1974–75 Washington Capitals season

1974–75 Washington Capitals
Division	5th Norris
Conference	9th Prince of 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
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)

The 1974–75 Washington Capitals season was the first in the franchise's history. Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the National Hockey League as an expansion team for the 1974–75 season. The Capitals finished last in the Norris Division with the worst record in post-expansion history.

Off-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.

Draft Picks

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	1	Greg Joly (D)	Canada	Regina Pats (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

The original Capitals logo, used from 1974-95.

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, 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, far and away the worst record in the league. 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.

On an interesting note, of Washington's eight wins, four of them were by three goals or more.

Final Standings

Norris Division

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

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

No.	R	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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Playoffs

The Capitals had an appalling first season and did not qualify for the playoffs. They had the worst point percentage all-time in post-expansion NHL history and the worst road record in all-time NHL history as well. 

Player Stats

Regular Season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Williams, TommyTommy Williams	RW	73	22	36	58	12	-48	7	2	1
Dupere, DenisDenis Dupere	LW	53	20	15	35	8	-41	8	0	0
Marson, MikeMike Marson	LW	76	16	12	28	59	-65	5	0	2
Labre, YvonYvon Labre	D	76	4	23	27	182	-54	0	0	0
Lalonde, RonRon Lalonde	C	50	12	14	26	27	-39	4	1	1
Bloom, MikeMike Bloom	LW	67	7	19	26	84	-54	0	0	0
Kryskow, DaveDave Kryskow	LW	51	9	15	24	83	-28	1	1	0
Mohns, DougDoug Mohns	LW/D	75	2	19	21	54	-52	1	0	0
Lesuk, BillBill Lesuk	LW	79	8	11	19	77	-34	1	2	0
Gilbertson, StanStan Gilbertson	LW	25	11	7	18	12	-37	2	0	1
Bailey, GarnetGarnet Bailey	LW	22	4	13	17	8	-29	1	0	0
Anderson, RonRon Anderson	RW	28	9	7	16	8	-20	4	0	0
Atkinson, SteveSteve Atkinson	RW	46	11	4	15	8	-26	3	2	0
Laframboise, PetePete Laframboise	LW/C	45	5	10	15	22	-37	0	0	0
Gryp, BobBob Gryp	LW	27	5	8	13	21	-24	0	0	0
Cowick, BruceBruce Cowick	LW	65	5	6	11	41	-42	0	0	0
Smith, GordGord Smith	D	63	3	8	11	56	-56	2	0	0
Brooks, GordGord Brooks	RW	38	1	10	11	25	-19	1	0	0
Pyatt, NelsonNelson Pyatt	C	16	6	4	10	21	-14	0	0	1
Hrycuik, JimJim Hrycuik	C	21	5	5	10	12	-12	1	0	0
Mikkelson, BillBill Mikkelson	D	59	3	7	10	52	-82	3	0	0
Nicholson, PaulPaul Nicholson	LW	39	4	5	9	7	-29	0	0	1
Joly, GregGreg Joly	D	44	1	7	8	44	-68	1	0	0
Lynch, JackJack Lynch	D	20	1	5	6	16	-54	0	0	0
Egers, JackJack Egers	RW	14	3	2	5	8	-14	1	0	1
Morrison, LewLew Morrison	RW	18	0	4	4	6	-14	0	0	0
Jones, RonRon Jones	D	19	1	1	2	16	-14	1	0	0
Belhumeur, MichelMichel Belhumeur	G	35	0	2	2	10	0	0	0	0
White, TonyTony White	LW	5	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Brossart, WillieWillie Brossart	D	12	1	0	1	14	-14	0	0	0
Stewart, BlairBlair Stewart	C	2	1	0	1	2	-2	0	0	0
Fullan, LarryLarry Fullan	LW	4	1	0	1	0	-2	1	0	0
Anderson, MurrayMurray Anderson	D	40	0	1	1	68	-40	0	0	0
Riley, BillBill Riley	RW	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Seiling, RodRod Seiling	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lundrigan, JoeJoe Lundrigan	D	3	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
Peloffy, AndreAndre Peloffy	C	9	0	0	0	0	-8	0	0	0
Adams, JohnJohn Adams	G	8	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Low, RonRon Low	G	48	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Low, RonRon Low	2588	48	8	36	2	235	5.45	1
Adams, JohnJohn Adams	400	8	0	7	0	46	6.90	0
Belhumeur, MichelMichel Belhumeur	1812	35	0	24	3	162	5.36	0
Team:	4800	80	8	67	5	443	5.54	1

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

Awards and Records

• The Capitals did not win any awards this season.

References

• Capitals on Database Hockey
• Capitals Game Log on Database Hockey