# 2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 42nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

## Regular season

The Flyers began the 2008–09 season by naming Mike Richards the 17th captain in Flyers history on September 17, with Jason Smith headed to the Ottawa Senators as a free agent. The Flyers were looking to build on the success of the previous season, but instead got off to an 0–3–3 start which became indicative of the season ahead. Despite a solid December and January, and finishing with four points more than the year before, for the most part the 2008–09 Flyers were an inconsistent unit, playing at the top of their ability one night while subpar the next. Defenseman Derian Hatcher missed the entire regular season and playoffs with a knee injury, and Steve Downie was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Matt Carle. Two pleasant surprises were the emergence of rookie center Claude Giroux and defenseman Luca Sbisa, who was drafted by the Flyers in June with the 19th overall pick acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for R. J. Umberger, the victim of a salary cap crunch. Scottie Upshall also found himself the victim of such a crunch, traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for Daniel Carcillo at the trade deadline.
Despite holding on to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference for much of the season, due to a 4–5–1 finish to the season, highlighted by a home loss to the New York Rangers on the last day of the regular season, the Flyers slipped to the fifth seed and lost home-ice advantage in their first round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Flyers finished the regular season having scored the most shorthanded goals in the NHL, with 16, and having allowed the fewest shorthanded goals, with just one.

### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 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

## Playoffs

Pittsburgh dominated the Flyers in Game 1, and despite a better effort by the Flyers in Game 2, Pittsburgh came to Philadelphia with a 2–0 series lead. The Flyers were the better team in Games 3 and 4, but Pittsburgh gained a split in Philadelphia and took a 3–1 series lead. After a decisive 3–0 win in Game 5, the Flyers jumped out to a 3–0 lead in Game 6, but promptly fell victim to the inconsistencies that plagued the team all season and gave up five unanswered goals in a season-ending 5–3 loss.

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

2008 preseason :
Preseason: 4–5–0 (home: 4–0–0; road: 0–5–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreAttendanceRecordRef
1September 22New Jersey Devils4–117,1081–0–0
2September 24@ Ottawa Senators1–317,0381–1–0
3September 25New York Islanders4–57,7062–1–0
4September 27Carolina Hurricanes4–217,7003–1–0
5September 28@ Carolina Hurricanes0–111,2653–2–0
6October 1Washington Capitals2–117,5234–2–0
7October 3@ Washington Capitals1–514,8644–3–0
8October 4@ New Jersey Devils0–19,5584–4–0
9October 7@ Philadelphia Phantoms2–417,0774–5–0
Notes:
$^a$ Game played at John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario.
$^b$ Game played at Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Regular season

