2014–15 New York Islanders
Division	3rd Metropolitan
Conference	5th Eastern
2014–15 record	47–28–7
Home record	25–14–2
Road record	22–14–5
Goals for	252
Goals against	230
Team information
General manager	Garth Snow
Coach	Jack Capuano
Captain	John Tavares
Alternate captains	Cal Clutterbuck (Jan.–Apr.) Frans Nielsen Kyle Okposo
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	15,334 (41 games) [1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Bridgeport Sound Tigers ( AHL) Adirondack Thunder ( ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	John Tavares (38)
Assists	John Tavares (48)
Points	John Tavares (86)
Penalty minutes	Matt Martin (114)
Plus/minus	Ryan Strome (+23)
Wins	Jaroslav Halak (38)
Goals against average	Jaroslav Halak (2.43)
←  2013–14 2015–16 →

The 2014–15 New York Islanders season was the 43rd season in the franchise's history. This was the team's final full season of play at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. ^[2] The Islanders competed in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference (NHL) for the second season.

Jaroslav Halak entered the season as the team's new starting goaltender, leading their previous starting goaltender, veteran Evgeni Nabokov, to sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent. Chad Johnson was brought in to be Halak's backup, however he was later traded for Michal Neuvirth who took over the role. John Tavares served as the team's captain for the second season, alongside Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen in their sixth and first seasons, respectively, as alternate captains. Around the midpoint of the season, Cal Clutterbuck was named an alternate captain after an injury sidelined Okposo.

The Islanders qualified for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs after finishing the season in third place in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference with 101 points. The playoff berth was the team's second post-season berth in three seasons, having qualified in 2012–13 but not in 2013–14. The team was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, losing in seven games to the Washington Capitals.

Off-season

On May 22, 2014, the Islanders signed unrestricted free agent goaltender Jaroslav Halak to a four-year extension to keep him under contract through the 2017–18 season after trading for him from the Washington Capitals for the Blackhawks' fourth-round pick in the 2014 Entry Draft earlier in the month. ^[3] On July 2nd, the Islanders signed Nikolay Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski, who were both teammates on the Toronto Maple Leafs and were only interested in signing with the same team because of their strong chemistry. The Islanders also acquired two defenseman on October 4, 2014, one week before their first regular season game— Johnny Boychuk was traded from the Boston Bruins in exchange for 2015 (used on Brandon Carlo) and 2016 draft picks, while Nick Leddy was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks along with amateur goaltender Kent Simpson in exchange for T. J. Brennan, Ville Pokka and the rights to Anders Nilsson. ^{[4] [5]}

Regular season

October–December

Before the Islanders began their regular season, Matt Carkner, Calvin de Haan, Michael Grabner and Lubomir Visnovsky were placed on injured reserve (IR), while previous first round Islanders draft picks, rookies Griffin Reinhart and Ryan Strome, impressed the coaching staff enough to make the opening night roster for their first times. ^{[6] [7]} The team won their first four consecutive games, including a back-to-back against the Carolina Hurricanes in games one and two. ^[8] de Haan and Visnovsky returned to the team during October, leading to the decision to send Reinhart back to the Islanders' minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League's Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Soon after, injuries to Mikhail Grabovski and Josh Bailey led the team to call up Anders Lee from the Sound Tigers. As Lee began to cement his place on the roster and Grabovski was set to return, coaching staff had to make a decision in order to open up a roster spot, as only 23 players maximum are allowed on a team's roster before the trade deadline. Ultimately, rather than sending Lee back, it was Colin McDonald who was placed on waivers, which he cleared on his way to the Sound Tigers. ^[9] Their 6–4–0 record by the end of October matched their best record in the team's first ten games since the 2001–02 season. ^[10]

In recent seasons, the Islanders have not had positive results in the month of November. The previous season saw them finish with a November record of 4–13–1. ^[11] Bailey returned from his hand injury during the month, while Eric Boulton, who had only played three games so far in the season, was placed on IR. ^[12] They finished the month with an 11–3–0 record, only the second time in franchise history they recorded at least 11 wins in the month of November. It was also the first time they were undefeated in home games (6–0–0) during the month since the 1984–85 season. ^[13] On November 28, Head Coach Jack Capuano recorded his 300th game with the team, a number not reached since Al Arbour hit the number in the team's early years, with the closest to Capuano being Terry Simpson with 81 Islanders' games coached. ^{[13] [14]}

