2008–09 Minnesota Wild season

2008–09 Minnesota Wild
Division 3rd Northwest
Conference 9th Western
2008–09 record 40–33–9
Home record 23–11–7
Road record 17–22–2
Goals for 219
Goals against 200
Team information
General Manager Doug Risebrough
Coach Jacques Lemaire
Captain Rotating
Mikko Koivu (Oct/Nov, Jan, Mar/Apr)
Kim Johnsson (Dec)
Andrew Brunette (Feb)
Alternate captains Rotating
Andrew Brunette (Oct-Jan, Mar/Apr)
Marian Gaborik (Oct/Nov)
Kim Johnsson (Nov)
Mikko Koivu (Dec, Feb)
Owen Nolan (Jan, Mar/Apr)
Nick Schultz (Feb)
Arena Xcel Energy Center
Average attendance 18,568 (102.8%)
Team leaders
Goals Owen Nolan (25)
Assists Mikko Koivu (47)
Points Mikko Koivu (67)
Penalties in minutes Derek Boogaard (87)
Plus/minus Kurtis Foster (+7)
Wins Niklas Backstrom (37)
Goals against average Josh Harding (2.21)
<2007–08 2009–10>

The 2008–09 Minnesota Wild season began October 11, 2008. It was the Wild's ninth season in the National Hockey League.

Pre-season

At the conclusion of the Pre-season, the Wild finished with a 5-2 record.

Regular season

The Wild were the most disciplined team in the League during the regular season, with just 291 power-play opportunities against. They also allowed the fewest power-play goals, with just 36.[1]

Divisional standings

Northwest Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 y – Vancouver Canucks 82 45 27 10 246 220 100
2 Calgary Flames 82 46 30 6 254 248 98
3 Minnesota Wild 82 40 33 9 219 200 89
4 Edmonton Oilers 82 38 35 9 234 248 85
5 Colorado Avalanche 82 32 45 5 199 257 69

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, pPresidents' Trophy winner
CE - Central Division, NW - Northwest Division, PA - Pacific Division

Schedule and results

2008–09 Game Log

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

Playoffs

The Minnesota Wild failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.

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
Koivu, MikkoMikko Koivu 79 20 47 67 +2 66
Brunette, AndrewAndrew Brunette 80 22 28 50 -5 18
Bouchard, Pierre-MarcPierre-Marc Bouchard 71 16 30 46 -5 20
Nolan, OwenOwen Nolan 59 25 20 45 +5 26
Miettinen, AnttiAntti Miettinen 82 15 29 44 -1 32
Zidlicky, MarekMarek Zidlicky 76 12 30 42 -12 76
Belanger, EricEric Belanger 79 13 23 36 -5 26
Bergeron, Marc-AndreMarc-Andre Bergeron 72 14 18 32 +5 30
Burns, BrentBrent Burns 59 8 19 27 -7 45
Johnsson, KimKim Johnsson 81 2 22 24 -3 44
Sheppard, JamesJames Sheppard 82 5 19 24 -14 41
Gaborik, MarianMarian Gaborik 17 13 10 23 +3 2
Veilleux, StephaneStephane Veilleux 81 13 10 23 -17 40
Clutterbuck, CalCal Clutterbuck 78 11 7 18 -5 76
Skoula, MartinMartin Skoula 81 4 12 16 -12 10
Schultz, NickNick Schultz 79 2 9 11 -4 31
Pouliot, BenoitBenoit Pouliot 37 5 6 11 +1 18
Fritsche, DanDan Fritsche 34 4 5 9 -3 10
Olvecky, PeterPeter Olvecky 31 2 5 7 +1 12
Gillies, ColtonColton Gillies 45 2 5 7 -2 18
Kolanos, KrysKrys Kolanos 21 3 3 6 +3 16
Foster, KurtisKurtis Foster 10 1 5 6 +7 6
Weller, CraigCraig Weller 36 1 2 3 -3 47
Boogaard, DerekDerek Boogaard 51 0 3 3 +3 87
Reitz, ErikErik Reitz 31 1 1 2 -2 41
Mojzis, TomasTomas Mojzis 4 0 1 1 -1 2
Scott, JohnJohn Scott 20 0 1 1 -1 21

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
Backstrom, NiklasNiklas Backstrom 71 4088 37 24 8 159 2.33 2059 1900 .923 8
Harding, JoshJosh Harding 19 869 3 9 1 32 2.21 453 421 .929 0

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Wild. Stats reflect time with Wild only.
Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Wild only.

