2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 42nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	3rd Atlantic
Conference	5th Eastern
2008–09 record	44–27–11
Home record	24–13–4
Road record	20–14–7
Goals for	264
Goals against	238
Team information
General manager	Paul Holmgren
Coach	John Stevens
Captain	Mike Richards
Alternate captains	Simon Gagne Kimmo Timonen
Arena	Wachovia Center
Average attendance	19,545[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Philadelphia Phantoms Mississippi Sea Wolves
Team leaders
Goals	Jeff Carter (46)
Assists	Mike Richards (50)
Points	Jeff Carter (84)
Penalty minutes	Riley Cote (174)
Plus/minus	Jeff Carter (+23)
Wins	Martin Biron (29)
Goals against average	Martin Biron (2.76)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

Regular season

The Flyers began the 2008–09 season by naming Mike Richards the 17th captain in Flyers history on September 17, with Jason Smith headed to the Ottawa Senators as a free agent.^[2] The Flyers were looking to build on the success of the previous season, but instead got off to an 0–3–3 start which became indicative of the season ahead. Despite a solid December and January, and finishing with four points more than the year before, for the most part the 2008–09 Flyers were an inconsistent unit, playing at the top of their ability one night while subpar the next. Defenseman Derian Hatcher missed the entire regular season and playoffs with a knee injury, and Steve Downie was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Matt Carle. Two pleasant surprises were the emergence of rookie center Claude Giroux and defenseman Luca Sbisa, who was drafted by the Flyers in June with the 19th overall pick acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for R. J. Umberger, the victim of a salary cap crunch. Scottie Upshall also found himself the victim of such a crunch, traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for Daniel Carcillo at the trade deadline.

Despite holding on to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference for much of the season, due to a 4–5–1 finish to the season, highlighted by a home loss to the New York Rangers on the last day of the regular season, the Flyers slipped to the fifth seed and lost home-ice advantage in their first round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Flyers finished the regular season having scored the most shorthanded goals in the NHL, with 16, and having allowed the fewest shorthanded goals, with just one.^[3]

Divisional standings

Atlantic Division

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	New Jersey Devils	82	51	27	4	244	209	106
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	45	28	9	264	239	99
3	Philadelphia Flyers	82	44	27	11	264	238	99
4	New York Rangers	82	43	30	9	210	218	95
5	New York Islanders	82	26	47	9	201	279	61

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

Playoffs

Pittsburgh dominated the Flyers in Game 1, and despite a better effort by the Flyers in Game 2, Pittsburgh came to Philadelphia with a 2–0 series lead. The Flyers were the better team in Games 3 and 4, but Pittsburgh gained a split in Philadelphia and took a 3–1 series lead. After a decisive 3–0 win in Game 5, the Flyers jumped out to a 3–0 lead in Game 6, but promptly fell victim to the inconsistencies that plagued the team all season and gave up five unanswered goals in a season-ending 5–3 loss.

Schedule and results

Preseason

2008 preseason[4][5]
Preseason: 4–5–0 (home: 4–0–0; road: 0–5–0) Game Date Opponent Score Attendance Record Ref 1 September 22 New Jersey Devils 4–1 17,108 1–0–0 [6] 2 September 24 @ Ottawa Senators 1–3 17,038 1–1–0 [7] 3[a] September 25 New York Islanders 4–5 7,706 2–1–0 [8] 4[b] September 27 Carolina Hurricanes 4–2 17,700 3–1–0 [9] 5 September 28 @ Carolina Hurricanes 0–1 11,265 3–2–0 [10] 6 October 1 Washington Capitals 2–1 17,523 4–2–0 [11] 7 October 3 @ Washington Capitals 1–5 14,864 4–3–0 [12] 8 October 4 @ New Jersey Devils 0–1 9,558 4–4–0 [13] 9[b] October 7 @ Philadelphia Phantoms 2–4 17,077 4–5–0 [14] Notes: a Game played at John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. b Game played at Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Regular season