As December began, injuries provided setbacks with Michael Grabner and Lubomir Visnovsky returning to the IR, joined by Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic and Casey Cizikas. ^[15] Visnovsky and Cizikas missed only two and three games respectively, but defenseman Boychuk and Hamonic needed the majority of the month to recover. Griffin Reinhart was recalled from the Sound Tigers at the beginning of the month, but was sent back down once the injured defenseman were set to return. ^[15] Joining him on the Sound Tigers would be Cory Conacher, who was waived on December 13 after recording only three points in 15 games. Conacher was originally placed on the team's top line, alongside John Tavares and Kyle Okposo, however he did not last long there as the coaching staff began trying out various other players to fill the spot. ^{[16] [17]} Jaroslav Halak suffered a lower body injury on December 20, after recording his 11th consecutive win earlier in the month and passing the previous franchise record of 10 set by Billy Smith. ^[18] The injury led to Kevin Poulin being called up from the Sound Tigers; he only played in one game, a 3–4 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres. ^[19] Halak returned the following game, in a 4–3 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. ^[20] The team finished the calendar year of 2014 with a share of first place in their division for the first time in 27 years. ^[21]

January–April

The Islanders put together a 6–3–0 January record to bring into the All-Star Game break. Near the beginning of the month, Lubomir Visnovsky was placed back on IR with an upper body injury and would later be joined by Eric Boulton with a lower-body injury, who had been taken off the list about a month prior on December 11 and only played once since. Michael Grabner returned from his lower body injury on January 6 after missing eight games. ^[22] On January 10, John Tavares was named to the All-Star Game as the sole representative of the Islanders. After injuries to goaltenders Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings and Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, Halak and the Pittsburgh Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury were named as their replacements. ^[23] At the All-Star Game, Tavares scored four goals, matching an All-Star Game record for an individual player's goals scored, while Halak stopped six of tens shots in the third period; their team, captained by Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks, won the game by a record-setting score of 17–12. ^{[24] [25]} After the break, it was announced that alternate captain Kyle Okposo would miss six-to-eight weeks after receiving an upper-body injury, later revealed to be a detached retina that he had recently received surgery for. ^[26] The injury led to Cal Clutterbuck being named as an alternate captain. ^[27] In their first game back from the break, the Islanders defeated the rival New York Rangers, earning their third consecutive victory over the team, all by a gap of three goals; this marked the first time the Islanders won three consecutive games against the Rangers since 2007. ^[28]

On February 19, Halak tied a franchise record for most wins in a season after earning his 32nd against the Nashville Predators, with 30 saves against 32 shots. ^[29] He went on to break the record, recording his 33rd win of the season on February 27, in a 2–1 victory over the Calgary Flames. ^[30] Injuries continued rolling, with Casey Cizikas and Mikhail Grabovski both being placed on IR, with a lower body injury and an upper body injury, respectively. Matt Carkner was removed from IR after spending the entire season sidelined from back surgery, and was sent to the Sound Tigers after clearing waivers. ^[31] As the team continued their push for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division standings, it was announced that defenseman Nick Leddy signed a seven-year contract worth $38.5 million on February 24. ^[32]

The NHL trade deadline on March 5 ended with the Islanders making four trades. Two of the trades involved minor league players Cory Conacher and David Leggio sent to the Vancouver Canucks and Arizona Coyotes, respectively, in exchange for Dustin Jeffrey and Mark Louis. ^{[34] [35]} Halak received a new backup goaltender when Chad Johnson was sent to the Buffalo Sabres, with the Islanders picking up Michal Neuvirth in return. ^[36] General Manager Garth Snow cited Neuvirth's good play during the season and Johnson's relatively poor performance thus far as the reason for the trade; Johnson had attained an 8–8–1 record with a .889 save percentage with the Islanders. Outside of the goaltending change, the main roster went untouched with the exception of adding Tyler Kennedy, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional 2015 draft pick. Snow recognized the team's chemistry as the main reason for not making any major main roster trades. ^[33] The first game the Islanders played after the trade deadline was set to debut Kennedy, but an upper body injury announced just before the start of the game prevented him from playing. ^[37] During the game, Matt Martin kneed Dallas Stars defenseman Trevor Daley, resulting in a one-game suspension. ^[38] With Kennedy injured and Martin suspended, Eric Boulton and Casey Cizikas were activated off of IR before the next game on March 5 against the Nashville Predators after missing 19 and eight games, respectively. ^[39] The following game featured the debut for Neurvirth with the Islanders, as the team fell in a shootout to the Florida Panthers. ^[40] Capuano chose to start him again the following game, as Neuvirth picked up his first win with the team in a 4–3 overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 9. ^[41]