2008–09 regular season :
October: 4–3–3, 11 points (home: 2–2–1; road: 2–1–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 11NY Rangers4–3PhiladelphiaBiron19,6230–1–00Recap
2October 13Montreal5–3PhiladelphiaBiron19,3230–2–00Recap
3October 14Philadelphia2–3PittsburghOTNiittymaki16,9650–2–11Recap
4October 16Philadelphia2–5ColoradoBiron18,0070–3–11Recap
5October 18Philadelphia4–5San JoseOTNiittymaki17,4960–3–22Recap
6October 22San Jose7–6PhiladelphiaSOBiron19,0720–3–33Recap
7October 24Philadelphia6–3New JerseyBiron15,5291–3–35Recap
8October 25New Jersey2–3PhiladelphiaOTBiron19,6112–3–37Recap
9October 28Philadelphia7–0AtlantaNiittymaki13,2073–3–39Recap
10October 30NY Islanders2–3PhiladelphiaOTBiron18,2274–3–311Recap :
November: 7–4–2, 16 points (home: 3–2–1; road: 4–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
11November 2Edmonton5–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,4374–4–311Recap
12November 6Philadelphia1–4OttawaNiittymaki18,9384–5–311Recap
13November 8Tampa Bay2–1PhiladelphiaBiron19,4124–6–311Recap
14November 11Philadelphia3–1NY IslandersBiron13,4475–6–313Recap
15November 13Philadelphia4–5PittsburghSOBiron17,1325–6–414Recap
16November 15Philadelphia2–1MontrealBiron21,2736–6–416Recap
17November 16Atlanta3–4PhiladelphiaNiittymaki19,4377–6–418Recap
18November 21Philadelphia3–0BuffaloBiron18,2568–6–420Recap
19November 22Phoenix3–4PhiladelphiaOTBiron19,5209–6–422Recap
20November 24Dallas3–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,17110–6–424Recap
21November 26Philadelphia3–1CarolinaNiittymaki15,05711–6–426Recap
22November 28Carolina2–3PhiladelphiaOTBiron19,58711–6–527Recap
23November 29Philadelphia2–4TorontoBiron19,38711–7–527Recap :
December: 9–3–2, 20 points (home: 7–0–1; road: 2–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
24December 2Tampa Bay3–4PhiladelphiaOTBiron19,22712–7–529Recap
25December 4New Jersey3–2PhiladelphiaOTBiron19,57712–7–630Recap
26December 6Philadelphia2–1CarolinaOTNiittymaki14,06113–7–632Recap
27December 9NY Islanders3–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,03714–7–634Recap
28December 11Carolina5–6PhiladelphiaSONiittymaki19,05715–7–636Recap
29December 13Pittsburgh3–6PhiladelphiaBiron19,81116–7–638Recap
30December 16Colorado2–5PhiladelphiaNiittymaki19,21917–7–640Recap
31December 18Philadelphia2–5MontrealNiittymaki21,27317–8–640Recap
32December 20Washington1–7PhiladelphiaNiittymaki19,89718–8–642Recap
33December 21Philadelphia2–3New JerseySONiittymaki14,42618–8–743Recap
34December 23Ottawa4–6PhiladelphiaNittymaki19,57819–8–745Recap
35December 26Philadelphia1–5ChicagoBiron22,71219–9–745Recap
36December 27Philadelphia0–3ColumbusNiittymaki18,40219–10–745Recap
37December 30Philadelphia3–2VancouverBiron18,63020–10–747Recap :
January: 6–4–2, 14 points (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–3–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
38January 2Philadelphia5–4AnaheimSOBiron17,59721–10–749Recap
39January 3Philadelphia1–2Los AngelesSONiittymaki18,11821–10–850Recap
40January 6Philadelphia1–2WashingtonSOBiron18,27721–10–951Recap
41January 8Minnesota1–3PhiladelphiaBiron19,59622–10–953Recap
42January 10Toronto1–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,78723–10–955Recap
43January 13Pittsburgh4–2PhiladelphiaBiron19,87223–11–955Recap
44January 15Philadelphia1–4Tampa BayBiron15,60423–12–955Recap
45January 16Philadelphia3–2FloridaSONiittymaki17,82724–12–957Recap
46January 21Atlanta3–5PhiladelphiaNiittymaki19,76625–12–959Recap
47January 27Philadelphia2–3FloridaBiron13,90425–13–959Recap
48January 30Philadelphia6–1Tampa BayNiittymaki18,12026–13–961Recap
49January 31Philadelphia0–4St. LouisNiittymaki19,15026–14–961Recap :
February: 7–3–1, 15 points (home: 3–3–1; road: 4–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
50February 4Boston3–1PhiladelphiaBiron19,74826–15–961Recap
51February 7Philadelphia4–3BostonOTNiittymaki17,56527–15–963Recap
52February 8Philadelphia3–2AtlantaNiittymaki14,17528–15–965Recap
53February 12Ottawa5–2PhiladelphiaNiittymaki19,67928–16–965Recap
54February 14NY Islanders1–5PhiladelphiaBiron19,78929–16–967Recap
55February 15Philadelphia5–2NY RangersBiron18,20030–16–969Recap
56February 19Buffalo3–6PhiladelphiaBiron19,64231–16–971Recap
57February 21Pittsburgh5–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,99231–17–971Recap
58February 24Philadelphia4–2WashingtonBiron18,27732–17–973Recap
59February 25Los Angeles0–2PhiladelphiaBiron19,56833–17–975Recap
60February 27Montreal4–3PhiladelphiaOTNiittymaki19,88133–17–1076Recap :
March: 8–7–0, 16 points (home: 4–4–0; road: 4–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
61March 1Philadelphia0–3New JerseyBiron17,62533–18–1076Recap
62March 3Philadelphia4–2BostonNiittymaki17,02034–18–1078Recap
63March 5Calgary5–1PhiladelphiaNiittymaki19,51334–19–1078Recap
64March 7Nashville1–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,61135–19–1080Recap
65March 10Buffalo2–5PhiladelphiaBiron19,42136–19–1082Recap
66March 12Washington2–1PhiladelphiaBiron19,72836–20–1082Recap
67March 14NY Rangers2–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,83637–20–1084Recap
68March 15Philadelphia1–4NY RangersNiittymaki18,20037–21–1084Recap
69March 17Philadelphia2–3DetroitBiron20,06637–22–1084Recap
70March 20Philadelphia6–4BuffaloBiron18,69038–22–1086Recap
71March 22Philadelphia3–1PittsburghBiron17,13239–22–1088Recap
72March 23New Jersey2–4PhiladelphiaBiron19,76240–22–1090Recap
73March 26Florida4–2PhiladelphiaBiron19,63140–23–1090Recap
74March 28Philadelphia4–3NY IslandersSOBiron16,23441–23–1092Recap
75March 29Boston4–3PhiladelphiaNiittymaki19,71541–24–1092Recap :
April: 3–3–1, 7 points (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
76April 1Philadelphia2–3TorontoBiron19,34041–25–1092Recap