2008–09 regular season[15]
October: 4–3–3, 11 points (home: 2–2–1; road: 2–1–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 11 NY Rangers 4–3 Philadelphia Biron 19,623 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 13 Montreal 5–3 Philadelphia Biron 19,323 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 October 14 Philadelphia 2–3 Pittsburgh OT Niittymaki 16,965 0–2–1 1 Recap 4 October 16 Philadelphia 2–5 Colorado Biron 18,007 0–3–1 1 Recap 5 October 18 Philadelphia 4–5 San Jose OT Niittymaki 17,496 0–3–2 2 Recap 6 October 22 San Jose 7–6 Philadelphia SO Biron 19,072 0–3–3 3 Recap 7 October 24 Philadelphia 6–3 New Jersey Biron 15,529 1–3–3 5 Recap 8 October 25 New Jersey 2–3 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,611 2–3–3 7 Recap 9 October 28 Philadelphia 7–0 Atlanta Niittymaki 13,207 3–3–3 9 Recap 10 October 30 NY Islanders 2–3 Philadelphia OT Biron 18,227 4–3–3 11 Recap
November: 7–4–2, 16 points (home: 3–2–1; road: 4–2–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 11 November 2 Edmonton 5–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,437 4–4–3 11 Recap 12 November 6 Philadelphia 1–4 Ottawa Niittymaki 18,938 4–5–3 11 Recap 13 November 8 Tampa Bay 2–1 Philadelphia Biron 19,412 4–6–3 11 Recap 14 November 11 Philadelphia 3–1 NY Islanders Biron 13,447 5–6–3 13 Recap 15 November 13 Philadelphia 4–5 Pittsburgh SO Biron 17,132 5–6–4 14 Recap 16 November 15 Philadelphia 2–1 Montreal Biron 21,273 6–6–4 16 Recap 17 November 16 Atlanta 3–4 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,437 7–6–4 18 Recap 18 November 21 Philadelphia 3–0 Buffalo Biron 18,256 8–6–4 20 Recap 19 November 22 Phoenix 3–4 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,520 9–6–4 22 Recap 20 November 24 Dallas 3–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,171 10–6–4 24 Recap 21 November 26 Philadelphia 3–1 Carolina Niittymaki 15,057 11–6–4 26 Recap 22 November 28 Carolina 2–3 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,587 11–6–5 27 Recap 23 November 29 Philadelphia 2–4 Toronto Biron 19,387 11–7–5 27 Recap
December: 9–3–2, 20 points (home: 7–0–1; road: 2–3–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 24 December 2 Tampa Bay 3–4 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,227 12–7–5 29 Recap 25 December 4 New Jersey 3–2 Philadelphia OT Biron 19,577 12–7–6 30 Recap 26 December 6 Philadelphia 2–1 Carolina OT Niittymaki 14,061 13–7–6 32 Recap 27 December 9 NY Islanders 3–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,037 14–7–6 34 Recap 28 December 11 Carolina 5–6 Philadelphia SO Niittymaki 19,057 15–7–6 36 Recap 29 December 13 Pittsburgh 3–6 Philadelphia Biron 19,811 16–7–6 38 Recap 30 December 16 Colorado 2–5 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,219 17–7–6 40 Recap 31 December 18 Philadelphia 2–5 Montreal Niittymaki 21,273 17–8–6 40 Recap 32 December 20 Washington 1–7 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,897 18–8–6 42 Recap 33 December 21 Philadelphia 2–3 New Jersey SO Niittymaki 14,426 18–8–7 43 Recap 34 December 23 Ottawa 4–6 Philadelphia Nittymaki 19,578 19–8–7 45 Recap 35 December 26 Philadelphia 1–5 Chicago Biron 22,712 19–9–7 45 Recap 36 December 27 Philadelphia 0–3 Columbus Niittymaki 18,402 19–10–7 45 Recap 37 December 30 Philadelphia 3–2 Vancouver Biron 18,630 20–10–7 47 Recap
