2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 42nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Flyers began the 2008–09 season by naming Mike Richards the 17th captain in Flyers history on September 17, with Jason Smith headed to Ottawa as a free agent. The Flyers were looking to build on the success of the previous season but instead got off to an 0-3-3 start which became indicative of the season ahead. Despite a solid December and January and finishing with 4 points more than the year before, for the most part the 2008-09 Flyers played inconsistent and looked like different teams, playing at the top of their ability one night and a subpar performance the next. Derian Hatcher missed the entire regular season and playoffs with a knee injury, and Steve Downie was traded to Tampa Bay for defenseman Matt Carle. Two pleasant surprises were the emergence of rookie center Claude Giroux and defenseman Luca Sbisa who was drafted by the Flyers in June with the 19th overall pick acquired from Columbus in exchange for R.J. Umberger, who became a victim of a salary cap crunch. Scottie Upshall also found himself the victim of such a crunch, traded to Phoenix for Daniel Carcillo at the trade deadline.

Despite holding on to the 4th seed in the East for much of the season, thanks to a 4-5-1 finish to the season, highlighted by a home loss to the Rangers on the last day of the regular season, the Flyers slipped to the 5th seed and lost home-ice advantage in their first round series with Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh dominated the Flyers in Game 1, and despite a better effort by the Flyers in Game 2 Pittsburgh came to Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead. The Flyers were the better team in Games 3 and 4, but Pittsburgh gained a split in Philadelphia and took a 3-1 series lead. After a decisive 3-0 win in Game 5, the Flyers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 6, but promptly fell victim to the inconsistencies that plagued the team all season and gave up 5 unanswered goals in a season-ending 5-3 loss.

Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA= Goals Against Average; SA= Shots Against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO= Shutouts

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Flyers. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

‡Traded mid-season

Transactions
The Flyers have been involved in the following transactions before and during the 2008–09 season.

Draft picks
Philadelphia's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.

Farm teams
The 2008–09 season will be the Phantoms' last playing in the Wachovia Spectrum and means they will move following the season. Comcast Spectacor sold the Phantoms to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh on February 4, 2009, and the new ownership has expressed interest in eventually moving the Phantoms to Allentown provided that a multi-purpose arena can be constructed there. Until a permanent new home is found for the club it will have to operate starting in 2009–10 in a temporary location. The site being given the most serious consideration for that is Glen Falls, the former home of the AHL Adirondack Red Wings from 1979 to 1999. Comcast Spectacor continues to operate the team through the conclusion of the 2008–09 AHL season and playoffs.
 * American Hockey League - Philadelphia Phantoms (Standings)

With Craig Berube returning to his role as an assistant coach with the Flyers, John Paddock was named head coach of the Phantoms. The Phantoms trailed the Binghamton Senators by as many as 12 points on March 14 for the final playoff spot in the East Division, but came back to overtake Binghamton and clinch the final playoff spot in the final regular season game at the Spectrum. The Phantoms final season in Philadelphia came to an end after being swept from the first round of the playoffs by the Hershey Bears.

Mississippi missed the ECHL playoffs and announced they would suspend operations for the 2009–10 season. If the Flyers align with a new ECHL club for 2009–10, it will be their fourth ECHL affiliate in four seasons.
 * ECHL - Mississippi Sea Wolves (Standings)