2014–15 Montreal Canadiens
Atlantic Division champions
Division1st Atlantic
Conference2nd Eastern
2014–15 record50–22–10
Home record26–9–6
Road record24–13–4
Goals for221
Goals against189
Team information
General managerMarc Bergevin
CoachMichel Therrien
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsAndrei Markov
Max Pacioretty
Tomas Plekanec
P. K. Subban
ArenaBell Centre
Average attendance21,286 (99.9%)[1]
(37 games)
Minor league affiliate(s)Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsMax Pacioretty (37)
AssistsP. K. Subban (45)
PointsMax Pacioretty (67)
Penalty minutesBrandon Prust (130)
Plus/minusMax Pacioretty (+38)
WinsCarey Price (44)
Goals against averageCarey Price (1.96)

The 2014–15 Montreal Canadiens season was the 106th season of play for the franchise that was founded on December 4, 1909, and was also their 98th season in the National Hockey League.[2]

Off-season

Defenceman Douglas Murray, forward George Parros and forward Thomas Vanek became free agents.[3] On July 1, 2014, captain Brian Gionta signed with the Buffalo Sabres, being joined by defenseman Josh Gorges, who was traded to the team the same day for the Minnesota Wild's 2016 second round pick previously acquired in a trade for Matt Moulson.[4] Notable free agent signing included defenseman Tom Gilbert, centre Manny Malhotra and prospect Jiri Sekac, formally of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[5] On August 2, 2014, after months of ongoing negotiations, defenceman P. K. Subban signed an eight-year contract extension worth $72 million, avoiding salary arbitration. Subban becomes the highest paid defenseman through the 2014–15 season.[6]

Hockey operations changes included Daniel Lacroix and Rob Ramage being appointed assistant coach and player development coach, respectively. Ramage had previously played for the Canadiens and was part of the 1993 Stanley Cup Championship team, while Lacroix worked as assistant coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Canadiens' main affiliate team in the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2009–10 season.[7][8] The Canadiens also announced a reorganization within the hockey department. Rick Dudley was named senior vice president, hockey operations. Scott Mellanby was promoted to assistant general manager, to work along with Larry Carriere. Trevor Timmins was appointed vice president of player personnel, as well as retaining his responsibilities as the club's director of amateur scouting.[8]

On June 18, 2014, it was announced that hall of famer Guy Lapointe would be honored by having his number 5 jersey retired during the 2014–15 season. Lapointe will become the 18th player to be honoured by the organization with jersey retirement and the second with the number 5, joining the late Bernie Geoffrion.[9]

For only the second time in franchise history, the Canadiens did not name a captain, instead opting for four alternate captains for the season. On September 15, team management named Andrei Markov, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec and P. K. Subban alternative captains.[10]

The 2014–15 season also marked changes to television broadcast rights to the Canadiens; Réseau des sports renewed its French-language television rights to the team, agreeing to a 12-year extension. Due to Quebecor Media's exclusive national French-language broadcast rights to the NHL, RDS will now only be able to broadcast games in the team's blackout region of Quebec and eastern Canada.[11] Regional television rights in English were acquired by Sportsnet East in a three-year deal announced by Rogers on September 2, 2014. Three regional games will also be broadcast by City Montreal.[12]

Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the Atlantic Division regular season champions. The Canadiens won the first three games of the series en route to defeating the Senators in six games. In Game 1, Brian Flynn scored the game-winning goal at 17:17 of the second period, and recorded two assists as the Canadiens won 4–3. Montreal's P. K. Subban was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for slashing Ottawa's Mark Stone during the second period, resulting in a microfracture of Stone's right wrist, but did not face any further League discipline. Alex Galchenyuk's goal at 3:40 into overtime gave the Canadiens a 3–2 win in Game 2. Cameron replaced Andrew Hammond with Craig Anderson as his starting goalie for Game 3, who despite a strong outing, surrendered the tying goal by but Dale Weise with 5:47 left in the third period, who also scored at 3:40 into overtime to give Montreal a 2–1 win. Anderson rebounded in Game 4, stopping all 28 Montreal shots while Mike Hoffman scored the Senators' only goal to win 1–0. Ottawa also took Game 5 by a score of 5–1 as Anderson stopped 45 of 46 shots, with Bobby Ryan contributing two goals. The Canadiens then eliminated the Senators in Game 6 by a score of 2–0, with goaltender Carey Price registering the shutout stopping all 43 of Ottawa's shots.