Without Nick Leddy, who was injured against the Maple Leafs, the Islanders faced the Rangers on March 10 for their fourth matchup of the season, which ended in a Rangers victory for the first time of the season series. ^[42] The Islanders dropped their next three as they continued playing short of Leddy, stringing together a four-game losing streak for the first time in the season. During the stretch, Jaroslav Halak missed two games due to a lower-body injury. Halak and Leddy both returned the following game against the New Jersey Devils on March 21, as Halak shut out the Devils in a 3–0 victory. ^[43] The team's struggles continued as they looked to secure a playoff berth, going 2–3–2 over the next seven games before their trip to the postseason was locked in on April 9; the Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins and eliminated the possibility of the ninth-seeded Bruins catching the Islanders in the standings. ^[44] Despite having clinched, the following game against the Pittsburgh Penguins had high stakes, with the Penguins still chasing a playoffs spot and the Islanders looking to get the home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs; the Islanders ultimately won, 3–1, and locked up an opening playoff series against the Washington Capitals. ^[45] The final game of the season, which was also the final regular-season game the Islanders would play at Nassau Coliseum (until the 2018–19 NHL season), was a 5–4 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, as the Islanders were unable to pick up both points with home-ice advantage against the Capitals on the line. ^[46]

Playoffs

The New York Islanders entered the playoffs as the Metropolitan Division's third seed. They lost to the Washington Capitals in seven games.

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team v t e	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

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2014 Pre-Season Game Log: 4–2–1 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 1–0–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1 [a]	September 22	Ottawa	2–3	NY Islanders		Leggio		1–0–0	Recap
2 [a]	September 22	Ottawa	2–3	NY Islanders	SO	Poulin		2–0–0	Recap
3	September 24	Carolina	4–2	NY Islanders		Halak	9,888	2–1–0	Recap
4 [b]	September 26	New Jersey	2–3	NY Islanders	SO	Johnson	11,823	3–1–0	Recap
5	September 30	NY Islanders	5–3	Boston		Poulin	17,004	4–1–0	Recap
6	October 2	NY Islanders	1–2	New Jersey	SO	Halak	10,032	4–1–1	Recap
7 [c]	October 4	Boston	6–1	NY Islanders		Johnson		4–2–1	Recap
Notes: a Games were played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland. b Game was played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. c Game was played at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Regular season

