1974–75 Washington Capitals season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1974–75 1974 Washington Capitals Wales 9th Norris 5th 8–67–5 7–28–5 1–39–0 181 446 Milt Schmidt Jim Anderson Red Sullivan Milt Schmidt Doug Mohns Tommy Williams Capital Centre Tom Williams (22) Tom Williams (36) Tom Williams (58) Yvon Labre (182) Ron Low (8) Michel Belhumeur (5.36) 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. The team's record of 8–67–5 is the worst individual season in the history of the NHL,NHL History: The 10 Worst Teams of All Time Mike Shannon 2011-08-02 Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/articles/788978-nhl-history-the-10-worst-teams-in-nhl-history#slide11 2015-10-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20221202053612/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/788978-nhl-history-the-10-worst-teams-in-nhl-history 2022-12-02 live including an all-time worst 446 goals against, with a fourth-all-time worst 5.58 team goals against average.Statistics Teams Regular Season 1917–18 to 2021–22 2022-05-01 National Hockey League https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?aggregate=0&reportType=season&seasonFrom=19171918&seasonTo=20212022&gameType=2&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=goalsAgainst&page=0&pageSize=10 2023-03-20 and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Offseason NHL draft Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team11Greg Joly (D)CanadaRegina Pats (WCHL)219Mike Marson (LW) Canada Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)337John Paddock (RW) Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)455Paul Nicholson (LW) Canada London Knights (OMJHL)573Jack Patterson (C) Canada Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)691Brian Kinsella (C) Canada Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)7109Garth Malarchuk (G) Canada Calgary Centennials (WCHL)8127John Nazar (LW) Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)9144Kelvin Erickson (G) Canada Calgary Centennials (WCHL)10161Tony White (LW) Canada Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)11176Ron Pronchuk (D) Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)12190Dave McKee (RW) Canada Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)13202Scott Mabley (D) Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)14212Bernard Plante (LW) Canada Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)15220Jacques Chiasson (RW) Canada Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)16225Bill Bell (LW) Canada Regina Pats (WCHL)17228Bob Blanchet (G) Canada Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)18231Johnny Bower Jr. (D) Canada Downsview Beavers (OPJHL)19234Yves Plouffe (D) Canada Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL)20237Terry Bozack (D) Canada Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJAHL)21240Gord Cole (LW) Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)22242Mike Cosentino (C) Canada Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)23244John Duncan (D) Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)24246Barry Kerfoot (RW) Canada Smiths Falls Bears (CJAHL)25247Ron 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 Capitals10. Pete Laframboise (LW) California Golden Seals Washington Capitals12. Bob Gryp (F) Boston Bruins Washington Capitals14. Gord Smith (D) Los Angeles Kings Washington Capitals16. Steve Atkinson (RW) Buffalo Sabres Washington Capitals18. Bruce Cowick (F) Philadelphia Flyers Washington Capitals20. Denis Dupere (LW) Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals22. Joe Lundrigan (D) Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals24. Randy Wyrozub (C) Buffalo Sabres Washington Capitals26. Mike Bloom (C) Boston Bruins Washington Capitals28. Gord Brooks (RW) St. Louis Blues Washington Capitals30. Bob Collyard (C) St. Louis Blues Washington Capitals32. Bill Mikkelson (D) New York Islanders Washington Capitals34. Ron Anderson (RW) Boston Bruins Washington Capitals36. Mike Lampman (LW) Vancouver Canucks Washington Capitals38. Lew Morrison (RW) Atlanta Flames Washington Capitals40. Steve West (C) Minnesota North Stars Washington Capitals42. Larry Bolonchuk (D) Vancouver Canucks Washington Capitals44. Murray Anderson (D) Minnesota North Stars Washington Capitals46. Larry Fullan (LW) Montreal Canadiens Washington Capitals48. 