77April 3Toronto5–8PhiladelphiaBiron19,72742–25–1094Recap
78April 4Philadelphia3–4OttawaSONiittymaki19,55742–25–1195Recap
79April 7Florida1–2PhiladelphiaBiron19,63743–25–1197Recap
80April 9Philadelphia1–2NY RangersBiron18,20043–26–1197Recap
81April 11Philadelphia3–2NY IslandersBiron16,23444–26–1199Recap
82April 12NY Rangers4–3PhiladelphiaBiron19,64844–27–1199Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2009 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins – Penguins win 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 15Philadelphia1–4PittsburghBiron17,132Penguins lead 1–0Recap
2April 17Philadelphia2–3PittsburghOTBiron17,132Penguins lead 2–0Recap
3April 19Pittsburgh3–6PhiladelphiaBiron19,745Penguins lead 2–1Recap
4April 21Pittsburgh3–1PhiladelphiaBiron19,883Penguins lead 3–1Recap
5April 23Philadelphia3–0PittsburghBiron17,132Penguins lead 3–2Recap
6April 25Pittsburgh5–3PhiladelphiaBiron20,072Penguins win 4–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 17 | Jeff Carter | C | 82 | 46 | 38 | 84 | 23 | 68 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 8 |
| 18 | Mike Richards | C | 79 | 30 | 50 | 80 | 22 | 63 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −4 | 6 |
| 12 | Simon Gagne | LW | 79 | 34 | 40 | 74 | 21 | 42 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −4 | 2 |
| 19 | Scott Hartnell | LW | 82 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 14 | 143 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 23 |
| 15 | Joffrey Lupul | RW | 79 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 1 | 58 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Mike Knuble | RW | 82 | 27 | 20 | 47 | 5 | 62 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| 44 | Kimmo Timonen | D | 77 | 3 | 40 | 43 | 19 | 54 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 12 |
| 5 | Braydon Coburn | D | 80 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 97 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 28 | Claude Giroux | RW | 42 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| 48 | Danny Briere | C | 29 | 11 | 14 | 25 | −1 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 8 |
| 25 | Matt Carle† | D | 64 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Scottie Upshall‡ | RW | 55 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 5 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 45 | Arron Asham | RW | 78 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 155 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 |
| 13 | Glen Metropolit‡ | C | 55 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −1 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Andrew Alberts† | D | 79 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 6 | 61 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 36 | Darroll Powe | C | 60 | 6 | 5 | 11 | −8 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 23 | Ossi Vaananen‡ | D | 46 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Randy Jones | D | 47 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 47 | Luca Sbisa | D | 39 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −6 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Andreas Nodl | RW | 38 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −15 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | Martin Biron | G | 55 | 0 | 4 | 4 | | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 13 | Daniel Carcillo† | LW | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −2 | 80 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 77 | Ryan Parent | D | 31 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| 24 | Josh Gratton† | LW | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 46 | Jon Kalinski | C | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Riley Cote | LW | 63 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −7 | 174 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Steve Eminger‡ | D | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Lasse Kukkonen | D | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Antero Niittymaki | G | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Steve Downie‡ | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 51 | Jamie Fritsch† | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Nate Guenin | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Boyd Kane | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 60 | Nate Raduns | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Jared Ross | C | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | David Sloane† | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Danny Syvret | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 43 | Martin Biron | 55 | 53 | 29 | 19 | 5 | 1718 | 146 | 2.76 | .915 | 2 | 3,177 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 198 | 16 | 2.56 | .919 | 1 | 375 |
| 30 | Antero Niittymaki | 32 | 29 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 947 | 83 | 2.76 | .912 | 1 | 1,805 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL 2nd Star of the Month | Jeff Carter (December) |
| League (in-season) | NHL 1st Star of the Week | Mike Richards (February 23) |
| League (in-season) | NHL 2nd Star of the Week | Jeff Carter (December 22) |
| League (in-season) | NHL 3rd Star of the Week | Simon Gagne (November 3) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jeff Carter |
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Kimmo Timonen |
| Team | Bobby Clarke Trophy | Mike Richards |
| Team | Gene Hart Memorial Award | Scott Hartnell |
| Team | Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy | Darroll Powe |
| Team | Toyota Cup | Jeff Carter |
| Team | Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award | Danny Briere |

