1974–75 Washington Capitals season

The 1974–75 Washington Capitals season was the first in Capitals history. Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the National Hockey League as an expansion team for the 1974–75 season. The team was owned by Abe Pollin, owner of the NBA's Washington Bullets. Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets (who formerly played in Baltimore) and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager.

1974–75 Washington Capitals
Division	5th Norris
Conference	9th Wales
1974–75 record	8–67–5
Home record	7–28–5
Road record	1–39–0
Goals for	181
Goals against	446
Team information
General manager	Milt Schmidt
Coach	Jim Anderson Red Sullivan Milt Schmidt
Captain	Doug Mohns
Arena	Capital Centre
Team leaders
Goals	Tom Williams (22)
Assists	Tom Williams (36)
Points	Tom Williams (58)
Penalty minutes	Yvon Labre (182)
Wins	Ron Low (8)
Goals against average	Michel Belhumeur (5.36)
1975–76 →

The team's record of 8–67–5 is the worst individual season in the history of the NHL,^[1] including an all-time worst 446 goals against, with a fourth-all-time worst 5.58 team goals against average.^[2]

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	1	Greg Joly (D)	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
2	19	Mike Marson (LW)	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
3	37	John Paddock (RW)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
4	55	Paul Nicholson (LW)	Canada	London Knights (OMJHL)
5	73	Jack Patterson (C)	Canada	Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
6	91	Brian Kinsella (C)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
7	109	Garth Malarchuk (G)	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
8	127	John Nazar (LW)	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
9	144	Kelvin Erickson (G)	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
10	161	Tony White (LW)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
11	176	Ron Pronchuk (D)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
12	190	Dave McKee (RW)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
13	202	Scott Mabley (D)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
14	212	Bernard Plante (LW)	Canada	Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
15	220	Jacques Chiasson (RW)	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)
16	225	Bill Bell (LW)	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
17	228	Bob Blanchet (G)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
18	231	Johnny Bower Jr. (D)	Canada	Downsview Beavers (OPJHL)
19	234	Yves Plouffe (D)	Canada	Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL)
20	237	Terry Bozack (D)	Canada	Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJAHL)
21	240	Gord Cole (LW)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
22	242	Mike Cosentino (C)	Canada	Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)
23	244	John Duncan (D)	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
24	246	Barry Kerfoot (RW)	Canada	Smiths Falls Bears (CJAHL)
25	247	Ron Poole (C)	Canada	Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)

Expansion draft

#	Player	Drafted From	Drafted By
2.	Ron Low (G)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Washington Capitals
4.	Michel Belhumeur (G)	Philadelphia Flyers	Washington Capitals
6.	Dave Kryskow (F)	Chicago Black Hawks	Washington Capitals
8.	Yvon Labre (D)	Pittsburgh Penguins	Washington Capitals
10.	Pete Laframboise (LW)	California Golden Seals	Washington Capitals
12.	Bob Gryp (F)	Boston Bruins	Washington Capitals
14.	Gord Smith (D)	Los Angeles Kings	Washington Capitals
16.	Steve Atkinson (RW)	Buffalo Sabres	Washington Capitals
18.	Bruce Cowick (F)	Philadelphia Flyers	Washington Capitals
20.	Denis Dupere (LW)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Washington Capitals
22.	Joe Lundrigan (D)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Washington Capitals
24.	Randy Wyrozub (C)	Buffalo Sabres	Washington Capitals
26.	Mike Bloom (C)	Boston Bruins	Washington Capitals
28.	Gord Brooks (RW)	St. Louis Blues	Washington Capitals
30.	Bob Collyard (C)	St. Louis Blues	Washington Capitals
32.	Bill Mikkelson (D)	New York Islanders	Washington Capitals
34.	Ron Anderson (RW)	Boston Bruins	Washington Capitals
36.	Mike Lampman (LW)	Vancouver Canucks	Washington Capitals
38.	Lew Morrison (RW)	Atlanta Flames	Washington Capitals
40.	Steve West (C)	Minnesota North Stars	Washington Capitals
42.	Larry Bolonchuk (D)	Vancouver Canucks	Washington Capitals
44.	Murray Anderson (D)	Minnesota North Stars	Washington Capitals
46.	Larry Fullan (LW)	Montreal Canadiens	Washington Capitals
48.	Jack Egers (RW)	New York Rangers	Washington Capitals

