| 2014–15Washington Capitals | |
|---|---|
| Division | 2ndMetropolitan |
| Conference | 4thEastern |
| 2014–15 record | 45–26–11 |
| Home record | 23–13–5 |
| Road record | 22–13–6 |
| Goals for | 242 |
| Goals against | 203 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Brian MacLellan |
| Coach | Barry Trotz |
| Captain | Alexander Ovechkin |
| Alternate captains | Nicklas Backstrom Brooks Orpik |
| Arena | Verizon Center |
| Average attendance | 19,099[1] (41 games) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Alexander Ovechkin (53) |
| Assists | Nicklas Backstrom (60) |
| Points | Alexander Ovechkin (81) |
| Penalty minutes | Tom Wilson (172) |
| Plus/minus | Mike Green (+15) |
| Wins | Braden Holtby (41) |
| Goals against average | Philipp Grubauer (1.85) |
The2014–15Washington Capitalsseason was the41st season for theNational Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.[2]

Less than two weeks after the end of the Capitals'2013–14 season, where the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007, the Washington Capitals announced that Head CoachAdam Oates was fired and general managerGeorge McPhee would not have his contract with the team renewed.[3] On May 26, 2014, the Capitals promotedBrian MacLellan to be senior vice president and general manager and namedBarry Trotz their new head coach.[4]
In July 2014, the Capitals signed several free agents, including formerPittsburgh Penguins defensemenMatt Niskanen andBrooks Orpik.
The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Metropolitan Division's second seed. They defeated theNew York Islanders in the first round, and were defeated by theNew York Rangers in the second round.
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | p –New York Rangers | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 49 | 252 | 192 | +60 | 113 |
| 2 | x –Washington Capitals | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 40 | 242 | 203 | +39 | 101 |
| 3 | x –New York Islanders | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 40 | 252 | 230 | +22 | 101 |
| 4 | x –Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 39 | 221 | 210 | +11 | 98 |
| 5 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 42 | 35 | 5 | 33 | 236 | 250 | −14 | 89 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 33 | 31 | 18 | 30 | 215 | 234 | −19 | 84 |
| 7 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 27 | 181 | 216 | −35 | 78 |
| 8 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 30 | 41 | 11 | 25 | 188 | 226 | −38 | 71 |
| 2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 5–3–0 (Home: 4–0–0; Road: 1–3–0) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Recap |
| 1 | September 21 | Buffalo | 0–1 | Washington | Holtby | 16,707 | 1–0–0 | Recap | |
| 2 | September 22 | Washington | 4–5 | Philadelphia | Grubauer | 17,679 | 1–1–0 | Recap | |
| 3 | September 24 | Washington | 0–2 | Boston | Copley | 17,215 | 1–2–0 | Recap | |
| 4 | September 26 | Boston | 4–5 | Washington | OT | Peters | 17,426 | 2–2–0 | Recap |
| 5 | September 28 | Washington | 2–0 | Montreal | Holtby | 21,287 | 3–2–0 | Recap | |
| 6 | October 1 | Washington | 1–6 | Buffalo | Holtby | 18,228 | 3–3–0 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 2 | Philadelphia | 2–3 | Washington | SO | Peters | 16,765 | 4–3–0 | Recap |
| 8 | October 5 | Carolina | 2–5 | Washington | Holtby | 16,138 | 5–3–0 | Recap | |
| 2014–15 Game Log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend: Win Loss | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Final stats
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braden Holtby | 73 | 72 | 4247 | 41 | 20 | 10 | 157 | 2.22 | 2044 | .923 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Justin Peters | 12 | 9 | 647 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 35 | 3.25 | 294 | .881 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philipp Grubauer | 1 | 1 | 65 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.85 | 25 | .920 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braden Holtby | 13 | 13 | 806 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 1.71 | 412 | .944 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Philipp Grubauer | 1 | 1 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | 21 | .857 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
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The Capitals have been involved in the followingtransactions during the 2014–15 season.
| June 28, 2014[11] | ToBuffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in2014 3rd-round pick in2014 | ToWashington Capitals 2nd-round pick in2014 |
| June 28, 2014[12] | ToWinnipeg Jets 6th-round pick in2014 NSH's 7th-round pick in2014 7th-round pick in2015 | To Washington Capitals Edward Pasquale 6th-round pick in2014 |
| June 28, 2014 | ToNew York Rangers 4th-round pick in2014 CHI's 4th-round pick in2014 | To Washington Capitals 3rd-round pick in2014 |
| February 28, 2015[13] | ToCarolina Hurricanes Jack Hillen ARZ's 4th-round pick in2015 | To Washington Capitals Tim Gleason |
| March 1, 2015[14] | ToCalgary Flames 2nd-round pick in2015 3rd-round pick in2015 | To Washington Capitals Curtis Glencross |
Free agents acquired[edit]
| Free agents lost[edit]
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| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) | Ref |
| July 1, 2014 | Michael Latta | 2-years, $1.15 million | [27] |
| July 9, 2014 | Edward Pasquale | 1-year, $550,000 | [28] |
| July 13, 2014 | Nate Schmidt | 1-year, $625,000 | [29] |
| July 15, 2014 | Vitek Vanecek | 3-year, $2.3275 million entry-level contract | [30] |
| July 15, 2014 | Jakub Vrana | 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract | [31] |
| July 25, 2014 | Nathan Walker | 3-year, entry-level contract | [32] |
| September 9, 2014 | Cameron Schilling | 1 year | [33] |
| March 4, 2015 | Tyler Lewington | 3-year, entry-level contract | [34] |
| March 31, 2015 | Travis Boyd | 2-year, entry-level contract | [35] |
| April 17, 2015 | Riley Barber | 2-year, entry-level contract | [36] |
| June 2, 2015 | Garrett Mitchell | 2-years | [37] |
| June 15, 2015 | Philipp Grubauer | 2-years, $1.5 million | [38] |
| June 17, 2015 | Nate Schmidt | 2-years, $1.625 million | [39] |
| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Wilson | Diving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 1057 in Minnesota on Thursday, March 19, 2015, at 14:45 of the second period. | – | $2,000.00 | March 27, 2015[40] |
The2014 NHL entry draft will be held on June 27–28, 2014, at theWells Fargo Center inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Jakub Vrana | L/RW | Linkopings HC (Sweden) | |
| 2 | 39[a] | Vitek Vanecek | G | Bili Tygri Liberec (Czech Republic) | |
| 3 | 89[b] | Nathan Walker | LW | Hershey Bears (AHL) | |
| 5 | 134 | Shane Gersich | C/LW | United States | USA U-18 (USHL) |
| 6 | 159[c] | Steven Spinner | RW | United States | Eden Prairie High School (USHS–MN) |
| 7 | 194 | Kevin Elgestal | RW | Frolunda HC (J20 SuperElit) |