In the second round, Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Canadiens in six games. In Game 1, Nikita Kucherov scored 2:06 into double overtime to give Tampa Bay a 2–1 win. This winning goal was controversial because the Lightning appeared to have been offside on the play, but nothing was called by the linesmen. Earlier at 2:56 of the first overtime period, Kucherov's apparent winning goal was waved off after officials ruled that he pushing Carey Price's pad into the net after the Montreal goalie made the initial save. The Lightning also won Game 2, 6–2, scoring four power play goals. Montreal's Brandon Prust was then fined $5,000 for his postgame derogatory public comments directed toward Referee Brad Watson, which he later apologized for the day afterward. In Game 3, Tyler Johnson scored with 1.1 seconds left to give Tampa Bay a 2–1 victory. The Canadiens stayed alive in Game 4, as Max Pacioretty recorded a shorthanded goal and two assists, as Montreal built a 5–0 second-period lead en route to a 6–2 win. Then, in Game 5, P.A. Parenteau scored with 4:07 left in regulation to give the Canadiens a 2–1 victory. In Game 6, Ben Bishop stopped 18 of 19 Montreal shots, and Kucherov scored two goals, as Tampa Bay won 4–1 to take the series.

Standings

Atlantic Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 y Montreal Canadiens 82 50 22 10 43 221 189 +32 110
2 x Tampa Bay Lightning 82 50 24 8 47 262 211 +51 108
3 x Detroit Red Wings 82 43 25 14 39 235 221 +14 100
4 x Ottawa Senators 82 43 26 13 37 238 215 +23 99
5 Boston Bruins 82 41 27 14 37 213 211 +2 96
6 Florida Panthers 82 38 29 15 30 206 223 17 91
7 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 8 25 211 262 51 68
8 Buffalo Sabres 82 23 51 8 15 161 274 113 54
Source: National Hockey League
x Clinched playoff spot; y Clinched division

Suspensions/fines

Player Explanation Length Salary Date issued
Alexei EmelinIllegal check to head of Buffalo Sabres forward Brian Gionta during NHL Game No. 337 in Buffalo on Friday, November 28, 2014, at 18:06 of the third period.$11,021.51November 29, 2014[13]
P. K. SubbanDiving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 712 in New York on Thursday, January 29, 2015, at 13:05 of the first period.$2,000.00February 4, 2015[14]
P. K. SubbanDiving/Embellishment during NHL Game No. 1005 in Montreal on Thursday, March 12, 2015, at 0:53 of the second period.$3,000.00March 20, 2015[15]
Brandon PrustDerogatory public comments directed toward Referee Brad Watson on Sunday, May 3, 2015.$5,000.00May 5, 2015[16]

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

2014–15 Game Log

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

Playoffs

Montreal defeated Ottawa in six games in the first round. After taking a 3–0 series lead, the Senators attempted a comeback, as Ottawa won the next two games. However, Price's shutout in Game 6 sealed the series victory for Montreal.

The Canadiens would face a tougher challenge in the second round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay had swept the five-game regular season series from Montreal, and then proceeded to win the first three games of the series. However, on May 7, Montreal won their first game of 2014–15 against Tampa Bay, as they posted a 6–2 victory against the Lightning to save their season. Montreal would win the next game 2–1, before subsequently losing the series in Game 6 by a final score of 4–1.

2015 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss * denotes if needed

Player statistics

Final[17]

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Carey Price66663977441661301.961953.9339014
Dustin Tokarski17161005664462.75509.9100010
Playoffs
Player GP GS TOI W L GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Carey Price121275266282.23352.9201002

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Canadiens. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Notable achievements

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

The Canadiens have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season:

Trades

Date Details
June 28, 2014[28] To Arizona Coyotes
3rd-round pick in 2014
4th-round pick in 2014
To Montreal Canadiens
3rd-round pick in 2014
June 30, 2014[29] To Colorado Avalanche
Daniel Briere
To Montreal Canadiens
P. A. Parenteau
5th-round pick in 2015
July 1, 2014[30] To Buffalo Sabres
Josh Gorges
To Montreal Canadiens
MIN's 2nd-round pick in 2016
October 5, 2014[31] To Winnipeg Jets
Peter Budaj
Patrick Holland
To Montreal Canadiens
Eric Tangradi
November 11, 2014[32] To Dallas Stars
Travis Moen
To Montreal Canadiens
Sergei Gonchar
November 20, 2014[33] To Anaheim Ducks
Rene Bourque
To Montreal Canadiens
Bryan Allen
February 24, 2015[34] To Anaheim Ducks
Jiri Sekac
To Montreal Canadiens
Devante Smith-Pelly
March 2, 2015[35] To Edmonton Oilers
2nd-round pick in 2015
Conditional 5th-round pick in 2015
To Montreal Canadiens
Jeff Petry
March 2, 2015[36] To Buffalo Sabres
5th-round pick in 2016
To Montreal Canadiens
Brian Flynn
March 2, 2015[37] To Buffalo Sabres
Jack Nevins
7th-round pick in 2016
To Montreal Canadiens
Torrey Mitchell

