2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season was the franchise's 37th season, 30th season in the National Hockey League and 11th as the Hurricanes.

2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes
Division2nd Southeast
Conference6th Eastern
2008–09 record45–30–7
Home record26–14–1
Road record19–16–6
Goals for239
Goals against226
Team information
General managerJim Rutherford
CoachPaul Maurice
CaptainRod Brind'Amour
Alternate captainsEric Staal
Ray Whitney
ArenaRBC Center
Average attendanceAverage: 15,573 (83.4%)
Total: 679,488
Team leaders
GoalsEric Staal (40)
AssistsRay Whitney (53)
PointsRay Whitney (77)
Penalty minutesTuomo Ruutu (79)
Plus/minusEric Staal (15)
WinsCam Ward (39)
Goals against averageCam Ward (2.44)

This was the last season the Hurricanes made the playoffs until 2019.

Off-season

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  • June 5: After 20 seasons in the NHL and 13 as one of the most popular faces of the Hurricanes' franchise, Glen Wesley announced his retirement.[citation needed]
  • September 11: The club announced that they have signed Eric Staal to a seven-year contract extension worth US$57.75 million.[1]

Regular season

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  • November 7: Peter Laviolette made NHL history by becoming the winningest American-born NHL coach with his 240th victory, as Carolina defeated the Ottawa Senators, 2–1.[2]
  • December 2: Peter Laviolette was fired as the head coach and Paul Maurice was rehired in his place. Ron Francis became the team's associate head coach.[3]

The Hurricanes finished the regular season having tied the Montreal Canadiens for the most power-play opportunities, with 374.[4]

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

2 points for a win, 1 for an OT or shootout loss, 0 for a loss in regulation

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

2008–09 Game Log

Record vs. opponents

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Team Points Record
New Jersey* 106 3–1–0
NY Islanders 61 4–0–0
NY Rangers 95 2–1–1
Philadelphia 99 1–1–2
Pittsburgh 99 2–2–0
Boston* 116 0–4–0
Buffalo 91 2–2–0
Montreal 93 3–0–1
Ottawa 83 2–2–0
Toronto 81 3–1–0
Atlanta 76 3–3–0
Florida 93 3–3–0
Tampa Bay 66 6–0–0
Washington* 108 3–2–1
Chicago 104 0–0–1
Columbus 92 0–1–0
Detroit* 112 1–0–0
Nashville 88 1–0–0
St. Louis 92 2–0–0
Calgary 98 1–0–0
Colorado 69 1–0–0
Edmonton 85 0–1–0
Minnesota 89 0–1–0
Vancouver* 100 0–1–0
Anaheim 91 1–1–0
Dallas 83 1–0–0
Los Angeles 79 0–0–1
Phoenix 79 2–0–0
San Jose* 117 1–0–0

Notes: * denotes division winner; teams in bold are in the Southeast Division; teams in italics qualified for the playoffs; points refer to the points achieved by the team whom the Hurricanes played against

  = Member of the Atlantic Division
  = Member of the Northeast Division
  = Member of the Southeast Division
  = Member of the Central Division
  = Member of the Northeast Division
  = Member of the Pacific Division

Playoffs

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The Carolina Hurricanes ended the 2008–09 regular season as the Eastern Conference's sixth seed. In the first round, they defeated the New Jersey Devils following a game 7 victory following two goals with 1:20 minutes in the game from Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal in what is known as the “Shock at the Rock”.[5] In the second round, they defeated the Boston Bruins in 7 games, denying Boston's 3–1 series comeback attempt following an overtime goal from Scott Walker. In doing so, they reached the third round for the first time since 2002.[6] However, they got swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2009 Stanley Cup playoffs

  WIN   LOSS

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
Cam Ward 68 3928 39 23 5 160 2.44 1901 1741 .916 6
Michael Leighton 19 1028 6 7 2 50 2.92 507 457 .901 0
Playoffs
Player GP Min W L GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Cam Ward 18 1101 8 10 49 2.67 576 527 .915 2

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Hurricanes. Stats reflect season totals.
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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Milestones

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Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Brandon Sutter 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 10, 2008
Zach Boychuk 1st NHL Game October 17, 2008
Brandon Sutter 1st NHL Goal October 23, 2008
Dwight Helminen 1st NHL Game October 28, 2008
Anton Babchuk 100th NHL Game October 30, 2008
Dwight Helminen 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
November 2, 2008
Patrick Dwyer 1st NHL Game November 2, 2008
Brett Carson 1st NHL Game December 8, 2008
Bryan Rodney 1st NHL Game December 11, 2008
Bryan Rodney 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
February 3, 2009
Jakub Petruzalek 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
February 5, 2009

News

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On June 14, the Hurricanes agreed to an extension of their lease at the RBC Center by five years through to 2023-24.[8]

Trades

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Date
Details
February 7, 2009 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Wade Brookbank
Josef Melichar
4th-round pick in 2009 (pick ultimately forfeited)
To Carolina Hurricanes
Jussi Jokinen

Free agents

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Player Former team Contract Terms
Josef Melichar Linköpings HC (SEL) 1 year/$1 million
Player New team

Claimed from waivers

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Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Draft picks

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The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was in Ottawa, Ontario. The Hurricanes had the 14th overall pick

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 14 Zach Boychuk (C)   Canada Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
2 45 Zac Dalpe (C/RW)   Canada Penticton Vees (BCHL)
4 105 Michal Jordan (D)   Czech Republic Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
6 165 Mike Murphy (G)   Canada Belleville Bulls (OHL)
7 195 Samuel Morneau (LW)   Canada Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)

Farm teams

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American Hockey League

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The Albany River Rats are the Hurricanes American Hockey League affiliate for the 2008–09 AHL season.

ECHL

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The Florida Everblades are the Hurricanes ECHL affiliate.

References

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  1. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes - News: Hurricanes Sign Eric Staal to a Seven-Year Extension - 09/11/2008". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
  2. ^ "Laviolette makes history in Hurricanes win over Senators". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  3. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes - News: Hurricanes Name Paul Maurice Head Coach - 12/03/2008". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
  4. ^ "2008-09 NHL Summary".
  5. ^ "This Day in Canes History: April 28". NHL.com.
  6. ^ "2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Summary". hockey-reference.com. Hockey Reference. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "NHL.com - Recap: Hurricanes @ Penguins - 05/18/2009". Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  8. ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey - News: Hockey transactions[usurped]