2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2008–09
Team=Toronto Maple Leafs
Conference=Eastern
ConferenceRank=4th
Division=Northeast
DivisionRank=2nd
Record=1-0-0
HomeRecord=0-0-0
RoadRecord=1-0-0
GoalsFor=3
GoalsAgainst= 2
GeneralManager= Cliff Fletcher
Coach= Ron Wilson
Captain= "Vacant"
AltCaptain= Nik Antropov
Tomas Kaberle
Pavel Kubina
Jamal Mayers
Dominic Moore
Arena=Air Canada Centre
Attendance= TBD
GoalsLeader= Nikolai Kulemin (1)
Dominic Moore (1)
Pavel Kubina (1)
AssistsLeader= Jonas Frogren (1)
Alexander Steen (1)
PointsLeader= Nikolai Kulemin (1)
Dominic Moore (1)
Pavel Kubina (1)
Jonas Frogren (1)
Alexander Steen (1)
PlusMinusLeader= Jonas Frogren (2)
Nikolai Kulemin (2)
Dominic Moore (2)
Alexander Steen (2)
PIMLeader= Carlo Colaiacovo (2)
Jamal Mayers (2)
Matt Stajan (2)
WinsLeader= Vesa Toskala (1)
GAALeader= Vesa Toskala (2)

The 2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season is the franchise's 91st, and their 81st as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs will look to qualify for the postseason for the first time since the 2003–04 season.

Offseason

A challenge for the Maple Leafs will be to find a General Manager. Brian Burke was a favorite for the Leafs vacant position but decided to stay with the Anaheim Ducks. Burke was not given permision to talk to the Leafs about their vacancy by Ducks owner Henry Samueli. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/GAM.20080424.SHOALTS24/TPStory/TPComment globeandmail.com: Burke stays put, leaving Leafs in the lurch ] ] 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 [ [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080507/Leafs_fired_080507/20080507?hub=TopStories Paul Maurice fired as Leafs head coach] ] . On May 8th, the Leafs asked the Vancouver Canucks permission to speak to Dave Nonis about hiring him for a position with the club. [ [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Toronto/2008/05/08/5506096-sun.html CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Toronto - Leafs' timing questionable ] ]

In mid-May, there were rumours that 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. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=237662&lid=sublink03&lpos=headlines_nhl Gretzky's focus remains in Phoenix, not Toronto ] ]

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. [ [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Toronto/2008/06/10/5831761-cp.html CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Toronto - Wilson faces different challenge with Leafs ] ]

The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Al Coates as their player-personnel director on Monday, June 16. [ [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Toronto/2008/06/16/5893916-cp.html CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Toronto - Leafs hire Al Coates ] ] 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. [ [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Toronto/2008/07/09/6107731-sun.html CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Toronto - Nieuwendyk brought in as GM's right-hand man ] ] 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. [ [http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=366888 Toronto Maple Leafs - Mike Ulmer's Blog: Leafs Begin Promised Overhaul - 06/24/2008 ] ] Also, Interim GM Cliff Fletcher informed Darcy Tucker that he is to be bought out of his three-year contract, however it will not be official until June 25th. [ [http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=366920 Toronto Maple Leafs - News: Maple Leafs To Buy Out Tucker - 06/24/2008 ] ]

The Maple Leafs bought out goaltender Andrew Raycroft on June 28th, making him eligible for free agency on July 1st. When the free agent signing period began on July 1st, the Toronto Maple Leafs 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 3rd, 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 2nd round draft choice in 2010. The Leafs also resigned 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

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Game log