2008–09 Ottawa Senators season

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2008–09 Ottawa Senators
Division4th Northeast
Conference11th Eastern
2008–09 record36–35–11
Home record22–12–7[1]
Road record14–23–4[1]
Goals for217
Goals against237
Team information
General managerBryan Murray
CoachCraig Hartsburg (Oct.–Feb.)
Cory Clouston (Feb.–Apr.)
CaptainDaniel Alfredsson
Alternate captainsDany Heatley
Chris Phillips
ArenaScotiabank Place
Average attendance19,081 (99.6%)
Team leaders
GoalsDany Heatley (39)
AssistsDaniel Alfredsson (50)
PointsDaniel Alfredsson (74)
Penalty minutesChris Neil (146)
Plus/minusDaniel Alfredsson (+7)
WinsAlex Auld, Brian Elliott (16)
Goals against averageAlex Auld (2.47)

The 2008–09 Ottawa Senators season was the team's 17th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team began the season with a new head coach, Craig Hartsburg, and numerous personnel changes after narrowly making the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the team had a losing record under the new coach and he was fired in February, replaced by Binghamton Senators' head coach Cory Clouston. The team improved its record under Clouston, but not enough to qualify for the 2009 playoffs, ending an 11-year string of qualifying for the playoffs.

Off-season[]

It was an off-season of numerous personnel changes. Wade Redden, a long-time Senator, signed a contract as a free agent with the New York Rangers. Ray Emery and Brian McGrattan, considered poor influences in the dressing room, were discarded. The Senators re-signed forwards Shean Donovan, Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette and made several free agent signings, including Alex Auld, Jarkko Ruutu and Jason Smith. After an extended period of negotiations with Andrej Meszaros failed to produce a contract, the Tampa Bay Lightning showed interest in the defenceman, who was a restricted free agent. Unable to provide the draft picks needed to compensate the Senators, a trade was made and the Senators received Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft from Tampa Bay.

Highlights[]

On June 5, it was reported that Wade Redden would not sign a contract paying $3.5 million annually with the Senators. He instead became an unrestricted free agent (UFA) on July 1 and signed a six-year, $39 million contract with the New York Rangers.[2] On June 13, 2008, the Senators named Craig Hartsburg, coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the new head coach after having interviewed candidates Bob Hartley and Peter DeBoer. Hartsburg signed a three-year contract with the Senators.[3]

On June 20, the day of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the Senators placed Ray Emery on waivers and re-signed Chris Kelly to a new four-year, $8.5 million contract.[4] At the draft, the Senators selected Erik Karlsson with their first-round pick (15th overall) and proceeded to select Patrick Wiercioch (42nd overall), Zack Smith (79th overall), Andre Petersson (109th overall), Derek Grant (119th overall), Mark Borowiecki (139th overall) and Emil Sandin (199th overall).

On July 1, the Senators announced that they had signed goaltender Alex Auld to a two-year contract worth $1 million annually. Auld is expected to serve as a backup to Martin Gerber for the 2008–09 season. On July 2, the Senators announced that they had re-signed forward Shean Donovan to a two-year contract at $625,000 per season. The Sens also announced that they have signed forward Jarkko Ruutu to a three-year contract worth $1.3 million per season. On July 5, the Ottawa Senators announced that Antoine Vermette had elected to take the club to salary arbitration. The Senators and Vermette agreed to a two-year deal on July 31. On July 8, the Senators announced that they had signed defenceman Jason Smith to a two-year, $5.2 million contract.[5] On July 16, the Senators announced that they will host the Detroit Red Wings in their official home-opener on October 11. On July 17, the Ottawa Senators and CHUM Radio announced that the club and The Team 1200 had signed a multi-year extension to their agreement to broadcast Senators' games. The original ten-year contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 season. On July 31, the Ottawa Senators and Antoine Vermette avoided going to arbitration by agreeing to terms on a new two-year contract worth $5.525 million. Vermette would make $2.525 million and $3 million for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons respectively.

