| 2008–09Toronto Maple Leafs | |
|---|---|
| Division | 5thNortheast |
| Conference | 12thEastern |
| 2008–09 record | 34–35–13 |
| Home record | 16–16–9 |
| Road record | 18–19–4 |
| Goals for | 219 |
| Goals against | 257 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Cliff Fletcher(Sept–Nov) interim Brian Burke(Nov–Apr) |
| Coach | Ron Wilson |
| Captain | Vacant |
| Alternate captains | Nik Antropov(Oct.–Mar.) Tomas Kaberle Pavel Kubina Brad May(Mar.–Apr.) Jamal Mayers Dominic Moore(Oct.–Mar.) |
| Arena | Air Canada Centre |
| Average attendance | 19,243 (102%) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Jason Blake (25) |
| Assists | Matt Stajan (35) |
| Points | Jason Blake (57) |
| Penalty minutes | Pavel Kubina (79) |
| Plus/minus | Alexei Ponikarovsky (+6) |
| Wins | Vesa Toskala (22) |
| Goals against average | Vesa Toskala (3.26) |
The2008–09Toronto Maple Leafsseason was the franchise's92nd, and their 82nd as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs did not qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season for the first time in franchise history.
The Leafs faced an off-season challenge to hire a general manager.Brian Burke was a favourite for the position held by interim general managerCliff Fletcher, but Burke opted to stay with theAnaheim Ducks. He was not given permission to talk to the Leafs about their vacancy by Ducks ownerHenry Samueli.[1] Burke had one more year left on his contract as the general manager of the Ducks, and those close to him say he was interested in the Maple Leafs' job.[citation needed]
On May 7, the Leafs fired head coachPaul Maurice, along with two assistant coaches, after missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.[2] On May 8, the Leafs asked theVancouver Canucks permission to speak toDave Nonis about hiring him for a position with the club.[3]
In mid-May, there were rumours thatWayne Gretzky was in the running for a position with the Maple Leafs. Gretzky responded to the rumours linking him to the Toronto Maple Leafs by stating that his focus was on thePhoenix Coyotes and developing their young talent.[4]
On June 10,Ron Wilson was hired as the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wilson was fired in May by theSan Jose Sharks after the Sharks lost to theDallas Stars in the second round of the NHL playoffs. Wilson has also coached the Anaheim Ducks and theWashington Capitals. The former U.S. college player spent parts of three NHL seasons with the Leafs in the 1970s.[5]
The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Al Coates as their player-personnel director on June 16.[6] Coates comes to Toronto after spending the previous six seasons with Anaheim. Coates has spent more than 30 years in pro hockey and has been part of two Stanley Cup-winning teams (2007 with the Anaheim Ducks and 1989 with theCalgary Flames).
The move perpetuated speculation that Anaheim general manager Brian Burke would become the Maple Leafs' GM once his deal with the Ducks expired in 2009. The fact that new head coach Ron Wilson played hockey with Burke at theProvidence College sparked further rumors about Burke potentially joining the club.
Former NHL starJoe Nieuwendyk was named as general managerCliff Fletcher's special assistant on July 8.[7] While playing for theFlorida Panthers, Nieuwendyk gained experience as a special consultant to GMJacques Martin.
Throughout the off-season, the Maple Leafs have been involved in numerous transactions. On June 24, the Toronto Maple Leafs put goaltenderAndrew Raycroft and forwardKyle Wellwood on waivers.[8] Moreover, interim GM Cliff Fletcher informedDarcy Tucker that he is to be bought out of his three-year contract; however, this decision was not made official until June 25.[9]
The Maple Leafs bought out goaltender Andrew Raycroft on June 28, making him eligible for free agency on July 1. When the free agent signing period began on July 1, Toronto signed defencemanJeff Finger, goaltenderCurtis Joseph and former Dallas Stars forwardNiklas Hagman. Another transaction was made on July 3 when Toronto traded for formerMontreal Canadiens forwardMikhail Grabovski in exchange for the rights toGreg Pateryn and a second-round draft pick in2010. The Leafs also re-signed forwardsDominic Moore,John Mitchell and Greg Scott. On July 14, the Maple Leafs acquired forwardRyan Hollweg in a trade with theNew York Rangers for a fifth-round draft pick in2009.
