2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season.html

This article documents a current ice hockey season.
Information may change as the event progresses.

2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes
Division	1st Southeast
Conference	3rd Eastern
2008–09 record	8-4-2
Home record	3–2–0
Road record	5-2-2
Goals for	41
Goals against	40
Team information
General Manager	Jim Rutherford
Coach	Paul Maurice
Captain	Rod Brind'Amour
Alternate captains	Eric Staal Ray Whitney
Arena	RBC Center
Average attendance	Average: 16,643 Capacity: 89.1% Total: 83,217
Team leaders
Goals	Tuomo Ruutu (5) Eric Staal (5)
Assists	Ray Whitney (9)
Points	Ray Whitney (12)
Penalties in minutes	Tim Gleason (26)
Plus/Minus	Niclas Wallin (+8)
Wins	Michael Leighton (4) Cam Ward (4)
Goals against average	Michael Leighton (2.37)

The 2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season is the franchise's 36th season, 29th season in the National Hockey League and 11th as the Hurricanes.

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

The 2008 NHL Draft started on June 20, 2008.

Contents:	Regular season — Playoffs — Player stats — Awards and records — Transactions Roster — Draft picks — Farm teams — See also — References

Offseason

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. ¹
September 11: The club announced that they have signed Eric Staal to a 7-year contract extension worth $57.75-million (US).

Regular season

On November 7, 2008, Laviolette made American NHL history by becoming the winningest US-born NHL coach with his 240th victory. Carolina defeated Ottawa, 2-1.²

On December 2, 2008, Peter Laviolette was fired as the head coach and Paul Maurice was hired in his place. Ron Francis became the team's associate head coach.

Divisional standings

Southeast Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
Washington Capitals	26	14	9	3	85	82	31
Carolina Hurricanes	26	12	12	2	65	75	26
Florida Panthers	25	11	11	3	63	69	25
Tampa Bay Lightning	25	6	11	8	57	79	20
Atlanta Thrashers	25	8	14	3	72	92	19

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

Conference standings

Eastern Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
Boston Bruins *	25	17	4	4	85	56	38
New York Rangers *	29	18	9	2	77	73	38
Washington Capitals *	26	14	9	3	85	82	31
Montreal Canadiens	25	15	6	4	78	67	34
Pittsburgh Penguins	25	15	6	4	82	68	34
Philadelphia Flyers	25	12	7	6	82	77	30
New Jersey Devils	23	13	8	2	68	62	28
Carolina Hurricanes	26	12	12	2	67	80	26

Florida Panthers	25	11	11	3	63	69	25
Buffalo Sabres	24	11	10	3	65	71	25
Toronto Maple Leafs	26	9	11	6	79	94	24
Ottawa Senators	23	9	10	4	57	57	22
New York Islanders	25	10	13	2	67	85	22
Tampa Bay Lightning	25	6	11	8	57	79	20
Atlanta Thrashers	25	8	14	3	72	92	19

* – division leader

Game log

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

2008–09 Game Log

Preseason: 3–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)
Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
September 24	Washington	4 - 1	Hurricanes		Ward	11,431	0-1-0	0
September 25	Hurricanes	2 - 5	Washington		Manzato	13,266	0-2-0	0
September 27	Hurricanes	2 - 4	Philadelphia		Ward	17,700	0-3-0	0
September 28	Philadelphia	0 - 1	Hurricanes		Leighton	11,431	1-3-0	2
October 2	Hurricanes	4 - 2	Nashville		Ward	12,903	2-3-0	4
October 5	Nashville	0 - 2	Hurricanes		Ward	11,313	3-3-0	4

October: 5–2–2 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 4–1–2)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 10	Florida	4 - 6	Hurricanes		Ward	18,680	1-0-0	2
2	October 11	Hurricanes	4 - 3	Lightning	OT	Leighton	18,552	2-0-0	4
3	October 13	Detroit	3 - 1	Hurricanes		Ward	18,680	2-1-0	4
4	October 17	Hurricanes	3 - 4	Los Angeles	OT	Ward	14,194	2-1-1	5
5	October 19	Hurricanes	3 - 1	Anaheim		Leighton	16,847	3-1-1	7
6	October 23	Hurricanes	1 - 4	Pittsburgh		Ward	17,132	3-2-1	7
7	October 25	Hurricanes	4 - 3	NY Islanders		Ward	11,219	4-2-1	9
8	October 28	Hurricanes	2 - 3	Montreal	SO	Ward	21,273	4-2-2	10
9	October 30	Hurricanes	1 - 0	St. Louis		Ward	17,860	5-2-2	12

