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2008–09 Florida Panthers season

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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
Bryan McCabe
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)

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.

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

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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

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Divisional standings

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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

Conference standings

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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


Schedule and results

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2008–09 Game Log

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

Playoffs

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

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Goaltenders

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Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Tomas Vokoun 59 3324 26 23 6 138 2.49 1855 1717 .926 6
Craig Anderson 31 1635 15 7 5 74 2.71 977 903 .924 3

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

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Records

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Milestones

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Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Jason Garrison 1st NHL Game October 25, 2008
Jay Bouwmeester 400th NHL Game November 2, 2008
Kamil Kreps 100th NHL Game November 2, 2008
Tomas Vokoun 500th NHL Game March 7, 2009

Transactions

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Trades

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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

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Player Former team Contract Terms
Player New team

Claimed from waivers

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Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Draft picks

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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

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Farm teams

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

References

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