2008–09 New York Rangers season

2008–09 New York Rangers
Division 4th Atlantic
Conference 7th Eastern
2008–09 record 43–30–9
Home record 26–11–4
Road record 17–19–5
Goals for 210
Goals against 218
Team information
General Manager Glen Sather
Coach Tom Renney (Oct–Feb)
John Tortorella (Feb–Apr)
Captain Chris Drury
Alternate captains Scott Gomez
Markus Naslund
Arena Madison Square Garden
Average attendance 18,200
Team leaders
Goals Markus Naslund (24)
Assists Scott Gomez (42)
Points Gomez
Nikolay Zherdev (58)
Penalties in minutes Colton Orr (193)
Plus/minus Ryan Callahan (+7)
Wins Henrik Lundqvist (38)
Goals against average Lundqvist (2.40)
<2007–08 2009–10>

The 2008–09 New York Rangers season was the National Hockey League franchise's 82nd season of play and their 83rd season overall. It saw the Rangers qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Rangers started the season in Europe. First, as part of the inaugural Victoria Cup being held in Switzerland, the Rangers played an exhibition game against SC Bern on September 30, and then the main game against the 2008 European Champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk on October 1 (the first game between a Russian club and an NHL team since 1991). They won both games, and were awarded the first Victoria Cup. The Rangers battled from a 3-0 deficit in the Victoria Cup to win the game by a score of 4–3. Ryan Callahan scored the game-winning goal with 20 seconds left.[1]

The Rangers opened the NHL regular season against the Tampa Bay Lightning with two games in Prague, Czech Republic, on October 4 and 5.[2] Alexei Cherepanov, a former first-round draft pick of the Rangers, died suddenly on October 13 during a Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) game in Moscow.[3] The Rangers tied the 1983–84 Rangers for the best start in franchise history with a 5–0 record. The quest for the greatest start in franchise history was put to a hault on October 15, 2008, with a 3–1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.[4] The Rangers set the franchise record for best start in a season by going 10–2–1 for 21 points in the first 13 games. The 10 wins and 21 points are both franchise records.[5] On January 24, 2009, the festivities for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game began in Montreal with Brandon Dubinsky and Marc Staal playing for the Sophomore Team in the YoungStars Game. Staal scored two goals in the game, but the Rookie Team won 9–5. Henrik Lundqvist was the Rangers' only All-Star selection, and stopped 12 of 16 shots in the Elimination Shootout during the SuperSkills Competition.[6] On January 25, 2009, Lundqvist stopped 15 of the 21 shots he faced in the second period of the All-Star Game, helping the East beat the West 12–11 in a shootout.[7] On February 3, 2009, the New York Rangers retired Adam Graves' number 9 jersey before a game against the Atlanta Thrashers, joining fellow 1994 Stanley Cup champion teammates Brian Leetch, Mark Messier and Mike Richter, as well as Ranger greats Rod Gilbert and Eddie Giacomin, in the rafters of Madison Square Garden.[8] On February 22, the Rangers retired Andy Bathgate's number 9 and Harry Howell's number 3 jerseys before a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[9] A day later, Head Coach Tom Renney was fired after five seasons with the Rangers. Former Rangers assistant coach and coach of the 2004 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, John Tortorella, was hired later that same day to replace Renney. Rangers Assistant General Manager Jim Schoenfeld was given the interim assistant coaching position.[10] Shortly after that, Sean Avery made his return to the Rangers, claimed off waivers from the Dallas Stars.[11] Head Coach John Tortorella was suspended for Game 6 of the Rangers–Washington Capitals playoff series after an altercation with a fan towards the end of the Rangers' 4–0 loss in Washington, D.C., during Game 5.[12] On May 4, 2009, Markus Naslund announced that he would be retiring after one season with the Rangers.[13]

Pre-season

Regular season

The Rangers finished the regular season with the League's best penalty-kill percentage, at 87.84%.[14]

Divisional standings

Atlantic Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 y – 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

Schedule and results

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

2008-09 Game Log

Playoffs

The New York Rangers ended the 2008–09 regular season as the Eastern Conference's seventh seed. They were defeated in the first round by the Washington Capitals in seven games.