January: 6–4–2, 14 points (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–3–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 38 January 2 Philadelphia 5–4 Anaheim SO Biron 17,597 21–10–7 49 Recap 39 January 3 Philadelphia 1–2 Los Angeles SO Niittymaki 18,118 21–10–8 50 Recap 40 January 6 Philadelphia 1–2 Washington SO Biron 18,277 21–10–9 51 Recap 41 January 8 Minnesota 1–3 Philadelphia Biron 19,596 22–10–9 53 Recap 42 January 10 Toronto 1–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,787 23–10–9 55 Recap 43 January 13 Pittsburgh 4–2 Philadelphia Biron 19,872 23–11–9 55 Recap 44 January 15 Philadelphia 1–4 Tampa Bay Biron 15,604 23–12–9 55 Recap 45 January 16 Philadelphia 3–2 Florida SO Niittymaki 17,827 24–12–9 57 Recap 46 January 21 Atlanta 3–5 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,766 25–12–9 59 Recap 47 January 27 Philadelphia 2–3 Florida Biron 13,904 25–13–9 59 Recap 48 January 30 Philadelphia 6–1 Tampa Bay Niittymaki 18,120 26–13–9 61 Recap 49 January 31 Philadelphia 0–4 St. Louis Niittymaki 19,150 26–14–9 61 Recap
February: 7–3–1, 15 points (home: 3–3–1; road: 4–0–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 50 February 4 Boston 3–1 Philadelphia Biron 19,748 26–15–9 61 Recap 51 February 7 Philadelphia 4–3 Boston OT Niittymaki 17,565 27–15–9 63 Recap 52 February 8 Philadelphia 3–2 Atlanta Niittymaki 14,175 28–15–9 65 Recap 53 February 12 Ottawa 5–2 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,679 28–16–9 65 Recap 54 February 14 NY Islanders 1–5 Philadelphia Biron 19,789 29–16–9 67 Recap 55 February 15 Philadelphia 5–2 NY Rangers Biron 18,200 30–16–9 69 Recap 56 February 19 Buffalo 3–6 Philadelphia Biron 19,642 31–16–9 71 Recap 57 February 21 Pittsburgh 5–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,992 31–17–9 71 Recap 58 February 24 Philadelphia 4–2 Washington Biron 18,277 32–17–9 73 Recap 59 February 25 Los Angeles 0–2 Philadelphia Biron 19,568 33–17–9 75 Recap 60 February 27 Montreal 4–3 Philadelphia OT Niittymaki 19,881 33–17–10 76 Recap
March: 8–7–0, 16 points (home: 4–4–0; road: 4–3–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 61 March 1 Philadelphia 0–3 New Jersey Biron 17,625 33–18–10 76 Recap 62 March 3 Philadelphia 4–2 Boston Niittymaki 17,020 34–18–10 78 Recap 63 March 5 Calgary 5–1 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,513 34–19–10 78 Recap 64 March 7 Nashville 1–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,611 35–19–10 80 Recap 65 March 10 Buffalo 2–5 Philadelphia Biron 19,421 36–19–10 82 Recap 66 March 12 Washington 2–1 Philadelphia Biron 19,728 36–20–10 82 Recap 67 March 14 NY Rangers 2–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,836 37–20–10 84 Recap 68 March 15 Philadelphia 1–4 NY Rangers Niittymaki 18,200 37–21–10 84 Recap 69 March 17 Philadelphia 2–3 Detroit Biron 20,066 37–22–10 84 Recap 70 March 20 Philadelphia 6–4 Buffalo Biron 18,690 38–22–10 86 Recap 71 March 22 Philadelphia 3–1 Pittsburgh Biron 17,132 39–22–10 88 Recap 72 March 23 New Jersey 2–4 Philadelphia Biron 19,762 40–22–10 90 Recap 73 March 26 Florida 4–2 Philadelphia Biron 19,631 40–23–10 90 Recap 74 March 28 Philadelphia 4–3 NY Islanders SO Biron 16,234 41–23–10 92 Recap 75 March 29 Boston 4–3 Philadelphia Niittymaki 19,715 41–24–10 92 Recap
April: 3–3–1, 7 points (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–2–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 76 April 1 Philadelphia 2–3 Toronto Biron 19,340 41–25–10 92 Recap 77 April 3 Toronto 5–8 Philadelphia Biron 19,727 42–25–10 94 Recap 78 April 4 Philadelphia 3–4 Ottawa SO Niittymaki 19,557 42–25–11 95 Recap 79 April 7 Florida 1–2 Philadelphia Biron 19,637 43–25–11 97 Recap 80 April 9 Philadelphia 1–2 NY Rangers Biron 18,200 43–26–11 97 Recap 81 April 11 Philadelphia 3–2 NY Islanders Biron 16,234 44–26–11 99 Recap 82 April 12 NY Rangers 4–3 Philadelphia Biron 19,648 44–27–11 99 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2009 