On August 29, in a trade similar to the Alexei Yashin trade in 2001, former first-round pick Andrej Meszaros was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (obtained by Tampa Bay in an earlier trade with the San Jose Sharks).[6] Meszaros was a restricted free agent demanding $1 million more per season than what the Senators were willing to offer. After Tampa threatened to offer Meszaros an offer sheet with picks as compensation on August 28, the Senators opted to make a trade with Tampa.[7] Meszaros subsequently signed a six-year, $24 million contract on August 30 with the Lightning.[6] On September 2, the Senators made a deal with the Vancouver Canucks and traded defenceman Lawrence Nycholat for centre/right winger Ryan Shannon. On the same day, they signed another former Canucks player, Brad Isbister, who was an unrestricted free agent. On September 27, veteran defenseman Luke Richardson re-signed on a one-year, two-way contract with the Senators for his second season with the club.

Pre-season[]

On October 2, the Senators played their first-ever game in Europe, a pre-season exhibition game in Gothenburg, Sweden, against Frolunda HC,[8] which Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson played for before joining the NHL and during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The Senators finished the 2008 pre-season with a record of 4–2–0–0.

Pre-season
September/October
Date Time Opponent Location Score
September 20 7:00 pm New York Rangers Scotiabank Place W, 3–2
September 22 7:00 pm New York Rangers Madison Square Garden L, 2–1
September 24 7:00 pm Philadelphia Flyers Scotiabank Place W, 3–1
September 26 7:30 pm Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre L, 5–0
September 27 7:00 pm Montreal Canadiens Scotiabank Place W, 3–1
October 2 1:00 pm Frölunda HC Scandinavium Arena W, 4–1

Regular season[]

The Senators started their season with a pair of games in Stockholm, Sweden. The Senators played the Pittsburgh Penguins twice at the Scandinavium on October 4 and October 5.[8] The teams split the results, with the Penguins winning the first in overtime and the Senators winning the second. New Senator defenceman Filip Kuba picked up at least one point in each of the Senators' first eight games of the season, setting the NHL record for consecutive team games with assists from the start of a season by a defenceman. The previous mark of seven was set by Brad Park with the Boston Bruins in 1981–82.[9] All points were assists and Kuba did not score his first goal with the Senators until November 13.[10]

Alexander Nikulin, who had been demoted to the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Binghamton Senators, threatened to return to Russia unless he was traded. As a result, he was traded from Binghamton to the Phoenix Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, for Drew Fata.[11]

For a game on November 22 against the New York Rangers, the Senators unveiled their new third jersey. Marketed as "Back in Black," the jersey is primarily black. The Senators' primary logo moves to the shoulders and the nickname "SENS" is across the front of the jersey.[12]

Prior to that game, the Senators players, the team below the playoff cutoff in the standings for most of October through November, decided to grow moustaches, similar to the playoff beard tradition of teams in the playoffs. The team started growing the moustaches following a loss to the Montreal Canadiens on November 20. The idea originated with Dany Heatley.[13]

On November 27, the Senators waived Luke Richardson, a veteran of nearly 20 years in the NHL. He was not picked up by any other team and subsequently retired. He had not seen much playing time with Senators, and had been a healthy scratch several times in the season.

From December until early January, the Senators took an eight-game road trip as Scotiabank Place was used for the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The team, already well back of a playoff spot, received intense scrutiny by the media, believing a "shake-up" of some kind was imminent. The team only won one game on the road trip, and on January 7, Owner Eugene Melnyk was compelled to respond to media reports of the imminent firings of General Manager Bryan Murray and Head Coach Craig Hartsburg:

“Contrary to what is being reported today by the media, I have made no decisions with respect to any personnel changes within the Senators organization. Winning remains our No. 1 priority and there is a collective focus by our management, our coaching staff and our players to deliver this to our fans.
I, along with our fans, will do nothing but continue to remain fully committed to our Senators and enthusiastically cheer them on to a successful second half of the season.
This is crunch time. Now, more than ever, is the time to rally behind our team. We don’t surrender half-way through the season.
Every victory from here on in matters. We know it and the fans know it. Period.”

