# 2008–09 Los Angeles Kings season

The 2008–09 Los Angeles Kings season was the 42nd season (41st season of play) for the National Hockey League franchise. The Kings showed improvement while fielding the youngest team in the league (in terms of average age per player), but came up short of breaking a playoff drought that stretches back to the 2001–02 season.
Despite a tough schedule that saw them play 17 of their final 24 games away from the Staples Center, the Kings managed to stay in the playoff hunt for much of the year. They played in 43 games decided by one goal, and their record in these games was 20–12–11.
Alexander Frolov led the team in goals with 32, his fifth-consecutive season with at least 20 or more goals. The last King to post five consecutive season with over 20 goals was Luc Robitaille in the 1993–94 season. Moreover, defenseman Sean O'Donnell reached a milestone by playing in his 1,000th career NHL game on March 14.

## Pre-season

On June 10, the Kings fired Head Coach Marc Crawford after failing to make the post-season in back-to-back seasons. Crawford posted a 59–84–21 record during his tenure. He was replaced on July 17 by Terry Murray, who takes over his fourth NHL team. Murray had previously coached the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers, where he led the latter to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. Entering the season, Murray's career record is 360–288–89.

## Regular season

The Kings made great strides in the 2008–09 season. They went from 30th in the NHL a year prior in penalty killing to seventh-best in the league, with an 82.9% rating. They had the League's fourth-best faceoff win percentage and allowed the fourth-fewest shots on goal. Five players played in all 82 regular games: Anze Kopitar, Michal Handzus, Matt Greene, Sean O'Donnell and rookie Wayne Simmonds. Several surprises also emerged during the season.
Kyle Quincey was acquired via waivers shortly after season started from the Detroit Red Wings, necessitated by an injury to defenseman Jack Johnson. Quincey went on to finish second in the team in assists and averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game. Drew Doughty, the second overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, immediately contributed to the team, leading the Kings in ice time and was second in blocked shots. He finished in the top ten in the NHL in several categories, and was considered a strong Calder Memorial Trophy candidate for Rookie of the Year honors.
Another surprise was Jonathan Quick, who emerged as the team's number one goaltender. Quick was thrust into the line-up following the trade of Jason LaBarbera in mid-season to the Vancouver Canucks and due to an injury to Erik Ersberg. All Quick lead the team in every goaltending category, posting the third highest win total for a rookie in Kings history. He finished third in the league among rookie netminder in goals against average, and played in 22 of the final 27 and 41 of the final 52 Kings games He had a 1.76 goals-against average (16 GA in 546:03) and .942 save percentage (258 saves in 274 shots) in nine straight appearances from March 22 to April 9.
The Kings finished the regular season having been shut out 12 times, tying the Colorado Avalanche for the most times shut out.
The Western Conference remained a tight race throughout the season, and the Kings were not officially eliminated from the playoffs until two weeks remained in the season.

