2008–09 Phoenix Coyotes season

2008–09 Phoenix Coyotes
Division	4th Pacific
Conference	13th Western
2008–09 record	36–39–7
Home record	23–15–3
Road record	13–24–4
Goals for	208
Goals against	252
Team information
General manager	Don Maloney
Coach	Wayne Gretzky
Captain	Shane Doan
Alternate captains	Ed Jovanovski Derek Morris (Oct.–Mar.) Steven Reinprecht
Arena	Jobing.com Arena
Average attendance	14,876 (83.6%) Total: 609,907
Team leaders
Goals	Shane Doan (31)
Assists	Shane Doan (42)
Points	Shane Doan (73)
Penalty minutes	Daniel Carcillo (174)
Plus/minus	Ken Klee (+9)
Wins	Ilya Bryzgalov (26)
Goals against average	Al Montoya (2.08)

The 2008–09 Phoenix Coyotes season was the team's 37th season, 30th season in the National Hockey League and 13th season as the Phoenix Coyotes. It saw the Coyotes attempt to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2002. However, during the month of March, they were eliminated from the playoffs, and ended up 13th in the NHL's Western Conference.

Preseason

The Phoenix Coyotes played eight preseason exhibition games to prepare for the regular season. Three games were at home, and the other five were on the road, including the franchise's first game back in Winnipeg, Manitoba, since the team moved from there to Phoenix in 1996. The Coyotes finished the preseason with a 2–5–1 record.

2008 Preseason Game Log: 2–5–1 (Home: 2–2–0; Road: 0–3–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22	Phoenix	4–6	Los Angeles		Montoya	8,221	0–1–0	[1]
2	September 24	Calgary	3–2	Phoenix		?	15,015 (Winnipeg)	0–2–0	[2]
3	September 25	Phoenix	1–3	Calgary		Tellqvist	19,289	0–3–0	[3]
4	September 27	Anaheim	3–1	Phoenix		Bryzgalov	8,417	0–4–0	[4]
5	September 29	San Jose	1–5	Phoenix		Bryzgalov	7,305	1–4–0	[5]
6	September 30	Phoenix	3–4	San Jose	OT	Montoya	15,843	1–4–1	[6]
7	October 3	Phoenix	1–4	Anaheim		Tellqvist	16,371	1–5–1	[7]
8	October 4	Los Angeles	2–5	Phoenix		Bryzgalov	8,621	2–5–1	[8]

Regular season

On December 23, the Toronto-based The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the Phoenix Coyotes team was receiving financial assistance from the NHL in the form of advances on League revenues. The Coyotes have pledged all of their assets to New York company SOF Investments LP to cover an estimated debt of $80 million. The team has lost an estimated $200 million since 2001 and may lose $30 million this season. One of the team's owners, Jerry Moyes' principal source of revenue, Swift Transportation, is also in financial difficulty. ESPN reported that the League has become involved with the operations of the Coyotes and their revenues. The NHL apparently wants to work with the City of Glendale, which owns Jobing.com Arena and receives revenues from the team. If no investors are interested in keeping the team in Phoenix, Kansas City, Winnipeg or Hamilton will likely be healthier destinations for the franchise to relocate. ESPN also reported that Moyes wants to sell his share of the team and that Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a possible interested purchaser.

Divisional standings

Pacific Division

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – San Jose Sharks	82	53	18	11	257	204	117
2	Anaheim Ducks	82	42	33	7	245	238	91
3	Dallas Stars	82	36	35	11	230	257	83
4	Phoenix Coyotes	82	36	39	7	208	252	79
5	Los Angeles Kings	82	34	37	11	207	234	79

