2008–09 Detroit Red Wings season

2008–09 Detroit Red Wings
Division	1st Central
Conference	2nd Western
2008–09 record	51–19–10
Home record	27–8–5
Road record	27–11–5
Goals for	297
Goals against	244
Team information
General manager	Ken Holland
Coach	Mike Babcock
Captain	Nicklas Lidstrom
Alternate captains	Pavel Datsyuk Kris Draper Henrik Zetterberg
Arena	Joe Louis Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Marian Hossa (40)
Assists	Pavel Datsyuk (65)
Points	Pavel Datsyuk (97)
Penalty minutes	Andreas Lilja (66)
Plus/minus	Pavel Datsyuk (34)
Wins	Chris Osgood (26)
Goals against average	Ty Conklin (2.51)

The 2008–09 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Detroit Red Wings attempt to defend their Stanley Cup title, but they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games in the Stanley Cup Finals, the team they defeated in the finals the previous season. They were also unable to win the Presidents' Trophy for a second consecutive season. It was the 82nd season for the franchise (76th as the Detroit Red Wings). They did win the Clarence Campbell trophy in the western conference finals against the Chicago Blackhawks though a few days before the Stanley Cup finals.

Offseason

June 9: Dominik Hasek announced his retirement from the NHL.

June 10: Detroit signed head coach Mike Babcock to three-year contract extension.

June 11: Assistant coach, Todd McLellan signed with the San Jose Sharks as their new head coach.

June 30: The Detroit Red Wings re-signed defenseman Andreas Lilja to a two-year contract.

July 1: Brad Stuart re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings. It is a four-year deal worth $3.75 million per season, and a no-trade clause for the first two.

July 2: Marian Hossa Signs 1 year $7.45M Contract

July 15: Dallas Drake announced his retirement from the NHL.

July 23: Ryan Oulahen re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings with a one-year deal.

July 30: Valtteri Filppula re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings. It is a $15 million, five-year deal.

Regular season

Divisional standings

Central Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
y-Detroit Red Wings	82	51	21	10	295	244	112
x-Chicago Blackhawks	82	46	24	12	264	216	104
x-St. Louis Blues	82	41	31	10	233	233	92
x-Columbus Blue Jackets	82	41	31	10	226	230	92
e-Nashville Predators	82	40	34	8	213	233	88

Conference standings

Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
p-San Jose Sharks *	82	53	18	11	257	204	117
y-Detroit Red Wings *	82	51	21	10	295	244	112
y-Vancouver Canucks *	82	45	27	10	246	220	100
x-Chicago Blackhawks	82	46	24	12	264	216	104
x-Calgary Flames	82	46	30	6	254	248	98
x-St. Louis Blues	82	41	31	10	233	233	92
x-Columbus Blue Jackets	82	41	31	10	226	230	92
x-Anaheim Ducks	82	42	33	7	245	238	91
e-Minnesota Wild	82	40	33	9	219	200	89
e-Nashville Predators	82	40	34	8	213	233	88
e-Edmonton Oilers	82	38	35	9	234	248	85
e-Dallas Stars	82	36	35	11	230	257	83
e-Phoenix Coyotes	82	36	39	7	208	252	79
e-Los Angeles Kings	82	34	37	11	207	234	79
e-Colorado Avalanche	82	32	45	5	199	257	69

x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched division title, p - clinched Presidents' Trophy and best record in conference, e - eliminated from playoff contention

* – division leader

Playoffs

See also: 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs

Detroit has not missed the post-season since 1989–90. The 2008–09 season is their 18th consecutive playoff season.

During the finals, Coach Mike Babcock joined Mike Keenan as the only coaches in NHL history to coach in Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals on two different teams, having been with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2003. When the Red Wings lost Game 7, Babcock had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first coach in NHL history to lose a Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals on two different teams, as his Ducks lost to the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

Player stats

Skaters

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

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Datsyuk, PavelPavel Datsyuk 81 32 65 97 +34 22 Zetterberg, HenrikHenrik Zetterberg 77 31 42 73 +13 36 Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa 74 40 31 71 +27 63 Lidstrom, NicklasNicklas Lidstrom 78 16 43 59 +31 30 Rafalski, BrianBrian Rafalski 78 10 49 59 +17 20 Franzen, JohanJohan Franzen 71 34 25 59 +21 44 Hudler, JiriJiri Hudler 82 23 34 57 +7 16 Kronwall, NiklasNiklas Kronwall 80 6 45 51 +2 50 Cleary, DanielDaniel Cleary 74 14 26 40 0 46 Samuelsson, MikaelMikael Samuelsson 81 19 21 40 0 50 Filppula, ValtteriValtteri Filppula 80 12 28 40 +9 42 Holmstrom, TomasTomas Holmstrom 53 14 23 37 +18 38 Kopecky, TomasTomas Kopecky 79 6 13 19 -7 46 Draper, KrisKris Draper 79 7 10 17 -13 40 Lebda, BrettBrett Lebda 65 6 10 16 +9 48 Stuart, BradBrad Stuart 67 2 13 15 -3 26 Lilja, AndreasAndreas Lilja 60 2 11 13 +13 66 Maltby, KirkKirk Maltby 78 5 6 11 -9 28 Leino, VilleVille Leino 13 5 4 9 +5 6 Meech, DerekDerek Meech 41 2 5 7 -12 12 Ericsson, JonathanJonathan Ericsson 19 1 3 4 -1 15 Downey, AaronAaron Downey 4 1 1 2 0 7 McCarty, DarrenDarren McCarty 13 1 0 1 -2 25 Helm, DarrenDarren Helm 16 0 1 1 -7 4 Chelios, ChrisChris Chelios 28 0 0 0 +1 18 Abdelkader, JustinJustin Abdelkader 2 0 0 0 0 0

