2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season

2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	3rd Atlantic
Conference	5th Eastern
2008–09 record	44–27–11
Home record	24–13–4
Road record	20–14–7
Goals for	264 (4th)
Goals against	238 (16th)
Team information
General Manager	Paul Holmgren
Coach	John Stevens
Captain	Mike Richards
Alternate captains	Simon Gagne Kimmo Timonen
Arena	Wachovia Center
Average attendance	19,545 [1]
Team leaders
Goals	Jeff Carter (46)
Assists	Mike Richards (50)
Points	Jeff Carter (84)
Penalties in minutes	Riley Cote (174)
Plus/minus	Jeff Carter (+23)
Wins	Martin Biron (29)
Goals against average	Martin Biron (2.76) Antero Niittymaki (2.76)
<2007–08	2009–10>

The 2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 42nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Flyers began the 2008–09 season by naming Mike Richards the 17th captain in Flyers history on September 17, with Jason Smith headed to the Ottawa Senators as a free agent. The Flyers were looking to build on the success of the previous season but instead got off to an 0-3-3 start which became indicative of the season ahead. Despite a solid December and January and finishing with 4 points more than the year before, for the most part the 2008-09 Flyers played inconsistent and looked like different teams, playing at the top of their ability one night and a subpar performance the next. Derian Hatcher missed the entire regular season and playoffs with a knee injury, and Steve Downie was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Matt Carle. Two pleasant surprises were the emergence of rookie center Claude Giroux and defenseman Luca Sbisa who was drafted by the Flyers in June with the 19th overall pick acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for R.J. Umberger, who became a victim of a salary cap crunch. Scottie Upshall also found himself the victim of such a crunch, traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for Daniel Carcillo at the trade deadline.

Despite holding on to the 4th seed in the East for much of the season, thanks to a 4-5-1 finish to the season, highlighted by a home loss to the New York Rangers on the last day of the regular season, the Flyers slipped to the 5th seed and lost home-ice advantage in their first round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh dominated the Flyers in Game 1, and despite a better effort by the Flyers in Game 2 Pittsburgh came to Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead. The Flyers were the better team in Games 3 and 4, but Pittsburgh gained a split in Philadelphia and took a 3-1 series lead. After a decisive 3-0 win in Game 5, the Flyers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 6, but promptly fell victim to the inconsistencies that plagued the team all season and gave up 5 unanswered goals in a season-ending 5-3 loss.

Regular season

Divisional standings

Atlantic Division

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – 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

