2014–15 Arizona Coyotes season

The 2014–15 Arizona Coyotes season was the 36th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, the 19th season since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg following the 1995–96 NHL season, and the 43rd overall, including the World Hockey Association years. It was also their first season as the "Arizona Coyotes" – the team had been called the "Phoenix Coyotes" for the previous 18 years. The team finished in last place in the Western Conference and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight year. The Coyotes earned only 56 points – their worst-ever performance in Arizona and second worst in franchise history after the 1980–81 season.

2014–15 Arizona Coyotes
Division	7th Pacific
Conference	14th Western
2014–15 record	24–50–8
Home record	11–25–5
Road record	13–25–3
Goals for	170
Goals against	272
Team information
General manager	Don Maloney
Coach	Dave Tippett
Captain	Shane Doan
Alternate captains	Kyle Chipchura (Mar.–Apr.) Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Mar.–Apr.) Martin Hanzal Keith Yandle (Oct.–Mar.)
Arena	Gila River Arena
Average attendance	13,345 (77.9%) 41 Games
Minor league affiliate(s)	Portland Pirates (AHL) Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23)
Assists	Sam Gagner (26)
Points	Oliver Ekman-Larsson (43)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Chipchura (82)
Plus/minus	Rob Klinkhammer (+3)
Wins	Mike Smith (14)
Goals against average	Louis Domingue (2.73)

Off-season

The club officially changed their team name to the "Arizona Coyotes" on June 27, 2014, at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The name change was part of the deal approved by the City of Glendale to keep the team from relocating.

Training camp

The Coyotes competed in eight preseason exhibition games before the start of the 2014–15 regular season.

Standings

Pacific Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	z – Anaheim Ducks	82	51	24	7	43	236	226	+10	109
2	x – Vancouver Canucks	82	48	29	5	42	242	222	+20	101
3	x – Calgary Flames	82	45	30	7	41	241	216	+25	97
4	Los Angeles Kings	82	40	27	15	38	220	205	+15	95
5	San Jose Sharks	82	40	33	9	36	228	232	−4	89
6	Edmonton Oilers	82	24	44	14	19	198	283	−85	62
7	Arizona Coyotes	82	24	50	8	19	170	272	−102	56

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; z – Clinched conference

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

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Pre-season game log: 4–2–2 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 3–1–2)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22	Los Angeles	4–5	Arizona	SO	Smith	6,917	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 22	Arizona	3–4	Los Angeles	SO	Dubnyk	12,989	1–0–1	Recap
3	September 23	Arizona	4–0	Anaheim		Domingue	14,104	2–0–1	Recap
4	September 24	Arizona	3–4	Calgary	OT	Burke		2–0–2	Recap
5	September 26	Arizona	2–1	San Jose	SO	Dubnyk	15,452	3–0–2	Recap
6	September 29	Arizona	4–2	Vancouver		Smith	18,050	4–0–2	Recap
7	October 1	Arizona	2–3	Edmonton		Dubnyk	16,839	4–1–2	Recap
8	October 3	San Jose	3–1	Arizona		Smith	7,873	4–2–2	Recap
Notes: a Game was played in Sylvan Lake, Alberta (Kraft Hockeyville game).