With a young roster, the Maple Leafs were expected to have a lacklustre season. This proved to be correct, as they fell out of the playoff race relatively early and showed little sign of recovery. However, they showed signs of improvement in February and March 2009, during which they had a stretch of seven consecutive games that went into overtime. The Leafs lost the first two in shootouts, then won four in a row with two overtime wins and two shootout wins, followed by an overtime loss.
In November 2008, Brian Burke obtained his release from the Anaheim Ducks and joined the Maple Leafs as president and general manager.
The Maple Leafs were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on March 31, 2009, with six games remaining in the season.
The Maple Leafs finished the season with 286 goals allowed (excluding seven shootout goals), the most out of all 30 teams. The Maple Leafs also struggled on the penalty kill, finishing 30th overall in penalty-kill percentage, at 74.68%.[10][11]
| 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 |
| 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
| 2008–09 Game Log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October 4–3–3 (Home 1–2–2, Road 3–1–1)
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November 4–6–3 (Home 3–2–2, Road 1–4–1)
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December 7–7–0 (Home 3–2–0, Road 4–5–0)
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January 4–7–2 (Home 2–4–1, Road 2–3–1)
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February 6–3–4 (Home 2–1–3, Road 4–2–1)
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March 6–6–1 (Home 3–3–1, Road 3–3–0)
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April 3–3–0 (Home 2–2–0, Road 1–1–0)
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| †Hockey Hall of Fame Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schedule |
The Toronto Maple Leafs failed to qualify for the2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Final stats[12]
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| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vesa Toskala | 53 | 52 | 3056 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 166 | 3.26 | 1518 | .891 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Curtis Joseph | 21 | 11 | 841 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 50 | 3.57 | 383 | .869 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin Gerber† | 12 | 12 | 705 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 3.23 | 402 | .905 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Pogge | 7 | 6 | 372 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 4.36 | 173 | .844 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Maple Leafs. Stats reflect time with Maple Leafs only.
‡Traded mid-season.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
| Regular Season | |||||||||
| Player | Milestone | Reached | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
On October 6, the team placedMark Bell on waivers.
| June 19, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Jamal Mayers | ToSt. Louis Blues 3rd-round pick in2008 – James Livingston |
| June 20, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 1st-round (5th overall) pick in 2008 – Luke Schenn | ToNew York Islanders 1st-round (7th overall) pick in2008 – Colin Wilson Two conditional picks –Shawn Lalonde andMat Clark |
| July 3, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Mikhail Grabovski | ToMontreal Canadiens Greg Pateryn 2nd-round pick in2010 –Jared Knight |
| July 14, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Ryan Hollweg | ToNew York Rangers 5th-round pick in2009 – Andy Bathgate |
| September 2, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Van Ryn | ToFlorida Panthers Bryan McCabe[13] 4th-round pick in2010 – Sam Brittain |
| November 24, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Lee Stempniak | ToSt. Louis Blues Alexander Steen Carlo Colaiacovo |
| January 7, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Brad May | ToAnaheim Ducks Conditional 6th-round draft pick in2010 (condition not satisfied)[14] |
| January 21, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Ryan Hamilton | ToMinnesota Wild Robbie Earl |
| March 4, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 2nd-round draft pick in2009 – Kenny Ryan Conditional draft pick | ToNew York Rangers Nik Antropov |
| March 4, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 2nd-round draft pick in2009 – Jesse Blacker | ToBuffalo Sabres Dominic Moore |
| March 4, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Olaf Kolzig Jamie Heward Andy Rogers 4th-round pick in2009 | ToTampa Bay Lightning Richard Petiot |
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Toronto's picks at the2008 NHL entry draft[15] inOttawa.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Luke Schenn | (D) | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | |
| 2 | 60 (from Pittsburgh) | Jimmy Hayes | (RW) | Lincoln Stars (USHL) | |
| 4 | 98 | Mikhail Stefanovich | (C) | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) | |
| 5 | 128 | Greg Pateryn | (D) | Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (USHL) | |
| 5 | 129 (from Phoenix) | Joel Champagne | (C) | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) | |
| 5 | 130 (from Florida) | Jerome Flaake | (LW) | Kölner Haie (DEL) | |
| 6 | 158 | Grant Rollheiser | (G) | Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL) | |
| 7 | 188 | Andrew MacWilliam | (D) | Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL) |