# 2008–09 Nashville Predators season

The 2008–09 Nashville Predators season began on October 10, 2008. It was the Nashville Predators' 11th season in the National Hockey League. The Predators ended up missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002-03 season

## Regular season
### Divisional standings

Central Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 51 | 21 | 10 | 295 | 244 | 112 |
| 2 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 264 | 216 | 104 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 233 | 233 | 92 |
| 4 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 226 | 230 | 92 |
| 5 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 213 | 233 | 88 |

### 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

### Game log

2008–09 Game Log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Playoffs

The Nashville Predators failed to qualify for the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, making it the first time that the Predators missed the playoffs since 2003.

## Player stats
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jean-Pierre Dumont | 82 | 16 | 49 | 65 | +1 | 20 |
| Jason Arnott | 65 | 33 | 24 | 57 | +2 | 49 |
| Shea Weber | 81 | 23 | 30 | 53 | +1 | 80 |
| Martin Erat | 71 | 17 | 33 | 50 | -7 | 48 |
| Ryan Suter | 82 | 7 | 38 | 45 | -16 | 73 |
| David Legwand | 73 | 20 | 22 | 42 | -3 | 32 |
| Joel Ward | 79 | 17 | 18 | 35 | +1 | 29 |
| Steve Sullivan | 41 | 11 | 21 | 32 | +2 | 30 |
| Dan Hamhuis | 82 | 3 | 23 | 26 | -4 | 67 |
| Radek Bonk | 66 | 9 | 16 | 25 | -12 | 34 |
| Vernon Fiddler | 78 | 11 | 6 | 17 | -13 | 24 |
| Ryan Jones | 46 | 7 | 10 | 17 | +1 | 22 |
| Jordin Tootoo | 72 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -15 | 124 |
| Jerred Smithson | 82 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -6 | 49 |
| Kevin Klein | 63 | 4 | 8 | 12 | -2 | 19 |
| Greg Zanon | 82 | 4 | 7 | 11 | +8 | 38 |
| Ville Koistinen | 38 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
| Scott Nichol | 43 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 41 |
| Rich Peverley$^‡$ | 27 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -3 | 15 |
| Patric Hornqvist | 28 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -3 | 16 |
| Antti Pihlstrom | 53 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -1 | 10 |
| Greg de Vries | 71 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -15 | 65 |
| Cal O'Reilly | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | +2 | 2 |
| Wade Belak$^†$ | 38 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 54 |
| Nick Tarnasky$^‡$ | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 17 |
| Jed Ortmeyer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Santorelli | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Pekka Rinne | 52 | 2999 | 29 | 15 | 4 | 119 | 2.38 | 1435 | 1316 | .917 | 7 |
| Dan Ellis | 35 | 1964 | 11 | 19 | 4 | 96 | 2.93 | 963 | 867 | .900 | 3 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Predators. Stats reflect time with the Predators only. $^‡$Traded mid-season Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Patric Hornqvist | 1st NHL Game | October 10, 2008 |
| Ryan Jones | 1st NHL Game | October 10, 2008 |
| Joel Ward | 1st NHL Goal | October 10, 2008 |
| Jean-Pierre Dumont | 600th NHL Game | October 15, 2008 |
| Patric Hornqvist | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | October 15, 2008 |
| Ryan Jones | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point | October 15, 2008 |
| Jean-Pierre Dumont | 400th NHL Point | October 18, 2008 |
| Patric Hornqvist | 1st NHL Assist | October 25, 2008 |
| Jason Arnott | Franchise Single Season Goal Record (33) | April 10, 2009 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| June 20, 2008 | To Nashville Predators 4th-round pick in 2008 – Dale Weise | To St. Louis Blues Chris Mason |
| June 20, 2008 | To Nashville Predators 1st-round pick (7th overall) in 2008 – Colin Wilson | To New York Islanders 1st-round pick (9th overall) in 2008 – Josh Bailey 2nd-round pick in 2008 – Aaron Ness |
| June 20, 2008 | To Nashville Predators 1st-round pick (18th overall) in 2008 – Chet Pickard 3rd-round pick in 2009 – Taylor Beck | To Ottawa Senators 1st-round pick (15th overall) in 2008 – Erik Karlsson |
| September 29, 2008 | To Nashville Predators Nick Tarnasky | To Tampa Bay Lightning Conditional 6th-round pick in 2009 – Jaroslav Janus |
| October 30, 2008 | To Nashville Predators Hugh Jessiman | To New York Rangers Future Considerations |
| October 30, 2008 | To Nashville Predators Tim Ramholt | To Philadelphia Flyers Josh Gratton |
| November 27, 2008 | To Nashville Predators Wade Belak | To Florida Panthers Nick Tarnasky |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team | Contract Terms |
| Player | New team |
| Alex Henry | Montreal Canadiens |
| Darcy Hordichuk | Vancouver Canucks |

### Claimed via waivers

| Player | Former team | Date claimed off waivers |

## Draft picks

Nashville's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 7 (from Toronto via NY Islanders) | Colin Wilson | (C) | United States | Boston University (Hockey East) |
| 1 | 18 (from Ottawa) | Chet Pickard | (G) | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 2 | 38 (from Toronto via Phoenix) | Roman Josi | (D) | Switzerland | SC Bern (NLA) |
| 5 | 136 | Taylor Stefishen | (LW) | Canada | Langley Chiefs (BCHL) |
| 6 | 166 | Jeff Foss | (D) | United States | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC) |
| 7 | 201 (from NY Rangers) | Jani Lajunen | (C) | Finland | Espoo Blues (Finland Jr.) |
| 7 | 207 (from San Jose) | Anders Lindback | (G) | Sweden | Brynäs IF (Elitserien) |