Regular season

Game log
October: 3–5–1 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 0–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 9 Winnipeg 6–2 Arizona Smith 17,125 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 11 Los Angeles 2–3 Arizona OT Dubnyk 12,859 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 15 Edmonton 4–7 Arizona Smith 11,648 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 18 St. Louis 6–1 Arizona Smith 11,100 2–2–0 4 Recap 5 October 21 Arizona 3–4 Nashville SO Dubnyk 15,694 2–2–1 5 Recap 6 October 23 Arizona 0–2 Minnesota Smith 18,554 2–3–1 5 Recap 7 October 25 Florida 1–2 Arizona OT Smith 13,202 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 28 Arizona 3–7 Tampa Bay Smith 17,511 3–4–1 7 Recap 9 October 30 Arizona 1–2 Florida Smith 7,691 3–5–1 7 Recap
November: 6–7–2 (Home: 1–3–2 ; Road: 5–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 10 November 1 Arizona 0–3 Carolina Smith 10,870 3–6–1 7 Recap 11 November 2 Arizona 6–5 Washington Dubnyk 18,506 4–6–1 9 Recap 12 November 4 Toronto 2–3 Arizona Smith 14,202 5–6–1 11 Recap 13 November 7 Arizona 3–2 Anaheim SO Smith 16,235 6–6–1 13 Recap 14 November 8 NY Islanders 1–0 Arizona Smith 14,689 6–7–1 13 Recap 15 November 11 Dallas 4–3 Arizona Smith 11,866 6–8–1 13 Recap 16 November 13 Arizona 3–5 Calgary Smith 18,698 6–9–1 13 Recap 17 November 14 Arizona 5–0 Vancouver Dubnyk 18,708 7–9–1 15 Recap 18 November 16 Arizona 2–1 Edmonton Dubnyk 16,839 8–9–1 17 Recap 19 November 18 Washington 2–1 Arizona OT Smith 11,769 8–9–2 18 Recap 20 November 20 Arizona 1–3 Dallas Smith 16,078 8–10–2 18 Recap 21 November 22 Arizona 4–3 San Jose SO Dubnyk 17,297 9–10–2 20 Recap 22 November 23 Arizona 1–2 Anaheim Smith 15,928 9–11–2 20 Recap 23 November 25 Colorado 4–3 Arizona OT Smith 12,163 9–11–3 21 Recap 24 November 29 Calgary 3–0 Arizona Dubnyk 13,530 9–12–3 21 Recap
December: 5–7–1 (Home: 3–3–1 ; Road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 1 Arizona 5–2 Edmonton Smith 16,839 10–12–3 23 Recap 26 December 2 Arizona 2–5 Calgary Smith 18,837 10–13–3 23 Recap 27 December 4 Los Angeles 4–0 Arizona Smith 12,254 10–14–3 23 Recap 28 December 6 Boston 5–2 Arizona Dubnyk 13,114 10–15–3 23 Recap 29 December 11 Nashville 5–1 Arizona Smith 10,194 10–16–3 23 Recap 30 December 13 Minnesota 4–3 Arizona SO Dubnyk 13,975 10–16–4 24 Recap 31 December 16 Edmonton 1–2 Arizona OT Dubnyk 12,085 11–16–4 26 Recap 32 December 20 Arizona 2–4 Los Angeles Dubnyk 18,230 11–17–4 26 Recap 33 December 22 Arizona 1–7 Vancouver Smith 18,794 11–18–4 26 Recap 34 December 23 Arizona 5–1 Edmonton Dubnyk 16,839 12–18–4 28 Recap 35 December 27 Anaheim 1–2 Arizona Dubnyk 13,656 13–18–4 30 Recap 36 December 29 Philadelphia 2–4 Arizona Dubnyk 16,521 14–18–4 32 Recap 37 December 31 Arizona 0–6 Dallas Dubnyk 18,532 14–19–4 32 Recap
January: 3–7–2 (Home: 2–4–0 ; Road: 1–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 3 Columbus 3–6 Arizona Smith 13,159 15–19–4 34 Recap 39 January 6 St. Louis 6–0 Arizona Smith 10,876 15–20–4 34 Recap 40 January 8 Winnipeg 1–4 Arizona Smith 11,390 16–20–4 36 Recap 41 January 10 Ottawa 5–1 Arizona Smith 14,933 16–21–4 36 Recap 42 January 13 San Jose 3–2 Arizona Dubnyk 10,631 16–22–4 36 Recap 43 January 15 Calgary 4–1 Arizona Smith 12,982 16–23–4 36 Recap 44 January 17 Arizona 1–3 Minnesota Smith 19,111 16–24–4 36 Recap 45 January 18 Arizona 3–4 Winnipeg SO Smith 15,016 16–24–5 37 Recap 46 January 20 Arizona 1–6 Chicago Smith 21,427 16–25–5 37 Recap 47 January 27 Arizona 3–4 Philadelphia SO Smith 19,581 16–25–6 38 Recap 48 January 29 Arizona 3–1 Toronto Smith 18,837 17–25–6 40 Recap 49 January 31 Arizona 2–7 Ottawa Smith 18,489 17–26–6 40 Recap
