# 2008–09 AHL season

The 2008–09 AHL season was the 73rd season of the American Hockey League. 29 teams each played 80 games in the regular season, which ran from October 8 until April 12.

## Team and NHL affiliation changes

The Iowa Stars are renamed and are now called the Iowa Chops, and the Anaheim Ducks have replaced the Dallas Stars as the team's NHL affiliate.
The Dallas Stars have no AHL affiliate this year, with the Texas Stars (based in Austin) to become their affiliate for the 2009–10 season.
On April 28, 2009, it was announced that two teams would be relocated for the 2009–10 season: the Quad City Flames would move to Abbotsford, BC, and the Philadelphia Phantoms would relocate to Glens Falls, NY.

### Affiliation changes

| AHL team | New affiliate | Old affiliate |
| Iowa Chops | Anaheim Ducks | Dallas Stars |
| Portland Pirates | Buffalo Sabres | Anaheim Ducks |
| Rochester Americans | Florida Panthers | Buffalo Sabres/Florida Panthers |

## Final standings

* y– indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot
* x– indicates team clinched a playoff spot
* e– indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention

### Eastern Conference

| Atlantic Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
| y–Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 80 | 46 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 99 | 243 | 216 |
| x–Providence Bruins (BOS) | 80 | 43 | 29 | 2 | 6 | 94 | 238 | 232 |
| x–Portland Pirates (BUF) | 80 | 39 | 31 | 3 | 7 | 88 | 249 | 239 |
| x–Worcester Sharks (SJS) | 80 | 42 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 87 | 223 | 223 |
| e–Manchester Monarchs (LAK) | 80 | 37 | 35 | 0 | 8 | 82 | 211 | 218 |
| e–Lowell Devils (NJD) | 80 | 35 | 36 | 2 | 7 | 79 | 213 | 243 |
| e–Springfield Falcons (EDM) | 80 | 24 | 44 | 8 | 4 | 60 | 188 | 258 |
| East Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
| y–Hershey Bears (WSH) | 80 | 49 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 106 | 296 | 240 |
| x–Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | 80 | 49 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 106 | 241 | 212 |
| x–Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | 80 | 49 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 104 | 274 | 212 |
| x–Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI) | 80 | 43 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 93 | 234 | 232 |
| e–Binghamton Senators (OTT) | 80 | 41 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 91 | 232 | 238 |
| e–Norfolk Admirals (TBL) | 80 | 33 | 38 | 4 | 5 | 75 | 236 | 269 |
| e–Albany River Rats (CAR) | 80 | 33 | 40 | 3 | 4 | 73 | 219 | 258 |

### Western Conference

| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
| y–Manitoba Moose (VAN) | 80 | 50 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 107 | 239 | 188 |
| x–Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL) | 80 | 49 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 102 | 263 | 201 |
| x–Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) | 80 | 43 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 98 | 255 | 226 |
| x–Toronto Marlies (TOR) | 80 | 39 | 29 | 5 | 7 | 90 | 240 | 229 |
| e–Syracuse Crunch (CBJ) | 80 | 40 | 32 | 5 | 3 | 88 | 214 | 226 |
| e–Lake Erie Monsters (COL) | 80 | 34 | 38 | 3 | 5 | 76 | 199 | 218 |
| e–Rochester Americans (FLA) | 80 | 29 | 43 | 0 | 8 | 66 | 184 | 259 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
| y–Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) | 80 | 49 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 107 | 229 | 195 |
| x–Peoria Rivermen (STL) | 80 | 43 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 92 | 215 | 211 |
| x–Houston Aeros (MIN) | 80 | 38 | 31 | 2 | 9 | 87 | 218 | 230 |
| x–Rockford IceHogs (CHI) | 80 | 40 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 86 | 229 | 220 |
| e–Quad City Flames (CGY) | 80 | 36 | 31 | 6 | 7 | 85 | 212 | 216 |
| e–Chicago Wolves (ATL) | 80 | 38 | 37 | 3 | 2 | 81 | 226 | 222 |
| e–Iowa Chops (ANA) | 80 | 33 | 33 | 4 | 10 | 80 | 209 | 260 |
| e–San Antonio Rampage (PHX) | 80 | 36 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 78 | 205 | 243 |

## Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Alexandre Giroux | Hershey Bears | 69 | 60 | 37 | 97 | 84 |
| Keith Aucoin | Hershey Bears | 70 | 25 | 71 | 96 | 73 |
| Jason Krog | Manitoba Moose | 74 | 30 | 56 | 86 | 30 |
| Janne Pesonen | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 70 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 33 |
| Artem Anisimov | Hartford Wolfpack | 80 | 37 | 44 | 81 | 50 |
| Darren Haydar | Grand Rapids Griffins | 79 | 31 | 49 | 80 | 26 |
| Tim Stapleton | Toronto Marlies | 70 | 28 | 51 | 79 | 26 |
| Corey Locke | Houston Aeros | 77 | 25 | 54 | 79 | 60 |
| Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau | Hartford Wolfpack | 74 | 29 | 49 | 78 | 142 |
| Kyle Greentree | Quad City Flames | 79 | 39 | 37 | 76 | 63 |

## Calder Cup playoffs

In each division, the fourth-place team will play the first-place team in the division semifinals, while the second-place team plays the third-place team.

### Bracket

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | | | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | Calder Cup Finals | Calder Cup Finals | Calder Cup Finals |
| A1 | Hartford | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Worcester | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Worcester | 4 | | | A4 | Worcester | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A4 | Worcester | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A2 | Providence | 4 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Providence | 4 | | | A2 | Providence | 4 | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Portland | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Portland | 1 | | | | | | A2 | Providence | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | A2 | Providence | 1 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Hershey | 4 | | | | |
| E1 | Hershey | 4 | | | | | | | | | E1 | Hershey | 4 | | | | |
| E4 | Philadelphia | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Philadelphia | 0 | | | E1 | Hershey | 4 | | | | | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | | | E1 | Hershey | 4 | | | | | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | | | E3 | WBS | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Bridgeport | 1 | | | E3 | WBS | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | WBS | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | WBS | 4 | | | | | | | | | | N1 | Manitoba | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Hershey | 4 |
| N1 | Manitoba | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Hershey | 4 |
| N4 | Toronto | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N4 | Toronto | 2 | | | N1 | Manitoba | 4 | | | | | | | |
| North Division | North Division | North Division | | | N1 | Manitoba | 4 | | | | | | | |
| North Division | North Division | North Division | | | N3 | Grand Rapids | 0 | | | | | | | |
| N2 | Hamilton | 2 | | | N3 | Grand Rapids | 0 | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Grand Rapids | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Grand Rapids | 4 | | | | | | N1 | Manitoba | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | N1 | Manitoba | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Houston | 2 | | | | |
| W1 | Milwaukee | 4 | | | | | | | | | W3 | Houston | 2 | | | | |
| W4 | Rockford | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Rockford | 0 | | | W1 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | | | W1 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | | | W3 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Peoria | 3 | | | W3 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* A is short for Atlantic Division
* E is short for East Division
* N is short for North Division
* W is short for West Division

