# 2008–09 New York Islanders season

The 2008–09 New York Islanders season was the 37th season in franchise history. On April 14, 2009, the Islanders won the NHL draft lottery to receive the first overall draft pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft.

## Regular season

Captain Bill Guerin was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in March. The captaincy was left vacant for the rest of the season.

### 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

## Schedule and results

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

## Playoffs

The New York Islanders did not qualify for the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mark Streit | 74 | 16 | 40 | 56 | +5 | 62 |
| Kyle Okposo | 65 | 18 | 21 | 39 | -6 | 36 |
| Doug Weight | 53 | 10 | 28 | 38 | -15 | 55 |
| Bill Guerin$^‡$ | 61 | 16 | 20 | 36 | -15 | 63 |
| Frans Nielsen | 59 | 9 | 24 | 33 | -4 | 18 |
| Richard Park | 71 | 14 | 17 | 31 | -13 | 34 |
| Trent Hunter | 55 | 14 | 17 | 31 | -8 | 41 |
| Andy Hilbert | 67 | 11 | 16 | 27 | -3 | 22 |
| Blake Comeau | 53 | 7 | 18 | 25 | -17 | 32 |
| Josh Bailey | 68 | 7 | 18 | 25 | -14 | 16 |
| Sean Bergenheim | 59 | 15 | 9 | 24 | -2 | 64 |
| Mike Comrie$^‡$ | 41 | 7 | 13 | 20 | -8 | 26 |
| Bruno Gervais | 69 | 3 | 16 | 19 | -15 | 33 |
| Chris Campoli$^‡$ | 51 | 6 | 11 | 17 | -20 | 43 |
| Jon Sim | 49 | 9 | 6 | 15 | -12 | 42 |
| Jeff Tambellini | 65 | 7 | 8 | 15 | -20 | 32 |
| Tim Jackman | 69 | 5 | 7 | 12 | -17 | 155 |
| Andy Sutton | 23 | 2 | 8 | 10 | +3 | 40 |
| Radek Martinek | 51 | 6 | 4 | 10 | -16 | 28 |
| Dean McAmmond$^†$ | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +5 | 8 |
| Brendan Witt | 65 | 0 | 9 | 9 | -34 | 94 |
| Freddy Meyer | 27 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -19 | 14tw |
| Jack Hillen | 40 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -9 | 16 |
| Mike Iggulden | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
| Nate Thompson | 43 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -11 | 49 |
| Thomas Pock | 59 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -17 | 35 |
| Jesse Joensuu | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| Mike Sillinger | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
| Joe Callahan | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +5 | 4 |
| Jeremy Colliton | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 2 |
| Kurtis McLean | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| Trevor Smith | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| Joel Rechlicz | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 68 |
| Mitch Fritz | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 42 |
| Ben Walter | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Brett Skinner | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 4 |
| Andrew MacDonald | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 2 |
| Jamie Fraser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Bentivoglio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Joey MacDonald | 49 | 2792 | 14 | 26 | 6 | 157 | 3.37 | 1584 | 1427 | .901 | 1 |
| Yann Danis | 31 | 1760 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 84 | 2.86 | 933 | 849 | .910 | 2 |
| Rick DiPietro | 5 | 256 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 3.52 | 139 | 124 | .892 | 0 |
| Peter Mannino | 3 | 133 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4.51 | 87 | 77 | .885 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Islanders. Stats reflect time with Islanders only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Islanders only.
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Sean Bergenheim | 100th NHL PIM | October 13, 2008 |
| Doug Weight | 900th NHL PIM | October 23, 2008 |
| Brett Skinner | 1st NHL Game | October 27, 2008 |
| Mitch Fritz | 1st NHL Game | October 30, 2008 |
| Jon Sim | 100th NHL Point | November 1, 2008 |
| Nate Thompson | 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | November 4, 2008 |
| Richard Park | 200th NHL PIM | November 6, 2008 |
| Josh Bailey | 1st NHL Game | November 11, 2008 |
| Josh Bailey | 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point | November 13, 2008 |
| Andy Sutton | 500th NHL Game | November 17, 2008 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| June 20, 2008 | To New York Islanders 1st-round pick (7th overall) in 2008 Two conditional picks | To Toronto Maple Leafs 1st-round pick (5th overall) in 2008 |
| June 20, 2008 | To New York Islanders 1st-round pick (9th overall) in 2008 2nd-round pick (40th overall) in 2008 | To Nashville Predators 1st-round pick (7th overall) in 2008 |
| January 13, 2009 | To New York Islanders Junior Lessard | To Atlanta Thrashers Brett Skinner |
| February 22, 2009 | To New York Islanders Dean McAmmond 1st-round pick in 2009 | To Ottawa Senators Chris Campoli Mike Comrie |
| March 4, 2009 | To New York Islanders Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2009 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Bill Guerin |
* ↑ Condition satisfied.

### Free agents

| Player | Former team | Contract Terms |
| Doug Weight | Anaheim Ducks | 1 year, $1,750,000 |
| Mark Streit | Montreal Canadiens | 5 years, $20,500,000 |
| Player | New team |
| Ruslan Fedotenko | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Miroslav Satan | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Aaron Johnson | Chicago Blackhawks |

### Claimed from waivers

| Player | Former team | Date claimed off waivers |
| Thomas Pock | New York Rangers | September 29, 2008 |

## Draft picks

The Islanders picks at the 2008 NHL entry draft in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 9 | Josh Bailey | C | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 2 | 36 | Corey Trivino | C | Canada | Stouffville Spirit (OPJHL) |
| 2 | 40 | Aaron Ness | D | United States | Roseau High School (USHS-MN) |
| 2 | 53 | Travis Hamonic | D | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 3 | 66 | David Toews | C | Canada | Shattuck-Saint Mary's (USHS-MN) |
| 3 | 72 | Jyri Niemi | D | Finland | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 3 | 73 | Kirill Petrov | RW | Russia | Ak Bars Kazan (Russia) |
| 4 | 96 | Matt Donovan | D | United States | Cedar Rapids (USHL) |
| 4 | 102 | David Ullstrom | W | Sweden | HV71 (Sweden) |
| 5 | 126 | Kevin Poulin | G | Canada | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 148 | Matt Martin | LW | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 6 | 156 | Jared Spurgeon | D | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 6 | 175 | Justin DiBenedetto | C | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |

## Farm teams

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL, and the Odessa Jackalopes of the Central Hockey League are the Islanders' minor league affiliates for the 2008–09 season.