 3–1 Vancouver Luongo 18,799 18–11–9 45 Recap 39 January 9 Florida 6–5 Calgary Montoya 19,289 19–11–9 47 Recap 40 January 11 Florida 4–2 Edmonton Luongo 16,839 20–11–9 49 Recap 41 January 13 Florida 2–8 Winnipeg Luongo 15,016 20–12–9 49 Recap 42 January 15 Colorado 4–2 Florida Luongo 9,584 20–13–9 49 Recap 43 January 17 Edmonton 3–2 Florida SO Luongo 10,529 20–13–10 50 Recap 44 January 19 Vancouver 2–1 Florida Luongo 9,373 20–14–10 50 Recap 45 January 27 Detroit 5–4 Florida Luongo 12,190 20–15–10 50 Recap 46 January 29 Columbus 2–3 Florida Luongo 7,917 21–15–10 52 Recap 47 January 31 Florida 1–3 New Jersey Luongo 16,278 21–16–10 52 Recap
February: 6–6–3 (Home: 3–1–2 ; Road: 3–5–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 48 February 2 Florida 3–6 NY Rangers Luongo 18,006 21–17–10 52 Recap 49 February 3 Florida 4–2 NY Islanders Montoya 14,704 22–17–10 54 Recap 50 February 5 Los Angeles 2–3 Florida Luongo 9,624 23–17–10 56 Recap 51 February 8 Nashville 3–2 Florida SO Luongo 10,844 23–17–11 57 Recap 52 February 10 Anaheim 2–6 Florida Luongo 8,576 24–17–11 59 Recap 53 February 12 Florida 1–2 Minnesota Luongo 19,055 24–18–11 59 Recap 54 February 13 Florida 0–2 Dallas Montoya 18,211 24–19–11 59 Recap 55 February 15 St. Louis 2–1 Florida SO Luongo 11,859 24–19–12 60 Recap 56 February 17 Florida 3–2 Toronto Luongo 19,098 25–19–12 62 Recap 57 February 19 Florida 3–2 Montreal SO Luongo 21,286 26–19–12 64 Recap 58 February 21 Florida 1–4 Ottawa Luongo 16,938 26–20–12 64 Recap 59 February 22 Florida 1–5 Pittsburgh Montoya 18,592 26–21–12 64 Recap 60 February 24 Florida 2–3 Chicago SO Luongo 21,526 26–21–13 65 Recap 61 February 26 Chicago 3–0 Florida Luongo 17,387 26–22–13 65 Recap 62 February 28 Buffalo 3–5 Florida Luongo 10,374 27–22–13 67 Recap
March: 8–5–2 (Home: 5–2–1 ; Road: 3–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 63 March 1 Tampa Bay 3–4 Florida Montoya 10,336 28–22–13 69 Recap 64 March 3 Toronto 3–2 Florida Montoya 10,198 28–23–13 69 Recap 65 March 5 Dallas 4–3 Florida SO Ellis 8,510 28–23–14 70 Recap 66 March 7 NY Islanders 3–4 Florida SO Ellis 14,474 29–23–14 72 Recap 67 March 12 Winnipeg 2–4 Florida Ellis 9,819 30–23–14 74 Recap 68 March 14 Florida 2–0 Carolina Ellis 11,790 31–23–14 76 Recap 69 March 15 Florida 1–2 NY Rangers Ellis 18,006 31–24–14 76 Recap 70 March 17 Montreal 3–2 Florida Ellis 18,245 31–25–14 76 Recap 71 March 19 Detroit 1–3 Florida Luongo 11,458 32–25–14 78 Recap 72 March 21 Boston 1–2 Florida SO Luongo 17,044 33–25–14 80 Recap 73 March 24 Florida 3–4 Tampa Bay Luongo 18,729 33–26–14 80 Recap 74 March 26 Florida 4–1 Toronto Luongo 18,831 34–26–14 82 Recap 75 March 28 Florida 2–3 Montreal OT Luongo 21,287 34–26–15 83 Recap 76 March 29 Florida 4–2 Ottawa Ellis 19,045 35–26–15 85 Recap 77 March 31 Florida 2–3 Boston Luongo 17,565 35–27–15 85 Recap
April: 3–2–0 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 2 Carolina 1–6 Florida Luongo 9,827 36–27–15 87 Recap 79 April 4 Tampa Bay 4–0 Florida Luongo 11,072 36–28–15 87 Recap 80 April 5 Montreal 4–1 Florida Ellis 14,112 36–29–15 87 Recap 81 April 9 Boston 2–4 Florida Luongo 11,778 37–29–15 89 Recap 82 April 11 New Jersey 2–3 Florida Montoya 12,236 38–29–15 91 Recap
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
June 28, 2014	To New York Islanders 3rd-round pick in 2015	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2014
October 6, 2014	To New York Rangers Joey Crabb	To Florida Panthers Steven Kampfer Andrew Yogan
December 4, 2014	To Anaheim Ducks Colby Robak	To Florida Panthers Jesse Blacker future conditional draft pick
January 9, 2015	To Calgary Flames Drew Shore	To Florida Panthers Corban Knight
February 24, 2015	To Minnesota Wild Sean Bergenheim 7th-round pick in 2016	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2016
February 26, 2015	To New Jersey Devils 2nd-round pick in 2015 Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2016	To Florida Panthers Jaromir Jagr
February 28, 2015	To Anaheim Ducks Tomas Fleischmann	To Florida Panthers Dany Heatley 3rd-round pick in 2015
June 19, 2015	To Toronto Maple Leafs Zach Hyman Conditional 7th-round pick in 2017	To Florida Panthers Greg 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
July 1, 2014	Derek MacKenzie	Columbus Blue Jackets	3 years, $3.9 million
July 1, 2014	Shawn Thornton	Boston Bruins	2 years, $2.4 million
July 1, 2014	Dave Bolland	Toronto Maple Leafs	5 years, $27.5 million
July 1, 2014	Jussi Jokinen	Pittsburgh Penguins	4 years, $16 million
July 1, 2014	Willie Mitchell	Los Angeles Kings	2 years, $8.5 million
July 1, 2014	Blake Parlett	Providence Bruins	1 year, $575,000
July 4, 2014	Brett Olson	Abbotsford Heat	1 year, $550,000
July 4, 2014	Greg Zanon	San Antonio Rampage	1 year, $600,000
October 6, 2014	Shane O'Brien	Calgary Flames	1 year, $650,000
March 20, 2015	Colin Stevens	Union College	entry-level contract
June 1, 2015	Chase Balisy	St. John's IceCaps	entry-level contract

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
July 1, 2014	Scott Clemmensen	New Jersey Devils	1 year, $600,000
July 1, 2014	Jesse Winchester	Colorado Avalanche	2 years, $1.8 million
December 1, 2014	Scott Gomez	New Jersey Devils	1 year, $550,000

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

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
July 14, 2014	Dylan Olsen	2 years, $1.55 million
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
July 18, 2014	Dmitri Kulikov	3 years, $13 million
July 29, 2014	Jimmy Hayes	1 year, $925,000
September 3, 2014	Aaron Ekblad	3 years, $11.325 million entry-level contract
March 14, 2015	Steven Kampfer	2 years, contract extension
March 29, 2015	Kyle Rau	entry-level contract
April 1, 2015	Mike Matheson	entry-level contract
April 9, 2015	Josh Brown	entry-level contract
April 12, 2015	Jaromir Jagr	1 year
May 28, 2015	Brett Olson	1 year

Draft picks

Main article: List of Florida Panthers 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.