Regular season

Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the NHL as an expansion team for the 1974–75 season. With a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the rival World Hockey Association, the talent pool available to stock the new teams was extremely thin. In their first season, the Capitals would set an NHL record for futility, losing 67 of 80 games, and only winning one on the road. The Scouts fared only marginally better (getting their first win against the Capitals, albeit in their tenth game of existence), and the expansion was widely seen as having been a mistake.

The Capitals' inaugural season was dreadful, even by expansion standards. They finished 8–67–5, which is the worst record in NHL history.^[3] Their 21 points were half that of their expansion brethren, the Scouts. They won only eight games, the fewest ever by a team playing at least 70 games. Their .131 winning percentage is still the worst in NHL history. They also set records for most road losses (39 out of 40), most consecutive road losses (37) and most consecutive losses (17), most of which have now been broken. Schmidt himself had to take over the coaching reins late in the season. The Capitals failed to qualify for the playoffs.

They won their only road game against the California Golden Seals in the 76th game of the season and third-to-last road game of the season.

Of Washington's eight wins, seven of them were decided by two goals or more, with their season superlative 8–4 win in their final game.

The last remaining active member of the 1974–75 Washington Capitals was Ron Low, who played his final NHL game in the 1984–85 season, although he missed the 1978–79 season, as well as the season before this one.

Final standings

Norris Division^[4]

• v
• t
• e

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	80	47	14	19	374	225	+149	113
2	Los Angeles Kings	80	42	17	21	269	185	+84	105
3	Pittsburgh Penguins	80	37	28	15	326	289	+37	89
4	Detroit Red Wings	80	23	45	12	259	335	−76	58
5	Washington Capitals	80	8	67	5	181	446	−265	21

Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Norris Division 1974–75 NHL records[5] Team DET LAK MTL PIT WSH Total Detroit — 0–5–1 0–4–2 2–4 5–1 7–14–3 Los Angeles 5–0–1 — 1–2–3 3–1–2 5–0–1 14–3–7 Montreal 4–0–2 2–1–3 — 4–1–1 6–0 16–2–6 Pittsburgh 4–2 1–3–2 1–4–1 — 5–1 11–10–3 Washington 1–5 0–5–1 0–6 1–5 — 2–21–1 Vs. Adams Division 1974–75 NHL records Team BOS BUF CAL TOR Total Detroit 1–4 1–3–1 2–2–1 1–3–1 5–12–3 Los Angeles 3–2 3–1–1 2–1–2 4–0–1 12–4–4 Montreal 3–0–2 0–4–1 5–0 1–2–2 9–6–5 Pittsburgh 1–2–2 0–3–2 4–0–1 4–1 9–6–5 Washington 0–4–1 0–5 2–3 1–4 3–16–1 Vs. Patrick Division 1974–75 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI Total Detroit 2–2 2–2 1–2–1 1–2–1 6–8–2 Los Angeles 1–2–1 0–1–3 1–1–2 1–2–1 3–6–7 Montreal 3–0–1 0–2–2 2–0–2 1–2–1 6–4–6 Pittsburgh 1–1–2 2–2 2–2 1–3 6–8–2 Washington 0–3–1 0–4 1–2–1 0–4 1–13–2 Vs. Smythe Division 1974–75 NHL records Team CHI KCS MIN STL VAN Total Detroit 1–2–1 3–1 0–2–2 0–3–1 1–3 5–11–4 Los Angeles 2–2 3–1 4–0 3–0–1 1–1–2 13–4–3 Montreal 3–0–1 4–0 4–0 1–2–1 4–0 16–2–2 Pittsburgh 2–1–1 2–0–2 3–1 1–1–2 3–1 11–4–5 Washington 1–3 1–3 0–3–1 0–4 0–4 2–17–1