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

Game log

2008–09 Game Log
October: 4–3–3 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 2–1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 11 NY Rangers 4 – 3 Philadelphia Biron 19,623 0–1–0 0 2 October 13 Montreal 5 – 3 Philadelphia Biron 19,323 0–2–0 0 3 October 14 Philadelphia 2 – 3 Pittsburgh OT Niittymaki 16,965 0–2–1 1 4 October 16 Philadelphia 2 – 5 Colorado Biron 18,007 0–3–1 1 5 October 18 Philadelphia 4 – 5 San Jose OT Niittymaki 17,496 0–3–2 2 6 October 22 San Jose 7 – 6 Philadelphia SO Biron 19,072 0–3–3 3 7 October 24 Philadelphia 6 – 3 New Jersey Biron 15,529 1–3–3 5 8 October 25 New Jersey 2 – 3 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,611 2–3–3 7 9 October 28 Philadelphia 7 – 0 Atlanta Niittymaki 13,207 3–3–3 9 10 October 30 NY Islanders 2 – 3 Philadelphia OT Biron 18,227 4–3–3 11
November: 7–4–2 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 4–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 11 November 2 Edmonton 5 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,437 4–4–3 11 12 November 6 Philadelphia 1 – 4 Ottawa Niittymaki 18,938 4–5–3 11 13 November 8 Tampa Bay 2 – 1 Philadelphia Biron 19,412 4–6–3 11 14 November 11 Philadelphia 3 – 1 NY Islanders Biron 13,447 5–6–3 13 15 November 13 Philadelphia 4 – 5 Pittsburgh SO Biron 17,132 5–6–4 14 16 November 15 Philadelphia 2 – 1 Montreal Biron 21,273 6–6–4 16 17 November 16 Atlanta 3 – 4 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,437 7–6–4 18 18 November 21 Philadelphia 3 – 0 Buffalo Biron 18,256 8–6–4 20 19 November 22 Phoenix 3 – 4 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,520 9–6–4 22 20 November 24 Dallas 3 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,171 10–6–4 24 21 November 26 Philadelphia 3 – 1 Carolina Niittymaki 15,057 11–6–4 26 22 November 28 Carolina 2 – 3 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,587 11–6–5 27 23 November 29 Philadelphia 2 – 4 Toronto Biron 19,387 11–7–5 27
December: 9–3–2 (Home: 7–0–1; Road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 24 December 2 Tampa Bay 3 – 4 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,227 12–7–5 29 25 December 4 New Jersey 3 – 2 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,577 12–7–6 30 26 December 6 Philadelphia 2 – 1 Carolina OT Niittymaki 14,061 13–7–6 32 27 December 9 NY Islanders 3 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,037 14–7–6 34 28 December 11 Carolina 5 – 6 Philadelphia SO Niittymaki 19,057 15–7–6 36 29 December 13 Pittsburgh 3 – 6 Philadelphia Biron 19,811 16–7–6 38 30 December 16 Colorado 2 – 5 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,219 17–7–6 40 31 December 18 Philadelphia 2 – 5 Montreal Niittymaki 21,273 17–8–6 40 32 December 20 Washington 1 – 7 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,897 18–8–6 42 33 December 21 Philadelphia 2 – 3 New Jersey SO Niittymaki 14,426 18–8–7 43 34 December 23 Ottawa 4 – 6 Philadelphia Nittymaki 19,578 19–8–7 45 35 December 26 Philadelphia 1 – 5 Chicago Biron 22,712 19–9–7 45 36 December 27 Philadelphia 0 – 3 Columbus Niittymaki 18,402 19–10–7 45 37 December 30 Philadelphia 3 – 2 Vancouver Biron 18,630 20–10–7 47