### Records

Among the team records set during the 2008–09 season was Simon Gagne tying the team record for most shorthanded goals in a single game on November 13. On December 20, Scott Hartnell tied the team record with three goals scored in a single period. On the season, Mike Richards tied the team record for most shorthanded goals (7) and Jeff Carter tied the mark for most game-winning goals (12). The one shorthanded goal allowed by the Flyers during the season is the fewest in franchise history.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Jared Ross | October 11, 2008 |
| First game | Luca Sbisa | October 11, 2008 |
| First game | Andreas Nodl | October 22, 2008 |
| First game | Darroll Powe | October 24, 2008 |
| First game | Nate Raduns | November 6, 2008 |
| First game | Jon Kalinski | November 21, 2008 |
| First game | David Sloane | April 9, 2009 |
| First game | Jamie Fritsch | April 12, 2009 |
| 25th shutout | Martin Biron | February 25, 2009 |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 5, 2008, the day after the deciding game of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 12, 2009, the day of the deciding game of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 6, 2008 (2008-06-06) | To Philadelphia Flyers Danny Syvret | To Edmonton Oilers Ryan Potulny |
| June 18, 2008 (2008-06-18) | To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick (196th overall) in 2008Conditional 4th-round pick in 2009 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Rights to Vaclav Prospal |
| June 20, 2008 (2008-06-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick (19th overall) in 20083rd-round pick (67th overall) in 2008 | To Columbus Blue Jackets R. J. Umberger4th-round pick (118th overall) in 2008 |
| June 20, 2008 (2008-06-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Eminger3rd-round pick (84th overall) in 2008 | To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick (27th overall) in 2008 |
| June 21, 2008 (2008-06-21) | To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 2009 | To Anaheim Ducks 7th-round pick (208th overall) in 2008 |
| June 24, 2008 (2008-06-24) | To Philadelphia Flyers Janne Niskala | To Nashville Predators Triston Grant7th-round pick in 2009 |
| June 30, 2008 (2008-06-30) | To Philadelphia Flyers Tim Ramholt | To Calgary Flames Kyle Greentree |
| June 30, 2008 (2008-06-30) | To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2009 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Janne Niskala |
| July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01) | To Philadelphia Flyers Patrik HersleyNed Lukacevic | To Los Angeles Kings Denis Gauthier2nd-round pick in 2010 |
| October 13, 2008 (2008-10-13) | To Philadelphia Flyers Andrew Alberts | To Boston Bruins Ned LukacevicConditional 3rd- or 4th-round pick in 2009 |
| October 30, 2008 (2008-10-30) | To Philadelphia Flyers Josh Gratton | To Nashville Predators Tim Ramholt |
| November 7, 2008 (2008-11-07) | To Philadelphia Flyers Matt Carle3rd-round pick in 2009 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Steve DownieSteve Eminger4th-round pick in 2009 |
| March 4, 2009 (2009-03-04) | To Philadelphia Flyers Daniel Carcillo | To Phoenix Coyotes Scottie Upshall2nd-round pick in 2011 |
| March 4, 2009 (2009-03-04) | To Philadelphia Flyers Kyle McLaren | To San Jose Sharks 6th-round pick in 2009 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01) | Sean Curry | Providence Bruins (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01) | Glen Metropolit | Boston Bruins | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01) | Nate Raduns | Worcester Sharks (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01) | Ossi Vaananen | Djurgardens IF (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 7, 2008 (2008-07-07) | Arron Asham | New Jersey Devils | 2-year | Free agency |
| September 18, 2008 (2008-09-18) | Jean-Sebastien Aubin | Anaheim Ducks | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 26, 2009 (2009-03-26) | Johan Backlund | Timra IK (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| June 10, 2009 (2009-06-10) | Ray Emery | Atlant Moscow Oblast (KHL) | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 3, 2008 (2008-07-03) | Rory Fitzpatrick | Florida Panthers | Free agency (III) |