Stanley Cup playoffs[15]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins – Penguins win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 15 Philadelphia 1–4 Pittsburgh Biron 17,132 Penguins lead 1–0 Recap 2 April 17 Philadelphia 2–3 Pittsburgh OT Biron 17,132 Penguins lead 2–0 Recap 3 April 19 Pittsburgh 3–6 Philadelphia Biron 19,745 Penguins lead 2–1 Recap 4 April 21 Pittsburgh 3–1 Philadelphia Biron 19,883 Penguins lead 3–1 Recap 5 April 23 Philadelphia 3–0 Pittsburgh Biron 17,132 Penguins lead 3–2 Recap 6 April 25 Pittsburgh 5–3 Philadelphia Biron 20,072 Penguins win 4–2 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
17	Jeff Carter	C	82	46	38	84	23	68	6	1	0	1	−2	8
18	Mike Richards	C	79	30	50	80	22	63	6	1	4	5	−4	6
12	Simon Gagne	LW	79	34	40	74	21	42	6	3	1	4	−4	2
19	Scott Hartnell	LW	82	30	30	60	14	143	6	1	1	2	−2	23
15	Joffrey Lupul	RW	79	25	25	50	1	58	6	1	1	2	1	2
22	Mike Knuble	RW	82	27	20	47	5	62	6	2	1	3	−2	2
44	Kimmo Timonen	D	77	3	40	43	19	54	6	0	1	1	−3	12
5	Braydon Coburn	D	80	7	21	28	7	97	6	0	3	3	2	7
28	Claude Giroux	RW	42	9	18	27	10	14	6	2	3	5	2	6
48	Danny Briere	C	29	11	14	25	−1	26	6	1	3	4	−1	8
25	Matt Carle†	D	64	4	20	24	2	16	6	0	3	3	0	4
9	Scottie Upshall‡	RW	55	7	14	21	5	63	—	—	—	—	—	—
45	Arron Asham	RW	78	8	12	20	0	155	6	1	1	2	−1	6
13	Glen Metropolit‡	C	55	4	10	14	−1	15	—	—	—	—	—	—
41	Andrew Alberts†	D	79	1	12	13	6	61	6	0	1	1	1	10
36	Darroll Powe	C	60	6	5	11	−8	35	6	1	2	3	0	7
23	Ossi Vaananen‡	D	46	1	9	10	7	22	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Randy Jones	D	47	4	4	8	8	22	6	0	1	1	1	0
47	Luca Sbisa	D	39	0	7	7	−6	36	1	0	0	0	0	2
14	Andreas Nodl	RW	38	1	3	4	−15	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
43	Martin Biron	G	55	0	4	4		0	6	0	0	0		0
13	Daniel Carcillo†	LW	20	0	4	4	−2	80	5	1	1	2	3	5
77	Ryan Parent	D	31	0	4	4	3	10	6	0	0	0	−3	6
24	Josh Gratton†	LW	19	1	2	3	−2	57	—	—	—	—	—	—
46	Jon Kalinski	C	12	1	2	3	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
32	Riley Cote	LW	63	0	3	3	−7	174	—	—	—	—	—	—
26	Steve Eminger‡	D	12	0	2	2	0	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	Lasse Kukkonen	D	22	0	2	2	−2	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Antero Niittymaki	G	32	0	1	1		2	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Steve Downie‡	RW	6	0	0	0	−4	11	—	—	—	—	—	—
51	Jamie Fritsch†	D	1	0	0	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Nate Guenin	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	Boyd Kane	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
60	Nate Raduns	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Jared Ross	C	10	0	0	0	−4	2	6	1	0	1	0	0
40	David Sloane†	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
26	Danny Syvret	D	2	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season											Playoffs
		GP	GS	W	L	OT	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
43	Martin Biron	55	53	29	19	5	1718	146	2.76	.915	2	3,177	6	6	2	4	198	16	2.56	.919	1	375
30	Antero Niittymaki	32	29	15	8	6	947	83	2.76	.912	1	1,805	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL 2nd Star of the Month	Jeff Carter (December)	[16]
	NHL 1st Star of the Week	Mike Richards (February 23)	[17]
	NHL 2nd Star of the Week	Jeff Carter (December 22)	[18]
	NHL 3rd Star of the Week	Simon Gagne (November 3)	[19]
	NHL All-Star Game selection	Jeff Carter	[20]
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Kimmo Timonen	[21]
	Bobby Clarke Trophy	Mike Richards	[21]
	Gene Hart Memorial Award	Scott Hartnell	[21]
	Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy	Darroll Powe	[21]
	Toyota Cup	Jeff Carter	[21]
	Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award	Danny Briere	[21]