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Conference standings

Western Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – San Jose Sharks	PA	82	53	18	11	257	204	117
2	y – Detroit Red Wings	CE	82	51	21	10	295	244	112
3	y – Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	45	27	10	246	220	100
4	Chicago Blackhawks	CE	82	46	24	12	264	216	104
5	Calgary Flames	NW	82	46	30	6	254	248	98
6	St. Louis Blues	CE	82	41	31	10	233	233	92
7	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	82	41	31	10	226	230	92
8	Anaheim Ducks	PA	82	42	33	7	245	238	91
8.5
9	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	40	33	9	219	200	89
10	Nashville Predators	CE	82	40	34	8	213	233	88
11	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	38	35	9	234	248	85
12	Dallas Stars	PA	82	36	35	11	230	257	83
13	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	82	36	39	7	208	252	79
14	Los Angeles Kings	PA	82	34	37	11	207	234	79
15	Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	32	45	5	199	257	69

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner
CE – Central Division, NW – Northwest Division, PA – Pacific Division

Schedule and results

2008–09 Game Log
October: 4–4–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 1–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 11 Columbus 1–3 Phoenix Bryzgalov 17,125 1–0–0 2 [9] 2 October 12 Phoenix 4–2 Anaheim Bryzgalov 17,174 2–0–0 4 [10] 3 October 15 Phoenix 1–4 Chicago Bryzgalov 20,522 2–1–0 4 [11] 4 October 17 Phoenix 3–6 Ottawa Bryzgalov 20,179 2–2–0 4 [12] 5 October 18 Phoenix 1–4 Montreal Bryzgalov 21,273 2–3–0 4 [13] 6 October 23 Washington 1–2 Phoenix Tellqvist 14,722 3–3–0 6 [14] 7 October 25 Calgary 4–1 Phoenix Tellqvist 15,038 3–4–0 6 [15] 8 October 30 Pittsburgh 1–4 Phoenix Bryzgalov 15,178 4–4–0 8 [16]
November: 6–7–2 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 3–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 9 November 1 Minnesota 3–2 Phoenix Bryzgalov 14,817 4–5–0 8 [17] 10 November 4 Phoenix 4–2 Calgary Bryzgalov 19,289 5–5–0 10 [18] 11 November 6 Phoenix 0–1 Vancouver Bryzgalov 18,630 5–6–0 10 [19] 12 November 8 Florida 1–4 Phoenix Bryzgalov 14,807 6–6–0 12 [20] 13 November 9 San Jose 2–4 Phoenix Bryzgalov 15,056 7–6–0 14 [21] 14 November 12 Phoenix 5–2 Columbus Bryzgalov 11,350 8–6–0 16 [22] 15 November 13 Phoenix 0–4 Minnesota Bryzgalov 18,568 8–7–0 16 [23] 16 November 15 Dallas 3–2 Phoenix Bryzgalov 15,508 8–8–0 16 [24] 17 November 18 Chicago 3–2 Phoenix SO Bryzgalov 14,682 8–8–1 17 [25] 18 November 21 Phoenix 2–5 Carolina Bryzgalov 14,848 8–9–1 17 [26] 19 November 22 Phoenix 3–4 Philadelphia OT Tellqvist 19,520 8–9–2 18 [27] 20 November 24 Phoenix 1–4 NY Rangers Bryzgalov 18,200 8–10–2 18 [28] 21 November 26 Phoenix 3–2 Columbus Tellqvist 14,569 9–10–2 20 [29] 22 November 28 Colorado 1–2 Phoenix Tellqvist 14,031 10–10–2 22 [30] 23 November 29 San Jose 3–2 Phoenix Tellqvist 14,007 10–11–2 22 [31]
December: 8–4–3 (Home: 6–1–1; Road: 2–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 2 Los Angeles 2–4 Phoenix Tellqvist 11,473 11–11–2 24 [32] 25 December 4 Toronto 3–6 Phoenix Bryzgalov 13,777 12–11–2 26 [33] 26 December 6 Phoenix 3–4 St. Louis Bryzgalov 19,150 12–12–2 26 [34] 27 December 7 Phoenix 1–7 Chicago Bryzgalov 21,217 12–13–2 26 [35] 28 December 10 Phoenix 5–3 Dallas Bryzgalov 16,374 13–13–2 28 [36] 29 December 11 Minnesota 1–3 Phoenix Bryzgalov 13,296 14–13–2 30 [37] 30 December 13 Detroit 5–4 Phoenix SO Bryzgalov 16,339 14–13–3 31 [38] 31 December 16 Phoenix 1–2 Dallas OT Bryzgalov 15,387 14–13–4 32 [39] 32 December 18 Nashville 1–2 Phoenix Bryzgalov 14,193 15–13–4 34 [40] 33 December 20 Columbus 0–2 Phoenix Bryzgalov 16,125 16–13–4 36 [41] 34 December 22 Phoenix 2–4 Edmonton Tellqvist 16,839 16–14–4 36 [42] 35 December 23 Phoenix 4–5 Colorado OT Bryzgalov 14,625 16–14–5 37 [43] 36 December 26 Phoenix 2–1 Los Angeles Bryzgalov 18,118 17–14–5 39 [44] 37 December 27 Los Angeles 4–0 Phoenix Bryzgalov 16,199 17–15–5 39 [45] 38 December 31 Colorado 1–3 Phoenix Tellqvist 15,008 18–15–5 41 [46]