Key:      Win      Loss

2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season
Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Gomez, ScottScott Gomez 77 16 42 58 -2 60
Zherdev, NikolayNikolay Zherdev 82 23 35 58 +6 39
Drury, ChrisChris Drury 81 22 34 56 -8 32
Naslund, MarkusMarkus Naslund 82 24 22 46 -10 57
Dubinsky, BrandonBrandon Dubinsky 82 13 28 41 -6 112
Callahan, RyanRyan Callahan 81 22 18 40 +7 45
Rozsival, MichalMichal Rozsival 76 8 22 30 -7 52
Redden, WadeWade Redden 81 3 23 26 -5 51
Girardi, DanielDaniel Girardi 82 4 18 22 -14 53
Mara, PaulPaul Mara 76 5 16 21 +2 94
Dawes, NigelNigel Dawes‡ 52 10 9 19 -2 15
Voros, AaronAaron Voros 54 8 8 16 -9 122
Staal, MarcMarc Staal 82 3 12 15 -7 64
Korpikoski, LauriLauri Korpikoski 68 6 8 14 -10 14
Antropov, NikNik Antropov† 18 7 6 13 -1 6
Kalinin, DmitriDmitri Kalinin‡ 58 1 12 13 -7 26
Sjostrom, FredrikFredrik Sjostrom 79 7 6 13 -11 30
Avery, SeanSean Avery† 18 5 7 12 +4 34
Betts, BlairBlair Betts 81 6 4 10 -5 16
Prucha, PetrPetr Prucha‡ 28 4 5 9 -2 16
Morris, DerekDerek Morris† 18 0 8 8 +3 16
Orr, ColtonColton Orr 82 1 4 5 -15 193
Fritsche, DanDan Fritsche‡ 16 1 3 4 -2 2
Potter, CoreyCorey Potter 5 1 1 2 -1 0
Reitz, ErikErik Reitz†‡ 11 0 0 0 -4 24
Rissmiller, PatrickPatrick Rissmiller 2 0 0 0 -2 0
Sauer, MikeMike Sauer 3 0 0 0 -1 0
Anisimov, ArtemArtem Anisimov 1 0 0 0 0 0
Playoffs
Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Gomez, ScottScott Gomez 7 2 3 5 -4 4
Dubinsky, BrandonBrandon Dubinsky 7 1 3 4 +1 18
Naslund, MarkusMarkus Naslund 7 1 2 3 +2 10
Antropov, NikNik Antropov 7 2 1 3 -1 6
Redden, WadeWade Redden 7 0 2 2 -2 0
Morris, DerekDerek Morris 7 0 2 2 -2 0
Mara, PaulPaul Mara 7 1 1 2 -2 8
Avery, SeanSean Avery 6 0 2 2 -3 24
Korpikoski, LauriLauri Korpikoski 7 0 2 2 0 0
Callahan, RyanRyan Callahan 7 2 0 2 -1 4
Drury, ChrisChris Drury 6 1 0 1 -5 2
Sjostrom, FredrikFredrik Sjostrom 7 0 1 1 0 0
Staal, MarcMarc Staal 7 1 0 1 -3 0
Rozsival, MichalMichal Rozsival 7 0 0 0 0 4
Betts, BlairBlair Betts 6 0 0 0 -1 0
Orr, ColtonColton Orr 5 0 0 0 -1 16
Voros, AaronAaron Voros 4 0 0 0 -2 14
Zherdev, NikolayNikolay Zherdev 7 0 0 0 -3 2
Girardi, DanielDaniel Girardi 7 0 0 0 -3 6
Anisimov, ArtemArtem Anisimov 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders
Regular Season
Player GP TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO
Lundqvist, HenrikHenrik Lundqvist 70 4153 38 25 7 168 2.43 2007 .916 3
Valiquette, SteveSteve Valiquette 15 823 5 5 2 39 2.84 421 .907 1
Playoffs
Player GP TOI W L GA GAA SA SV% SO
Lundqvist, HenrikHenrik Lundqvist 7 380 3 4 19 3.00 207 .908 1
Valiquette, SteveSteve Valiquette 2 40 0 0 0 0.00 9 1.000 0

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

[15]

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;