January: 6–4–2 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 3–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 38 January 2 Philadelphia 5 – 4 Anaheim SO Biron 17,597 21–10–7 49 39 January 3 Philadelphia 1 – 2 Los Angeles SO Niittymaki 18,118 21–10–8 50 40 January 6 Philadelphia 1 – 2 Washington SO Biron 18,277 21–10–9 51 41 January 8 Minnesota 1 – 3 Philadelphia Biron 19,596 22–10–9 53 42 January 10 Toronto 1 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,787 23–10–9 55 43 January 13 Pittsburgh 4 – 2 Philadelphia Biron 19,872 23–11–9 55 44 January 15 Philadelphia 1 – 4 Tampa Bay Biron 15,604 23–12–9 55 45 January 16 Philadelphia 3 – 2 Florida SO Niittymaki 17,827 24–12–9 57 46 January 21 Atlanta 3 – 5 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,766 25–12–9 59 47 January 27 Philadelphia 2 – 3 Florida Biron 13,904 25–13–9 59 48 January 30 Philadelphia 6 – 1 Tampa Bay Niittymaki 18,120 26–13–9 61 49 January 31 Philadelphia 0 – 4 St. Louis Niittymaki 19,150 26–14–9 61
February: 7–3–1 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 4–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 50 February 4 Boston 3 – 1 Philadelphia Biron 19,748 26–15–9 61 51 February 7 Philadelphia 4 – 3 Boston OT Niittymaki 17,565 27–15–9 63 52 February 8 Philadelphia 3 – 2 Atlanta Niittymaki 14,175 28–15–9 65 53 February 12 Ottawa 5 – 2 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,679 28–16–9 65 54 February 14 NY Islanders 1 – 5 Philadelphia Biron 19,789 29–16–9 67 55 February 15 Philadelphia 5 – 2 NY Rangers Biron 18,200 30–16–9 69 56 February 19 Buffalo 3 – 6 Philadelphia Biron 19,642 31–16–9 71 57 February 21 Pittsburgh 5 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,992 31–17–9 71 58 February 24 Philadelphia 4 – 2 Washington Biron 18,277 32–17–9 73 59 February 25 Los Angeles 0 – 2 Philadelphia Biron 19,568 33–17–9 75 60 February 27 Montreal 4 – 3 Philadelphia OT Niittymaki 19,881 33–17–10 76
March: 8–7–0 (Home: 4–4–0; Road: 4–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 61 March 1 Philadelphia 0 – 3 New Jersey Biron 17,625 33–18–10 76 62 March 3 Philadelphia 4 – 2 Boston Niittymaki 17,020 34–18–10 78 63 March 5 Calgary 5 – 1 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,513 34–19–10 78 64 March 7 Nashville 1 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,611 35–19–10 80 65 March 10 Buffalo 2 – 5 Philadelphia Biron 19,421 36–19–10 82 66 March 12 Washington 2 – 1 Philadelphia Biron 19,728 36–20–10 82 67 March 14 NY Rangers 2 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,836 37–20–10 84 68 March 15 Philadelphia 1 – 4 NY Rangers Niittymaki 18,200 37–21–10 84 69 March 17 Philadelphia 2 – 3 Detroit Biron 20,066 37–22–10 84 70 March 20 Philadelphia 6 – 4 Buffalo Biron 18,690 38–22–10 86 71 March 22 Philadelphia 3 – 1 Pittsburgh Biron 17,132 39–22–10 88 72 March 23 New Jersey 2 – 4 Philadelphia Biron 19,762 40–22–10 90 73 March 26 Florida 4 – 2 Philadelphia Biron 19,631 40–23–10 90 74 March 28 Philadelphia 4 – 3 NY Islanders SO Biron 16,234 41–23–10 92 75 March 29 Boston 4 – 3 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,715 41–24–10 92
April: 3–3–1 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 1–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 76 April 1 Philadelphia 2 – 3 Toronto Biron 19,340 41–25–10 92 77 April 3 Toronto 5 – 8 Philadelphia Biron 19,727 42–25–10 94 78 April 4 Philadelphia 3 – 4 Ottawa SO Niittymaki 19,557 42–25–11 95 79 April 7 Florida 1 – 2 Philadelphia Biron 19,637 43–25–11 97 80 April 9 Philadelphia 1 – 2 NY Rangers Biron 18,200 43–26–11 97 81 April 11 Philadelphia 3 – 2 NY Islanders Biron 16,234 44–26–11 99 82 April 12 NY Rangers 4 – 3 Philadelphia Biron 19,648 44–27–11 99
Legend:       Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