January: 6–7–0 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 2 NY Islanders 4–5 Phoenix Tellqvist 14,547 19–15–5 43 [47] 40 January 4 Phoenix 0–2 Anaheim Bryzgalov 16,878 19–16–5 43 [48] 41 January 6 Chicago 6–0 Phoenix Tellqvist 14,651 19–17–5 43 [49] 42 January 8 Tampa Bay 2–3 Phoenix Bryzgalov 13,736 20–17–5 45 [50] 43 January 10 Dallas 0–1 Phoenix SO Bryzgalov 14,557 21–17–5 47 [51] 44 January 13 Phoenix 3–6 Minnesota Bryzgalov 18,568 21–18–5 47 [52] 45 January 15 Phoenix 4–1 Vancouver Bryzgalov 18,630 22–18–5 49 [53] 46 January 17 Phoenix 4–3 Calgary Bryzgalov 19,289 23–18–5 51 [54] 47 January 18 Phoenix 3–6 Edmonton Bryzgalov 16,839 23–19–5 51 [55] 48 January 20 Detroit 3–6 Phoenix Bryzgalov 16,368 24–19–5 53 [56] 49 January 27 Anaheim 7–3 Phoenix Bryzgalov 15,383 24–20–5 53 [57] 50 January 29 Phoenix 0–2 San Jose Bryzgalov 17,496 24–21–5 53 [58] 51 January 31 Buffalo 2–0 Phoenix Bryzgalov 16,253 24–22–5 53 [59]
February: 3–9–0 (Home: 1–5–0; Road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 3 Phoenix 1–2 Nashville Bryzgalov 13,195 24–23–5 53 [60] 53 February 4 Phoenix 4–5 Detroit Bryzgalov 19,821 24–24–5 53 [61] 54 February 7 Carolina 7–2 Phoenix Bryzgalov 15,229 24–25–5 53 [62] 55 February 11 Phoenix 1–0 Dallas Bryzgalov 16,440 25–25–5 55 [63] 56 February 12 Vancouver 4–3 Phoenix Bryzgalov 14,872 25–26–5 55 [64] 57 February 14 Calgary 7–5 Phoenix Bryzgalov 16,981 25–27–5 55 [65] 58 February 16 Edmonton 3–1 Phoenix Tellqvist 14,547 25–28–5 55 [66] 59 February 19 Atlanta 3–4 Phoenix SO Tellqvist 15,341 26–28–5 57 [67] 60 February 21 Phoenix 6–3 Los Angeles Bryzgalov 17,177 27–28–5 59 [68] 61 February 24 Phoenix 1–2 St. Louis Bryzgalov 17,512 27–29–5 59 [69] 62 February 26 Phoenix 1–4 Nashville Bryzgalov 14,954 27–30–5 59 [70] 63 February 28 St. Louis 3–1 Phoenix Bryzgalov 15,893 27–31–5 59 [71]
March: 5–6–2 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 1–5–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 5 Phoenix 2–1 Boston Bryzgalov 16,818 28–31–5 61 [72] 65 March 6 Phoenix 1–5 Buffalo Bryzgalov 18,690 28–32–5 61 [73] 66 March 8 Phoenix 2–3 NY Islanders Tordjman 13,413 28–33–5 61 [74] 67 March 10 Phoenix 2–3 Detroit OT Bryzgalov 20,066 28–33–6 62 [75] 68 March 12 Phoenix 2–5 New Jersey Tordjman 14,578 28–34–6 62 [76] 69 March 14 Nashville 2–0 Phoenix Bryzgalov 13,197 28–35–6 62 [77] 70 March 17 San Jose 3–4 Phoenix Bryzgalov 15,563 29–35–6 64 [78] 71 March 19 Anaheim 3–2 Phoenix SO Bryzgalov 12,739 29–35–7 65 [79] 72 March 21 Vancouver 1–5 Phoenix Bryzgalov 17,125 30–35–7 67 [80] 73 March 22 Phoenix 2–6 Anaheim Bryzgalov 17,215 30–36–7 67 [81] 74 March 26 Edmonton 2–3 Phoenix Bryzgalov 14,337 31–36–7 69 [82] 75 March 28 Phoenix 2–3 San Jose Bryzgalov 17,496 31–37–7 69 [83] 76 March 30 Dallas 5–6 Phoenix OT Bryzgalov 13,831 32–37–7 71 [84]
April: 4–2–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 1 Phoenix 3–0 Colorado Montoya 13,437 33–37–7 73 [85] 78 April 2 Los Angeles 1–2 Phoenix Montoya 13,177 34–37–7 75 [86] 79 April 4 Phoenix 1–6 Los Angeles Montoya 18,118 34–38–7 75 [87] 80 April 7 St. Louis 5–1 Phoenix Bryzgalov 13,761 34–39–7 75 [88] 81 April 9 Phoenix 4–1 San Jose Montoya 17,496 35–39–7 77 [89] 82 April 11 Anaheim 4–5 Phoenix SO Bryzgalov 16,438 36–39–7 79
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