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

## Playoffs

The Los Angeles Kings failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Anze Kopitar | 82 | 27 | 39 | 66 | −17 | 32 |
| Alexander Frolov | 77 | 32 | 27 | 59 | −6 | 30 |
| Dustin Brown | 80 | 24 | 29 | 53 | −15 | 64 |
| Michal Handzus | 82 | 18 | 24 | 42 | −7 | 32 |
| Jarret Stoll | 74 | 18 | 23 | 41 | −7 | 68 |
| Kyle Quincey | 72 | 4 | 34 | 38 | −5 | 63 |
| Patrick O'Sullivan$^‡$ | 62 | 14 | 23 | 37 | +1 | 16 |
| Kyle Calder | 74 | 8 | 19 | 27 | −1 | 41 |
| Drew Doughty | 81 | 6 | 21 | 27 | −17 | 56 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 82 | 9 | 14 | 23 | −8 | 73 |
| Teddy Purcell | 40 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −4 | 4 |
| Oscar Moller | 40 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −3 | 16 |
| Matt Greene | 82 | 2 | 12 | 14 | +1 | 111 |
| Sean O'Donnell | 82 | 0 | 12 | 12 | +2 | 71 |
| Peter Harrold | 69 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −13 | 28 |
| Jack Johnson | 41 | 6 | 5 | 11 | −18 | 46 |
| Derek Armstrong | 56 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −11 | 63 |
| Tom Preissing | 22 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −7 | 6 |
| Brad Richardson | 31 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −6 | 11 |
| Brian Boyle | 28 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −9 | 42 |
| Denis Gauthier | 65 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −11 | 90 |
| Justin Williams$^†$ | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +1 | 8 |
| Trevor Lewis | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Davis Drewiske | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +1 | 18 |
| Raitis Ivanans | 76 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −8 | 145 |
| Matt Moulson | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −4 | 2 |
| John Zeiler | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 42 |
| Kevin Westgarth | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 9 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Jonathan Quick | 44 | 2494 | 21 | 18 | 2 | 103 | 2.48 | 1200 | 1097 | .914 | 4 |
| Erik Ersberg | 28 | 1477 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 65 | 2.64 | 651 | 586 | .900 | 0 |
| Jason LaBarbera$^‡$ | 19 | 995 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 47 | 2.83 | 439 | 392 | .893 | 2 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Kings. Stats reflect time with the Kings only. $^‡$Traded mid-season Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Oscar Moller | 1st NHL Game | October 11, 2008 |
| Drew Doughty | 1st NHL Game | October 11, 2008 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 1st NHL Game | October 11, 2008 |
| Michal Handzus | 600th NHL Game 200th NHL Assist | October 11, 2008 |
| Oscar Moller | 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point | October 14, 2008 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | October 14, 2008 |
| Kyle Quincey | 1st NHL Assist | October 17, 2008 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 1st NHL Assist | October 17, 2008 |
| Oscar Moller | 1st NHL Goal | October 20, 2008 |
| Drew Doughty | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | October 20, 2008 |
| Denis Gauthier | 500th NHL Game | November 4, 2008 |
| Drew Doughty | 1st NHL Assist | November 6, 2008 |
| Jarret Stoll | 300th NHL Game | November 11, 2008 |
| Alexander Frolov | 400th NHL Game | November 29, 2008 |
| Tom Preissing | 100th NHL Assist | November 29, 2008 |
| Anze Kopitar | 100th NHL Assist | December 17, 2008 |
| Dustin Brown | 300th NHL Game | December 19, 2008 |
| Trevor Lewis | 1st NHL Game | December 19, 2008 |
| Trevor Lewis | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | December 20, 2008 |
| Trevor Lewis | 1st NHL Assist | December 23, 2008 |
| Jonathan Quick | 1st NHL Shutout | December 23, 2008 |
| Alexander Frolov | 300th NHL Point | January 17, 2009 |
| Kevin Westgarth | 1st NHL Game | January 20, 2009 |
| Anze Kopitar | 200th NHL Game | January 29, 2009 |
| Davis Drewiske | 1st NHL Game | February 3, 2009 |
| Matt Greene | 200th NHL Game | February 3, 2009 |
| Jarret Stoll | 200th NHL Point | February 18, 2009 |
| Raitis Ivanans | 200th NHL Game | February 21, 2009 |
| Jack Johnson | 100th NHL Game | March 1, 2009 |
| Dustin Brown | 100th NHL Assist | March 3, 2009 |
| Sean O'Donnell | 1,000th NHL Game | March 14, 2009 |
| Peter Harrold | 100th NHL Game | March 24, 2009 |
| Anze Kopitar | 200th NHL Point | March 28, 2009 |
| Justin Williams | 500th NHL Game | April 6, 2009 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| June 20, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings 1st-round pick (17th overall) in 2008 – Jake Gardiner 2nd-round pick in 2009$^1$ – Brian Dumoulin | To Calgary Flames Michael Cammalleri 2nd-round pick in 2008 – Mitch Wahl |
| June 20, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings 1st-round pick (12th overall) in 2008 – Tyler Myers | To Anaheim Ducks 1st-round pick (17th overall) in 2008 – Jake Gardiner 1st-round pick (28th overall) in 2008$^2$ – Viktor Tikhonov |
| June 20, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings 1st-round pick (13th overall) in 2008 – Colten Teubert 3rd-round pick in 2009$^3$ – Ryan Howse | To Buffalo Sabres 1st-round pick (12th overall) in 2008 – Tyler Myers |
| June 29, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings Jarret Stoll Matt Greene | To Edmonton Oilers Lubomir Visnovsky |
| July 1, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings Denis Gauthier 2nd-round pick in 2010$^4$ – Jason Zucker | To Philadelphia Flyers Patrik Hersley Ned Lukacevic |
| July 21, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings Richard Clune | To Dallas Stars Lauri Tukonen |
| September 30, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings Sean O'Donnell | To Anaheim Ducks Conditional pick in 2009$^5$ |
| December 30, 2008 | To Los Angeles Kings 7th-round pick in 2009 | To Vancouver Canucks Jason LaBarbera |
| March 4, 2009 | To Los Angeles Kings Justin Williams | To Edmonton Oilers Patrick O'Sullivan Ales Kotalik |
* Pick later traded to Carolina Hurricanes.
* Pick later traded to Phoenix Coyotes.
* Pick later traded to Calgary Flames.
* Pick later traded to Florida Panthers (then to Minnesota Wild).
* Condition not satisfied.