[14]

At the end of the road trip on January 8, the club was 13 points behind the eighth and final playoff spot, held by the Buffalo Sabres. The Ottawa Citizen launched the "Tavares Cup," similar in spirit to the "Daigle Cup" of 1993, to keep track of the bottom five teams in the NHL, all of which had a chance, at least via the draft lottery, to draft the highly rated junior player, John Tavares. At the time of the start of the "competition," the Senators were within the lowest five teams in the League.[15]

Also on January 7, forward Jarkko Ruutu received a suspension of two games for biting in an altercation with a Buffalo Sabres forward on January 6. It was Ruutu's second suspension of the season, after elbowing a Montreal Canadiens forward earlier in the season.[16]

On January 9, 2009, goaltender Brian Elliott was recalled by Ottawa from Binghamton.[17] He had been named the AHL's Goaltender of the Month for December.[18] On January 15, Senators goaltender Martin Gerber was demoted to Binghamton for a two-week conditioning stint; he was placed on waivers and was assigned to Binghamton on January 27.[19] Elliott started six games in a row and remained with Ottawa.

On January 29, less than a month after previous comments to the media about the Senators, Eugene Melnyk responded to media speculation about possible organization changes with another memorable quote:

“Anybody that says we should blow up this organization should get their own bomb and go blow themselves up.”[20]

At the time, the Senators remained near the bottom of the League in 29th place, with the lowest goal-scoring record in the NHL.

However, only three days later, on February 2, Head Coach Craig Hartsburg was fired, ending his tenure with the Senators at only 48 games. Following a 7–4 loss to the Washington Capitals on February 1, Hartsburg had called out his team for not playing hard.[21] Binghamton Senators' Head Coach Cory Clouston was elevated to head coach of Ottawa for the balance of the season.[22] Clouston became the fourth head coach to coach the Senators in a year, prompting the media to dub the players as "coach-killers."[23] Assistant Coach Curtis Hunt was also let go (he became the Binghamton head coach) and recently retired defenceman Luke Richardson joined the coaching staff as an assistant.[24]

On February 12, former Head Coach John Paddock (who had moved on to coach the AHL' Philadelphia Phantoms) weighed in on the firing, stating that at some point that GM Bryan Murray would be held accountable:

“I think now he's next in line. We were 14 games over .500 when I was fired. They're seven under now. Somebody needs to take responsibility for that. Whether the coaches he hired and fired were good or not, they're his players and they're either not playing good or can't play, one or the other.” He was then asked which was the case: “The players are not very good, that's the problem.”[25]

Paddock apologized to Murray via e-mail. Murray commented, "I'm disappointed and a little bit surprised by it. I'm not sure what purpose he was trying to achieve doing that. He sent me an apology. The only complaint I ever had with John was that I didn't think he worked hard enough at getting himself ready and getting the team ready to play games."[26]

Late in February and early in March, as the season neared the trade deadline, the team still held out hold of making the playoffs although the team remained over ten points out of a playoff spot, as the team was winning more often with Clouston. The Senators began making roster deals, sending Dean McAmmond and a 2009 first-round pick for Chris Campoli and Mike Comrie. By the NHL trade deadline day of March 4, Murray admitted to the media that the club would be "sellers" and had given up hope of making the playoffs. On March 4, Antoine Vermette was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a draft pick. Martin Gerber was put on waivers three times and was finally picked up by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Although the club improved its record under new coach Clouston, including a 10–5–0 record in March, it was not enough to salvage the season. On March 31, following a loss to the Florida Panthers and a win by the Montreal Canadiens, the club was officially eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1996.

Although eliminated, the team continued to play well, including a nine-game win streak on home ice. By April 8, the team's record under Clouston was 19–10–3 and he was rewarded with a two-year deal to continue coaching the Senators.[27]

