2008-09 NHL season

2008–09 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 4, 2008 – June 12, 2009
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	San Jose Sharks
Season MVP	Alexander Ovechkin (Washington)
Top scorer	Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Pittsburgh Penguins
Eastern runners-up	Carolina Hurricanes
Western champions	Detroit Red Wings
Western runners-up	Chicago Blackhawks

The 2008–09 NHL season was the 91st season of the National Hockey League. It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the other conference (one division at home and one on the road.) It began on October 4, with the regular season ending on April 12. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 12, with the Pittsburgh Penguins taking the championship. The Montreal Canadiens hosted the 57th NHL All-Star Game at the Bell Centre on January 25, 2009, part of the Montreal Canadiens centennial.

League business

Increase in salary cap

National Hockey League announced that the regular season salary cap would be going up for the fourth straight season. The 2008–09 salary cap is being increased by $6,400,000 (US) per team to bring the salary cap up to $56,700,000 (US). The salary floor is at $40,700,000 (US), which is higher than the salary cap on 2005–06 season.

Rule changes

The NHL brought in a number of rule changes for the start of the 2008–09 NHL season aimed at increasing offence and safety. The first rule change was to Rule 76.2 on faceoffs. The first faceoff of a power play will now be in the defending zone of the team that committed the foul, regardless of where the play was stopped. The second rule dealt with the issue of safety while players are pursuing the puck on a potential icing call. Rule 81.1 states that, "Any contact between opposing players while pursuing the puck on an icing must be for the sole purpose of playing the puck and not for eliminating the opponent from playing the puck. Unnecessary or dangerous contact could result in penalties being assessed to the offending player." The third rule change also dealt with faceoff position: if a puck is shot off the goal frame, goal post or crossbar, the subsequent faceoff will remain in the end zone where the puck went out of play. Another rule change prohibits TV commercials and any personnel changes immediately after an icing call.

Season schedule

The 2008–09 schedule returns to the pre-lockout schedule. The new schedule eliminates the three-year rotation where teams would only play teams in two of the three divisions of the opposite conference; instead the new schedule guarantees that each team plays every other team at least once. In the new schedule, each team will play their divisional rivals six times for a total of 24 games; they will play all other conference teams four times for a total of 40 games, and will play every team in the opposite conference at least once for a total of 15 games. To obtain a total of 82 games there are an additional three-wild card games; for the Canadian teams, the three-wild card games are composed of playing the three Canadian teams in the opposite conference an additional time.

European openers

The 'regular season' started with four games played in Europe. The Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins played each other twice in Stockholm, Sweden, and the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning played each other twice in Prague, Czech Republic. The New York Rangers represented the NHL in the 2008 Victoria Cup challenge game as part of the club's pre-season schedule. The four teams also played some pre-season exhibition games in Europe.

Other than the four overseas 'regular season' games starting October 4, October 9 was the actual first day of regular season games as far as widespread continental North American broadcast from most providers, including pay per view hockey packages. Other teams still played preseason games between October 4 and 6.

By February 23 2009, all four teams who started the season in Europe had fired their coaches.

Winter Classic

Because of the success of the 2008 Winter Classic, another outdoor game was held in the 2008–09 NHL season. While Yankee Stadium was considered an early favorite, in a game to be hosted by the Rangers, cold-weather issues involving the old stadium put that location out of the mix. Another site considered was Beaver Stadium at Pennsylvania State University, with that game to likely involve the Penguins and the Flyers.

On May 29, 2008, The Sports Network reported that the 2009 NHL Winter Classic would be held in Chicago, Illinois on January 1, 2009, played between the Chicago Blackhawks and defending champion Detroit Red Wings. Soldier Field was considered an early candidate, however the National Football League's Chicago Bears objected, citing a possible home game for the NFL playoffs that weekend (January 3-4) - ironically, the Bears ended up being eliminated from contention in the last week. It was decided that the game would be played at Wrigley Field, the North Side home of the Chicago Cubs, as confirmed by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on July 6. Ten days afterward, the NHL confirmed the reports that the game would officially be held on New Year's Day. The Red Wings won the game 6-4.

Trade deadline

The NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) agreed to move the trade deadline from Tuesday, March 3, 2009, to Wednesday, March 4, 2009. This was done mainly because the schedule has twelve games on March 3 and only two on March 4.

