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Revision as of 03:23, 15 May 2009

2008–09 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 4, 2008 – Present
Regular season
Presidents' TrophySan Jose Sharks
Season MVPTBD
Top scorerEvgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern championsTBD
  Eastern runners-upTBD
Western championsTBD
  Western runners-upTBD
Playoffs MVPTBD
Finals
ChampionsTBD
  Runners-upTBD

The 2008–09 NHL season is the 91st season of the National Hockey League. This is the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team will play 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.)[1] The Montreal Canadiens hosted the 57th NHL All-Star Game at the Bell Centre on January 25, 2009, part of the Canadiens' 100th season celebration.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

European openers

Wikinews has related news:

The 'regular season' started with four games to be 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 inaugural 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.[5]

Other than the four overseas 'regular season' games starting October 4, October 9 is 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.

As of February 23 2009, all four teams who went over to start the season in Europe have fired their coaches, including the New York Rangers.

Winter Classic

Main article: 2009 NHL 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 Penn State University, with that game to likely involve the Penguins and the Flyers.[6]

On May 29, 2008, TSN 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.[7] Soldier Field was considered an early candidate, however the NFL's Chicago Bears objected, citing a possible home game for the 2008 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.[8] Faceoff was scheduled for 1 p.m. EST (12 noon CST). 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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11] The managers agreed to award a second-round compensatory pick in the 2009 entry draft to the New York Rangers for Alexei Cherepanov.[12]

Scheduled events and deadlines

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

The NHL Winter Classic was held on January 1, 2009, between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.

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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] On Saturday, October 25, the NHL scheduled fifteen games—with all 30 teams playing—for the second time in league history.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18]

On December 2, 2008, Carolina Hurricanes' head coach Peter Laviolette was fired and Paul Maurice was hired 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."[19] 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.[20] On December 14, the Stars' management announced that he would not be returning to the team.

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.[21] ESPN reported that the league has gotten involved with the operations of the Coyotes and their revenues. The NHL reportedly wants to work with the city of Glendale, Arizona, which owns the arena and receives revenues from the team. ESPN also reported that Moyes wants to sell his share of the team and that Hollywood film producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a possible interested purchaser.[22]

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.[23] 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.[24] On February 23, the New York Rangers fired Tom Renney following an overtime loss and replaced on the same day by TSN analyst and former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, John Tortorella.[25]

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.[26]

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

Western Conference

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


Conference standings

Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 z – Boston Bruins NE 82 53 19 10 274 196 116
2 y – Washington Capitals SE 82 50 24 8 272 245 108
3 y – New Jersey Devils AT 82 51 27 4 244 209 106
4 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 45 28 9 264 239 99
5 Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 44 27 11 264 238 99
6 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 45 30 7 239 226 97
7 New York Rangers AT 82 43 30 9 210 218 95
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 41 30 11 249 247 93
8.5
9 Florida Panthers SE 82 41 30 11 234 231 93
10 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 41 32 9 250 234 91
11 Ottawa Senators NE 82 36 35 11 217 237 83
12 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 34 35 13 250 293 81
13 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 35 41 6 257 280 76
14 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 24 40 18 210 279 66
15 New York Islanders AT 82 26 47 9 201 279 61

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

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


Western Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 p – San Jose Sharks PA 82 53 18 11 257 204 117
2 y – Detroit Red Wings CE 82 51 21 10 295 244 112
3 y – Vancouver Canucks NW 82 45 27 10 246 220 100
4 Chicago Blackhawks CE 82 46 24 12 264 216 104
5 Calgary Flames NW 82 46 30 6 254 248 98
6 St. Louis Blues CE 82 41 31 10 233 233 92
7 Columbus Blue Jackets CE 82 41 31 10 226 230 92
8 Anaheim Ducks PA 82 42 33 7 245 238 91
8.5
9 Minnesota Wild NW 82 40 33 9 219 200 89
10 Nashville Predators CE 82 40 34 8 213 233 88
11 Edmonton Oilers NW 82 38 35 9 234 248 85
12 Dallas Stars PA 82 36 35 11 230 257 83
13 Phoenix Coyotes PA 82 36 39 7 208 252 79
14 Los Angeles Kings PA 82 34 37 11 207 234 79
15 Colorado Avalanche NW 82 32 45 5 199 257 69

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner
CE – Central Division, NW – Northwest Division, PA – Pacific Division