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


2008–09 Game log
October: 4–5–1 (Home: 1–4–1; Road: 3–1–0)
Game R Date Score Opponent Attendance Recap Record Points
1†S OTL Sat October 4 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 13,699 [28] 0–0–1 1
2S W Sun October 5 3–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 13,699 [29] 1–0–1 3
3 L Sat October 11 2–3 Detroit Red Wings 20,182 [30] 1–1–1 3
4 W Fri October 17 6–3 Phoenix Coyotes 20,179 [31] 2–1–1 5
5 L Sat October 18 2–4 Boston Bruins 19,318 [32] 2–2–1 5
6 L Wed October 22 1–3 Florida Panthers 19,952 [33] 2–3–1 5
7 L Fri October 24 3–4 Anaheim Ducks 19,762 [34] 2–4–1 5
8 L Sat October 25 2–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 19,232 [35] 2–5–1 5
9 W Mon October 27 5–2 @ Buffalo Sabres 18,690 [36] 3–5–1 7
10 W Thu October 30 2–1 @ Florida Panthers 13,567 [36] 4–5–1 9
November: 4–5–3 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 0–4–2)
Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points Recap
11 November 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–2 (SO) Tampa 16,104 4–5–2 10 [37]
12 November 4 Washington Capitals 2–1 (W) Scotiabank Place 18,485 5–5–2 12 [38]
13 November 6 Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 (W) Scotiabank Place 18,938 6–5–2 14 [39]
14 November 7 Carolina Hurricanes 2–1 (L) Raleigh 15,206 6–6–2 14 [40]
15 November 11 Montreal Canadiens 4–0 (L) Montreal 21,273 6–7–2 14 [41]
16 November 13 New York Islanders 3–1 (L) Scotiabank Place 19,061 6–8–2 14 [42]
17 November 15 New York Islanders 3–2 (L) New York 13,722 6–9–2 14 [43]
18 November 17 New York Rangers 2–1 (SO) New York 18,200 6–9–3 15 [44]
19 November 20 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 (SO) Scotiabank Place 20,475 6–9–4 16 [45]
20 November 22 New York Rangers 4–1 (W) Scotiabank Place 19,619 7–9–4 18 [46]
21 November 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1 (W) Scotiabank Place 19,703 8–9–4 20 [47]
22 November 29 New York Islanders 4–2 (L) New York 13,108 8–10–4 20 [48]
December: 5–7–1 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 1–6–0)
Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points Recap
23 December 3 Atlanta Thrashers 5–1 (W) Scotiabank Place 17,215 9–10–4 22 [49]
24 December 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 (W) Scotiabank Place 19,561 10–10–4 24 [50]
25 December 8 Florida Panthers 4–3 (OT) Scotiabank Place 17,947 10–10–5 25 [51]
26 December 10 Chicago Blackhawks 2–0 (L) Chicago 21,614 10–11–5 25 [52]
27 December 12 Washington Capitals 5–1 (L) Washington 17,973 10–12–5 25 [53]
28 December 13 Tampa Bay Lightning 2–0 (W) Scotiabank Place 18,446 11–12–5 27 [54]
29 December 16 Atlanta Thrashers 4–1 (L) Scotiabank Place 18,746 11–13–5 27 [55]
30 December 19 New Jersey Devils 5–1 (L) Newark 13,242 11–14–5 27 [56]
31 December 20 Dallas Stars 5–4 (W) Scotiabank Place 19,486 12–14–5 29 [57]
32 December 23 Philadelphia Flyers 6–4 (L) Philadelphia 19,578 12–15–5 29 [58]
33 December 27 Calgary Flames 6–3 (L) Calgary 19,289 12–16–5 29 [59]
34 December 28 Vancouver Canucks 3–0 (L) Vancouver 18,630 12–17–5 29 [60]
35 December 30 Edmonton Oilers 3–2 (W) Edmonton 16,839 13–17–5 31 [61]
January: 3–6–2 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 1–4–1)
Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points Recap
36 January 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 (L) Toronto 19,406 13–18–5 31 [62]
37 January 4 New Jersey Devils 4–3 (OT) Newark 14,798 13–18–6 32 [63]
38 January 6 Buffalo Sabres 4–2 (L) Buffalo 18,690 13–19–6 32 [64]
39 January 8 Boston Bruins 6–4 (L) Boston 16,464 13–20–6 32 [65]
40 January 10 New York Rangers 2–0(L) Scotiabank Place 19,029 13–21–6 32 [66]
41 January 13 Carolina Hurricanes 5–1(W) Scotiabank Place 18,512 14–21–6 34 [67]