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Niklas Backstrom 100th NHL Game October 11, 2008
Colton Gillies 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 11, 2008
Kim Johnsson 600th NHL Game October 14, 2008
Antti Miettinen 100th NHL Point October 27, 2008
Andrew Brunette 800th NHL Game November 6, 2008
Erik Reitz 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
November 15, 2008

Transactions

Trades

June 20, 2008
To Minnesota Wild
23rd pick in 2008
To New Jersey Devils
24th pick in 2008
3rd round pick in 2009
July 1, 2008
To Minnesota Wild
Marek Zidlicky
To Nashville Predators
Ryan Jones
2nd round pick in 2009
June 10, 2008
To Minnesota Wild
Marc-Andre Bergeron
To Anaheim Ducks
3rd round pick in 2009
July 11, 2008
To Minnesota Wild
Corey Locke
To Montreal Canadiens
Shawn Belle
January 21, 2008
To Minnesota Wild
Robbie Earl
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Ryan Hamilton
January 29, 2008
To Minnesota Wild
Dan Fritsche
To New York Rangers
Erik Reitz

Free agents

Player Former team Contract Terms
Antti Miettinen Dallas Stars 3 years, $7 million
Owen Nolan Calgary Flames 2 years, $5.5 million
Andrew Brunette Colorado Avalanche 3 years, $7 million
Player New team
Todd Fedoruk Phoenix Coyotes
Brian Rolston New Jersey Devils
Pavol Demitra Vancouver Canucks
Joel Ward Nashville Predators

Draft picks

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

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 23 (from Washington via New Jersey) Tyler Cuma (D)  Canada Ottawa 67's (OHL)
2 55 Marco Scandella (D)  Canada Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
4 115 Sean Lorenz (D)  Canada US National Team Development Program
5 145 Eero Elo (LW)  Finland Lukko (Finland Jr.)

Roster

Updated March 4, 2009.[2][3]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
32 Finland Backstrom, NiklasNiklas Backstrom G L 37 2006 Helsinki, Finland
25 Canada Belanger, EricEric Belanger C L 37 2007 Sherbrooke, Quebec
47 Canada Bergeron, Marc-AndreMarc-Andre Bergeron D L 34 2008 Trois-Rivières, Quebec
24 Canada Boogaard, DerekDerek Boogaard LW L 32 2001 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
96 Canada Bouchard, Pierre-MarcPierre-Marc Bouchard LW L 30 2002 Sherbrooke, Quebec
15 Canada Brunette, AndrewAndrew Brunette (A) LW L 41 2008 Sudbury, Ontario
8 Canada Burns, BrentBrent Burns D R 30 2003 Ajax, Ontario
22 Canada Clutterbuck, CalCal Clutterbuck RW R 27 2006 Welland, Ontario
26 Canada Foster, KurtisKurtis Foster D L 33 2005 Carp, Ontario
49 United States Fritsche, DanDan Fritsche W R 29 2009 Parma, Ohio
10 Slovakia Gaborik, MarianMarian Gaborik RW L 33 2000 Trenčín, Czechoslovakia
18 Canada Gillies, ColtonColton Gillies C L 26 2007 White Rock, British Columbia
29 Canada Harding, JoshJosh Harding G R 30 2002 Regina, Saskatchewan
5 Sweden Johnsson, KimKim Johnsson D L 39 2006 Malmö, Sweden
9 Finland Koivu, MikkoMikko Koivu (C) C L 32 2001 Turku, Finland
20 Finland Miettinen, AnttiAntti Miettinen RW R 34 2008 Hämeenlinna, Finland
11 Canada Nolan, OwenOwen Nolan (A) RW R 43 2008 Belfast, United Kingdom
67 Canada Pouliot, BenoitBenoit Pouliot C L 28 2005 Alfred, Ontario
55 Canada Schultz, NickNick Schultz D L 32 2000 Strasbourg, Saskatchewan
51 Canada Sheppard, JamesJames Sheppard C L 26 2006 Halifax, Nova Scotia
41 Czech Republic Skoula, MartinMartin Skoula D L 35 2006 Litoměřice, Czechoslovakia
19 Canada Veilleux, StephaneStephane Veilleux LW L 33 2001 Saint-Georges, Quebec
12 Canada Weller, CraigCraig Weller RW R 34 2008 Calgary, Alberta
3 Czech Republic Zidlicky, MarekMarek Zidlicky D R 38 2008 Most, Czechoslovakia

See also

References

  1. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2009.html
  2. "Minnesota Wild - Team - Roster". Minnesota Wild. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  3. "Minnesota Wild - Team - Injury Report". Minnesota Wild. Retrieved 2009-03-04.