2008 – 09 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 2008 – 09 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise ' s 91st , and their 81st as the Maple Leafs . The Leafs did not qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season , and have not qualified for the postseason since the 2003 – 04 season . Offseason . The Leafs faced an offseason challenge to hire a General Manager . Brian Burke was a favorite for the position held by interim GM Cliff Fletcher but Burke decided to stay with the Anaheim Ducks . He was not given permission to talk to the Leafs about their vacancy by Ducks owner Henry Samueli . Burke had one more year left on his contract as the general manager of the Ducks and those close to him say he was interested in the Leafs ' job . On May 7 , the Leafs fired head coach Paul Maurice , along with two assistant coaches after missing the playoffs in back - to - back seasons . On May 8 , the Leafs asked the Vancouver Canucks permission to speak to Dave Nonis about hiring him for a position with the club . In mid - May , there were rumours that Wayne Gretzky was in the running for a position with the Maple Leafs . Gretzky responded to the rumours linking him to the Toronto Maple Leafs by stating that his focus was on the Phoenix Coyotes and developing their young talent . On June 10 , Ron Wilson was hired as the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs . Wilson was fired in May by San Jose after the Sharks lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round of the NHL playoffs . Wilson has also coached the Anaheim Ducks and the Washington Capitals . The former U . S . college player spent parts of three NHL seasons with the Leafs in the 1970s . The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Al Coates as their player - personnel director on June 16 . Coates comes to Toronto after spending the previous six seasons with Anaheim . Coates has spent more than 30 years in pro hockey and has been part of two Stanley Cup - winning teams ( ' 07 with Anaheim and ' 89 with Calgary ) . The move perpetuated speculation that Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke will become the Leafs ' GM once his deal with the Ducks expires in 2009 , but this speculation is premature . New head coach Ron Wilson played hockey with Burke at Providence , but this is largely considered moot and mildly coincidental . Former NHL star Joe Nieuwendyk was named as general manager Cliff Fletcher ' s special assistant on July 8 . While playing for the Florida Panthers , Nieuwendyk gained experience as a special consultant to GM Jacques Martin . Throughout the offseason , the Maple Leafs have been involved in numerous transactions . On June 24 , the Toronto Maple Leafs put Goaltender Andrew Raycroft and Forward Kyle Wellwood on waivers . Also , interim GM Cliff Fletcher informed Darcy Tucker that he is to be bought out of his three - year contract ; however , it was not official until June 25 . The Maple Leafs bought out goaltender Andrew Raycroft on June 28 , making him eligible for free agency on July 1 . When the free agent signing period began on July 1 , Toronto signed - on defenceman Jeff Finger ; goaltender Curtis Joseph to back up current starting goaltender Vesa Toskala , and former Dallas Stars forward Niklas Hagman . Another transaction was made on July 3 , as Cliff Fletcher was busy again as he traded for former Montreal Canadiens forward Mikhail Grabovski in exchange for the rights to Greg Pateryn and a second round draft choice in 2010 . The Leafs also re - signed forwards Dominic Moore , John Mitchell , and Greg Scott . On July 14 , the Maple Leafs acquired forward Ryan Hollweg in a trade with the New York Rangers for a 5th round draft pick in 2009 . Regular season . With a young roster , the Leafs were expected to have a lacklustre season . This proved to be correct , as they fell out of the playoff race relatively early and showed little sign of recovery . However , they showed signs of improvement in February and March 2009 , during which they had a remarkable stretch of seven consecutive games which went to overtime . The Leafs lost the first two in shootouts then won four in a row with two overtime wins and two shootout wins , followed by an overtime loss . In November 2008 , Brian Burke obtained his release from the Anaheim Ducks and joined the Leafs as President and General Manager . The Leafs were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on March 31 , 2009 , with six games remaining in the season . Playoffs . The Toronto Maple Leafs failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs . If the Leafs had qualified for the playoffs , it would have been their first qualification since the 2003 – 04 NHL season . Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / − = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; GAA = Goals Against Average ; SA = Shots Against ; SV = Saves ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; SO = Shutouts " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Maple Leafs . Stats reflect time with Maple Leafs only . Traded mid - season . Bold / italics denotes franchise record . Transactions . On October 6 , the team placed Mark Bell on waivers . Draft picks . Toronto ' s picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa , Ontario .