42 January 14 Atlanta Thrashers 3–2(W) Atlanta 14,163 15–21–6 36 [68]
43 January 17 Montreal Canadiens 4–5(SO) Scotiabank Place 20,413 15–21–7 37 [69]
44 January 20 Washington Capitals 3–2(W) Scotiabank Place 20,125 16–21–7 39 [70]
45 January 27 New Jersey Devils 4–1(L) Scotiabank Place 18,786 16–22–7 39 [71]
46 January 29 St. Louis Blues 3–1(W) St. Louis 18,639 17–22–7 41 [72]
47 January 30 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–0(L) Columbus 17,080 17–23–7 41 [73]
February: 6–5–3 (Home: 2–3–2; Road: 4–2–1)
Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points Recap
48 February 1 Washington Capitals 7–4(L) Washington 18,277 17–24–7 41 [74]
49 February 3 Los Angeles Kings 1–0(L) Scotiabank Place 18,054 17–25–7 41 [75]
50 February 5 Boston Bruins 4–3(L-SO) Scotiabank Place 17,297 17–25–8 42 [76]
51 February 7 Buffalo Sabres 3–2(W-SO) Scotiabank Place 18,452 18–25–8 44 [77]
52 February 11 Buffalo Sabres 3–1(W) Buffalo 18,690 19–25–8 46 [78]
53 February 12 Philadelphia Flyers 5–2(W) Philadelphia 19,679 20–25–8 48 [79]
54 February 14 Minnesota Wild 5–3(W) Minnesota 18,568 21–25–8 50 [80]
55 February 16 Nashville Predators 2–0(W) Nashville 14,681 22–25–8 52 [81]
56 February 17 Colorado Avalanche 3–2(L-OT) Denver 15,237 22–25–9 53 [82]
57 February 19 Vancouver Canucks 5–2(L) Scotiabank Place 19,716 22–26–9 53 [83]
58 February 21 Montreal Canadiens 5–3(L) Montreal 21,723 22–27–9 53 [84]
59 February 24 Carolina Hurricanes 4–2(W) Scotiabank Place 16,541 23–27–9 55 [85]
60 February 26 San Jose Sharks 2–1(L) Scotiabank Place 17,791 23–28–9 55 [86]
61 February 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3(L-OT) Scotiabank Place 20,050 23–28–10 56 [87]
March: 10–5–0 (Home: 7–1–0; Road: 3–4–0)
Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points Recap
62 March 3 Calgary Flames 6–3(L) Scotiabank Place 18,865 23–29–10 56 [88]
63 March 5 Edmonton Oilers 4–2(W) Scotiabank Place 17,904 24–29–10 58 [89]
64 March 7 Buffalo Sabres 6–3(W) Scotiabank Place 18,444 25–29–10 60 [90]
65 March 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1(W) Scotiabank Place 18,898 26–29–10 62 [91]
66 March 11 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–2(W-OT) Scotiabank Place 19,231 27–29–10 64 [92]
67 March 12 Boston Bruins 5–3(L) Boston 17,022 27–30–10 64 [93]
68 March 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3(W-SO) Pittsburgh 17,132 28–30–10 66 [94]
69 March 17 Buffalo Sabres 4–2(W) Scotiabank Place 20,053 29–30–10 68 [95]
70 March 19 Montreal Canadiens 5–4(W) Scotiabank Place 20,500 30–30–10 70 [96]
71 March 21 New York Islanders 5–2(W) Scotiabank Place 19,751 31–30–10 72 [97]
72 March 22 New York Rangers 2–1(W) New York 18,200 32–30–10 74 [98]
73 March 25 Carolina Hurricanes 2–1(L) Carolina 17,146 32–31–10 74 [99]
74 March 28 Atlanta Thrashers 6–3(L) Atlanta 17,053 32–32–10 74 [100]
75 March 29 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–0(W) Tampa Bay 16,427 33–32–10 76 [88]
76 March 31 Florida Panthers 5–2(L) Florida 15,247 33–33–10 76 [88]
April: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–0–1; Road: 1–2–0)
Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points Recap
77 April 2 Boston Bruins 2–1(L) Boston 17,565 33–34–10 76 [88]
78 April 4 Philadelphia Flyers 4–3(W-SO) Scotiabank Place 19,557 34–34–10 78 [101]
79 April 6 Montreal Canadiens 3–2(W) Montreal 21,273 35–34–10 80 [102]
80 April 7 Boston Bruins 3–2(W) Scotiabank Place 19,053 36–34–10 82 [88]
81 April 9 New Jersey Devils 3-2(L-SO) Scotiabank Place 20,151 36–34–11 83 [103]
82 April 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–2(L) Toronto 19,370 36–35–11 83
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
@ Indicates away game. S Played at Scandinavium Arena, Stockholm, SE. † First game in Sweden is considered a "home" game.