2014–15 Game Log
October: 6–4–0 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 10 NY Islanders 5–3 Carolina Halak 18,680 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 11 Carolina 3–4 NY Islanders Johnson 16,170 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 14 NY Islanders 6–3 NY Rangers Halak 18,006 3–0–0 6 Recap 4 October 16 San Jose 3–4 NY Islanders SO Halak 11,248 4–0–0 8 Recap 5 October 18 NY Islanders 1–3 Pittsburgh Halak 18,655 4–1–0 8 Recap 6 October 21 Toronto 5–2 NY Islanders Halak 11,408 4–2–0 8 Recap 7 October 23 NY Islanders 3–2 Boston Johnson 17,565 5–2–0 10 Recap 8 October 25 Dallas 5–7 NY Islanders Johnson 15,208 6–2–0 12 Recap 9 October 28 Winnipeg 4–3 NY Islanders Halak 11,508 6–3–0 12 Recap 10 October 30 NY Islanders 0–5 Colorado Johnson 12,892 6–4–0 12 Recap
November: 11–3–0 (Home: 6–0–0 ; Road: 5–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 November 1 NY Islanders 1–3 San Jose Halak 17,562 6–5–0 12 Recap 12 November 5 NY Islanders 3–2 Anaheim OT Halak 16,448 7–5–0 14 Recap 13 November 6 NY Islanders 2–1 Los Angeles SO Johnson 18,230 8–5–0 16 Recap 14 November 8 NY Islanders 1–0 Arizona Halak 14,689 9–5–0 18 Recap 15 November 11 Colorado 0–6 NY Islanders Halak 12,888 10–5–0 20 Recap 16 November 14 NY Islanders 4–3 Florida SO Halak 10,010 11–5–0 22 Recap 17 November 15 NY Islanders 2–5 Tampa Bay Johnson 19,204 11–6–0 22 Recap 18 November 18 Tampa Bay 2–5 NY Islanders Halak 12,908 12–6–0 24 Recap 19 November 21 NY Islanders 5–4 Pittsburgh SO Johnson 18,653 13–6–0 26 Recap 20 November 22 Pittsburgh 1–4 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 14–6–0 28 Recap 21 November 24 Philadelphia 0–1 NY Islanders SO Halak 12,409 15–6–0 30 Recap 22 November 26 Washington 2–3 NY Islanders OT Halak 16,170 16–6–0 32 Recap 23 November 28 NY Islanders 2–5 Washington Johnson 18,506 16–7–0 32 Recap 24 November 29 New Jersey 1–3 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 17–7–0 34 Recap
December: 8–4–1 (Home: 5–2–0 ; Road: 3–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 2 Ottawa 2–3 NY Islanders OT Halak 13,888 18–7–0 36 Recap 26 December 4 NY Islanders 2–1 Ottawa Halak 20,511 19–7–0 38 Recap 27 December 6 St. Louis 6–4 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 19–8–0 38 Recap 28 December 9 NY Islanders 4–5 Minnesota Johnson 18,904 19–9–0 38 Recap 29 December 11 NY Islanders 3–6 St. Louis Halak 18,028 19–10–0 38 Recap 30 December 13 Chicago 2–3 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 20–10–0 40 Recap 31 December 15 New Jersey 2–3 NY Islanders SO Halak 13,408 21–10–0 42 Recap 32 December 19 NY Islanders 2–1 Detroit Halak 20,027 22–10–0 44 Recap 33 December 20 Tampa Bay 1–3 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 23–10–0 46 Recap 34 December 23 Montreal 3–1 NY Islanders Johnson 16,170 23–11–0 46 Recap 35 December 27 NY Islanders 3–4 Buffalo SO Poulin 19,070 23–11–1 47 Recap 36 December 29 Washington 3–4 NY Islanders OT Halak 16,170 24–11–1 49 Recap 37 December 31 NY Islanders 5–2 Winnipeg Halak 15,016 25–11–1 51 Recap
January: 7–5–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 4–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 2 NY Islanders 2–1 Calgary Halak 19,289 26–11–1 53 Recap 39 January 4 NY Islanders 2–5 Edmonton Halak 16,839 26–12–1 53 Recap 40 January 6 NY Islanders 2–3 Vancouver Halak 18,562 26–13–1 53 Recap 41 January 9 NY Islanders 3–2 New Jersey OT Halak 16,592 27–13–1 55 Recap 42 January 10 NY Islanders 5–2 Columbus Johnson 16,589 28–13–1 57 Recap 43 January 13 NY Islanders 3–0 NY Rangers Halak 18,006 29–13–1 59 Recap 44 January 16 Pittsburgh 3–6 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 30–13–1 61 Recap 45 January 17 NY Islanders 4–6 Montreal Halak 21,287 30–14–1 61 Recap 46 January 19 Philadelphia 4–7 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 31–14–1 63 Recap 47 January 27 NY Rangers 1–4 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 32–14–1 65 Recap 48 January 29 Boston 5–2 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 32–15–1 65 Recap 49 January 31 NY Islanders 1–4 Detroit Johnson 20,027 32–16–1 65 Recap