General Managers' Meeting

At the meeting, held in Naples, Florida from March 9–11, 2009, general managers of the teams discussed issues that concerned them. Consensus on any topic would lead to action by the Board of Governors or the Competition committee in later meetings. Paul Kelly, president of the NHLPA, made a presentation on the topic of dangerous hits to the head, proposing new rules to penalize intentional hits. The general managers could not agree on the planned rule change and took no further action. Kelly intends to review the issue at the future Competition committee meeting, which is held after the Stanley Cup final. The general managers also discussed the topic of fighting in hockey, and agreed to penalize further players who start fights directly after face-offs and to further enforce the existing 'instigator' rule. The managers agreed to award a second-round compensatory pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft to the New York Rangers due to the death of Alexei Cherepanov.

Scheduled events and deadlines

The Christmas holiday roster freeze went into effect on December 19, 2008, and ended on December 27, 2008.

No regular-season games were held during the NHL All-Star break from January 22 to January 26. During the break, the NHL held its annual All-Star Game and the SuperSkills Competition in Montreal, Quebec.

The trade deadline was March 4 at 3 PM EST. The most notable trade was between the Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames sending Olli Jokinen to Calgary, but there were fewer trades than at previous deadlines.

Regular season

The first goal of the season was scored by Markus Naslund of the New York Rangers in Prague against the Tampa Bay Lightning. On October 16, 2008, the Blackhawks fired head coach Denis Savard and replaced him with former Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues head coach Joel Quenneville. On Saturday, October 25, the NHL scheduled fifteen games—with all 30 teams playing—for the second time in league history.

On November 3, 2008, in a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Islanders, Islanders forward Chris Campoli scored twice in one overtime. First, Campoli retrieved a loose puck and fired a shot past Jacket's goaltender Fredrik Norrena. The shot went through the net and, while Campoli celebrated, the game continued. Campoli then received a pass in front of the goal and shot the puck again into the net.

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Barry Melrose would record his first win as a head coach in over 13 years on October 21, 2008, with a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. However, the Lightning did not get off to a great start as hoped, and Melrose was fired by the Lightning with a 5-7-4 record. Rick Tocchet, who had been hired as assistant coach during the previous offseason, was promoted to interim head coach. Melrose subsequently re-signed with broadcaster ESPN. Melrose proceeded to get into a war of words with the Lightning management, accusing the management of interference during an interview on a Toronto radio station.

On December 2, 2008, Carolina Hurricanes' head coach Peter Laviolette was fired and Paul Maurice was rehired in his place. Ron Francis became the team's associate head coach.

During the annual December board of governors' meeting, the issue of the state of the economy was raised. The Phoenix Coyotes were reported to lose up to $35 million on the 2008–09 season. Asked to comment on Phoenix's loss, Commissioner Gary Bettman was quoted as saying "They're going to get through the season just fine." The Buffalo Sabres, while not for sale, had been approached for purchase.

On December 5, Sean Avery of the Dallas Stars was suspended six games for 'off-colour' remarks prior to a game against the Calgary Flames. On December 14, the Stars' management announced that he would not be returning to the team. After Avery's reinstatement by the league, he reported to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. He was placed on re-entry waivers and was claimed by the New York Rangers, his team in 2007–08.

On December 23, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported that the Phoenix Coyotes team is receiving financial assistance from the league in the form of advances on league revenues. The Coyotes have pledged all of their assets to New York company SOF Investments LP to cover an estimated debt of $80 million. The team has lost an estimated $200 million since 2001 and may lose $30 million this season. One of the team's owners, Jerry Moyes' principal source of revenue, Swift Transportation is also in financial difficulty.

In February 2009, three head coaches were relieved from their duties. On February 1, Craig Hartsburg was fired as head coach of the Ottawa Senators following a 17-24-7 start to the season and was immediately replaced by Binghamton Senators head coach Cory Clouston. On February 15, Dan Bylsma of the American Hockey League's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins was promoted to replace Michel Therrien of the Pittsburgh Penguins as interim head coach. Dan would later be announced as a permanent head coach of the team. On February 23, the New York Rangers fired Tom Renney following an overtime loss and he was replaced on the same day by The Sports Network analyst and former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, John Tortorella.

In March, goaltender Martin Brodeur returned to the New Jersey Devils after a long injury. He became the winningest goaltender in league history, surpassing the record of Patrick Roy. Guy Carbonneau was also fired as the head coach of the Canadiens when the team was in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs.