Free agents acquired

DatePlayerFormer teamContract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
July 1, 2014Manny MalhotraCarolina Hurricanes1 year, $850,000[38]
July 1, 2014Tom GilbertFlorida Panthers2 years, $5.6 million[39]
July 1, 2014Jiri SekacHC Lev Praha2 years, $2.7 million[40]
July 1, 2014Joey MacDonaldCalgary Flames1 year, $600,000[41]
October 2, 2014Drayson BowmanCarolina Hurricanes1 year, $575,000[42]

Free agents lost

DatePlayerNew teamContract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
June 3, 2014Joonas NattinenModo Hockey1 year[43]
July 1, 2014Thomas VanekMinnesota Wild3 years, $19.5 million[44]
July 1, 2014Brian GiontaBuffalo Sabres3 years, $12.75 million[45]
July 1, 2014Mike BlundenTampa Bay Lightning1 year, $600,000[46]
July 1, 2014Devan DubnykArizona Coyotes1 year, $800,000[47]
July 3, 2014Nick TarnaskyNew York Rangers2 years, two-way contract[48]
July 24, 2014Martin St. PierreKHL Medveščak Zagreb1 year[49]
August 7, 2014Ryan WhitePhiladelphia Flyers1 year, $575,000[50]
September 25, 2014Robert CzarnikIndy Fuel1 year[51]
October 14, 2014Francis BouillonHC Ambrì-Piotta1 year[52]
January 20, 2015Douglas MurrayKölner Haie1 year[53]

Player signings

DatePlayerContract terms
(in U.S. dollars)
Ref
July 1, 2014Mike Weaver1 year, $1.75 million contract extension[54]
July 1, 2014Jeremy Gregoire3 years, $1.86 million entry-level contract[55]
July 21, 2014Nikita Scherbak3 years, $3.625 million entry-level contract[56]
July 24, 2014Lars Eller4 years, $14 million contract extension[57]
August 2, 2014P. K. Subban8 years, $72 million contract extension[58]
November 29, 2014Brendan Gallagher6 years, $22.5 million contract extension[59]
December 19, 2014Brett Lernout3 years, $2.055 million entry-level contract[60]
April 12, 2015Mark MacMillan2 years, entry level contract[61]
June 1, 2015Gabriel Dumont1-year, two-way contract extension[62]
June 1, 2015Morgan Ellis1 year, two-way contract extension[62]
June 2, 2015Jeff Petry6 years, $33 million contract extension[63][64]
June 13, 2015Nathan Beaulieu2 years, $4 million contract extension[65]
June 15, 2015Torrey Mitchell3 years, $3.6 million contract extension[66]

Draft picks

Below are the Montreal Canadiens' selections made at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.[67]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 26 Nikita Scherbak RW Russia Russia Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
3 73 b Brett Lernout D Canada Canada Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
5 125 a Nikolas Koberstein D Canada Canada Olds Grizzlys (AJHL)
5 147 Daniel Audette C Canada Canada Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
6 177 Hayden Hawkey G  United States Omaha Lancers (USHL)
7 207 Jake Evans C Canada Canada St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)
Draft notes
  • Montreal's second-round pick went to the New York Islanders, as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2014 to Montreal, in exchange for Sebastian Collberg and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[68] The condition – New York would receive a second-round pick in 2014 if Montreal qualified for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on April 1, 2014.[69]
    • a Montreal received the fifth round pick belonging to the New York Islanders, as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Sebastian Collberg and a conditional second-round pick in 2014 to New York, in exchange for Thomas Vanek and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[68] The condition – Montreal would receive a fifth-round pick in 2014 if Montreal qualified for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on April 1, 2014.[69]
    • 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 (87th and 117th overall) to Arizona in exchange for this pick.

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