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.BleacherReport.com 2015-10-17 NHL History: The 10 Worst Teams of All Time https://bleacherreport.com/articles/788978-nhl-history-the-10-worst-teams-in-nhl-history 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. Final standings WAS Record vs. opponents WSH Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 5px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 5px solid; 1974–75 regular season1974-75 Washington Capitals Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/1975_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 22, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||L||October 9, 1974||3–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1974–75) ||0–1–0 |- |2||L||October 12, 1974||0–6 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||0–2–0 |- |3||T||October 15, 1974||1–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||0–2–1 |- |4||W||October 17, 1974||4–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) ||1–2–1 |- |5||L||October 19, 1974||4–6 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) ||1–3–1 |- |6||L||October 20, 1974||0–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1974–75) ||1–4–1 |- |7||L||October 22, 1974||0–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) ||1–5–1 |- |8||L||October 23, 1974||2–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) ||1–6–1 |- |9||L||October 27, 1974||3–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||1–7–1 |- |10||L||October 31, 1974||0–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||1–8–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |11||L||November 3, 1974||4–5 || align="left"| Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) ||1–9–1 |- |12||L||November 7, 1974||4–10 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||1–10–1 |- |13||L||November 9, 1974||2–6 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||1–11–1 |- |14||L||November 10, 1974||1–11 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||1–12–1 |- |15||T||November 12, 1974||2–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1974–75) ||1–12–2 |- |16||L||November 13, 1974||3–4 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) ||1–13–2 |- |17||L||November 16, 1974||1–8 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||1–14–2 |- |18||L||November 17, 1974||0–6 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||1–15–2 |- |19||W||November 19, 1974||6–4 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||2–15–2 |- |20||L||November 20, 1974||3–7 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) ||2–16–2 |- |21||T||November 24, 1974||4–4 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||2–16–3 |- |22||L||November 27, 1974||4–6 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||2–17–3 |- |23||L||November 30, 1974||1–7 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||2–18–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |24||L||December 1, 1974||2–5 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||2–19–3 |- |25||L||December 3, 1974||3–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) ||2–20–3 |- |26||L||December 5, 1974||2–9 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) ||2–21–3 |- |27||L||December 7, 1974||2–8 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) ||2–22–3 |- |28||L||December 8, 1974||1–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1974–75) ||2–23–3 |- |29||T||December 12, 1974||6–6 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1974–75) ||2–23–4 |- |30||L||December 14, 1974||1–12 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||2–24–4 |- |31||W||December 15, 1974||3–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||3–24–4 |- |32||L||December 17, 1974||2–4 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) ||3–25–4 |- |33||L||December 19, 1974||1–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||3–26–4 |- |34||L||December 20, 1974||2–5 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||3–27–4 |- |35||L||December 22, 1974||0–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) ||3–28–4 |- |36||L||December 26, 1974||1–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||3–29–4 |- |37||L||December 29, 1974||0–7 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1974–75) ||3–30–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |38||L||January 2, 1975||2–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1974–75) ||3–31–4 |- |39||L||January 4, 1975||0–10 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||3–32–4 |- |40||L||January 5, 1975||0–3 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) ||3–33–4 |- |41||T||January 7, 1975||3–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||3–33–5 |- |42||L||January 11, 1975||3–5 || align="left"| @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) ||3–34–5 |- |43||L||January 12, 1975||2–7 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||3–35–5 |- |44||L||January 14, 1975||2–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||3–36–5 |- |45||L||January 16, 1975||0–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||3–37–5 |- |46||L||January 19, 1975||2–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||3–38–5 |- |47||L||January 23, 1975||2–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) ||3–39–5 |- |48||L||January 25, 1975||2–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) ||3–40–5 |- |49||W||January 26, 1975||6–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) ||4–40–5 |- |50||L||January 30, 1975||4–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||4–41–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |51||L||February 1, 1975||2–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) ||4–42–5 |- |52||L||February 5, 1975||1–5 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||4–43–5 |- |53||L||February 8, 