In April, the Columbus Blue Jackets qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Carolina Hurricanes qualified for the playoffs for the first time since their 2006 Stanley Cup victory. The Ottawa Senators missed the playoffs for the first time in twelve seasons.

In an ironic twist, considering his injury woes of past seasons, Jordan Leopold played in all 64 games for the Colorado Avalanche. Upon being traded to the Calgary Flames Leopold played in all 19 remaining games for the Flames becoming the only NHL player to play 83 games of the 82 game 2008-2009 season.

Jacques Lemaire was later fired as the first head coach of the Minnesota Wild on April 11 after missing the playoffs.

In May 2009, it was revealed that the NHL had taken control of the Phoenix Coyotes from the start of the season. And had known of the financial difficulties of the team prior to the start of the 2008–09 season. After owner Jerry Moyes petitioned the club into bankruptcy against the league's wishes, so as to sell the team to Jim Balsillie who plans to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario, the league challenged the right of Moyes to file for bankruptcy. In the documents filed with the Phoenix bankruptcy court, the NHL stated that the league took official control of the team on November 14, 2008. The league then began advancing money to the club from league revenues, and made a loan to the club in February 2009, for a combined estimated total of $44.5 million over the full season. During the season, commissioner Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly had made a series of denials and obfuscations, while firing the Coyotes CEO and laying off 18 Coyotes employees. Moyes' documents filed with the court indicated that the team had lost $73 million over the last three years, and that the projected loss was $45 million for 2008–09.

Jacques Martin became the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens on June 1 when former coach Bob Gainey returned to his general manager status. On June 3, Tony Granato was fired as the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and was replaced on the next day by Joe Sacco, head coach of the Avs' top minor league affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL. On June 9, despite Brent Sutter winning 51 games (a franchise record), he resigned as head coach of the New Jersey Devils after two first-round playoff losses because of family reasons. One day later on June 10, Dave Tippett was fired as head coach of the Dallas Stars after missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-02 season, when Rick Wilson took over as coach. Marc Crawford was named the new head coach for the 2009-10 season the next day. Todd Richards would be named the second head coach of the Minnesota Wild on June 15, three days after the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup over the Detroit Redwings 4 games to 3. Evgeni Malkin earned the Conn Smythe Trophy for becoming the most valuable player during the Stanley Cup Finals.

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
y-New Jersey Devils	82	51	27	4	244	209	106
x-Pittsburgh Penguins	82	45	28	9	264	239	99
x-Philadelphia Flyers	82	44	27	11	264	238	99
x-New York Rangers	82	43	30	9	210	218	95
e-New York Islanders	82	26	47	9	201	279	61

Northeast Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
z-Boston Bruins	82	53	19	10	274	196	116
x-Montreal Canadiens	82	41	30	11	249	247	93
e-Buffalo Sabres	82	41	32	9	250	234	91
e-Ottawa Senators	82	36	35	11	217	237	83
e-Toronto Maple Leafs	82	34	35	13	250	293	81

Southeast Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
y-Washington Capitals	82	50	24	8	272	245	108
x-Carolina Hurricanes	82	45	30	7	239	226	97
e-Florida Panthers	82	41	30	11	234	231	93
e-Atlanta Thrashers	82	35	41	6	257	280	76
e-Tampa Bay Lightning	82	24	40	18	210	279	66

Western Conference

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

Northwest Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
y-Vancouver Canucks	82	45	27	10	246	220	100
x-Calgary Flames	82	46	30	6	254	248	98
e-Minnesota Wild	82	40	33	9	219	200	89
e-Edmonton Oilers	82	38	35	9	234	248	85
e-Colorado Avalanche	82	32	45	5	199	257	69

Pacific Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
p-San Jose Sharks	82	53	18	11	257	204	117
x-Anaheim Ducks	82	42	33	7	245	238	91
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

Conference standings

Eastern Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
z-Boston Bruins *	82	53	19	10	274	196	116
y-Washington Capitals *	82	50	24	8	272	245	108
y-New Jersey Devils *	82	51	27	4	244	209	106
x-Pittsburgh Penguins	82	45	28	9	264	239	99
x-Philadelphia Flyers	82	44	27	11	264	238	99
x-Carolina Hurricanes	82	45	30	7	239	226	97
x-New York Rangers	82	43	30	9	210	218	95
x-Montreal Canadiens	82	41	30	11	249	247	93
e-Florida Panthers	82	41	30	11	234	231	93
e-Buffalo Sabres	82	41	32	9	250	234	91
e-Ottawa Senators	82	36	35	11	217	237	83
e-Toronto Maple Leafs	82	34	35	13	250	293	81
e-Atlanta Thrashers	82	35	41	6	257	280	76
e-Tampa Bay Lightning	82	24	40	18	210	279	66
e-New York Islanders	82	26	47	9	201	279	61

x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched division title, z - clinched best conference record, e - eliminated from playoff contention

* – division leader

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

Tiebreaking procedures

In the event of a tie in points in the standings at the end of the season, ties are broken using the following The higher ranked team is the one with:

1. The greater number of games won.
2. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
3. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.