### Free agents

| Player | Former team | Contract Terms |
| Erik Ersberg | Los Angeles Kings | One Year |
| Gabe Gauthier | Los Angeles Kings | Two Years |
| Matt Moulson | Los Angeles Kings | One Year |
| Joe Piskula | Los Angeles Kings | One Year |
| David Meckler | Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | Three Year, Entry-Level |
| Peter Harrold | Los Angeles Kings | Three Years |
| Drew Doughty | Guelph Storm (OHL) | Three Year, Entry-Level |
| Andrei Loktionov | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) | Three Year, Entry-Level |
| Slava Voynov | Traktor Chelyabinsk (RSL) | Three Year, Entry-Level |
| Colten Teubert | Regina Pats (WHL) | Three Year, Entry Level |
| Jarret Stoll | Los Angeles Kings | Four Year, $14,400,000 |
| Brad Richardson | Los Angeles Kings | Two Year, $1,175,000 |
| Martin Jones | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) | Three Year, Entry Level |
| Patrick O'Sullivan | Los Angeles Kings | Three Year, $2,925,000 |
| Anze Kopitar | Los Angeles Kings | Seven Years |
| Andrew Campbell | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) | Three Year, Entry Level |
| Matt Greene | Los Angeles Kings | Five Years |
| Corey Elkins | Ohio State University (NCAA) | One Year, Entry Level |
| Patrick Mullen | Denver University (NCAA) | Two Year, Entry Level |
| Player | New team |
| Jon Klemm | Straubing Tigers (Germany) |
| Rob Blake | San Jose Sharks |
| Brendan Buckley | San Jose Sharks |
| Richard Petiot | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Brian Willsie | Colorado Avalanche |
| Kevin Dallman | Barys Astana (Kazakhstan) |
| Scott Thornton | Retired |
| Jeff Giuliano | HC Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) |
| Ladislav Nagy | Severstal Cherepovets (Russia) |
| Dany Roussin | Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) |
| Petr Kanko | EC Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) |

### Waivers

| Player | Former team | Date claimed off waivers |
| Kyle Quincey | Detroit Red Wings | October 13, 2008 |
| Player | New team | Date claimed off waivers |
| Matt Ellis | Buffalo Sabres | October 1, 2008 |