Records

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers records

Among the team records set during the 2008–09 season was Simon Gagne tying the team record for most shorthanded goals in a single game on November 13.^[22] On December 20, Scott Hartnell tied the team record with three goals scored in a single period.^[23] On the season, Mike Richards tied the team record for most shorthanded goals (7) and Jeff Carter tied the mark for most game-winning goals (12).^[24][25] The one shorthanded goal allowed by the Flyers during the season is the fewest in franchise history.^[26]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Jared Ross	October 11, 2008	[27]
	Luca Sbisa
	Andreas Nodl	October 22, 2008
	Darroll Powe	October 24, 2008
	Nate Raduns	November 6, 2008
	Jon Kalinski	November 21, 2008
	David Sloane	April 9, 2009
	Jamie Fritsch	April 12, 2009
25th shutout	Martin Biron	February 25, 2009	[28]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 5, 2008, the day after the deciding game of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 12, 2009, the day of the deciding game of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.^[29]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 6, 2008 (2008-06-06)	To Philadelphia Flyers Danny Syvret	To Edmonton Oilers Ryan Potulny	[30]
June 18, 2008 (2008-06-18)	To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick (196th overall) in 2008 Conditional 4th-round pick in 2009[a]	To Tampa Bay Lightning Rights to Vaclav Prospal	[31]
June 20, 2008 (2008-06-20)	To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick (19th overall) in 2008 3rd-round pick (67th overall) in 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets R. J. Umberger 4th-round pick (118th overall) in 2008	[32]
	To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Eminger 3rd-round pick (84th overall) in 2008	To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick (27th overall) in 2008	[33]
June 21, 2008 (2008-06-21)	To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 2009	To Anaheim Ducks 7th-round pick (208th overall) in 2008	[34]
June 24, 2008 (2008-06-24)	To Philadelphia Flyers Janne Niskala	To Nashville Predators Triston Grant 7th-round pick in 2009	[35]
June 30, 2008 (2008-06-30)	To Philadelphia Flyers Tim Ramholt	To Calgary Flames Kyle Greentree	[36]
	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2009	To Tampa Bay Lightning Janne Niskala	[37]
July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01)	To Philadelphia Flyers Patrik Hersley Ned Lukacevic	To Los Angeles Kings Denis Gauthier 2nd-round pick in 2010	[38]
October 13, 2008 (2008-10-13)	To Philadelphia Flyers Andrew Alberts	To Boston Bruins Ned Lukacevic Conditional 3rd- or 4th-round pick in 2009[b]	[39]
October 30, 2008 (2008-10-30)	To Philadelphia Flyers Josh Gratton	To Nashville Predators Tim Ramholt	[40]