Statistical leaders

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Malkin, EvgeniEvgeni Malkin	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	35	78	113	+17	80
Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	79	56	54	110	+8	72
Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins	76	33	70	103	+3	76
Datsyuk, PavelPavel Datsyuk	Detroit Red Wings	81	32	65	97	+34	22
Parise, ZachZach Parise	New Jersey Devils	82	45	49	94	+30	24
Kovalchuk, IlyaIlya Kovalchuk	Atlanta Thrashers	79	43	48	91	-12	50
Getzlaf, RyanRyan Getzlaf	Anaheim Ducks	81	25	66	91	+5	121
Iginla, JaromeJarome Iginla	Calgary Flames	81	35	54	89	-2	37
Savard, MarcMarc Savard	Boston Bruins	82	25	63	88	+25	70
Backstrom, NicklasNicklas Backstrom	Washington Capitals	82	22	66	88	+16	46

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Thomas, TimTim Thomas	Boston Bruins	54	3,258:49	36	11	7	114	5	.933	2.10
Mason, SteveSteve Mason	Columbus Blue Jackets	60	3,604:58	33	19	7	135	10	.917	2.25
Backstrom, NiklasNiklas Backstrom	Minnesota Wild	71	4,088:03	37	24	8	159	8	.923	2.33
Hiller, JonasJonas Hiller	Anaheim Ducks	45	2,446:26	23	15	1	95	4	.920	2.33
Luongo, RobertoRoberto Luongo	Vancouver Canucks	54	3,181:05	33	13	7	124	9	.920	2.34
Rinne, PekkaPekka Rinne	Nashville Predators	52	2,999:12	29	15	4	119	7	.917	2.38
Khabibulin, NikolaiNikolai Khabibulin	Chicago Blackhawks	41	2,407:15	24	8	7	96	2	.917	2.39
Clemmensen, ScottScott Clemmensen	New Jersey Devils	40	2,355:56	25	13	1	94	2	.917	2.39
Nabokov, EvgeniEvgeni Nabokov	San Jose Sharks	61	3,627:35	41	11	8	146	7	.911	2.41
Lundqvist, HenrikHenrik Lundqvist	New York Rangers	69	4,092:46	37	25	7	165	3	.916	2.42

Playoffs

See 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Playoff seeds

After the regular season, the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The San Jose Sharks won the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the league, at 117 points. Division champions maintain their relative ranking during the entire playoffs while the remaining teams get reseeded below them after each round.

Eastern Conference

The Stanley Cup

1. Boston Bruins – Northeast Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions, 116 points
2. Washington Capitals – Southeast Division champions, 108 points
3. New Jersey Devils – Atlantic Division champions, 106 points
4. Pittsburgh Penguins – 99 points (45 wins)
5. Philadelphia Flyers – 99 points (44 wins)
6. Carolina Hurricanes – 97 points
7. New York Rangers – 95 points
8. Montreal Canadiens – 93 points*

*Montreal finished with exactly the same record as the Florida Panthers (including number of wins), but garnered more points (the Canadiens with six, the Panthers with three) in the four game season series between them, to earn the 8th spot.

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks – Pacific Division champions and Western Conference regular season champions; President's Trophy winners, 117 points
2. Detroit Red Wings – Central Division champions, 112 points
3. Vancouver Canucks – Northwest Division champions, 100 points
4. Chicago Blackhawks – 104 points
5. Calgary Flames – 98 points
6. St. Louis Blues – 92 points (10 points head-to-head)
7. Columbus Blue Jackets – 92 points (3 points head-to-head)
8. Anaheim Ducks – 91 points

Playoff bracket

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 1 and 2 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).

