2008–09 Ottawa Senators season
| 2008–09 Ottawa Senators | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Northeast |
| Conference | 11th Eastern |
| 2008–09 record | 36–35–11 |
| Home record | 22–12–7 |
| Road record | 14–23–4 |
| Goals for | 217 |
| Goals against | 237 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Bryan Murray |
| Coach |
Craig Hartsburg (Oct-Feb) Cory Clouston (Feb-Apr) |
| Captain | Daniel Alfredsson |
| Alternate captains |
Dany Heatley Chris Phillips |
| Arena | Scotiabank Place |
| Average attendance | Total: 763,298 (40 home games) Average: 19,081 Capacity: 99.6% |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Dany Heatley (39) |
| Assists | Daniel Alfredsson (50) |
| Points | Daniel Alfredsson (74) |
| Penalties in minutes | Chris Neil (146) |
| Plus/minus | Daniel Alfredsson (+7) |
| Wins | Alex Auld, Brian Elliott (16) |
| Goals against average | Alex Auld (2.47) |
The 2008–09 Ottawa Senators season was the Senators' 17th NHL season (16th season of play). The team started the season with a new head coach, Craig Hartsburg, and numerous personnel changes after narrowly making the playoffs in 2007–08. However, the team had a losing record under the new coach and he was fired in February, replaced by Binghamton Senators' Head Coach Cory Clouston. The team improved its record under Clouston, but not enough to qualify for the playoffs, ending an 11-year string of qualifying for the playoffs.
It was an off-season of numerous personnel changes. Wade Redden, a long-time Senator, accepted a contract with the New York Rangers. Ray Emery and Brian McGrattan, considered poor influences in the dressing room, were discarded. The Senators re-signed forwards Shean Donovan, Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette and made several free agent signings, including Alex Auld, Jarkko Ruutu and Jason Smith. After an extended period of negotiations with Andrej Meszaros failed to produce an agreement, the Tampa Bay Lightning showed interest in the defenceman, who was a restricted free agent. Unable to provide the draft picks needed to compensate the Senators, a trade was made and the Senators received Filip Kuba, Alex Picard and a first-round pick in the 2009 Draft from Tampa Bay.
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