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.[2]

2014–15 Minnesota Wild
Division4th Central
Conference6th Western
2014–15 record46–28–8
Home record22–13–6
Road record24–15–2
Goals for231
Goals against201
Team information
General managerChuck Fletcher
CoachMike Yeo
CaptainMikko Koivu
Alternate captainsZack Parise
Ryan Suter
ArenaXcel Energy Center
Average attendance19,023 (106.0%)[1]
(41 games)
Team leaders
GoalsZach Parise (33)
AssistsJason Pominville
Ryan Suter (36)
PointsZach Parise (62)
Penalty minutesMarco Scandella (56)
Plus/minusJonas Brodin
Zach Parise (+21)
WinsDevan Dubnyk (27)
Goals against averageDevan Dubnyk (1.78)

Off-season

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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.[3] 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.[4]

Playoffs

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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 swept by the Chicago Blackhawks for the third-straight season.

As of 2024, this remains the last time the Wild have won a playoff series.

Standings

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Central Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 y – St. Louis Blues 82 51 24 7 42 248 201 +47 109
2 x – Nashville Predators 82 47 25 10 41 232 208 +24 104
3 x – Chicago Blackhawks 82 48 28 6 39 229 189 +40 102
4 x – Minnesota Wild 82 46 28 8 42 231 201 +30 100
5 x – Winnipeg Jets 82 43 26 13 36 230 210 +20 99
6 Dallas Stars 82 41 31 10 37 261 260 +1 92
7 Colorado Avalanche 82 39 31 12 29 219 227 −8 90
Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division
Western Conference Wild Card
Pos Div Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 CE x – Minnesota Wild 82 46 28 8 42 231 201 +30 100
2 CE x – Winnipeg Jets 82 43 26 13 36 230 210 +20 99
3 PA Los Angeles Kings 82 40 27 15 38 220 205 +15 95
4 CE Dallas Stars 82 41 31 10 37 261 260 +1 92
5 CE Colorado Avalanche 82 39 31 12 29 219 227 −8 90
6 PA San Jose Sharks 82 40 33 9 36 228 232 −4 89
7 PA Edmonton Oilers 82 24 44 14 19 198 283 −85 62
8 PA Arizona Coyotes 82 24 50 8 19 170 272 −102 56
Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Suspensions/fines

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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[5]
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[6]
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[7]

Schedule and results

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Pre-season

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Regular season

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2014–15 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

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2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

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Final stats[8]

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Devan Dubnyk 39 39 2293 27 9 2 68 1.78 1064 .936 5 0 2 2
Darcy Kuemper 31 28 1569 14 12 2 68 2.60 718 .905 3 0 0 0
Niklas Backstrom 19 14 1005 5 7 3 51 3.04 452 .887 0 0 0 2
John Curry 2 1 72 0 0 1 5 4.17 25 .800 0 0 0 0
Playoffs
Player GP GS TOI W L GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Devan Dubnyk 10 10 570 4 6 24 2.53 260 .908 1 0 1 0
Darcy Kuemper 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

Notable achievements

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Awards

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Milestones

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Transactions

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The Wild have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season.

Trades

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Date
Details
June 28, 2014[18] To Tampa Bay Lightning
3rd-round pick in 2014
To Minnesota Wild
3rd-round pick in 2014
7th-round pick in 2015
January 14, 2015[19] To Arizona Coyotes
3rd-round pick in 2015
To Minnesota Wild
Devan Dubnyk
February 24, 2015[20] To Florida Panthers
3rd-round pick in 2016
To Minnesota Wild
Sean Bergenheim
7th-round pick in 2016
March 2, 2015[21] To Columbus Blue Jackets
Justin Falk
5th-round pick in 2015
To Minnesota Wild
Jordan Leopold
March 2, 2015[22] To Buffalo Sabres
2nd-round pick in 2017
To Minnesota Wild
Chris Stewart
March 2, 2015[23] To Boston Bruins
Zack Phillips
To Minnesota Wild
Jared Knight

Draft picks

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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.[52]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 18 Alex Tuch RW   United States U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL)
3 80 Louis Belpedio D   United States U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL)
4 109 Kaapo Kahkonen G   Finland Espoo Blues (Liiga)
5 139 Tanner Faith D   Canada Kootenay Ice (WHL)
6 160[a] Pontus Sjalin D   Sweden Ostersunds IK (J20 Elit)
6 167[b] Chase Lang C   Canada Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
6 169 Reid Duke C   Canada Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
7 199 Pavel Jenys C   Czech Republic Kometa Brno (Czrep)
Draft notes[53]