	Conference Quarterfinals					Conference Semifinals					Conference Finals					Stanley Cup Final
	1	Boston Bruins	4
	8	Montreal Canadiens	0
						1	Boston Bruins	3
						6	Carolina Hurricanes	4
	2	Washington Capitals	4
	7	New York Rangers	3
											6	Carolina Hurricanes	0
	Eastern Conference
										4	Pittsburgh Penguins	4
	3	New Jersey Devils	3
	6	Carolina Hurricanes	4
						2	Washington Capitals	3
						4	Pittsburgh Penguins	4
	4	Pittsburgh Penguins	4
	5	Philadelphia Flyers	2
																E4	Pittsburgh Penguins	4
																W2	Detroit Red Wings	3
	1	San Jose Sharks	2
	8	Anaheim Ducks	4
						2	Detroit Red Wings	4
						8	Anaheim Ducks	3
	2	Detroit Red Wings	4
	7	Columbus Blue Jackets	0
											2	Detroit Red Wings	4
	Western Conference
										4	Chicago Blackhawks	1
	3	Vancouver Canucks	4
	6	St. Louis Blues	0
						3	Vancouver Canucks	2
						4	Chicago Blackhawks	4
	4	Chicago Blackhawks	4
	5	Calgary Flames	2

NHL awards

Presidents' Trophy: San Jose Sharks
Prince of Wales Trophy: Pittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Trophy: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators
Calder Memorial Trophy: Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Conn Smythe Trophy: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Memorial Trophy: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Jack Adams Award: Claude Julien, Boston Bruins
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Zdeno Chára, Boston Bruins
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Ethan Moreau, Edmonton Oilers
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Lester B. Pearson Award: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
NHL Plus/Minus Award: David Krejčí, Boston Bruins
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award: Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
William M. Jennings Trophy: Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez, Boston Bruins
Lester Patrick Trophy:
NHL Lifetime Achievement Award: Jean Béliveau

NHL All Star Team

First All-Star Team

• Forwards: Alexander Ovechkin • Evgeni Malkin • Jarome Iginla
• Defencemen: Mike Green • Zdeno Chára
• Goaltender: Tim Thomas

Second All-Star Team

• Forwards: Zach Parise • Pavel Datsyuk • Marián Hossa
• Defencemen: Nicklas Lidström • Dan Boyle
• Goaltender: Steve Mason

NHL All-Rookie team

• Forwards: Patrik Berglund • Kris Versteeg • Bobby Ryan
• Defencemen: Drew Doughty • Luke Schenn
• Goaltender: Steve Mason

Records

• February 14, 2009 - Mike Green, defenseman with the Washington Capitals, scored in eight consecutive games to set a new NHL record for a defenseman.
• February 15, 2009 - Mike Richards, center with the Philadelphia Flyers, became the first player in NHL history to score three career 3-on-5 shorthanded goals when he beat New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in a 5–2 win
• March 12, 2009 - Henrik Lundqvist, goaltender with the New York Rangers, became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 30 games in each of his first four seasons.
• March 17, 2009 - Martin Brodeur, goaltender with the New Jersey Devils, won his 552nd game, surpassing Patrick Roy for the all time wins record.
• April 8, 2009 - Curtis Joseph, goaltender with the Toronto Maple Leafs, lost his 352nd game, tying Gump Worsley for most losses by a goaltender.
• June 12, 2009 - Sidney Crosby becomes the youngest Captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup.
• June 12, 2009 - Evgeni Malkin becomes the first Russian player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe.

Milestones

First games

The following is a list of players of note that played their first NHL game in 2008–09, listed with their first team:

• Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
• Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Alex Pietrangelo, St.Louis Blues
• Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last NHL game in 2008–09, listed with their last team:

• Patrice Brisebois, Montreal Canadiens
• Sergei Fedorov, Washington Capitals
• Bret Hedican, Anaheim Ducks
• Bobby Holik, New Jersey Devils
• Curtis Joseph, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Olaf Kolzig, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Claude Lemieux, San Jose Sharks
• Markus Naslund, New York Rangers
• Teppo Numminen, Buffalo Sabres
• Michael Peca, Columbus Blue Jackets
• Luke Richardson, Ottawa Senators
• Gary Roberts, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Jeremy Roenick, San Jose Sharks
• Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
• Brendan Shanahan, New Jersey Devils
• Mike Sillinger, New York Islanders
• Jason Smith, Ottawa Senators
• Mats Sundin, Vancouver Canucks
• Mike Van Ryn, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Kevin Weekes, New Jersey Devils
• Sergei Zubov, Dallas Stars

See Also

• 2009 NHL Poker Championship