Game log

2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh - Penguins win 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 April 15 Philadelphia 1 – 4 Pittsburgh Biron 17,132 Penguins lead 1–0 2 April 17 Philadelphia 2 – 3 Pittsburgh OT Biron 17,132 Penguins lead 2–0 3 April 19 Pittsburgh 3 – 6 Philadelphia Biron 19,745 Penguins lead 2–1 4 April 21 Pittsburgh 3 – 1 Philadelphia Biron 19,883 Penguins lead 3–1 5 April 23 Philadelphia 3 – 0 Pittsburgh Biron 17,132 Penguins lead 3–2 6 April 25 Pittsburgh 5 – 3 Philadelphia Biron 20,072 Penguins win 4–2
Legend:       Win       Loss

Player stats

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position (C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing); GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes; = Joined team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only. = Left team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

#	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
				Regular season						Playoffs
17	Carter, JeffJeff Carter	24	C	82	46	38	84	23	68	6	1	0	1	-2	08 !8
18	Richards, MikeMike Richards	23	C	79	30	50	80	22	63	6	1	4	5	-4	06 !6
12	Gagne, SimonSimon Gagne	28	LW	79	34	40	74	21	42	6	3	1	4	-4	02 !2
19	Hartnell, ScottScott Hartnell	26	LW	82	30	30	60	14	143	6	1	1	2	-2	23
15	Lupul, JoffreyJoffrey Lupul	25	RW	79	25	25	50	1	58	6	1	1	2	1	02 !2
22	Knuble, MikeMike Knuble	36	RW	82	27	20	47	5	62	6	2	1	3	-2	02 !2
44	Timonen, KimmoKimmo Timonen	33	D	77	3	40	43	19	54	6	0	1	1	-3	12
05 !5	Coburn, BraydonBraydon Coburn	23	D	80	7	21	28	7	97	6	0	3	3	2	07 !7
28	Giroux, ClaudeClaude Giroux	21	RW	42	9	18	27	10	14	6	2	3	5	2	06 !6
48	Briere, DannyDanny Briere	31	C	29	11	14	25	-1	26	6	1	3	4	-1	08 !8
25	Carle, MattMatt Carle	24	D	64	4	20	24	2	16	6	0	3	3	0	04 !4
09 !9	Upshall, ScottieScottie Upshall	25	RW	55	7	14	21	5	63	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
45	Asham, ArronArron Asham	30	RW	78	8	12	20	0	155	6	1	1	2	-1	06 !6
13	Metropolit, GlenGlen Metropolit	34	C	55	4	10	14	-1	15	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
41	Alberts, AndrewAndrew Alberts	27	D	79	1	12	13	6	61	6	0	1	1	1	10
36	Powe, DarrollDarroll Powe	23	C	60	6	5	11	-8	35	6	1	2	3	0	07 !7
23	Vaananen, OssiOssi Vaananen	28	D	46	1	9	10	7	22	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
06 !6	Jones, RandyRandy Jones	27	D	47	4	4	8	8	22	6	0	1	1	1	00 !0
47	Sbisa, LucaLuca Sbisa	19	D	39	0	7	7	-6	36	1	0	0	0	0	02 !2
13	Carcillo, DanielDaniel Carcillo	24	LW	20	0	4	4	-2	80	5	1	1	2	3	05 !5
77	Parent, RyanRyan Parent	21	D	31	0	4	4	3	10	6	0	0	0	-3	06 !6
14	Nodl, AndreasAndreas Nodl	21	RW	38	1	3	4	-15	2	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
32	Cote, RileyRiley Cote	26	LW	63	0	3	3	-7	174	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
43	Biron, MartinMartin Biron	31	G	55	0	4	4	-0.1 !N/A	0	6	0	0	0	-0.1 !N/A	00 !0
24	Gratton, JoshJosh Gratton	26	LW	19	1	2	3	-2	57	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
46	Kalinski, JonJon Kalinski	21	C	12	1	2	3	-2	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
26	Eminger, SteveSteve Eminger	25	D	12	0	2	2	0	8	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
03 !3	Kukkonen, LasseLasse Kukkonen	27	D	22	0	2	2	-2	10	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
30	Niittymaki, AnteroAntero Niittymaki	28	G	32	0	1	1	-0.1 !N/A	2	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
11	Kane, BoydBoyd Kane	30	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
26	Syvret, DannyDanny Syvret	23	D	2	0	0	0	-1	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
27	Downie, SteveSteve Downie	21	RW	6	0	0	0	-4	11	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
29	Guenin, NateNate Guenin	26	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
60	Raduns, NateNate Raduns	24	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
42	Ross, JaredJared Ross	26	C	10	0	0	0	-4	2	6	1	0	1	0	00 !0
40	Sloane, DavidDavid Sloane	23	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
51	Fritsch, JamieJamie Fritsch	23	D	1	0	0	0	1	0	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-01 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; SO = Shutouts; GA = Goals against; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average; MIN = Minutes played

#	Player	Age	GP	W	L	OT	SO	GA	SV%	GAA	MIN	GP	W	L	SO	GA	SV%	GAA	MIN
			Regular season									Playoffs
43	Biron, MartinMartin Biron	31	55	29	19	5	2	146	.915	2.76	3177	6	2	4	1	16	.919	2.56	375
30	Niittymaki, AnteroAntero Niittymaki	28	32	15	8	6	1	83	.912	2.76	1805	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-01 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-001 !—