The Coyotes failed to make the playoffs for the sixth straight season. They last made the playoffs in 2002. This season, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention in mid-March.

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position; GP = 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 

Regular season

Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Shane Doan 82 31 42 73 +5 72 Olli Jokinen‡ 57 21 21 42 -5 49 Steven Reinprecht 73 14 27 41 0 20 Ed Jovanovski 82 9 27 36 -15 106 Peter Mueller 72 13 23 36 -7 24 Martin Hanzal 74 11 20 31 -4 40 Keith Yandle 69 4 26 30 -4 37 Mikkel Boedker 78 11 17 28 -6 18 Zbynek Michalek 82 6 21 27 -13 28 Enver Lisin 48 13 8 21 -13 24 Joakim Lindstrom 44 9 11 20 -6 28 Kyle Turris 63 8 12 20 -15 21 Matthew Lombardi† 19 5 11 16 +2 14 Viktor Tikhonov 61 8 8 16 -3 20 Todd Fedoruk 72 6 7 13 -9 72 Scottie Upshall† 19 8 5 13 +2 26 Derek Morris‡ 57 5 7 12 -13 24 Ken Klee† 68 1 10 11 +9 24 Petr Prucha† 19 2 8 10 +1 6 Daniel Carcillo‡ 54 3 7 10 -13 174 Kevin Porter 34 5 5 10 -2 4 David Hale 48 3 6 9 -11 36 Kurt Sauer 68 1 6 7 -1 36 Daniel Winnik 49 3 4 7 +1 63 Dmitri Kalinin† 15 1 3 4 -2 6 Steven Goertzen 16 2 2 4 -2 24 Joel Perrault 7 2 1 3 +2 4 Nigel Dawes† 12 0 2 2 -4 0 Brandon Prust† 11 0 1 1 -4 29 Jeff Hoggan 4 0 1 1 -1 7 David Schlemko 3 0 1 1 -2 0 Brian McGrattan 5 0 0 0 -2 22 Garth Murray 10 0 0 0 -2 12 Alexander Nikulin 1 0 0 0 -1 0