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Lauri Korpikoski 1st NHL Regular Season Game October 4, 2008
Henrik Lundqvist 200th NHL Appearance October 15, 2008
Brandon Dubinsky 100th NHL Game October 27, 2008
Nikolay Zherdev 300th NHL Game November 8, 2008
Lauri Korpikoski 1st NHL Regular Season Goal
1st NHL Regular Season Point 		November 12, 2008
Marc Staal 100th NHL Game November 15, 2008
Lauri Korpikoski 1st NHL Assist November 15, 2008
Michal Rozsival 500th NHL Game November 17, 2008
Fredrik Sjostrom 300th NHL Game November 22, 2008
Nikolai Zherdev 200th NHL Point November 24, 2008
Scott Gomez 400th NHL Assist December 3, 2008
Corey Potter 1st NHL Regular Season Game December 7, 2008
Ryan Callahan 100th NHL Game December 16, 2008
Dmitri Kalinin 500th NHL Game December 16, 2008
Paul Mara 600th NHL Game December 23, 2008
Colton Orr 200th NHL Game December 23, 2008
Corey Potter 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point 		December 27, 2008
Wade Redden 500th NHL Penalty Minute January 3, 2009
Nigel Dawes 100th NHL Game January 5, 2009
Blair Betts 300th NHL Game January 9, 2009
Henrik Lundqvist 1st NHL All-Star Game January 25, 2009
Artem Anisimov 1st NHL Game February 3, 2009
Aaron Voros 100th NHL Game February 3, 2009
Colton Orr 500th NHL Penalty Minute February 21, 2009
Michal Rozsival 200th NHL Point February 22, 2009
Wade Redden 900th NHL Game February 26, 2009
John Tortorella 1st Win as Rangers coach February 28, 2009
Markus Naslund 1,100th NHL Game March 5, 2009
Henrik Lundquist 1st NHL goalie to win 30+ games in first four seasons March 12, 2009
John Tortorella Winningest US-born coach in NHL history with 245 wins March 17, 2009
Mike Sauer 1st NHL Game March 24, 2009
Nik Antropov 300th NHL Point March 26, 2009
Scott Gomez 700th NHL Game March 28, 2009
Corey Potter 1st NHL Goal April 2, 2009
Artem Anisimov 1st NHL Playoff Game April 28, 2009
Markus Naslund Final NHL Game April 28, 2009

Transactions

The Rangers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2008–09 season.

Trades

Date
Details
July 2, 2008[16] To Columbus Blue Jackets

Fedor Tyutin
Christian Backman

 To New York Rangers

Nikolai Zherdev
Dan Fritsche

July 14, 2008[17] To Toronto Maple Leafs

Ryan Hollweg

 To New York Rangers

5th round pick in 2009

October 30, 2008[18] To Nashville Predators

Hugh Jessiman

 To New York Rangers

Future Considerations

January 29, 2009[19] To Minnesota Wild

Dan Fritsche

 To New York Rangers

Erik Reitz

March 4, 2009[20] To Toronto Maple Leafs

2nd round draft pick in 2009
Conditional draft pick in 2010

 To New York Rangers

Nik Antropov

March 4, 2009[20] To Phoenix Coyotes

Nigel Dawes
Dmitri Kalinin
Petr Prucha

 To New York Rangers

Derek Morris

Free agents acquired

Player Former team Contract terms
Aaron Voros Minnesota Wild Three years, $3 million
Patrick Rissmiller San Jose Sharks One year, $1 million
Wade Redden[21] Ottawa Senators Six years, $39 million
Markus Naslund Vancouver Canucks Two years, $8 million
Dmitri Kalinin Buffalo Sabres One year, $2.1 million
Andreas Jamtin HV71 (SEL) Undisclosed
Vladimir Denisov Lake Erie Monsters (AHL) Undisclosed
Brian Fahey Chicago Wolves (AHL) Undisclosed

Free agents lost

Player New team Contract terms
Sean Avery Dallas Stars Four years, $15.5 million
Jaromir Jagr Avangard Omsk (KHL) Two years, $20 million
Martin Straka HC Lasselsberger Plzeň (Czech) One year
Jason Strudwick Edmonton Oilers One year, $650,000
Andrew Hutchinson Tampa Bay Lightning Two years, $1 million
Marek Malik Tampa Bay Lightning One year, $1.2 million
Brendan Shanahan New Jersey Devils One year, $800,000

Claimed from waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers
Mark Bell Toronto Maple Leafs February 25, 2009
Sean Avery Dallas Stars March 3, 2009

Lost via waivers

Player New team Date claimed off waivers
Erik Reitz Toronto Maple Leafs March 4, 2009

Player signings

Player Contract terms
Michal Rozsival Four years, $20 million
Steve Valiquette One year, $725,000
Paul Mara One year, $1.95 million
Dan Fritsche One year, $875,000
Nigel Dawes One year, $587,500
Greg Moore One year, $578,000
Fredrik Sjostrom One year, $840,000