November 7, 2008 (2008-11-07)	To Philadelphia Flyers Matt Carle 3rd-round pick in 2009	To Tampa Bay Lightning Steve Downie Steve Eminger 4th-round pick in 2009	[41]
March 4, 2009 (2009-03-04)	To Philadelphia Flyers Daniel Carcillo	To Phoenix Coyotes Scottie Upshall 2nd-round pick in 2011	[42]
	To Philadelphia Flyers Kyle McLaren[c]	To San Jose Sharks 6th-round pick in 2009	[42]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01)	Sean Curry	Providence Bruins (AHL)	2-year	Free agency	[43]
	Glen Metropolit	Boston Bruins	2-year	Free agency	[43]
	Nate Raduns	Worcester Sharks (AHL)	1-year	Free agency	[43]
	Ossi Vaananen	Djurgardens IF (SHL)	1-year	Free agency	[43]
July 7, 2008 (2008-07-07)	Arron Asham	New Jersey Devils	2-year	Free agency	[44]
September 18, 2008 (2008-09-18)	Jean-Sebastien Aubin	Anaheim Ducks	1-year	Free agency	[45]
March 26, 2009 (2009-03-26)	Johan Backlund	Timra IK (SHL)	1-year	Free agency	[46]
June 10, 2009 (2009-06-10)	Ray Emery	Atlant Moscow Oblast (KHL)	1-year	Free agency	[47]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[d]	Ref
July 3, 2008 (2008-07-03)	Rory Fitzpatrick	Florida Panthers	Free agency (III)	[48]
	Stefan Ruzicka	HC Spartak Moscow (KHL)	Free agency (II)[e]	[49]
July 8, 2008 (2008-07-08)	Jason Smith	Ottawa Senators	Free agency (III)	[50]
July 14, 2008 (2008-07-14)	Patrick Thoresen	HC Lugano (NLA)	Free agency (II)[f]	[51]
July 25, 2008 (2008-07-25)	Martin Grenier	Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)	Free agency (III)	[52]
July 31, 2008 (2008-07-31)	Jaroslav Modry	HC Liberec (ELH)	Free agency (III)	[53]
August 21, 2008 (2008-08-21)	Rejean Beauchemin	Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[54]
August 28, 2008 (2008-08-28)	Darren Reid	Hershey Bears (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[55]
October 8, 2008 (2008-10-08)	Jesse Boulerice	Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)	Free agency (III)	[56]
October 22, 2008 (2008-10-22)	Martin Houle	Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[57]
November 17, 2008 (2008-11-17)	Frederik Cabana		Release	[58]
February 27, 2009 (2009-02-27)	Glen Metropolit	Montreal Canadiens	Waivers	[59]
	Ossi Vaananen	Vancouver Canucks	Waivers	[59]
April 7, 2009 (2009-04-07)	Jim Dowd		Retirement (III)	[60]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 26, 2008 (2008-06-26)	Jeff Carter	3-year	Re-signing	[61]
June 29, 2008 (2008-06-29)	Steve Eminger	1-year	Re-signing	[62]
July 2, 2008 (2008-07-02)	Riley Cote	3-year	Re-signing	[63]
	Randy Jones	2-year	Re-signing	[63]
	Danny Syvret	1-year	Re-signing
July 15, 2008 (2008-07-15)	Nate Guenin	1-year	Re-signing
July 21, 2008 (2008-07-21)	Joffrey Lupul	4-year	Extension	[64]
July 22, 2008 (2008-07-22)	Kevin Marshall	3-year	Entry-level	[65]
August 7, 2008 (2008-08-07)	Chris Zarb		Entry-level
N/A	Scott Munroe	1-year	Re-signing
October 1, 2008 (2008-10-01)	Luca Sbisa	3-year	Entry-level	[66]
April 1, 2009 (2009-04-01)	James van Riemsdyk	3-year	Entry-level	[67]