## All Star Classic

The 22nd AHL All-Star Classic was played in Worcester, Massachusetts, on January 26, 2009, with the PlanetUSA All-Stars defeating the Canadian All-Stars 14–11 after scoring nine goals in the third period to come back from an 8–5 deficit. Corey Locke scored four goals for the Canadian All-Stars, while Jeff Taffe had a hat-trick for the PlanetUSA All-Stars. The host club was the Worcester Sharks. The 2009 event in Worcester marked the fourth time since 1995 that the AHL All-Star Classic took place in New England. The AHL All-Star Game was last held in Massachusetts in 1959 at the Eastern States Coliseum in West Springfield.
| | Planet USA All-Stars | Canadian All-Stars |
| Coach: | Don Granato (Chicago Wolves) | Bob Woods (Hershey Bears) |
| Assistant coach(es): | Jason Christie, Wendell Young (Chicago Wolves) | Mark French (Hershey Bears) |
| Starters: | #15 F Martins Karsums (Providence Bruins) #16 F Ryan Vesce (Worcester Sharks) #17 F Chris Bourque (Hershey Bears) #5 D Jakub Kindl (Grand Rapids Griffins) #7 D Yannick Weber (Hamilton Bulldogs) #35 G Cory Schneider (Manitoba Moose) | #9 F Mike Santorelli (Milwaukee Admirals) #12 F Alexandre Giroux (Hershey Bears) #14 F Chris Minard (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) #3 D Johnny Boychuk (Providence Bruins) #77 D Derek Joslin (Worcester Sharks) #29 G Mike Brodeur (Rochester Americans) |
| Reserves: | #4 D Rory Fitzpatrick (Rochester Americans, captain) #6 D Ben Lovejoy (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) #8 F Jared Ross (Philadelphia Phantoms†) #11 F Keith Aucoin (Hershey Bears) #12 F Ryan Potulny (Springfield Falcons) #14 F Michael Ryan (Albany River Rats) #18 F Brian Salcido (Iowa Chops†) #20 F Petri Kontiola (Rockford Icehogs) #21 F Joe Motzko (Chicago Wolves) #22 F Jeff Taffe (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) #26 D Jaime Sifers (Toronto Marlies) #31 G Jeff Frazee (Lowell Devils) #40 D Mattias Karlsson (Binghamton Senators) #42 F Artem Anisimov (Hartford Wolf Pack†) #44 D Jonas Junland (Peoria Rivermen) #86 G Daniel Larsson (Grand Rapids Griffins) #10 F Tim Kennedy (Portland Pirates**) #18 F Drew Miller (Iowa Chops*) #19 F Nathan Gerbe (Portland Pirates**) #21 D Bobby Sanguinetti (Hartford Wolf Pack**) #90 F Nikita Filatov (Syracuse Crunch*) | #2 D Andrew MacDonald (Bridgeport Sound Tigers) #6 D Cody Franson (Milwaukee Admirals) #7 D Brett Palin (Quad City Flames) #16 F Cal O'Reilly (Milwaukee Admirals) #20 D Bryan Helmer (Hershey Bears, captain) #24 F Derek MacKenzie (Syracuse Crunch†) #25 F Mark Mancari (Portland Pirates) #26 F Brandon Segal (Norfolk Admirals†) #30 G Tyler Weiman (Lake Erie Monsters†) #33 G Barry Brust (Houston Aeros) #37 F Mike Iggulden (Bridgeport Sound Tigers) #48 D Kyle Cumiskey (Lake Erie Monsters) #62 F Teddy Purcell (Manchester Monarchs) #75 D Danny Syvret (Philadelphia Phantoms†) #84 F Corey Locke (Houston Aeros) #97 F Brett MacLean (San Antonio Rampage) #1 G Brian Elliott (Binghamton Senators*) #10 F Jason Krog (Manitoba Moose**) #19 F Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Phantoms*) #24 F Steve Downie (Norfolk Admirals*) #39 F Martin St. Pierre (Providence Bruins*) |
* indicates player was called up to his NHL team. ** indicates player was named to All-Star team, but missed game due to injury. † indicates player was named as a replacement due to callups or injury.

## Trophy and award winners
### Team awards

| Calder Cup Playoff champions: | Hershey Bears |
| Richard F. Canning Trophy Eastern Conference playoff champions: | Hershey Bears |
| Robert W. Clarke Trophy Western Conference playoff champions: | Manitoba Moose |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Regular season champions, League: | Manitoba Moose |
| Frank Mathers Trophy Regular season champions, Eastern Conference: | Hershey Bears |
| Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy Regular season champions, Western Conference: | Manitoba Moose |
| Emile Francis Trophy Regular season champions, Atlantic Division: | Hartford Wolf Pack |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular season champions, East Division: | Hershey Bears |
| Sam Pollock Trophy Regular season champions, North Division: | Manitoba Moose |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular season champions, West Division: | Milwaukee Admirals |