February: 9–5–1 (Home: 6–4–0 ; Road: 3–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 3 Florida 4–2 NY Islanders Halak 14,704 32–17–1 65 Recap 51 February 5 NY Islanders 3–2 Philadelphia SO Halak 19,042 33–17–1 67 Recap 52 February 7 NY Islanders 1–2 Boston Johnson 17,565 33–18–1 67 Recap 53 February 8 NY Islanders 3–2 Buffalo Halak 18,900 34–18–1 69 Recap 54 February 10 Edmonton 2–3 NY Islanders Halak 15,608 35–18–1 71 Recap 55 February 12 Toronto 2–3 NY Islanders Halak 15,388 36–18–1 73 Recap 56 February 14 Columbus 3–6 NY Islanders Halak 15,678 37–18–1 75 Recap 57 February 16 NY Rangers 6–5 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 37–19–1 75 Recap 58 February 17 NY Islanders 4–1 Carolina Johnson 12,665 38–19–1 77 Recap 59 February 19 Nashville 2–5 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 39–19–1 79 Recap 60 February 21 NY Islanders 2–3 Washington SO Johnson 18,506 39–19–2 80 Recap 61 February 22 Vancouver 4–0 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 39–20–2 80 Recap 62 February 24 Arizona 1–5 NY Islanders Johnson 15,888 40–20–2 82 Recap 63 February 27 Calgary 1–2 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 41–20–2 84 Recap 64 February 28 Carolina 5–3 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 41–21–2 84 Recap
March: 4–6–3 (Home: 1–5–1 ; Road: 3–1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 3 NY Islanders 2–3 Dallas OT Halak 17,453 41–21–3 85 Recap 66 March 5 NY Islanders 4–3 Nashville Halak 17,113 42–21–3 87 Recap 67 March 7 NY Islanders 3–4 Florida SO Neuvirth 14,474 42–21–4 88 Recap 68 March 9 NY Islanders 4–3 Toronto OT Neuvirth 18,984 43–21–4 90 Recap 69 March 10 NY Rangers 2–1 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 43–22–4 90 Recap 70 March 13 Ottawa 2–1 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 43–23–4 90 Recap 71 March 14 Montreal 3–1 NY Islanders Neuvirth 16,170 43–24–4 90 Recap 72 March 17 NY Islanders 1–4 Chicago Neuvirth 22,080 43–25–4 90 Recap 73 March 21 NY Islanders 3–0 New Jersey Halak 16,592 44–25–4 92 Recap 74 March 24 Minnesota 2–1 NY Islanders SO Halak 16,170 44–25–5 93 Recap 75 March 26 Los Angeles 3–2 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 44–26–5 93 Recap 76 March 28 Anaheim 3–2 NY Islanders Neuvirth 16,170 44–27–5 93 Recap 77 March 29 Detroit 4–5 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 45–27–5 95 Recap
April: 2–1–2 (Home: 1–0–1 ; Road: 1–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 78 April 2 NY Islanders 3–4 Columbus SO Halak 15,361 45–27–6 96 Recap 79 April 4 Buffalo 0–3 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 46–27–6 98 Recap 80 April 7 NY Islanders 4–5 Philadelphia Halak 17,927 46–28–6 98 Recap 81 April 10 NY Islanders 3–1 Pittsburgh Halak 18,673 47–28–6 100 Recap 82 April 11 Columbus 5–4 NY Islanders SO Halak 16,170 47–28–7 101 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference First Round vs. (M2) Washington Capitals: Washington wins 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 15 NY Islanders 4–1 Washington Halak 18,506 Islanders lead 1–0 Recap 2 April 17 NY Islanders 3–4 Washington Halak 18,506 Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 April 19 Washington 1–2 NY Islanders OT Halak 16,170 Islanders lead 2–1 Recap 4 April 21 Washington 2–1 NY Islanders OT Halak 16,170 Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 April 23 NY Islanders 1–5 Washington Halak 18,506 Capitals lead 3–2 Recap 6 April 25 Washington 1–3 NY Islanders Halak 16,170 Series tied 3–3 Recap 7 April 27 NY Islanders 1–2 Washington Halak 18,506 Capitals win 3–4 Recap Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Goaltenders