February: 3–10–1 (Home: 0–4–1 ; Road: 3–6–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 1 Arizona 3–2 Montreal Domingue 21,286 18–26–6 42 Recap 51 February 3 Arizona 4–1 Columbus Smith 14,108 19–26–6 44 Recap 52 February 5 Carolina 2–1 Arizona SO Smith 12,649 19–26–7 45 Recap 53 February 7 Detroit 3–1 Arizona Smith 17,125 19–27–7 45 Recap 54 February 9 Arizona 3–2 Chicago SO Smith 21,337 20–27–7 47 Recap 55 February 10 Arizona 1–2 St. Louis Smith 17,312 20–28–7 47 Recap 56 February 13 San Jose 4–2 Arizona Smith 16,713 20–29–7 47 Recap 57 February 14 NY Rangers 5–1 Arizona Smith 14,719 20–30–7 47 Recap 58 February 16 Arizona 2–5 Colorado McKenna 14,132 20–31–7 47 Recap 59 February 21 Tampa Bay 4–2 Arizona Smith 12,997 20–32–7 47 Recap 60 February 23 Arizona 0–3 New Jersey Smith 12,159 20–33–7 47 Recap 61 February 24 Arizona 1–5 NY Islanders Smith 15,888 20–34–7 47 Recap 62 February 26 Arizona 3–4 NY Rangers Smith 18,006 20–35–7 47 Recap 63 February 28 Arizona 1–4 Boston Smith 17,565 20–36–7 47 Recap
March: 3–10–1 (Home: 1–8–1 ; Road: 2–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 3 Anaheim 4–1 Arizona Smith 11,387 20–37–7 47 Recap 65 March 5 Vancouver 2–3 Arizona SO Smith 12,589 21–37–7 49 Recap 66 March 7 Montreal 2–0 Arizona Smith 14,094 21–38–7 49 Recap 67 March 9 Nashville 2–1 Arizona OT Domingue 11,227 21–38–8 50 Recap 68 March 12 Chicago 2–1 Arizona Smith 17,534 21–39–8 50 Recap 69 March 14 New Jersey 4–1 Arizona Smith 12,425 21–40–8 50 Recap 70 March 16 Arizona 0–1 Los Angeles Smith 18,230 21–41–8 50 Recap 71 March 19 Colorado 5–2 Arizona Domingue 11,684 21–42–8 50 Recap 72 March 21 Pittsburgh 3–1 Arizona Smith 15,581 21–43–8 50 Recap 73 March 22 Vancouver 3–1 Arizona Smith 12,405 21–44–8 50 Recap 74 March 24 Arizona 5–4 Detroit OT Smith 20,027 22–44–8 52 Recap 75 March 26 Arizona 4–3 Buffalo OT Smith 19,070 23–44–8 54 Recap 76 March 28 Arizona 2–3 Pittsburgh Smith 18,627 23–45–8 54 Recap 77 March 30 Buffalo 4–1 Arizona Smith 13,612 23–46–8 54 Recap
April: 1–4–0 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 0–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 3 Arizona 1–3 San Jose Domingue 17,562 23–47–8 54 Recap 79 April 4 San Jose 3–5 Arizona Smith 14,752 24–47–8 56 Recap 80 April 7 Arizona 2–3 Calgary Smith 19,289 24–48–8 56 Recap 81 April 9 Arizona 0–5 Vancouver Smith 18,796 24–49–8 56 Recap 82 April 11 Anaheim 2–1 Arizona Smith 15,733 24–50–8 56 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	82	23	20	43	−18	40
Sam Gagner	81	15	26	41	−28	28
Keith Yandle‡	63	4	37	41	−32	32
Shane Doan	79	14	22	36	−29	65
Antoine Vermette‡	62	13	22	35	−22	34
Martin Erat	79	9	23	32	−16	48
Mikkel Boedker	45	14	14	28	−10	6
Martin Hanzal	37	8	16	24	−1	31
Tobias Rieder	72	13	8	21	−19	14
Lauri Korpikoski	69	6	15	21	−27	12
Michael Stone	81	3	15	18	−24	60
Mark Arcobello†	27	9	7	16	−4	6
Kyle Chipchura	70	4	10	14	−23	82
David Moss	60	4	8	12	−18	24
Joe Vitale	70	3	6	9	−11	36
Zbynek Michalek‡	53	2	6	8	−6	12
Connor Murphy	73	4	3	7	−27	42
B. J. Crombeen	58	3	3	6	−6	79
Lucas Lessio	26	2	3	5	−10	8
John Moore†	19	1	4	5	−11	11
Brandon Gormley	27	2	2	4	−7	10
Craig Cunningham†	19	1	3	4	−3	2
David Schlemko‡	20	1	3	4	−5	4
Rob Klinkhammer‡	19	3	0	3	3	4
Brandon McMillan‡	50	1	2	3	−18	16
Klas Dahlbeck†	19	0	3	3	−7	6
Chris Summers‡	17	0	3	3	−12	8
Tye McGinn†	18	1	1	2	−1	10
Justin Hodgman	5	1	0	1	−2	2
Jordan Szwarz	9	1	0	1	−2	2
Andrew Campbell	33	0	1	1	−13	10
Brendan Shinnimin	12	0	1	1	−1	8
Jordan Martinook	8	0	1	1	−3	0
Alexandre Bolduc	3	0	0	0	−1	2
Dylan Reese	1	0	0	0	−1	0
Philip Samuelsson	4	0	0	0	−3	0
Henrik Samuelsson	3	0	0	0	−2	2
Tyler Gaudet	2	0	0	0	−1	0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Mike Smith	62	61	3,556	14	42	5	187	3.16	1955	.904	0	0	1	10
Devan Dubnyk‡	19	16	1035	9	5	2	47	2.72	561	.916	1	0	0	0
Louis Domingue	7	4	308	1	2	1	14	2.73	158	.911	0	0	0	0
Mike McKenna	1	1	60	0	1	0	5	5.00	34	.853	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Coyotes. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Notable achievements