### Other

| Player | Type of Transaction | Date |
| Bryan Cameron | Returned to Belleville Bulls (OHL) | September 23, 2008 |
| Matt Fillier | Returned to Montreal Junior Hockey Club (QMJHL) | September 23, 2008 |
| Geordie Wudrick | Returned to Swift Current Broncos (WHL) | September 23, 2008 |
| Olivier Legault | Released from Try-Out | September 23, 2008 |
| Colten Teubert | Returned to Regina Pats (WHL) | September 25, 2008 |
| Dwight King | Returned to Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) | September 25, 2008 |
| Linden Rowat | Returned to Regina Pats (WHL) | September 26, 2008 |
| Justin Azevedo | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Andrew Campbell | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Paul Crosty | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Vladimir Dravecky | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Gabe Gauthier | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Bud Holloway | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Josh Kidd | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Brady Murray | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Marty Murray | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Scott Parse | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Daniel Taylor | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Eric Werner | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Jeff Zatkoff | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Drew Bagnall | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Jonathan Bernier | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Trevor Lewis | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Michael D'Orazio | Returned to Owen Sound Attack (OHL) | September 29, 2008 |
| Andrei Loktionov | Returned to Windsor Spitfires (OHL) | October 1, 2008 |
| Martin Jones | Returned to Calgary Hitmen (WHL) | October 2, 2008 |
| David Meckler | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 2, 2008 |
| Slava Voynov | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 2, 2008 |
| Davis Drewiske | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 3, 2008 |
| Joe Piskula | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 3, 2008 |
| John Zeiler | Placed on Injured Reserve | October 3, 2008 |
| Alec Martinez | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 6, 2008 |
| Teddy Purcell | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 6, 2008 |
| Jonathan Quick | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 6, 2008 |
| Kevin Westgarth | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | October 6, 2008 |
| Thomas Hickey | Returned to Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) | October 6, 2008 |
| Marc-Andre Cliche | Placed on Injured Reserve | October 6, 2008 |
| Richard Clune | Placed on Injured Reserve | October 6, 2008 |
| Jeff Zatkoff | Reassigned to Ontario Reign (ECHL) | October 7, 2008 |
| Daniel Taylor | Reassigned to Reading Royals (ECHL) | October 8, 2008 |
| Brady Murray | Reassigned to HC Lugano (Switzerland) | October 9, 2008 |
| Jack Johnson | Placed on Injured Reserve | October 13, 2008 |
| Matt Moulson | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | November 3, 2008 |
| John Zeiler | Activated from Injured Reserve and Loaned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | November 3, 2008 |
| John Zeiler | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | November 17, 2008 |
| Richard Clune | Activated from Injured Reserve and assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | November 19, 2008 |
| John Zeiler | Suspended for three games by the NHL | November 24, 2008 |
| Brian Boyle | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | November 30, 2008 |
| Brad Richardson | Placed on Injured Reserve | December 3, 2008 |
| Jonathan Quick | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | December 16, 2008 |
| Jeff Zatkoff | Reassigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) from Ontario Reign (ECHL) | December 17, 2008 |
| Slava Voynov | Loaned to Russian National Junior Team | December 18, 2008 |
| Trevor Lewis | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | December 18, 2008 |
| Oscar Moller | Loaned to Swedish National Junior Team | December 18, 2008 |
| Trevor Lewis | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | December 30, 2008 |
| Brian Boyle | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | December 31, 2008 |
| Oscar Moller | Recalled from Swedish National Junior Team | January 6, 2009 |
| Slava Voynov | Reassigned from Russian National Junior Team to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 6, 2009 |
| Jeff Zatkoff | Reassigned to Ontario Reign (ECHL) from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 13, 2009 |
| Danny Taylor | Reassigned from Reading Royals (ECHL) to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 13, 2009 |
| Oscar Moller | Placed on Injured Reserve | January 14, 2009 |
| Kevin Westgarth | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 14, 2009 |
| Brad Richardson | Loaned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) on a conditioning assignment | January 15, 2009 |
| Brian Boyle | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 17, 2009 |
| Jack Johnson | Activated from injured reserve | January 17, 2009 |
| Jonathan Bernier | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 18, 2009 |
| Teddy Purcell | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 18, 2009 |
| Jonathan Bernier | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 22, 2009 |
| Kevin Westgarth | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 22, 2009 |
| Brad Richardson | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | January 22, 2009 |
| Denis Gauthier | Suspended by NHL for five games | February 2, 2009 |
| Davis Drewiske | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | February 2, 2009 |
| Marc-Andre Cliche | Activated from Injured Reserve and assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | February 4, 2009 |
| Oscar Moller | Activated from Injured Reserve | February 13, 2009 |
| Tom Preissing | Placed on Injured Reserve | February 13, 2009 |
| Davis Drewiske | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | February 15, 2009 |
| Oscar Moller | Loaned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) on a Conditioning Assignment | February 15, 2009 |
| Bud Holloway | Reassigned from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) to Ontario Reign (ECHL) | February 18, 2009 |
| Tom Preissing | Activated from Injured Reserve | March 1, 2009 |
| Raitis Ivanans | Placed on Injured Reserve | March 1, 2009 |
| Oscar Moller | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 2, 2009 |
| Tom Preissing | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 4, 2009 |
| Teddy Purcell | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 4, 2009 |
| Teddy Purcell | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 4, 2009 |
| Kevin Westgarth | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 7, 2009 |
| Raitis Ivanans | Activated from Injured Reserve | March 12, 2009 |
| Davis Drewiske | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 20, 2009 |
| Justin Williams | Activated from Injured Reserve | March 20, 2009 |
| Colten Teubert | Reassigned to Ontario Reign (ECHL) | March 20, 2009 |
| Kevin Westgarth | Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 23, 2009 |
| Brian Boyle | Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 27, 2009 |
| Thomas Hickey | Reassigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | March 31, 2009 |

## Draft picks

LA 's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 2 | Drew Doughty | D | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 1 | 13 | Colten Teubert | D | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 2 | 32 | Slava Voynov | D | Russia | Traktor Chelyabinsk (RSL) |
| 3 | 63 | Robert Czarnik | C/RW | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (NAHL) |
| 3 | 74 | Andrew Campbell | D | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 3 | 88 | Geordie Wudrick | LW | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
| 5 | 123 | Andrei Loktionov | C | Russia | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) |
| 6 | 153 | Justin Azevedo | C | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 7 | 183 | Garrett Roe | LW | United States | St. Cloud State University (WCHA) |