Regular Season ^[47]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Jaroslav Halak	59	59	3550	38	17	4	144	2.43	1673	0.914	6	0	1	2
Chad Johnson‡	19	17	1053	8	8	1	54	3.08	488	0.889	0	0	0	0
Michal Neuvirth†	5	5	306	1	3	1	15	2.94	126	0.881	0	0	0	0
Kevin Poulin	1	1	65	0	0	1	3	2.77	26	0.885	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Jaroslav Halak	7	7	418	3	4	16	2.30	215	0.926	0	0	0	2
Michal Neuvirth	1	0	11	0	0	0	0.00	6	1.000	0	0	0	0

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

Notable achievements

Player injuries

Updated as of February 15, 2014

New York Islanders 2014–15 player injuries

Player	Injury	Placed on IR	Removed from IR	Games missed
Matt Carkner	Back	September 22, 2014 [9]	February 15, 2015 [31] [a]	56
Calvin de Haan	Lower body	September 23, 2014 [9]	October 16, 2014 [9]	3
Michael Grabner	Lower body	September 26, 2014 [9]	December 3, 2014 [15]	24
	Lower body	December 17, 2014 [15]	January 6, 2015 [22]	8
	Undisclosed	February 7, 2015 [31]	February 17, 2015 [31]	6
Lubomir Visnovsky	Back	September 29, 2014 [9]	October 23, 2014 [9]	6
	Undisclosed	December 3, 2014 [15]	December 9, 2014 [15]	2
	Upper body	January 4, 2014 [22]	January 31, 2014 [22]	10
Mikhail Grabovski	Concussion	October 16, 2014 [9]	October 25, 2014 [9]	4
	Upper body	February 20, 2015 [31]	April 23, 2015 [55]	26
Josh Bailey	Hand	October 25, 2014 [9]	November 13, 2014 [12]	8
Eric Boulton	Lower body	November 13, 2014 [12]	December 11, 2014 [15]	12
	Lower body	January 17, 2015 [22]	March 5, 2015 [39]	19
Travis Hamonic	Upper body	December 2, 2014 [15]	December 19, 2014 [15]	7
Johnny Boychuk	Undisclosed	December 3, 2014 [15]	December 19, 2014 [15]	6
Casey Cizikas	Upper body	December 6, 2014 [15]	December 15, 2015 [56]	3
	Lower body	February 16, 2015 [31]	March 5, 2015 [39]	8
Jaroslav Halak	Lower body	December 20, 2014 [15]	December 28, 2014 [15]	3
Kyle Okposo	Detached retina [26]	January 19, 2015 [22]	March 10, 2015 [39]	22

Player suspensions and fines

Two players received fines during the season, while only Matt Martin received a suspension. Anders Lee was given a $2,286.29 fine on December 9, 2014, for elbowing St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson; the incident occurred during NHL Game No. 397 in New York on December 6, 2014, at 7:15 of the second period. ^[57] Cal Clutterbuck received a fine on January 28, 2015, for $2,000 due to diving/embellishment, which occurred during NHL Game No. 676 in New York on January 19, 2015, at 19:04 of the second period. ^[58] Martin received a one-game suspension with a $5,376.34 forfeit on March 5, 2015, for kneeing Dallas Stars defenseman Trevor Daley in NHL Game No. 948 the day prior; he was ejected from the game and received fifteen total penalty minutes. ^[38]

Transactions

Following the end of the Islanders' 2013–14 season, and during the 2014–15 season, this team has been involved in the following transactions:

Trades

Date	Details
June 27, 2014 [59]	To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 2014 MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2014	To New York Islanders NYR's 1st-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014 [60]	To Florida Panthers 3rd-round pick in 2014	To New York Islanders 3rd-round pick in 2015
June 28, 2014 [61]	To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th-round pick in 2014	To New York Islanders 7th-round pick in 2014 7th-round pick in 2015
October 4, 2014 [4]	To Boston Bruins PHI's 2nd-round pick in 2015 ( Brandon Carlo) 2nd-round pick in 2016 conditional 3rd-round pick in 2015	To New York Islanders Johnny Boychuk
October 4, 2014 [5]	To Chicago Blackhawks T. J. Brennan Anders Nilsson Ville Pokka	To New York Islanders Nick Leddy Kent Simpson
November 25, 2014 [62]	To Vancouver Canucks Andrey Pedan	To New York Islanders Alexandre Mallet 3rd-round pick in 2016
March 2, 2015 [36]	To San Jose Sharks Conditional 7th-round pick in 2015	To New York Islanders Tyler Kennedy
March 2, 2015 [36]	To Buffalo Sabres Chad Johnson 3rd-round pick in 2016	To New York Islanders Michal Neuvirth
March 2, 2015 [34]	To Vancouver Canucks Cory Conacher	To New York Islanders Dustin Jeffrey
March 2, 2015 [35]	To Arizona Coyotes David Leggio	To New York Islanders Mark Louis