References

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  1. ^ "2014–2015 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN". ESPN.
  2. ^ National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.
  3. ^ "2014 Free Agents - Western Conference". www.tsn.ca. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014.
  4. ^ "2013-14 NHL calendar - ESPN". Archived from the original on August 1, 2013.
  5. ^ "Wild's Scandella fined for illegal check to the head". NHL. December 1, 2014.
  6. ^ "Wild's Scandella suspended two games". NHL. December 10, 2014.
  7. ^ "Wild's Suter suspended two games for elbowing". NHL. January 14, 2015.
  8. ^ "2014–2015 Regular Season Stats – Points – Minnesota Wild – Statistics". Minnesota Wild. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  9. ^ "Plekanec, Kuemper and Crosby named 'Three Stars'". NHL. October 13, 2014.
  10. ^ "Ennis, Suter and Lundqvist named stars of the week". NHL. December 15, 2014.
  11. ^ "2015 NHL All-Star selections highlighted by three Columbus Blue Jackets". NHL. January 10, 2015.
  12. ^ "Johansen, Karlsson and Parise named stars of week". NHL. January 26, 2015.
  13. ^ "Price, Paquette and Dubnyk named stars of the week". NHL. February 2, 2015.
  14. ^ "Dubnyk, Perry and Desharnais named week's stars". NHL. February 9, 2015.
  15. ^ "Dubnyk Named First Star Of February". NHL. March 1, 2015.
  16. ^ "Dubnyk, Atkinson and O'Reilly named stars of week". NHL. March 30, 2015.
  17. ^ "Hammond, Hudler, Dubnyk named stars for March". NHL. April 1, 2015.
  18. ^ Wild Adds Seven On Day 2 Of NHL Draft
  19. ^ Wild Acquires Dubnyk From Arizona
  20. ^ Wild Acquires Bergenheim
  21. ^ Wild Acquires Leopold At Deadline
  22. ^ In Second Deal Of The Day, Wild Acquires Stewart
  23. ^ Wild Acquires Knight, Reassigns Veilleux
  24. ^ Wild Signs Vanek To Three-Year Deal
  25. ^ a b c Wild Inks Three More On FA Opening Day
  26. ^ Wild Signs Rechlicz To Two-Way Deal
  27. ^ Wild Signs Almond
  28. ^ a b Minnesota Wild Agrees to Terms with Blum, Schroeder
  29. ^ Wild Ink Falk To One-Year Deal
  30. ^ a b Wild Signs Gudbranson And Warner
  31. ^ Wild Inks Carter To One-Year Deal
  32. ^ Wild Inks Downing
  33. ^ a b Wild Agrees To Terms With Brody Hoffman And Zach Palmquist
  34. ^ Ducks Sign Stoner to Four-Year Contract
  35. ^ McCORMICK RETURNS TO BUFFALO
  36. ^ MOULSON SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL
  37. ^ Capitals Sign Jon Landry and Mike Moore
  38. ^ Dan Boyle highlights hectic day of Rangers signings
  39. ^ Ducks Sign LW Heatley to One-Year Contract
  40. ^ Prosser, Welsh agree to contracts with Blues
  41. ^ Ducks Sign Goaltender Bryzgalov to One-Year Contract
  42. ^ Wild Claims Prosser Off Waivers
  43. ^ Wild Re-signs Zucker
  44. ^ Wild Agrees To Terms With Curry
  45. ^ Wild Re-Signs Fontaine
  46. ^ Wild Agrees To Terms With Niederreiter
  47. ^ Wild Signs Brodin To Six-Year Extension
  48. ^ Charlie Coyle Signs Extension
  49. ^ Wild Agrees To Terms With Labbe
  50. ^ Wild Agrees To Terms With Pavel Jenys On An Entry-Level Contract
  51. ^ Wild Agrees To Terms With Michael Keranen
  52. ^ "Cats Win NHL Draft Lottery". April 15, 2014.
  53. ^ "2014 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  54. ^ "Jason Pominville traded to Wild by Sabres". National Hockey League. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  55. ^ "Senators acquire Matt Kassian from Wild". National Hockey League. March 12, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  56. ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire RW Marian Gaborik From the New York Rangers". Columbus Blue Jackets. April 3, 2013.
  57. ^ "Wild, Rangers swap Falk, Ferriero". National Hockey League. June 30, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.