Awards and records

Awards

NHL
Award	Recipient
All-Star Game representative	Jeff Carter
NHL 2nd Star of the Month	Jeff Carter (December)
NHL 1st Star of the Week	Mike Richards (February 23)
NHL 2nd Star of the Week	Jeff Carter (December 22)
NHL 3rd Star of the Week	Simon Gagne (November 3)
Team
Award	Recipient
Barry Ashbee Trophy	Kimmo Timonen
Bobby Clarke Trophy	Mike Richards
Gene Hart Memorial Award	Scott Hartnell
Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy	Darroll Powe
Toyota Cup	Jeff Carter
Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award	Danny Briere

Records

Flyers player
Player	Record	Mark
Mike Richards (tied Brian Propp, 1984–85, and Mark Howe, 1985–86)	Shorthanded goals, one season	7
Jeff Carter (tied Brian Propp, 1982–83)	Game winning goals, one season	12

Milestones

Player	Milestone	Reached
Martin Biron	25th shutout	February 25, 2009

Transactions

The Flyers have been involved in the following transactions before and during the 2008–09 season.

Trades

Date	Details
June 6, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Danny Syvret	To Edmonton Oilers Ryan Potulny
June 18, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Nashville's 7th-round pick in 2008 conditional 4th-round pick in 2009 (Condition met)	To Tampa Bay Lightning rights to Vaclav Prospal
June 20, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Colorado's 1st-round pick in 2008 3rd-round pick in 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets rights to R.J. Umberger 4th-round pick in 2008
June 20, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Eminger 3rd-round pick in 2008	To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick in 2008
June 21, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 2009	To Anaheim Ducks 7th-round pick in 2008
June 24, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Janne Niskala	To Nashville Predators Triston Grant 7th-round pick in 2009
June 30, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Tim Ramholt	To Calgary Flames Kyle Greentree
June 30, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2009	To Tampa Bay Lightning Janne Niskala
July 1, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Patrik Hersley Ned Lukacevic	To Los Angeles Kings Denis Gauthier 2nd-round pick in 2010
October 13, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Andrew Alberts	To Boston Bruins Ned Lukacevic conditional 3rd or 4th-round pick in 2009 (Condition not met and remained a 4th)
October 30, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Josh Gratton	To Nashville Predators Tim Ramholt
November 7, 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Matt Carle San Jose's 3rd-round pick in 2009	To Tampa Bay Lightning Steve Downie Steve Eminger Tampa Bay's 4th-round pick in 2009
March 4, 2009	To Philadelphia Flyers Daniel Carcillo	To Phoenix Coyotes Scottie Upshall 2nd-round pick in 2011