Free agency

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)
July 1, 2014	Chad Johnson	Boston Bruins	2 years, $2.6 million [63]
July 1, 2014	T. J. Brennan	Toronto Marlies	1 year, $600,000 [64]
July 1, 2014	Kael Mouillierat	St. John's IceCaps	1 year, $675,000 [65]
July 1, 2014	Cory Conacher	Buffalo Sabres	1 year, $600,000 [66]
July 1, 2014	David Leggio	Hershey Bears	1 year, $700,000 [67]
July 1, 2014	Jack Skille	Columbus Blue Jackets	1 year, $750,000 [67]
July 1, 2014	Harry Zolnierczyk	Pittsburgh Penguins	1 year, $650,000 [67]
July 1, 2014	Mikhail Grabovski	Washington Capitals	4 years, $20 million [68]
July 1, 2014	Nikolay Kulemin	Toronto Maple Leafs	4 years, $16.75 million [69]
March 31, 2015	Ross Johnston	Charlottetown Islanders	3 years, entry-level contract [70]

The Islanders lost two players to free agency on July 1, 2014 – goaltenders Anders Nilsson and Evgeni Nabokov. Nilsson signed a one-year contract with the Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), ^[71] while Nabokov signed a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. ^[72]

The team acquired nine free agents, all on July 1, 2014. Of the nine signed, five players played at least one regular season game with the team – Chad Johnson, Cory Conacher, Harry Zolnierczyk, Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolay Kulemin, though Conacher and Zolnierczyk have spent the majority of the season with the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Waivers transactions

One player was picked up off waivers during the season – Jack Skille was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 5, 2014. ^[73] Seven other players were put on waivers by the Islanders during the season and sent to the Sound Tigers once cleared: David Leggio, Kevin Poulin, Harry Zolnierczyk, Aaron Ness, Colin McDonald, Cory Conacher and Matt Carkner. ^{[9] [15]} Poulin, Zolnierczyk, and McDonald were all recalled to the Islanders at least once during the regular season. ^{[74] [75]}

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)
July 15, 2014	Casey Cizikas	2 years, $2 million [76]
July 15, 2014	Calvin de Haan	3 years, $5.9 million [77]
July 24, 2014	Kevin Poulin	1 year, $650,000 [78]
September 29, 2014	Michael Dal Colle	3 years, $9.375 million entry-level contract [79]
October 4, 2014	Joshua Ho-Sang	3 years, $3.4125 million entry-level contract [80]
February 24, 2015	Nick Leddy	7 years, $38.5 million contract extension [32]
March 12, 2015	Johnny Boychuk	7 years, $42 million contract extension [81]
April 2, 2015	Stephon Williams	2 years, entry-level contract [82]
April 8, 2015	Kyle Burroughs	3 years, entry-level contract [83]

Draft picks

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Islanders finished 26th overall in the league standings during the 2013–14 season, to secure the fifth overall pick.

The team's two second-round picks went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as a result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent a 2014 first-round pick to the Islanders. Their third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as a result of a trade on that sent a 2015 third-round pick to the Islanders. The Islanders' fifth-round pick and Thomas Vanek were traded to the Montreal Canadiens on March 5, 2014, in exchange for Sebastian Collberg and a conditional second-round pick in 2014; the condition was based on the Canadiens qualifying for the 2014 playoffs. ^[84] The team's seventh-round pick went to the Lightning as a result of a trade that sent the Lightning's seventh round picks in 2014 and 2015 to the Islanders.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	5	Michael Dal Colle	LW	Canada	Oshawa Generals ( OHL)
1	28 [a]	Joshua Ho-Sang	C/RW	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
3	78 [b]	Ilya Sorokin	G	Russia	Metallurg Novokuznetsk ( KHL)
4	95	Linus Soderstrom	G	Sweden	Djurgardens IF ( Sweden-Jr)
4	108 [c]	Devon Toews	D	Canada	Quinnipiac Bobcats ( ECAC Hockey)
6	155	Kyle Schempp	C	United States	Ferris State University ( WCHA)
7	200 [d]	Lukas Sutter	C	United States	Red Deer Rebels ( WHL)

References

External links

• 2014–15 New York Islanders Media Guide