Player statistics[]

Skaters[]

Goaltenders[]

Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Alex Auld 43 2449 16 18 7 101 2.47 1141 1040 .911 1
Brian Elliott 31 1667 16 8 3 77 2.77 786 709 .902 1
Martin Gerber‡ 14 839 4 9 1 40 2.86 397 357 .899 1

#Retired.
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Senators. Stats reflect time with Senators only.
‡Traded mid-season.

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;

Playoffs[]

The Senators attempted to make the playoffs for the 12th straight season. Prior to the season, a majority of predictions by the media placed the Senators to enter the playoffs as the fourth seed or lower.[104][105] Some, including The Hockey News' Adam Proteau, placed the team to miss the playoffs altogether.[106] However, if they make the playoffs, Proteau plans to

“Commission a musical mash-up consisting of Alanis Morissette and Paul Anka music – and Tom Green's short-lived professional rap career – and listen to it on repeat for an entire drive from Toronto to Ottawa. And back, even.”

The Hockey News, December 11, 2008[107]

After changing coaches and improving play, the Senators were not able to qualify for the playoffs. On March 31, the Senators were mathematically eliminated from the playoff race.

Awards and records[]

Records[]

  • NHL record for consecutive team games with assists from the start of a season by a defenseman (8) – Filip Kuba.
  • March 5, 2009 – Jason Spezza scored at 0:12 of the first period to set a new Senators record for the fastest goal from the start of a game.[108]
  • April 7, 2009 – Team won ninth consecutive home game to set new team record.[109]

Milestones[]

Regular season
Player Milestone Reached
Chris Phillips 700th NHL game October 4, 2008
Filip Kuba First assist with Ottawa
First point with Ottawa		 October 4, 2008
Alex Auld First game with Ottawa
First start with Ottawa
First win with Ottawa		 October 5, 2008
Alexandre Picard First goal with Ottawa
First point with Ottawa		 October 11, 2008
Chris Kelly 100th career point October 18, 2008
Alexandre Picard 100th NHL game October 25, 2008
Dany Heatley 291st career point with Ottawa
(passing Shawn McEachern for 7th on
Senators' all-time point scoring list)		 November 6, 2008
Jesse Winchester First NHL goal November 6, 2008
Zack Smith First NHL game November 29, 2008
Brendan Bell First goal with Ottawa
First assist with Ottawa
First point with Ottawa		 December 3, 2008
Jason Spezza Second career Hat-Trick December 6, 2008
Dany Heatley 500th career point December 20, 2008
Jason Smith First goal with Ottawa
First point with Ottawa		 December 20, 2008
Martin Gerber 100th game in net for OttawaA January 8, 2009
Mike Fisher 500th regular-season NHL game January 13, 2009
Peter Regin First NHL game January 20, 2009
Peter Regin First NHL goal January 29, 2009
Daniel Alfredsson 900th regular-season NHL game February 1, 2009
Shean Donovan 900th regular-season NHL game February 14, 2009
Jason Spezza 391st point with Senators
(passing Marian Hossa for fifth on
Senators' all-time point scoring list)		 February 14, 2009
Jason Smith 1,000th regular-season NHL game February 17, 2009
Daniel Alfredsson 350th NHL goal March 7, 2009
Jason Spezza 400th point with Senators
(passing Radek Bonk for fourth on
Senators' all-time point scoring list)		 March 11, 2009
Brian Elliott First NHL shutout. March 29, 2009
  • ALater demoted to Binghamton and released on waivers, it was also his last game with Ottawa.