1975||1–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1974–75) ||4–44–5 |- |54||L||February 9, 1975||3–7 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1974–75) ||4–45–5 |- |55||W||February 11, 1975||7–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1974–75) ||5–45–5 |- |56||L||February 13, 1975||1–5 || align="left"| @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) ||5–46–5 |- |57||L||February 15, 1975||1–7 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) ||5–47–5 |- |58||W||February 16, 1975||3–0 || align="left"| Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) ||6–47–5 |- |59||L||February 18, 1975||1–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||6–48–5 |- |60||L||February 21, 1975||4–9 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) ||6–49–5 |- |61||L||February 22, 1975||3–10 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) ||6–50–5 |- |62||L||February 23, 1975||2–7 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1974–75) ||6–51–5 |- |63||L||February 25, 1975||2–6 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) ||6–52–5 |- |64||L||February 26, 1975||1–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||6–53–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |65||L||March 1, 1975||4–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||6–54–5 |- |66||L||March 2, 1975||3–7 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) ||6–55–5 |- |67||L||March 4, 1975||0–8 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||6–56–5 |- |68||L||March 7, 1975||4–8 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||6–57–5 |- |69||L||March 9, 1975||2–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||6–58–5 |- |70||L||March 15, 1975||1–12 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||6–59–5 |- |71||L||March 18, 1975||2–7 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||6–60–5 |- |72||L||March 20, 1975||1–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) ||6–61–5 |- |73||L||March 22, 1975||2–8 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||6–62–5 |- |74||L||March 23, 1975||0–5 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1974–75) ||6–63–5 |- |75||L||March 26, 1975||1–5 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||6–64–5 |- |76||W||March 28, 1975||5–3 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||7–64–5 |- |77||L||March 30, 1975||5–8 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) ||7–65–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |78||L||April 2, 1975||3–8 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) ||7–66–5 |- |79||L||April 5, 1975||2–10 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||7–67–5 |- |80||W||April 6, 1975||8–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||8–67–5 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Player statistics thumb|right|Tommy Williams led the Capitals in scoring with 58 points in 73 games Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Tommy Williams Tom Williams (ice hockey, born 1940) RW 73 22 36 58 12-48721 Denis Dupere LW 53 20 15 35 8-41800 Mike Marson LW 76 16 12 28 59-65502 Yvon Labre D 76 4 23 27 182-54000 Ron Lalonde C 50 12 14 26 27-39411 Mike Bloom Mike Bloom (ice hockey) LW 67 7 19 26 84-54000 Dave Kryskow LW 51 9 15 24 83-28110 Doug Mohns LW/D 75 2 19 21 54-52100 Bill Lesuk LW 79 8 11 19 77-34120 Stan Gilbertson LW 25 11 7 18 12-37201 Garnet Bailey LW 22 4 13 17 8-29100 Ron Anderson Ron Henry Anderson RW 28 9 7 16 8-20400 Steve Atkinson RW 46 11 4 15 8-26320 Pete Laframboise LW/C 45 5 10 15 22-37000 Bob Gryp LW 27 5 8 13 21-24000 Bruce Cowick LW 65 5 6 11 41-42000 Gord Smith ice hockey D 63 3 8 11 56-56200 Gord Brooks RW 38 1 10 11 25-19100 Nelson Pyatt C 16 6 4 10 21-14001 Jim Hrycuik C 21 5 5 10 12-12100 Bill Mikkelson D 59 3 7 10 52-82300 Paul Nicholson Paul Nicholson (ice hockey) LW 39 4 5 9 7-29001 Greg Joly D 44 1 7 8 44-68100 Jack Lynch ice hockey D 20 1 5 6 16-54000 Jack Egers RW 14 3 2 5 8-14101 Lew Morrison RW 18 0 4 4 6-14000 Ron Jones Ron Jones (ice hockey) D 19 1 1 2 16-14100 Michel Belhumeur G 35 0 2 2 100000 Tony White Tony White (ice hockey) LW 5 0 2 2 00000 Willie Brossart D 12 1 0 1 14-14000 Larry Fullan LW 4 1 0 1 0-2100 Blair Stewart Blair Stewart (ice hockey) C 2 1 0 1 2-2000 Murray Anderson Murray Anderson (ice hockey) D 40 0 1 1 68-40000 John Adams John Adams (ice hockey born 1946) G 8 0 0 0 20000 Ron Low G 48 0 0 0 40000 Joe Lundrigan D 3 0 0 0 2-3000 Andre Peloffy C 9 0 0 0 0-8000 Bill Riley Bill Riley (ice hockey, born 1950) RW 1 0 0 0 0-1000 Rod Seiling D 1 0 0 0 00000 Goaltending PlayerGPMINW LTGAGAA SO Ron Low 48 2588 8 36 2 235 5.45 1 Michel Belhumeur 35 1812 0 24 3 162 5.36 0 John Adams John Adams (ice hockey born 1946) 8 400 0 7 0 46 6.90 0 Team: 80 4800 8 67 5 446fn1 Team total Goals Against includes three empty-net goals 5.58 1 Sourcehockey-reference.com 2009-06-02 1974-75 Washington Capitals Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/1975.html 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; References External links Capitals on Database Hockey Capitals Game Log on Database Hockey Category:Washington Capitals seasons Wash Washing Washing