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2008 NHL entry draft, which was held at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario on June 20–21, 2008.^[68] The Flyers traded their originally allotted second, third, fifth, and seventh-round picks in four separate trades.^[69]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	19	Luca Sbisa	Defense	Switzerland	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)	[g]
3	67	Marc-Andre Bourdon	Defense	Canada	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)	[g]
3	84	Jacob DeSerres	Goaltender	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)	[h]
6	178	Zac Rinaldo	Center	Canada	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
7	196	Joacim Eriksson	Goaltender	Sweden	Brynas IF (Elitserien)	[i]

Farm teams

American Hockey League – Philadelphia Phantoms^[70][71] (Standings)

The 2008–09 season was the Phantoms' last playing in the Wachovia Spectrum and means they will move following the season. Comcast Spectacor sold the Phantoms to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh on February 4, 2009, and the new ownership has expressed interest in eventually moving the Phantoms to Allentown provided that a multi-purpose arena can be constructed there. Until a permanent new home is found for the club it will have to operate starting in 2009–10 in a temporary location. The site being given the most serious consideration for that is Glen Falls, the former home of the AHL Adirondack Red Wings from 1979 to 1999.^[72] Comcast Spectacor continued to operate the team through the conclusion of the 2008–09 AHL season and playoffs.

With Craig Berube returning to his role as an assistant coach with the Flyers, John Paddock was named head coach of the Phantoms.^[73] The Phantoms trailed the Binghamton Senators by as many as 12 points on March 14 for the final playoff spot in the East Division, but came back to overtake Binghamton and clinch the final playoff spot in the final regular season game at the Spectrum. The Phantoms final season in Philadelphia came to an end after being swept from the first round of the playoffs by the Hershey Bears.

ECHL – Mississippi Sea Wolves^[74] (Standings)

Mississippi missed the ECHL playoffs and announced they would suspend operations for the 2009–10 season.

Notes

1. The Flyers would receive the fourth-round pick if the Lightning re-signed Prospal, which they did on June 30.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000099-QINU`"'
2. The Bruins would have received a third-round pick instead of a fourth-round pick if Alberts re-signed with the Flyers after the 2008–09 season. The Flyers did not re-sign Alberts and the draft pick remained a fourth-rounder.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000AB-QINU`"'
3. The trade was nullified after McLaren failed his physical.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000B5-QINU`"'
4. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000C1-QINU`"''"`UNIQ--ref-000000C2-QINU`"'
5. Philadelphia retained Ruzicka's NHL rights through the 2011–12 season.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000C6-QINU`"'
6. Philadelphia retained Thoresen's NHL rights through the 2010–11 season.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000CA-QINU`"'
7. The Flyers traded R. J. Umberger and their fourth-round pick, 118th overall, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Colorado Avalanche's first-round pick, 19th overall, and the Blue Jackets' third-round pick, 67th overall, on June 20, 2008.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000F2-QINU`"'
8. The Flyers traded their first-round pick, 27th overall, to the Washington Capitals for Steve Eminger and the Capitals' third-round pick, 84th overall, on June 20, 2008.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000F5-QINU`"'
9. The Flyers traded Vaclav Prospal to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Nashville Predators' seventh-round pick, 196th overall, and a conditional 2009 fourth-round pick (if Lightning re-sign Prospal) on June 18, 2008.'"`UNIQ--ref-000000F7-QINU`"'