Transactions[]

  • May 29, 2008 - re-signed Jesse Winchester
  • June 2, 2008 - signed Peter Regin to entry-level contract.
  • June 13, 2008 - signed Craig Hartsburg to a three-year contract.
  • June 18, 2008 - re-signed Matt Carkner to a two-year contract.
  • June 20, 2008 - placed Ray Emery on waivers. (bought out)
  • June 20, 2008 - re-signed Chris Kelly
  • July 1, 2008 - signed Alex Auld to two-year contract
  • July 2, 2008 - re-signed Shean Donovan
  • July 2, 2008 - signed Jarkko Ruutu
  • July 7, 2008 - re-signed Greg Mauldin to a one-year, two-way contract.
  • July 8, 2008 - signed Jason Smith
  • July 11, 2008 - signed to a one-year, entry-level contract.
  • July 11, 2008 - signed Brendan Bell to a one-year, two-way contract.
  • July 11, 2008 - signed Curtis Hunt to a three-year contract.
  • July 28, 2008 - re-signed Jeff Glass to a one-year, two-way contract.
  • July 29, 2008 - re-signed Josh Hennessy to a two-year, two-way contract.
  • July 31, 2008 - re-signed Antoine Vermette to a two-year contract.
  • August 11, 2008 - re-signed Geoff Waugh to a one-year, two-way contract.
  • August 14, 2008 - signed Zack Smith to an entry-level contract.
  • September 4, 2008 - signed Brad Isbister to a one-year, two-way contract.
  • September 27, 2008 - re-signed Luke Richardson to a one-year, two-way contract.
  • September 27, 2008 - assigned Brad Isbister to Binghamton. Isbister declined and was loaned to EV Zug on October 4.
  • October 30, 2008 - re-signed Daniel Alfredsson to a four-year contract extension.[110]
  • November 27, 2008 - placed Luke Richardson on waivers. (retired)[111]
  • January 22, 2009 - placed Martin Gerber on waivers. (assigned to Binghamton)[112]
  • February 2, 2009 - fire Craig Hartsburg as head coach, elevate Cory Clouston to head coach.
  • March 4, 2009 - re-signed Filip Kuba to three-year contract extension at $3.7 million per season.
  • March 9, 2009 - signed free agent Craig Schira to three-year entry-level contract.[113]

Source: senators.nhl.com

Trades[]

June 20, 2008 To Nashville Predators
1st-round pick (18th overall) in 2008
3rd-round pick in 2009 		To Ottawa Senators
1st-round pick (15th overall) in 2008
June 25, 2008[114] To Phoenix Coyotes
Brian McGrattan 		To Ottawa Senators
5th-round pick in 2009
August 29, 2008 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrej Meszaros 		To Ottawa Senators
1st-round pick in 2009
Filip Kuba
Alexandre Picard
September 2, 2008 To Vancouver Canucks
Lawrence Nycholat 		To Ottawa Senators
Ryan Shannon
November 1, 2008 To Phoenix Coyotes
Alexander Nikulin 		To Ottawa Senators
Drew Fata
February 20, 2009 To New York Islanders
Dean McAmmond
1st-round pick in 2009 		To Ottawa Senators
Mike Comrie
Chris Campoli
March 4, 2009 To Columbus Blue Jackets
Antoine Vermette 		To Ottawa Senators
Pascal Leclaire
2nd-round pick in 2009

Free agent acquisitions[]

Players lost to free agency[]

Player New team
Mike Commodore Columbus Blue Jackets
Wade Redden New York Rangers
Cory Stillman Florida Panthers
Randy Robitaille HC Lugano

Waivers[]

Draft picks[]

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

Round Pick Player Position Nationality Club team
1 15 Erik Karlsson Defence  Sweden Frolunda HC (J20 SuperElit)
2 42 Patrick Wiercioch Defence  Canada Omaha Lancers (USHL)
3 79 Zack Smith Center  Canada Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
4 109 Andre Petersson Forward  Sweden HV71 (J20 SuperElit)
4 119 Derek Grant Center  Canada Langley Chiefs (BCHL)
5 139 Mark Borowiecki Defence  Canada Smiths Falls Bears (CJHL)
7 199 Emil Sandin Forward  Sweden Brynas IF (J20 SuperElit)

Farm teams[]

The Senators continued their affiliation with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) and added an affiliation agreement with the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL.[119] In previous years, Elmira had accepted players from Binghamton on a player-by-player basis. The new agreement formalized the arrangement of Elmira as the primary affiliate of Binghamton and the secondary affiliate of Ottawa.[119]

See also[]

References[]

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