# 2008–09 Minnesota Wild season

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

## 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.

### 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, 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 Minnesota Wild failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mikko Koivu | 79 | 20 | 47 | 67 | +2 | 66 |
| Andrew Brunette | 80 | 22 | 28 | 50 | -5 | 18 |
| Pierre-Marc Bouchard | 71 | 16 | 30 | 46 | -5 | 20 |
| Owen Nolan | 59 | 25 | 20 | 45 | +5 | 26 |
| Antti Miettinen | 82 | 15 | 29 | 44 | -1 | 32 |
| Marek Zidlicky | 76 | 12 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 76 |
| Eric Belanger | 79 | 13 | 23 | 36 | -5 | 26 |
| Marc-Andre Bergeron | 72 | 14 | 18 | 32 | +5 | 30 |
| Brent Burns | 59 | 8 | 19 | 27 | -7 | 45 |
| Kim Johnsson | 81 | 2 | 22 | 24 | -3 | 44 |
| James Sheppard | 82 | 5 | 19 | 24 | -14 | 41 |
| Marian Gaborik | 17 | 13 | 10 | 23 | +3 | 2 |
| Stephane Veilleux | 81 | 13 | 10 | 23 | -17 | 40 |
| Cal Clutterbuck | 78 | 11 | 7 | 18 | -5 | 76 |
| Martin Skoula | 81 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -12 | 10 |
| Nick Schultz | 79 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -4 | 31 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 37 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +1 | 18 |
| Dan Fritsche$^†$ | 34 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -3 | 10 |
| Peter Olvecky | 31 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +1 | 12 |
| Colton Gillies | 45 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 18 |
| Krys Kolanos | 21 | 3 | 3 | 6 | +3 | 16 |
| Kurtis Foster | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | +7 | 6 |
| Craig Weller | 36 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -3 | 47 |
| Derek Boogaard | 51 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +3 | 87 |
| Erik Reitz$^‡$ | 31 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 41 |
| Tomas Mojzis | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| John Scott | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 21 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Niklas Backstrom | 71 | 4088 | 37 | 24 | 8 | 159 | 2.33 | 2059 | 1900 | .923 | 8 |
| Josh 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 (Tyler Cuma) | To New Jersey Devils 24th pick in 2008 (Mattias Tedenby) 3rd round pick in 2009 (Alexander Urbom) |
| July 1, 2008 | To Minnesota Wild Marek Zidlicky | To Nashville Predators Ryan Jones 2nd round pick in 2009 (Charles-Olivier Roussel) |
| June 10, 2008 | To Minnesota Wild Marc-Andre Bergeron | To Anaheim Ducks 3rd round pick in 2009 (Brandon McMillan) |
| 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 | U.S. National Team Development Program (NAHL) |
| 5 | 145 | Eero Elo | (LW) | Finland | Lukko (Finland Jr.) |