Other transactions

Date	Player	Team (League)	Notes
Signed via free agency
July 1, 2008	Sean Curry	Providence (AHL)	2 years
July 1, 2008	Glen Metropolit	Boston (NHL)	2 years
July 1, 2008	Nate Raduns	Worcester (AHL)	1 year
July 1, 2008	Ossi Vaananen	Djurgardens IF (Elitserien)	1 year
July 7, 2008	Arron Asham	New Jersey (NHL)	2 years
September 18, 2008	Jean-Sebastien Aubin	Anaheim (NHL)	1 year
March 26, 2009	Johan Backlund	Timrå IK (Elitserien)	1 year, beginning 2009–10
Lost via free agency
May 15, 2008	Lars Jonsson	Brynas IF (Elitserien)
May 29, 2008	Denis Tolpeko	Dynamo Moscow (KHL)	Flyers retain NHL rights
July 3, 2008	Rory Fitzpatrick	Florida (NHL)
July 3, 2008	Stefan Ruzicka	Spartak Moscow (KHL)	Flyers retain NHL rights
July 8, 2008	Jason Smith	Ottawa (NHL)
July 14, 2008	Patrick Thoresen	HC Lugano (NLA)	Flyers retain NHL rights
July 25, 2008	Martin Grenier	Chelyabinsk (KHL)
July 31, 2008	Jaroslav Modry	HC Liberec (CZE)
August 21, 2008	Rejean Beauchemin	Idaho (ECHL)
August 28, 2008	Darren Reid	Hershey (AHL)
October 7, 2008	Jesse Boulerice	Lake Erie (AHL)
October 22, 2008	Martin Houle	Las Vegas (ECHL)
November 17, 2008	Frederik Cabana		released from contract
Retirement
June 1, 2008	Sami Kapanen	KalPa (SM-liiga)	Retired from NHL
April 7, 2009	Jim Dowd	—	Not re-signed following 2007–08 season
Lost on waivers
February 27, 2009	Glen Metropolit	Montreal (NHL)
February 27, 2009	Ossi Vaananen	Vancouver (NHL)
Re-signed
June 26, 2008	Jeff Carter	—	3 years, $15 million
June 29, 2008	Steve Eminger	—	1 year, $1.2 million
July 2, 2008	Riley Cote	—	3 years, $1.65 million
July 2, 2008	Randy Jones	—	2 years, $5.5 million
July 2, 2008	Danny Syvret	—	1 year, $550,000
July 15, 2008	Nate Guenin	—	1 year, $550,000
July 21, 2008	Joffrey Lupul	—	4 year extension, $17 million
Signed to Entry Level contracts
July 22, 2008	Kevin Marshall	Lewiston (QMJHL)	Drafted 41st overall, 2007
August 7, 2008	Chris Zarb	Ferris State (CCHA)	Drafted 144th overall, 2004
October 1, 2008	Luca Sbisa	Lethbridge (WHL)	Drafted 19th overall, 2008
April 1, 2009	James van Riemsdyk	New Hampshire (HE)	Drafted 2nd overall, 2007

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.

Rnd	#	Player	Position	Nationality	Drafted from
1	19	Luca Sbisa	Defenseman	Switzerland	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
3	67	Marc-Andre Bourdon	Defenseman	Canada	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
3	84	Jacob DeSerres	Goaltender	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
6	178	Zac Rinaldo	Center	Canada	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
7	196	Joacim Eriksson	Goaltender	Sweden	Brynas (Elitserien)

Farm teams

American Hockey League - Philadelphia Phantoms (Standings)

The 2008–09 season was the Phantoms' last playing in the Wachovia Spectrum and means they will move following the season. Comcast Spectacor sold the Phantoms to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh on February 4, 2009, and the new ownership has expressed interest in eventually moving the Phantoms to Allentown provided that a multi-purpose arena can be constructed there. Until a permanent new home is found for the club it will have to operate starting in 2009–10 in a temporary location. The site being given the most serious consideration for that is Glen Falls, the former home of the AHL Adirondack Red Wings from 1979 to 1999. Comcast Spectacor continues to operate the team through the conclusion of the 2008–09 AHL season and playoffs.

With Craig Berube returning to his role as an assistant coach with the Flyers, John Paddock was named head coach of the Phantoms. The Phantoms trailed the Binghamton Senators by as many as 12 points on March 14 for the final playoff spot in the East Division, but came back to overtake Binghamton and clinch the final playoff spot in the final regular season game at the Spectrum. The Phantoms final season in Philadelphia came to an end after being swept from the first round of the playoffs by the Hershey Bears.

ECHL - Mississippi Sea Wolves (Standings)

Mississippi missed the ECHL playoffs and announced they would suspend operations for the 2009–10 season. If the Flyers align with a new ECHL club for 2009–10, it will be their fourth ECHL affiliate in four seasons.

See also

• 2008–09 NHL season

References

General

• hockeyDB.com: Roster and player statistics · Results and Schedule
• hockey-reference.com: Roster and Statistics · Schedule and Results
• Flyers History: Season Overview · Game Scores & Results · Playoff Results

Specific