Schedule and results

1974–75 regular season[6]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 9, 1974 3–6 @ New York Rangers (1974–75) 0–1–0 2 L October 12, 1974 0–6 @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 0–2–0 3 T October 15, 1974 1–1 Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 0–2–1 4 W October 17, 1974 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 1–2–1 5 L October 19, 1974 4–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 1–3–1 6 L October 20, 1974 0–5 New York Islanders (1974–75) 1–4–1 7 L October 22, 1974 0–3 Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 1–5–1 8 L October 23, 1974 2–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 1–6–1 9 L October 27, 1974 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 1–7–1 10 L October 31, 1974 0–3 Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) 1–8–1
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 11 L November 3, 1974 4–5 Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 1–9–1 12 L November 7, 1974 4–10 @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) 1–10–1 13 L November 9, 1974 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 1–11–1 14 L November 10, 1974 1–11 Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) 1–12–1 15 T November 12, 1974 2–2 Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 1–12–2 16 L November 13, 1974 3–4 @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 1–13–2 17 L November 16, 1974 1–8 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 1–14–2 18 L November 17, 1974 0–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 1–15–2 19 W November 19, 1974 6–4 California Golden Seals (1974–75) 2–15–2 20 L November 20, 1974 3–7 @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 2–16–2 21 T November 24, 1974 4–4 Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 2–16–3 22 L November 27, 1974 4–6 @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 2–17–3 23 L November 30, 1974 1–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 2–18–3
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 24 L December 1, 1974 2–5 California Golden Seals (1974–75) 2–19–3 25 L December 3, 1974 3–5 Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 2–20–3 26 L December 5, 1974 2–9 @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 2–21–3 27 L December 7, 1974 2–8 @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 2–22–3 28 L December 8, 1974 1–3 St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 2–23–3 29 T December 12, 1974 6–6 New York Rangers (1974–75) 2–23–4 30 L December 14, 1974 1–12 @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) 2–24–4 31 W December 15, 1974 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 3–24–4 32 L December 17, 1974 2–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 3–25–4 33 L December 19, 1974 1–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 3–26–4 34 L December 20, 1974 2–5 @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) 3–27–4 35 L December 22, 1974 0–4 Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 3–28–4 36 L December 26, 1974 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 3–29–4 37 L December 29, 1974 0–7 New York Islanders (1974–75) 3–30–4
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 38 L January 2, 1975 2–5 @ New York Islanders (1974–75) 3–31–4 39 L January 4, 1975 0–10 @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) 3–32–4 40 L January 5, 1975 0–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 3–33–4 41 T January 7, 1975 3–3 Boston Bruins (1974–75) 3–33–5 42 L January 11, 1975 3–5 @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 3–34–5 43 L January 12, 1975 2–7 Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) 3–35–5 44 L January 14, 1975 2–6 Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 3–36–5 45 L January 16, 1975 0–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 3–37–5 46 L January 19, 1975 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 3–38–5 47 L January 23, 1975 2–3 Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 3–39–5 48 L January 25, 1975 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 3–40–5 49 W January 26, 1975 6–3 Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 4–40–5 50 L January 30, 1975 4–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 4–41–5