Awards

Regular season

Player	Award	Awarded
S. Gagner	NHL Third Star of the Week	December 29, 2014
O. Ekman-Larsson	NHL All-Star game selection	January 10, 2015

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	Reached
J. Hodgman	1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	October 25, 2014
A. Vermette	400th career NHL point	October 28, 2014
T. Rieder	1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	November 2, 2014
M. Smith	150th career NHL win	November 4, 2014
Z. Michalek	500th career NHL game	November 8, 2014
B. Crombeen	400th career NHL game	November 14, 2014
S. Gagner	300th career NHL point	November 14, 2014
B. Gormley	1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	November 16, 2014
D. Dubnyk	10,000 career NHL minutes	November 16, 2014
S. Gagner	500th career NHL game	November 18, 2014
S. Gagner	200th career NHL assist	November 20, 2014
M. Boedker	100th career NHL assist	November 22, 2014
B. Shinnimin	1st career NHL game	November 29, 2014
D. Schlemko	200th career NHL game	December 1, 2014
J. Martinook	1st career NHL game	December 6, 2014
T. Gaudet	1st career NHL game	December 29, 2014
J. Vitale	200th career NHL game	January 6, 2015
M. Smith	20,000 career NHL minutes	January 8, 2015
K. Yandle	300th career NHL point	January 20, 2015
A. Vermette	800th career NHL game	January 29, 2015
L. Domingue	1st career NHL game	January 31, 2015
L. Domingue	1st career NHL win	February 1, 2015
B. Shinnimin	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	February 3, 2015
M. Arcobello	100th career NHL game	February 28, 2015
L. Korpikoski	400th career NHL game	March 22, 2015
M. Stone	200th career NHL game	April 3, 2015
C. Murphy	100th career NHL game	April 4, 2015