| July 3, 2008 (2008-07-03) | Stefan Ruzicka | HC Spartak Moscow (KHL) | Free agency (II) |
| July 8, 2008 (2008-07-08) | Jason Smith | Ottawa Senators | Free agency (III) |
| July 14, 2008 (2008-07-14) | Patrick Thoresen | HC Lugano (NLA) | Free agency (II) |
| July 25, 2008 (2008-07-25) | Martin Grenier | Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL) | Free agency (III) |
| July 31, 2008 (2008-07-31) | Jaroslav Modry | HC Liberec (ELH) | Free agency (III) |
| August 21, 2008 (2008-08-21) | Rejean Beauchemin | Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 28, 2008 (2008-08-28) | Darren Reid | Hershey Bears (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| October 8, 2008 (2008-10-08) | Jesse Boulerice | Lake Erie Monsters (AHL) | Free agency (III) |
| October 22, 2008 (2008-10-22) | Martin Houle | Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 17, 2008 (2008-11-17) | Frederik Cabana | | Release |
| February 27, 2009 (2009-02-27) | Glen Metropolit | Montreal Canadiens | Waivers |
| February 27, 2009 (2009-02-27) | Ossi Vaananen | Vancouver Canucks | Waivers |
| April 7, 2009 (2009-04-07) | Jim Dowd | | Retirement (III) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2008 (2008-06-26) | Jeff Carter | 3-year | Re-signing |
| June 29, 2008 (2008-06-29) | Steve Eminger | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 2, 2008 (2008-07-02) | Riley Cote | 3-year | Re-signing |
| July 2, 2008 (2008-07-02) | Randy Jones | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 2, 2008 (2008-07-02) | Danny Syvret | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2008 (2008-07-15) | Nate Guenin | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 21, 2008 (2008-07-21) | Joffrey Lupul | 4-year | Extension |
| July 22, 2008 (2008-07-22) | Kevin Marshall | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 7, 2008 (2008-08-07) | Chris Zarb | | Entry-level |
| N/A | Scott Munroe | 1-year | Re-signing |
| October 1, 2008 (2008-10-01) | Luca Sbisa | 3-year | Entry-level |
| April 1, 2009 (2009-04-01) | James van Riemsdyk | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2008 NHL entry draft, which was held at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario on June 20–21, 2008. The Flyers traded their originally allotted second, third, fifth, and seventh-round picks in four separate trades.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 1 | 19 | Luca Sbisa | Defense | Switzerland | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
| 3 | 67 | Marc-Andre Bourdon | Defense | Canada | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 84 | Jacob DeSerres | Goaltender | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 6 | 178 | Zac Rinaldo | Center | Canada | Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL) |
| 7 | 196 | Joacim Eriksson | Goaltender | Sweden | Brynas IF (Elitserien) |

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League – Philadelphia Phantoms (Standings)

The 2008–09 season was the Phantoms' last playing in the Wachovia Spectrum and means they will move following the season. Comcast Spectacor sold the Phantoms to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh on February 4, 2009, and the new ownership has expressed interest in eventually moving the Phantoms to Allentown provided that a multi-purpose arena can be constructed there. Until a permanent new home is found for the club it will have to operate starting in 2009–10 in a temporary location. The site being given the most serious consideration for that is Glen Falls, the former home of the AHL Adirondack Red Wings from 1979 to 1999. Comcast Spectacor continued to operate the team through the conclusion of the 2008–09 AHL season and playoffs.
With Craig Berube returning to his role as an assistant coach with the Flyers, John Paddock was named head coach of the Phantoms. The Phantoms trailed the Binghamton Senators by as many as 12 points on March 14 for the final playoff spot in the East Division, but came back to overtake Binghamton and clinch the final playoff spot in the final regular season game at the Spectrum. The Phantoms final season in Philadelphia came to an end after being swept from the first round of the playoffs by the Hershey Bears.

### ECHL – Mississippi Sea Wolves (Standings)

Mississippi missed the ECHL playoffs and announced they would suspend operations for the 2009–10 season.