Goaltenders

Note:  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;

Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO Ilya Bryzgalov 65 3759 26 31 6 187 2.98 1994 1807 .906 3 Mikael Tellqvist‡ 15 797 9 6 1 38 2.86 408 370 .907 0 Al Montoya 5 259 3 1 0 9 2.08 120 111 .925 1 Josh Tordjman 2 117 0 2 0 8 4.08 62 54 .871 0

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

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular season
Player	Milestone	Reached

Transactions

Trades

June 20, 2008	To Phoenix Coyotes Olli Jokinen	To Florida Panthers Nick Boynton Keith Ballard 2nd-round pick in 2008 – Jared Staal
June 20, 2008	To Phoenix Coyotes 1st-round pick in 2008 – Viktor Tikhonov	To Anaheim Ducks 2nd-round pick in 2008 – Nicolas Deschamps 2nd-round pick in 2008 – Eric O'Dell
October 9, 2008	To Phoenix Coyotes Future considerations	To Pittsburgh Penguins Michael Zigomanis
November 3, 2008	To Phoenix Coyotes Alexander Nikulin	To Ottawa Senators Drew Fata
November 25, 2008	To Phoenix Coyotes Wyatt Smith	To Tampa Bay Lightning Future considerations
December 3, 2008	To Phoenix Coyotes Joakim Lindstrom	To Dallas Stars Logan Stephenson
March 4, 2009	To Phoenix Coyotes Matthew Lombardi Brandon Prust 1st-round pick in 2009 or 20101 – Brandon Gormley	To Calgary Flames Olli Jokinen 3rd-round pick in 20092 – Josh Birkholz
March 4, 2009	To Phoenix Coyotes 4th-round pick in 20103 – Mark Macmillan	To Buffalo Sabres Mikael Tellqvist
March 4, 2009	To Phoenix Coyotes Scottie Upshall 2nd-round pick in 2011 – Lucas Lessio	To Philadelphia Flyers Daniel Carcillo
March 4, 2009	To Phoenix Coyotes Nigel Dawes Petr Prucha Dmitri Kalinin	To New York Rangers Derek Morris

1. Phoenix Coyotes elected to use the pick in the latter.
2. Pick later traded to Calgary Flames.
3. Pick later traded to Montreal Canadiens

Free agents

Player Former team Contract terms

Player New team Radim Vrbata Tampa Bay Lightning Craig Weller Minnesota Wild

Claimed from waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Draft picks

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

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	8	Mikkel Boedker	(LW)	Denmark	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
1	28 (from Dallas via Los Angeles via Anaheim)	Viktor Tikhonov	(RW)	Russia	Severstal Cherepovets (RSL)
2	49 (from Ottawa via Phoenix and Florida)	Jared Staal	(RW)	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
3	69	Michael Stone	(D)	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
3	76 (from Nashville)	Mathieu Brodeur	(D)	Canada	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
4	99	Colin Long	(C)	United States	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
6	159	Brett Hextall	(C)	United States	Penticton Vees (BCHL)
7	189	Tim Billingsley	(D)	Canada	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL)

See also

• 2008–09 NHL season

Farm teams

San Antonio Rampage

The San Antonio Rampage are the Coyotes American Hockey League affiliate in 2008–09.

Arizona Sundogs

The Arizona Sundogs are the Coyotes affiliate in the CHL.