Transactions

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

Trades

June 28, 2014	To Montreal Canadiens 3rd-round pick in 2014	To Arizona Coyotes 3rd-round pick in 2014 4th-round pick in 2014
June 29, 2014	To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th-round pick in 2015	To Arizona Coyotes Sam Gagner B. J. Crombeen
December 5, 2014	To Pittsburgh Penguins Rob Klinkhammer conditional 5th-round pick in 2016	To Arizona Coyotes Philip Samuelsson
January 14, 2015	To Minnesota Wild Devan Dubnyk	To Arizona Coyotes 3rd-round pick in 2015
February 28, 2015	To Chicago Blackhawks Antoine Vermette	To Arizona Coyotes Klas Dahlbeck 1st-round pick in 2015
March 1, 2015	To New York Rangers Keith Yandle Chris Summers 4th-round pick in 2016	To Arizona Coyotes John Moore Anthony Duclair 2nd-round pick in 2015 Conditional 1st-round pick in 2016
March 2, 2015	To St. Louis Blues Zbynek Michalek Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2015	To Arizona Coyotes Maxim Letunov
March 2, 2015	To New York Islanders Mark Louis	To Arizona Coyotes David Leggio

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2014	Devan Dubnyk	Nashville Predators	1 year, $800,000
July 1, 2014	Mike McKenna	Columbus Blue Jackets	1 year, $550,000
July 1, 2014	Andrew Campbell	Manchester Monarchs	1 year, $550,000
July 1, 2014	Alexandre Bolduc	St. Louis Blues	1 year, $600,000
July 1, 2014	Justin Hodgman	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	1 year, $550,000
July 1, 2014	Dylan Reese	Amur Khabarovsk	1 year, $550,000
July 1, 2014	Joe Vitale	Pittsburgh Penguins	3 years, $3.3 million
July 5, 2014	Patrick McNeill	Columbus Blue Jackets	1 year, $550,000
May 28, 2015	Matthias Plachta	Adler Mannheim	1 year, entry-level contract

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2014	Thomas Greiss	Pittsburgh Penguins	1 year, $1 million
July 1, 2014	Andy Miele	Detroit Red Wings	1 year, $600,000
July 2, 2014	Radim Vrbata	Vancouver Canucks	2 years, $10 million
July 4, 2014	Tim Kennedy	Washington Capitals	1 year, $550,000
July 15, 2014	Mike Ribeiro	Nashville Predators	1 year, $1.05 million

Claimed via waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers
Mark Arcobello	Pittsburgh Penguins	February 11, 2015
Tye McGinn	San Jose Sharks	March 2, 2015
Craig Cunningham	Boston Bruins	March 2, 2015

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date claimed off waivers
Brandon McMillan	Vancouver Canucks	February 12, 2015

Player signings

The following players were signed by the Coyotes. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 11, 2014	David Moss	1 year, $800,000
July 15, 2014	Brandon McMillan	1 year, $625,000*
July 15, 2014	Jordan Szwarz	2 years, $1.26 million*
July 18, 2014	Brendan Perlini	3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract
October 5, 2014	Laurent Dauphin	3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract
April 10, 2015	Ryan MacInnis	3-year, entry-level contract
April 17, 2015	Christian Dvorak	3-year, entry-level contract

Draft picks

See also: List of Arizona Coyotes draft picks

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 27–28, 2014, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	12	Brendan Perlini	LW	Canada	Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
2	43	Ryan MacInnis	C	United States	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2	58	Christian Dvorak	LW	United States	London Knights (OHL)
3	87	Anton Karlsson	RW	Sweden	Frolunda HC Jr. (Sweden Jr)
4	117	Michael Bunting	LW	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
5	133	Dysin Mayo	D	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
6	163	David Westlund	D	Sweden	Brynas IF Jr. (Sweden Jr.)
7	191	Jared Fiegl	LW	United States	USA U–18 (USHL)
7	193	Edgars Kulda	LW	Latvia	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)

Draft notes

• ^a The Chicago Blackhawks second-round pick went to the Arizona Coyotes as the result of a trade on March 4, 2014, that sent David Rundblad, Mathieu Brisebois to the Blackhawks in exchange for this pick.
• ^b The Arizona Coyotes third-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third and fourth-round pick in 2014 to Arizona in exchange for this pick.
• The Arizona Coyotes' fourth-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a trade on January 16, 2013, that sent Matthew Lombardi to the Coyotes in exchange for this pick.
• ^c The New Jersey Devils seventh-round pick went to the Arizona Coyotes as the result of a trade on April 3, 2013, that sent Steve Sullivan to the Devils in exchange for this pick.

References