2008–09 Florida Panthers season

The 2008–09 Florida Panthers season was the 15th season for the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The 2008–09 season was also the eighth consecutive season in which the Panthers did not make the Stanley Cup playoffs, finishing level on points with the qualifying Montreal Canadiens, but suffering from an inferior head-to-head record (1–3), the decisive tiebreaker.

2008–09 Florida Panthers
Division3rd Southeast
Conference9th Eastern
2008–09 record41–30–11
Home record22–12–7
Road record19–18–4
Goals for234
Goals against231
Team information
General managerJacques Martin
CoachPeter DeBoer
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsBryan Allen
Cory Stillman
Stephen Weiss
ArenaBankAtlantic Center
Average attendance15,531
Team leaders
GoalsDavid Booth (31)
AssistsStephen Weiss (47)
PointsStephen Weiss (61)
Penalty minutesNick Boynton (91)
Plus/minusStephen Weiss (+19)
WinsTomas Vokoun (26)
Goals against averageTomas Vokoun (2.49)

On June 14, 2008, the Panthers named Peter DeBoer head coach and signed him to a multi-year contract.[1] Former head coach Jacques Martin had resigned from the position but retained his position as general manager.

Preseason

The Florida Panthers played seven preseason exhibition games before the start of the regular season. The team went on a road trip across North America to play six games on six consecutive nights, winning only the first two games. The trip included the first-ever NHL game played on Prince Edward Island, against the New York Islanders. After one final preseason game at home, the Panthers finished the preseason with a 3–2–2 record.

Regular season

Divisional standings

Southeast Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1y – Washington Capitals8250248272245108
2Carolina Hurricanes824530723922697
3Florida Panthers8241301123423193
4Atlanta Thrashers823541625728076
5Tampa Bay Lightning8224401821027966

Conference standings

Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1z – Boston BruinsNE82531910274196116
2y – Washington CapitalsSE8250248272245108
3y – New Jersey DevilsAT8251274244209106
4Pittsburgh PenguinsAT824528926423999
5Philadelphia FlyersAT8244271126423899
6Carolina HurricanesSE824530723922697
7New York RangersAT824330921021895
8Montreal CanadiensNE8241301124924793
8.5
9Florida PanthersSE8241301123423193
10Buffalo SabresNE824132925023491
11Ottawa SenatorsNE8236351121723783
12Toronto Maple LeafsNE8234351325029381
13Atlanta ThrashersSE823541625728076
14Tampa Bay LightningSE8224401821027966
15New York IslandersAT822647920127961

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Schedule and results

2008–09 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

The Panthers failed to make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. They last made the playoffs in 2000.

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Tomas Vokoun593324262361382.4918551717.9266
Craig Anderson3116351575742.71977903.9243

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Panthers. Stats reflect time with Panthers only.
Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
PlayerMilestoneReached
Jason Garrison1st NHL GameOctober 25, 2008
Jay Bouwmeester400th NHL GameNovember 2, 2008
Kamil Kreps100th NHL GameNovember 2, 2008
Tomas Vokoun500th NHL GameMarch 7, 2009

Transactions

Trades

June 20, 2008
To Florida Panthers
Nick Boynton
Keith Ballard
2nd-round pick in 2008 – Jared Staal
To Phoenix Coyotes
Olli Jokinen
September 2, 2008 To Florida Panthers
Bryan McCabe[2]
4th round pick in 2009
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Mike Van Ryn
November 27, 2008
To Florida Panthers
Nick Tarnasky
To Nashville Predators
Wade Belak
March 4, 2009
To Florida Panthers
Steve Eminger
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Noah Welch
3rd-round pick in 2009 – Andrej Nestrasil

Free agents

PlayerFormer teamContract Terms
PlayerNew team

Claimed from waivers

PlayerFormer teamDate claimed off waivers

Draft picks

Florida's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in OttawaOntario.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
2 31 (from Tampa Bay) Jacob Markstrom (G)  Sweden Brynäs IF (Sweden Jr.)
2 46 (Nashville via Phoenix) Colby Robak (D)  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
3 80 (from Colorado) Adam Comrie (D)  Canada Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
4 100 AJ Jenks (LW)  United States Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
7 190 Matthew Bartkowski (D)  United States Lincoln Stars (USHL)

See also

Farm teams

The Florida Panthers maintain affiliations with two minor league teams, the Rochester Americans and the Florida Everblades.

References

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