Roster

Updated April 28, 2009.[22]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
42 Russia Anisimov, ArtemArtem Anisimov C L 27 2006 Yaroslavl, Soviet Union
80 Kazakhstan Antropov, NikNik Antropov RW L 35 2009 Ust-Kamenogorsk, Soviet Union
16 Canada Avery, SeanSean Avery LW L 35 2009 North York, Ontario
15 Canada Betts, BlairBlair Betts  C L 36 2004 Edmonton, Alberta
24 United States Callahan, RyanRyan Callahan RW R 30 2004 Rochester, New York
23 United States Drury, ChrisChris Drury (C) C R 39 2007 Trumbull, Connecticut
17 United States Dubinsky, BrandonBrandon Dubinsky C L 29 2004 Anchorage, Alaska
5 Canada Girardi, DanielDaniel Girardi D R 31 2006 Welland, Ontario
19 United States Gomez, ScottScott Gomez (A) C L 36 2007 Anchorage, Alaska
29 Finland Korpikoski, LauriLauri Korpikoski LW L 29 2004 Turku, Finland
30 Sweden Lundqvist, HenrikHenrik Lundqvist G L 33 2000 Åre, Sweden
27 United States Mara, PaulPaul Mara D L 36 2007 Ridgewood, New Jersey
53 Canada Morris, DerekDerek Morris D R 37 2009 Edmonton, Alberta
91 Sweden Naslund, MarkusMarkus Naslund (A) LW L 42 2008 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
28 Canada Orr, ColtonColton Orr RW R 33 2005 Winnipeg, Manitoba
6 Canada Redden, WadeWade Redden D L 38 2008 Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
33 Czech Republic Rozsival, MichalMichal Rozsival D R 37 2005 Vlašim, Czechoslovakia
20 Sweden Sjostrom, FredrikFredrik Sjostrom LW L 32 2008 Färgelanda, Sweden
18 Canada Staal, MarcMarc Staal D L 29 2005 Thunder Bay, Ontario
40 Canada Valiquette, SteveSteve Valiquette G L 38 2003 Etobicoke, Ontario
34 Canada Voros, AaronAaron Voros LW L 34 2008 Vancouver, British Columbia
13 Russia Zherdev, NikolayNikolay Zherdev RW R 31 2008 Kiev, Soviet Union

Staff

New York Rangers staff
Executive Operations  

Hockey Operations

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa • Ontario.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 20 Michael Del Zotto D  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
2 51 Derek Stepan C  United States Shattuck-Saint Mary's (Midget Major AAA)
3 75 Evgeny Grachev C  Russia Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl (RUS-3)
3 90 Tomas Kundratek D  Czech Republic Trinec Ocelari (CZE)
4 111 Dale Weise RW  Canada Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
5 141 Chris Doyle C  Canada P.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)
6 171 Mitch Gaulton D  Canada Erie Otters (OHL)

See also

Farm teams

Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)

The 2008–09 season will be the 12th season of American Hockey League (AHL) hockey for the franchise.

Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)

The 2008–09 season will be the 16th season of ECHL hockey for the franchise.

References

  1. ↑ IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time, Szymon Szemberg and Andrew Podnieks, p. 173, Fenn Publishing, Bolton, Ontario, Canada, 2008, ISBN 978-1-55168-358-4
  2. ↑ NHL's European plans finalized
  3. ↑ Ralph, Dan. Rangers draft pick dies, Canadian Online Explorer, October 13, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2009.
  4. ↑ Obernauer, Michael. "Rangers tie mark for best start with 4-1 win over Devils at Garden", New York Daily News, October 13, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2009.
  5. ↑ Zherdev, Lundqvist pace Rangers to fourth straight win, Associated Press, ESPN, October 30, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2009.
  6. ↑ Rangers shine in SuperSkills competition
  7. ↑ Lundqvist helps East win NHL All-Star Game
  8. ↑ Graves joins Rangers legends in MSG rafters
  9. ↑ Bathgate, Howell come home to the rafters
  10. ↑ Tortorella expected to add more 'fire' to bench
  11. ↑ "Rangers claim Avery off re-entry waivers". Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  12. ↑ "Rangers' Tortorella banned one game for altercation with fan". Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  13. ↑ "Rangers' Naslund announces retirement at age 35". Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  14. ↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2009.html
  15. ↑ "2008-09 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  16. ↑ Columbus Sends Zherdev To The Rangers", The Sports Network, July 2, 2008, accessed on July 2, 2008.
  17. ↑ Hollweg traded to Toronto for fifth-rounder, New York Rangers, July 14, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2009.
  18. ↑ Rangers trade Jessiman to Predators, New York Rangers, October 30, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2009.
  19. ↑ Rangers obtain Reitz from Wild, New York Rangers, January 29, 2009, accessed on January 29, 2009.
  20. 1 2 Rangers add power in a hurry at deadline, New York Rangers, March 4, 2009, accessed on March 4, 2009.
  21. ↑ Rangers sign Redden to six-year deal, The Canadian Press, Canadian Online Explorer, July 1, 2008, accessed on January 2, 2009.
  22. ↑ "New York Rangers - Team - Roster". Retrieved 2009-04-28.
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