November: 1–1–0 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
10	November 1	Edmonton	3 - 1	Hurricanes		Ward	15,016	5-3-2	12
11	November 2	Toronto	4 - 6	Hurricanes		Leighton	15,635	6-3-2	14
12	November 4	Hurricanes	5 - 4	Toronto	OT	Ward	19,266	7-3-2	16
13	November 6	Hurricanes	2 - 3	Capitals		Ward	15,391	7-4-2	16
14	November 7	Ottawa	1 - 2	Hurricanes		Leighton	15,206	8-4-2	18
15	November 9	Atlanta		Hurricanes
16	November 12	Washington		Hurricanes
17	November 14	Hurricanes		Atlanta
18	November 16	Tampa Bay		Hurricanes
19	November 18	Montreal		Hurricanes
20	November 21	Coyotes		Hurricanes
21	November 23	Nashville		Hurricanes
22	November 24	Hurricanes		Panthers
23	November 26	Philadelphia		Hurricanes
24	November 28	Hurricanes		Philadelphia
25	November 30	Anaheim		Hurricanes

December: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
26	December 4	Penguins		Hurricanes
27	December 6	Philadelphia		Hurricanes
28	December 7	Washington		Hurricanes
29	December 11	Hurricanes		Philadelphia
30	December 13	Hurricanes		NY Rangers
31	December 16	Montreal		Hurricanes
32	December 18	Florida		Ducks
33	December 20	Hurricanes		Boston
34	December 21	Hurricanes		Montreal
35	December 23	Hurricanes		Minnesota
36	December 26	Hurricanes		Atlanta
37	December 27	Boston		Hurricanes
38	December 31	Atlanta		Hurricanes

January: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
39	January 2	St. Louis		Hurricanes
40	January 3	Hurricanes		Tampa Bay
41	January 6	New Jersey		Hurricanes
42	January 8	Hurricanes		Florida
43	January 10	Hurricanes		Boston
44	January 13	Hurricanes		Ottawa
45	January 15	Toronto		Hurricanes
46	January 17	Hurricanes		Buffalo
47	January 19	Hurricanes		Toronto
48	January 20	Hurricanes		Pittsburgh
49	January 27	Hurricanes		NY Rangers
50	January 29	Tampa Bay		Hurricanes
51	January 31	Atlanta		Hurricanes

February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
52	February 3	Hurricanes		Vancouver
53	February 5	Hurricanes		San Jose
54	February 7	Hurricanes		Phoenix
55	February 12	Florida		Hurricanes
56	February 14	Columbus		Hurricanes
57	February 15	Hurricanes		Buffalo
58	February 17	Boston		Hurricanes
59	February 19	Hurricanes		NY Islanders
60	February 20	Tampa Bay		Hurricanes
61	February 22	Colorado		Hurricanes
62	February 24	Hurricanes		Ottawa
63	February 26	Buffalo		Hurricanes
64	February 28	Hurricanes		Atlanta

March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
65	March 3	Hurricanes		Washington
66	March 6	Calgary		Hurricanes
67	March 7	Hurricanes		Tampa Bay
68	March 9	NY Rangers		Hurricanes
69	March 11	Hurricanes		Chicago
70	March 12	Hurricanes		Dallas
71	March 14	Hurricanes		Washington
72	March 18	New Jersey		Hurricanes
73	March 20	NY Islanders		Hurricanes
74	March 21	Washington		Hurricanes
75	March 23	Hurricanes		Florida
76	March 25	Ottawa		Hurricanes
77	March 28	Hurricanes		New Jersey

April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
78	April 2	NY Rangers		Hurricanes
79	April 4	Pittsburgh		Hurricanes
80	April 7	NY Islanders		Hurricanes
81	April 9	Buffalo		Hurricanes
82	April 11	Hurricanes		New Jersey

Playoffs

The Carolina Hurricanes plan to make the playoffs before missing it a third straight time after winning the Stanley Cup.

Player stats

Skaters

		Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Ray Whitney	13	24	7	10	17	-5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Eric Staal	12	24	8	7	15	+8	26	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rod Brind'Amour	17	24	7	7	14	-16	12	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tuomo Ruutu	15	21	8	6	14	-1	23	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Seidenberg	4	24	2	11	13	-4	14	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joni Pitkanen	25	16	1	9	10	0	12	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Corvo	77	24	3	6	9	+2	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Niclas Wallin	7	24	1	8	9	0	24	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chad LaRose	59	24	7	2	9	+2	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Matt Cullen	8	19	5	3	8	+1	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sergei Samsonov	14	24	2	6	8	-6	14	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ryan Bayda	18	24	3	4	7	+6	10	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tim Gleason	6	21	0	7	7	+1	26	-	-	-	-	-	-
Scott Walker	24	12	2	4	6	-4	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Anton Babchuk	33	18	1	3	4	-4	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Brandon Sutter	16	16	1	3	4	0	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Josef Melichar	22	13	0	3	3	+1	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Frantisek Kaberle	5	5	0	3	3	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Patrick Eaves	44	18	0	3	3	+3	9	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dan LaCouture	20	11	2	0	2	-1	10	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dwight Helminen	63	8	1	1	2	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wade Brookbank	28	24	1	0	1	+1	33	-	-	-	-	-	-
Patrick Dwyer	39	10	1	0	1	-1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Ryan	36	2	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Zach Boychuk	23	2	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Hurricanes. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Goaltenders

		Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#	GP	MIN	W	L	OTL	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA	GP	MIN	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Cam Ward	30	17	1033	8	7	2	46	1	.911	2.67	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Leighton	49	7	422	4	3	0	20	0	.905	2.84	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

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

News

On June 14, the Hurricanes agreed to an extension of their lease at the RBC Center by five years through to 2023-24.³

Trades

Free Agents

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

Player	New team

Claimed from Waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers

Draft picks

The 2008 NHL Entry Draft is 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

American Hockey League

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

East Coast Hockey League

The Florida Everblades are the Hurricanes East Coast Hockey League affiliate.

Roster

view • talk •

Updated December 2, 2008.[1]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
33	Russia	Babchuk, AntonAnton Babchuk	2.0 D	R	24	2006	Kiev, U.S.S.R.
18	Canada	Bayda, RyanRyan Bayda	6.0 LW	L	27	2006	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
17	Canada	Brind'Amour, RodRod Brind'Amour (C)	4.0 C	L	38	2000	Ottawa, Ontario
28	Canada	Brookbank, WadeWade Brookbank	6.0 LW	L	31	2007	Lanigan, Saskatchewan
77	United States	Corvo, JoeJoe Corvo	2.0 D	R	31	2008	Oak Park, Illinois
8	United States	Cullen, MattMatt Cullen	4.0 C	L	32	2007	Virginia, Minnesota
39	United States	Dwyer, PatrickPatrick Dwyer	7.0 RW	R	25	2006	Great Falls, Montana
44	United States	Eaves, PatrickPatrick Eaves	7.0 RW	R	24	2008	Calgary, Alberta
6	United States	Gleason, TimTim Gleason	2.0 D	L	25	2006	Clawson, Michigan
5	Czech Republic	Kaberle, FrantisekFrantisek Kaberle	2.0 D	L	35	2004	Kladno, Czechoslovakia
59	United States	LaRose, ChadChad LaRose	7.0 RW	R	26	2003	Fraser, Michigan
49	Canada	Leighton, MichaelMichael Leighton	1.0 G	L	27	2007	Petrolia, Ontario
22	Czech Republic	Melichar, JosefJosef Melichar	2.0 D	L	29	2008	Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia
25	Finland	Pitkanen, JoniJoni Pitkanen	2.0 D	L	25	2008	Oulu, Finland
15	Finland	Ruutu, TuomoTuomo Ruutu	6.0 LW	L	25	2008	Vantaa, Finland
14	Russia	Samsonov, SergeiSergei Samsonov	6.0 LW	R	30	2008	Moscow, U.S.S.R.
4	Germany	Seidenberg, DennisDennis Seidenberg	2.0 D	L	27	2007	Schwenningen, West Germany
12	Canada	Staal, EricEric Staal (A)	4.0 C	L	24	2003	Thunder Bay, Ontario
16	Canada	Sutter, BrandonBrandon Sutter	4.0 C	R	19	2007	Huntington, New York
24	Canada	Walker, ScottScott Walker	7.0 RW	R	35	2006	Cambridge, Ontario
7	Sweden	Wallin, NiclasNiclas Wallin	2.0 D	L	33	2000	Boden, Sweden
30	Canada	Ward, CamCam Ward	1.0 G	L	24	2002	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
13	Canada	Whitney, RayRay Whitney (A)	6.0 LW	R	36	2005	Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
11	Canada	Williams, JustinJustin Williams	7.0 RW	R	27	2004	Cobourg, Ontario

References

^ http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Carolina/2008/06/05/5787031-ap.html
^ "Laviolette makes history in Hurricanes win over Senators", TSN.ca. Retrieved on 8 November 2008.
^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey - News: Hockey transactions

v • d • e Carolina Hurricanes

Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft picks • RBC Center • Albany River Rats • Florida Everblades • Hartford Whalers

v • d • e Carolina Hurricanes seasons

Hartford • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 Bold indicates Stanley Cup victory

v • d • e

2008–09 NHL season by team

Atlantic	New Jersey Devils • New York Islanders • New York Rangers • Philadelphia Flyers • Pittsburgh Penguins

Northeast	Boston Bruins • Buffalo Sabres • Montreal Canadiens • Ottawa Senators • Toronto Maple Leafs

Southeast	Atlanta Thrashers • Carolina Hurricanes • Florida Panthers • Tampa Bay Lightning • Washington Capitals

Central	Chicago Blackhawks • Columbus Blue Jackets • Detroit Red Wings • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues

Northwest	Calgary Flames • Colorado Avalanche • Edmonton Oilers • Minnesota Wild • Vancouver Canucks

Pacific	Anaheim Ducks • Dallas Stars • Los Angeles Kings • Phoenix Coyotes • San Jose Sharks