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 tiebreaking procedures.[27] 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
Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins 82 35 78 113 +17 80
Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 79 56 54 110 +8 72
Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 76 33 70 103 +3 76
Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings 81 32 65 97 +34 22
Zach Parise New Jersey Devils 82 45 49 94 +30 24
Ilya Kovalchuk Atlanta Thrashers 79 43 48 91 -12 50
Ryan Getzlaf Anaheim Ducks 81 25 66 91 +5 121
Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames 81 35 54 89 -2 37
Marc Savard Boston Bruins 82 25 63 88 +25 70
Nicklas 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
Tim Thomas Boston Bruins 54 3,258:49 36 11 7 114 5 .933 2.10
Steve Mason Columbus Blue Jackets 60 3,604:58 33 19 7 135 10 .917 2.25
Niklas Backstrom Minnesota Wild 71 4,088:03 37 24 8 159 8 .923 2.33
Jonas Hiller Anaheim Ducks 45 2,446:26 23 15 1 95 4 .920 2.33
Roberto Luongo Vancouver Canucks 54 3,181:05 33 13 7 124 9 .920 2.34
Pekka Rinne Nashville Predators 52 2,999:12 29 15 4 119 7 .917 2.38
Nikolai Khabibulin Chicago Blackhawks 41 2,407:15 24 8 7 96 2 .917 2.39
Scott Clemmensen New Jersey Devils 40 2,355:56 25 13 1 94 2 .917 2.39
Evgeni Nabokov San Jose Sharks 61 3,627:35 41 11 8 146 7 .911 2.41
Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers 69 4,092:46 37 25 7 165 3 .916 2.42

Playoffs

Main article: 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 the other games.

Template:NHLBracket


NHL awards

The 2009 NHL Awards show will be held June 18 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[28]


Records

Milestones

First games

The following is a list of players of note that played their first game in the NHL in 2008-09. Listed with their first team.

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2008-09: Listed with their last team

See also

References

  1. ^ NHL teams will play each other at least once per season
  2. ^ Montreal to host '09 All-Star Game
  3. ^ rule changes
  4. ^ Canadian Press (2007-11-29). "NHL owners finally approve schedule change; Nashville sale approved". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  5. ^ NHL's European plans finalized
  6. ^ Staple, Arthur (2008-05-17). "Going, going, gone?". Newsday. Retrieved 2008-05-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Blackhawks to host next season's Winter Classic". TSN. 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  8. ^ "Blackhawks, Red Wings meet in the great outdoors". NHL.com. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  9. ^ "NHL moves trade deadline back one day". TSN.ca. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  10. ^ "NHL Players' Association urges GM to consider penalizing hits to the head". NHL. March 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  11. ^ "NHL general managers acknowledge economic crisis". NHL. March 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  12. ^ "Rangers receive compensatory pick for Cherepanov". NHL. March 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  13. ^ "News: NHL Calendar - 12/01/2008". 2008-12-01. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher-nhl.com" ignored (help)
  14. ^ "Markus Naslund scores the first goal of the 08/09 season - Canucks Board". Forum.canucks.com. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  15. ^ "Blackhawks fire Savard after four games". TSN.ca. October 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  16. ^ "30 teams, 15 games in 15 cities -- One night". NHL.com. 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  17. ^ "Campoli gives Isles OT win". The Globe and Mail. www.globesports.com. November 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  18. ^ Gordon, Sean (December 11, 2008). "Tampa takes first step up the mountain". Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  19. ^ Gordon, Sean (December 9, 2008). "Optimism reigns despite economic woes". The Globe and Mail.
  20. ^ "Avery handed six-game suspension by NHL". NHL.com. November 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  21. ^ Shoalts, David (December 23, 2008). "globesports.com: Coyotes' financial situation gets uglier". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  22. ^ Burnside, Scott (December 23, 2008). "ESPN - NHL helping Phoenix Coyotes find investors or new owners because of financial problems". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  23. ^ "Struggling Senators fire coach Hartsburg". TSN. February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ "Therrien out as Penguins coach". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. February 15, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "Tortorella named Rangers' new head coach date = February 23, 2009". TSN. Retrieved February 23, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Missing pipe in: |title= (help)
  26. ^ "NHL.com - Players: Jordan Leopold, Flames - Stats". nhl.com. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  27. ^ http://www.nhl.com/standings/
  28. ^ a b "Calder Trophy finalists announced". Sports Illustrated. AP. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  29. ^ "Datsyuk, Parise, St. Louis are Lady Byng finalists". Sports Illustrated. AP. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  30. ^ "Backstrom, Mason, Thomas vie for Vezina". NHL.com. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  31. ^ "Chara, Green and Lidstrom are Norris finalists". Sports Illustrated. AP. 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  32. ^ The Canadian Press (2009-04-28). "Datsyuk, Kesler, Richards named Selke Trophy finalists". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  33. ^ "Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk are Hart finalists". NHL. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  34. ^ "Green breaks NHL record in Capitals' win". The Globe and Mail. February 14, 2009. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  35. ^ Brooks, Larry (3 May 2009). "Naslund to Skate Off into the Sunset". New York Post. News Corporation. Retrieved 3 May 2009. Markus Naslund has told his Rangers teammates he is retiring despite having one season at $3 million remaining on the two-year, $8 million free agent contract he signed last summer
  36. ^ Herman, Lonnie (10 March 2009). "Gary Roberts Announces Retirement". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
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