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 51 L February 1, 1975 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 4–42–5 52 L February 5, 1975 1–5 @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) 4–43–5 53 L February 8, 1975 1–5 @ New York Islanders (1974–75) 4–44–5 54 L February 9, 1975 3–7 @ New York Rangers (1974–75) 4–45–5 55 W February 11, 1975 7–4 New York Rangers (1974–75) 5–45–5 56 L February 13, 1975 1–5 @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 5–46–5 57 L February 15, 1975 1–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 5–47–5 58 W February 16, 1975 3–0 Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 6–47–5 59 L February 18, 1975 1–6 Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 6–48–5 60 L February 21, 1975 4–9 Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 6–49–5 61 L February 22, 1975 3–10 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 6–50–5 62 L February 23, 1975 2–7 St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 6–51–5 63 L February 25, 1975 2–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 6–52–5 64 L February 26, 1975 1–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 6–53–5
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 65 L March 1, 1975 4–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 6–54–5 66 L March 2, 1975 3–7 Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 6–55–5 67 L March 4, 1975 0–8 Boston Bruins (1974–75) 6–56–5 68 L March 7, 1975 4–8 @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) 6–57–5 69 L March 9, 1975 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 6–58–5 70 L March 15, 1975 1–12 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 6–59–5 71 L March 18, 1975 2–7 Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 6–60–5 72 L March 20, 1975 1–5 Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 6–61–5 73 L March 22, 1975 2–8 @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) 6–62–5 74 L March 23, 1975 0–5 Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 6–63–5 75 L March 26, 1975 1–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 6–64–5 76 W March 28, 1975 5–3 @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) 7–64–5 77 L March 30, 1975 5–8 Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 7–65–5
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 78 L April 2, 1975 3–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 7–66–5 79 L April 5, 1975 2–10 @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) 7–67–5 80 W April 6, 1975 8–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 8–67–5
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Tommy Williams	RW	73	22	36	58	12	-48	7	2	1
Denis Dupere	LW	53	20	15	35	8	-41	8	0	0
Mike Marson	LW	76	16	12	28	59	-65	5	0	2
Yvon Labre	D	76	4	23	27	182	-54	0	0	0
Ron Lalonde	C	50	12	14	26	27	-39	4	1	1
Mike Bloom	LW	67	7	19	26	84	-54	0	0	0
Dave Kryskow	LW	51	9	15	24	83	-28	1	1	0
Doug Mohns	LW/D	75	2	19	21	54	-52	1	0	0
Bill Lesuk	LW	79	8	11	19	77	-34	1	2	0
Stan Gilbertson	LW	25	11	7	18	12	-37	2	0	1
Garnet Bailey	LW	22	4	13	17	8	-29	1	0	0
Ron Anderson	RW	28	9	7	16	8	-20	4	0	0
Steve Atkinson	RW	46	11	4	15	8	-26	3	2	0
Pete Laframboise	LW/C	45	5	10	15	22	-37	0	0	0
Bob Gryp	LW	27	5	8	13	21	-24	0	0	0
Bruce Cowick	LW	65	5	6	11	41	-42	0	0	0
Gord Smith	D	63	3	8	11	56	-56	2	0	0
Gord Brooks	RW	38	1	10	11	25	-19	1	0	0
Nelson Pyatt	C	16	6	4	10	21	-14	0	0	1
Jim Hrycuik	C	21	5	5	10	12	-12	1	0	0
Bill Mikkelson	D	59	3	7	10	52	-82	3	0	0
Paul Nicholson	LW	39	4	5	9	7	-29	0	0	1
Greg Joly	D	44	1	7	8	44	-68	1	0	0
Jack Lynch	D	20	1	5	6	16	-54	0	0	0
Jack Egers	RW	14	3	2	5	8	-14	1	0	1
Lew Morrison	RW	18	0	4	4	6	-14	0	0	0
Ron Jones	D	19	1	1	2	16	-14	1	0	0
Michel Belhumeur	G	35	0	2	2	10	0	0	0	0
Tony White	LW	5	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Willie Brossart	D	12	1	0	1	14	-14	0	0	0
Larry Fullan	LW	4	1	0	1	0	-2	1	0	0
Blair Stewart	C	2	1	0	1	2	-2	0	0	0
Murray Anderson	D	40	0	1	1	68	-40	0	0	0
John Adams	G	8	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Ron Low	G	48	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Joe Lundrigan	D	3	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
Andre Peloffy	C	9	0	0	0	0	-8	0	0	0
Bill Riley	RW	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Rod Seiling	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Ron Low	2588	48	8	36	2	235	5.45	1
John Adams	400	8	0	7	0	46	6.90	0
Michel Belhumeur	1812	35	0	24	3	162	5.36	0
Team:	4800	80	8	67	5	446[a]	5.58	1

1. Team total Goals Against includes three empty-net goals^[2]

Source^[7]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts;