2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season

2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division	2nd Northeast
Conference	4th Eastern
2008–09 record	1-0-0
Home record	0-0-0
Road record	1-0-0
Goals for	3
Goals against	2
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Ron Wilson
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Nik Antropov Tomas Kaberle Pavel Kubina Jamal Mayers Dominic Moore
Arena	Air Canada Centre
Average attendance	TBD
Team leaders
Goals	Nikolai Kulemin (1) Dominic Moore (1) Pavel Kubina (1)
Assists	Jonas Frogren (1) Alexander Steen (1)
Points	Nikolai Kulemin (1) Dominic Moore (1) Pavel Kubina (1) Jonas Frogren (1) Alexander Steen (1)
Penalty minutes	Carlo Colaiacovo (2) Jamal Mayers (2) Matt Stajan (2)
Plus/minus	Jonas Frogren (2) Nikolai Kulemin (2) Dominic Moore (2) Alexander Steen (2)
Wins	Vesa Toskala (1)
Goals against average	Vesa Toskala (2)

The 2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season is the franchise's 91st, and their 81st as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs will look to qualify for the postseason for the first time since the 2003–04 season. Template:NHLSeasonTOC

Offseason

A challenge for the Maple Leafs will be to find a General Manager. Brian Burke was a favorite for the Leafs vacant position but decided to stay with the Anaheim Ducks. Burke was not given permision to talk to the Leafs about their vacancy by Ducks owner Henry Samueli. 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 Leafs' job.

On May 7. the Leafs fired head coach Paul Maurice, along with two assistant coaches after missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. On May 8th, the Leafs asked the Vancouver Canucks permission to speak to Dave Nonis about hiring him for a position with the club.

In mid-May, there were rumours that 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 the Phoenix Coyotes and developing their young talent.

On June 10, Ron Wilson was hired as the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wilson was fired in May by San Jose after the Sharks lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round of the NHL playoffs. Wilson has also coached the Anaheim Ducks and the Washington Capitals. The former U.S. college player spent parts of three NHL seasons with the Leafs in the 1970s.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Al Coates as their player-personnel director on Monday, June 16. 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 ('07 with Anaheim and '89 with Calgary). The move perpetuated speculation that Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke will become the Leafs' GM once his deal with the Ducks expires in 2009, but this speculation is premature. New head coach Ron Wilson played hockey with Burke at Providence, but this is largely considered moot and mildly coincidental.

Former NHL star Joe Nieuwendyk was named as general manager Cliff Fletcher's special assistant on July 8. While playing for the Florida Panthers, Nieuwendyk gained experience as a special consultant to GM Jacques Martin.

Throughout the offseason, the Maple Leafs have been involved in numerous transactions. On June 24, the Toronto Maple Leafs put Goaltender Andrew Raycroft and Forward Kyle Wellwood on waivers. Also, Interim GM Cliff Fletcher informed Darcy Tucker that he is to be bought out of his three-year contract, however it will not be official until June 25th.

The Maple Leafs bought out goaltender Andrew Raycroft on June 28th, making him eligible for free agency on July 1st. When the free agent signing period began on July 1st, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed on defenceman Jeff Finger, goaltender Curtis Joseph to back up current starting goaltender Vesa Toskala and former Dallas Stars forward Niklas Hagman. Another transaction was made on July 3rd, as Cliff Fletcher was busy again as he traded for former Montreal Canadiens forward Mikhail Grabovski in exchange for the rights to Greg Pateryn and a 2nd round draft choice in 2010. The Leafs also resigned forwards Dominic Moore, John Mitchell, and Greg Scott. On July 14, the Maple Leafs acquired forward Ryan Hollweg in a trade with the New York Rangers for a 5th round draft pick in 2009.

Regular season

Divisional standings

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

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

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
Nikolai Kulemin	1	1	0	1	2	0
Dominic Moore	1	1	0	1	2	0
Pavel Kubina	1	1	0	1	0	0
Jonas Frogren	1	0	1	1	2	0
Alexander Steen	1	0	1	1	2	0

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Vesa Toskala	1	60	1	0	0	2	0	.945	2
Curtis Joseph	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached

Transactions

On October 6, the team placed Mark Bell on waivers.

Trades

June 19, 2008	To Toronto Maple Leafs Jamal Mayers	To St. Louis Blues 3rd round pick in 2008
June 20, 2008	To Toronto Maple Leafs 5th overall pick in 2008	To New York Islanders 7th overall pick in 2008 Two conditional picks
July 3, 2008	To Toronto Maple Leafs Mikhail Grabovski	To Montreal Canadiens Greg Pateryn 2nd round pick in 2010
July 14, 2008	To Toronto Maple Leafs Ryan Hollweg	To New York Rangers 5th round pick in 2009
September 2, 2008	To Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Van Ryn	To Florida Panthers Bryan McCabe 4th round pick in 2010

Free Agents

Player Former team Contract Terms Curtis Joseph Calgary Flames 1 year, $700,000 Jeff Finger Colorado Avalanche 4 year, $14 million Niklas Hagman Dallas Stars 4 year, $12 million

Player New team Darcy Tucker Colorado Avalanche Andrew Raycroft Colorado Avalanche Kyle Wellwood Vancouver Canucks Scott Clemmensen New Jersey Devils Andy Wozniewski St. Louis Blues

Claimed from Waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Draft picks

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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Club Team
1	5	Luke Schenn	(D)	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
2	60 (from Pittsburgh)	Jimmy Hayes	(RW)	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)
4	98	Mikhail Stefanovich	(C)	Belarus	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
5	128	Greg Pateryn	(D)	United States	Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (USHL)
5	129 (from Phoenix)	Joel Champagne	(C)	Canada	Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
5	130 (from Florida)	Jerome Flaake	(LW)	Germany	Kölner Haie (DEL)
6	158	Grant Rollheiser	(G)	Canada	Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)
7	188	Andrew MacWilliam	(D)	Canada	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)

Roster

Updated August 27, 2024

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
26		Nick Abruzzese	C	L	25	2019	Slate Hill, New York
2		Simon Benoit	D	L	25	2023	Laval, Quebec
53		Easton Cowan	RW	L	19	2023	Mount Brydges, Ontario
24		Connor Dewar	C	L	25	2024	The Pas, Manitoba
11		Max Domi	LW	L	29	2023	Winnipeg, Manitoba
95		Oliver Ekman-Larsson	D	L	33	2024	Karlskrona, Sweden
71		Nikita Grebenkin	RW	L	21	2022	Serov, Russia
41		Dennis Hildeby	G	L	23	2024	Järfälla, Sweden
29		Pontus Holmberg	C	L	25	2018	Västerås, Sweden
19		Calle Jarnkrok	RW	R	32	2022	Gävle, Sweden
64		David Kampf	C	L	29	2021	Jirkov, Czech Republic
23		Matthew Knies	LW	L	21	2021	Phoenix, Arizona
84		Mikko Kokkonen	D	L	23	2019	Mikkeli, Finland
37		Timothy Liljegren	D	R	25	2017	Kristianstad, Sweden
16		Mitch Marner (A)	RW	R	27	2015	Markham, Ontario
34		Auston Matthews (C)	C	L	27	2016	San Ramon, California
22		Jake McCabe	D	L	30	2023	Eau Claire, Wisconsin
74		Bobby McMann	C	L	28	2022	Wainwright, Alberta
36		Dakota Mermis	D	L	30	2024	Alton, Illinois
39		Fraser Minten	C	L	20	2022	Vancouver, British Columbia
30		Matt Murray	G	L	30	2022	Thunder Bay, Ontario
51		Philippe Myers	D	R	27	2024	Moncton, New Brunswick
47		Topi Niemela	D	R	22	2020	Oulu, Finland
88		William Nylander	RW	R	28	2014	Calgary, Alberta
75		Ryan Reaves	RW	R	37	2023	Winnipeg, Manitoba
44		Morgan Rielly (A)	D	L	30	2012	West Vancouver, British Columbia
83		Marshall Rifai	D	L	26	2023	Beaconsfield, Quebec
89		Nicholas Robertson (RFA)	LW	L	23	2019	Arcadia, California
46		Alex Steeves	LW	L	24	2021	Bedford, New Hampshire
41		Anthony Stolarz	G	L	30	2024	Edison, New Jersey
8		Christopher Tanev	D	R	34	2024	East York, Ontario
91		John Tavares (A)	C	L	33	2018	Mississauga, Ontario
25		Conor Timmins	D	R	26	2022	St. Catharines, Ontario
76		William Villeneuve	D	R	22	2020	Sherbrooke, Quebec
52		Cade Webber	D	L	23	2024	Meadville, Pennsylvania
60		Joseph Woll	G	L	26	2016	Dardenne Prairie, Missouri

See also

• 2008–09 NHL season

Farm teams

• The Maple Leafs continue their affiliation with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.