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Zetterberg, HenrikHenrik Zetterberg 23 11 13 24 +13 13 Franzen, JohanJohan Franzen 23 12 11 23 +8 12 Lidstrom, NicklasNicklas Lidstrom 21 4 12 16 +11 6 Filppula, ValtteriValtteri Filppula 23 3 13 16 +8 8 Cleary, DanielDaniel Cleary 23 9 6 15 +17 12 Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa 23 6 9 15 +5 10 Rafalski, BrianBrian Rafalski 18 3 9 12 +11 11 Hudler, JiriJiri Hudler 23 4 8 12 +4 6 Samuelsson, MikaelMikael Samuelsson 23 5 5 10 +7 6 Stuart, BradBrad Stuart 23 3 6 9 +5 12 Datsyuk, PavelPavel Datsyuk 16 1 8 9 +5 9 Kronwall, NiklasNiklas Kronwall 23 2 7 9 +4 33 Ericsson, JonathanJonathan Ericsson 22 4 4 8 +9 25 Holmstrom, TomasTomas Holmstrom 23 2 5 7 -2 22 Lebda, BrettBrett Lebda 23 0 6 6 +8 22 Helm, DarrenDarren Helm 23 4 1 5 +1 4 Abdelkader, JustinJustin Abdelkader 10 2 1 3 +2 0 Leino, VilleVille Leino 7 0 2 2 +2 0 Draper, KrisKris Draper 8 1 0 1 0 0 Maltby, KirkKirk Maltby 20 0 1 1 -1 2 Kopecky, TomasTomas Kopecky 8 0 1 1 0 7 Chelios, ChrisChris Chelios 6 0 0 0 0 2 Meech, DerekDerek Meech 2 0 0 0 0 0

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

Regular season
Player GP TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO Osgood, ChrisChris Osgood 46 2662 26 9 8 137 3.09 1208 1071 .887 2 Conklin, TyTy Conklin 40 2246 25 11 2 94 2.51 1033 939 .909 6 Howard, JimmyJimmy Howard 1 58 0 1 0 4 4.10 28 24 .857 0

Playoffs
Player GP TOI W L GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO Osgood, ChrisChris Osgood 23 1,405 15 8 47 2.01 637 590 .926 2 Conklin, TyTy Conklin 1 19 0 0 0 0.00 9 9 1.000 0

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
Team member	Milestone	Reached
Andreas Lilja	400th NHL game	October 11, 2008
Brett Lebda	200th NHL game	October 11, 2008
Marian Hossa	300th NHL goal	October 18, 2008
Ken Holland	500th win as General Manager	October 27, 2008
Niklas Kronwall	200th NHL game	November 26, 2008
Brad Stuart	600th NHL game	November 28, 2008
Pavel Datsyuk	300th NHL assist	November 28, 2008
Johan Franzen	100th NHL point	December 1, 2008
Derek Meech	1st NHL goal	December 4, 2008
Jiri Hudler	200th NHL game	December 10, 2008
Mike Babcock	250th Win as coach	December 10, 2008
Jiri Hudler	100th NHL point	January 1, 2009
Chris Chelios	NHL record for most regular season career wins (880)	January 7, 2009
Valtteri Filppula	200th NHL game	January 17, 2009
Brian Rafalski	400th NHL point	January 17, 2009
Henrik Zetterberg	400th NHL game	January 27, 2009
Ville Leino	1st NHL goal	January 31, 2009
Kris Draper	1000th NHL game	February 2, 2009
Pavel Datsyuk	500th NHL game	February 13, 2009
Mike Babcock	200th win as coach of the Red Wings	February 18, 2009
Pavel Datsyuk	500th NHL point	February 25, 2009
Kirk Maltby	1000th NHL game	February 27, 2009
Chris Osgood	300th win with the Red Wings	March 14, 2009

Transactions

Free agents

Acquired by Detroit Player Former team Contract Terms Ty Conklin Pittsburgh Penguins 1 year; $750,000 Marian Hossa Pittsburgh Penguins 1 year; $7.4 million Darren Haydar Atlanta Thrashers 1 year

Leaving Detroit Player New team Garrett Stafford Dallas Stars Mark Cullen Vancouver Canucks Carl Corazzini Edmonton Oilers

Draft picks

Detroit's selections at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.

Round	Overall Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	30	Thomas McCollum	Goaltender	United States	Guelph Storm (OHL)
3	91	Max Nicastro	Defenseman	United States	Chicago Steel (USHL)
4	121	Gustav Nyquist	Center	Sweden	Malmö Redhawks (Sweden Jr.)
5	151	Julien Cayer	Center	Canada	Northwood School (HS-New York)
6	181	Stephen Johnston	Left Wing	Canada	Belleville Bulls (OHL)
7	211	Jesper Samuelsson	Center	Sweden	HC Vita Hästen (Swe-3)

Farm teams

The Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League remain the minor league affiliate of the Red Wings for the 2008–09 season.

External links

• 2008-09 Detroit Red Wings Telecast Schedule