The 2008–09 AHL season is the 73rd season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams each played 80 games in the regular season, which ran from October 8 until April 12.
Team and NHL Affiliation Changes[]
The Iowa Stars are renamed and are now called the Iowa Chops, and the Anaheim Ducks have replaced the Dallas Stars as the team's NHL affiliate.
The Dallas Stars have no AHL affiliate this year, with the Texas Stars (based in Austin) to become their affiliate for the 2009–10 season.
On April 28, 2009, it was announced that two teams would be relocated for the 2009–10 season: the Quad City Flames would move to Abbotsford, BC, and the Philadelphia Phantoms would relocate to Glens Falls, NY.
Affiliation Changes[]
| AHL team | New Affiliate | Old Affiliate |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa Chops | ANA | DAL |
| Portland Pirates | BUF | ANA |
| Rochester Americans | FLA | BUF/FLA |
Standings[]
Blue indicates team has clinched division.
Green indicates team has clinched a playoff spot.
Eastern Conference[]
| Atlantic Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 80 | 46 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 99 | 243 | 216 |
| Providence Bruins (BOS) | 80 | 43 | 29 | 2 | 6 | 94 | 238 | 232 |
| Portland Pirates (BUF) | 80 | 39 | 31 | 3 | 7 | 88 | 249 | 239 |
| Worcester Sharks (SJ) | 80 | 42 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 87 | 223 | 223 |
| Manchester Monarchs (LA) | 80 | 37 | 35 | 0 | 8 | 82 | 211 | 218 |
| Lowell Devils (NJ) | 80 | 35 | 36 | 2 | 7 | 79 | 213 | 243 |
| Springfield Falcons (EDM) | 80 | 24 | 44 | 8 | 4 | 60 | 188 | 258 |
| East Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hershey Bears (WSH) | 80 | 49 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 106 | 296 | 240 |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | 80 | 49 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 106 | 241 | 212 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | 80 | 49 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 104 | 274 | 212 |
| Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI) | 80 | 43 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 93 | 234 | 232 |
| Binghamton Senators (OTT) | 80 | 41 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 91 | 232 | 238 |
| Norfolk Admirals (TB) | 80 | 33 | 38 | 4 | 5 | 75 | 236 | 269 |
| Albany River Rats (CAR) | 80 | 33 | 40 | 3 | 4 | 73 | 219 | 258 |
Western Conference[]
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba Moose (VAN) | 80 | 50 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 107 | 239 | 188 |
| Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL) | 80 | 49 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 102 | 263 | 201 |
| Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) | 80 | 43 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 98 | 255 | 226 |
| Toronto Marlies (TOR) | 80 | 39 | 29 | 5 | 7 | 90 | 240 | 229 |
| Syracuse Crunch (CBJ) | 80 | 40 | 32 | 5 | 3 | 88 | 214 | 226 |
| Lake Erie Monsters (COL) | 80 | 34 | 38 | 3 | 5 | 76 | 199 | 218 |
| Rochester Americans (FLA) | 80 | 29 | 43 | 0 | 8 | 66 | 184 | 259 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) | 80 | 49 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 107 | 229 | 195 |
| Peoria Rivermen (STL) | 80 | 43 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 92 | 215 | 211 |
| Houston Aeros (MIN) | 80 | 38 | 31 | 2 | 9 | 87 | 218 | 230 |
| Rockford IceHogs (CHI) | 80 | 40 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 86 | 229 | 220 |
| Quad City Flames (CGY) | 80 | 36 | 31 | 6 | 7 | 85 | 212 | 216 |
| Chicago Wolves (ATL) | 80 | 38 | 37 | 3 | 2 | 81 | 226 | 222 |
| Iowa Chops (ANA) | 80 | 33 | 33 | 4 | 10 | 80 | 209 | 260 |
| San Antonio Rampage (PHX) | 80 | 36 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 78 | 205 | 243 |
Scoring Leaders[]
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandre Giroux | Hershey Bears | 69 | 60 | 37 | 97 | 84 |
| Keith Aucoin | Hershey Bears | 70 | 25 | 71 | 96 | 73 |
| Jason Krog | Manitoba Moose | 74 | 30 | 56 | 86 | 30 |
| Janne Pesonen | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 70 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 33 |
| Artem Anisimov | Hartford Wolfpack | 80 | 37 | 44 | 81 | 50 |
| Darren Haydar | Grand Rapids Griffins | 79 | 31 | 49 | 80 | 26 |
| Tim Stapleton | Toronto Marlies | 70 | 28 | 51 | 79 | 26 |
| Corey Locke | Houston Aeros | 77 | 25 | 54 | 79 | 60 |
| Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau | Hartford Wolfpack | 74 | 29 | 49 | 78 | 142 |
| Kyle Greentree | Quad City Flames | 79 | 39 | 37 | 76 | 63 |
Calder Cup Playoffs[]
- Main article: 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs
In each division, the fourth-place team will play the first-place team in the division semifinals, while the second-place team plays the third-place team.
Bracket[]
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Calder Cup Finals | |||||||||||||||
| A1 | Hartford Wolf Pack | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Worcester Sharks | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Worcester Sharks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | ||||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Providence Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Providence Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Portland Pirates | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Providence Bruins | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey Bears | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey Bears | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Philadelphia Phantoms | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey Bears | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Manitoba Moose | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Hershey Bears | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Manitoba Moose | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Toronto Marlies | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Manitoba Moose | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| North Division | ||||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Grand Rapids Griffins | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Grand Rapids Griffins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Manitoba Moose | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Houston Aeros | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Milwaukee Admirals | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Rockford IceHogs | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Milwaukee Admirals | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Houston Aeros | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Peoria Rivermen | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Houston Aeros | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
- A is short for Atlantic Division
- E is short for East Division
- N is short for North Division
- W is short for West Division
All Star Classic[]
The 22nd AHL All-Star Classic was played in Worcester, Massachusetts on January 26, 2009, with the PlanetUSA All-Stars defeating the Canadian All-Stars 14-11 after scoring 9 goals in the 3rd Period to come back from an 8-5 deficit. Corey Locke scored 4 goals for the Canadian All-Stars, while Jeff Taffe had a hat trick for the PlanetUSA All-Stars.
The host club was the Worcester Sharks. The 2009 event in Worcester marked the fourth time since 1995 that the AHL All-Star Classic took place in New England. The AHL All-Star Game was last held in Massachusetts in 1959 at the Eastern States Coliseum in West Springfield.
| Planet USA All-Stars | Canadian All-Stars | |
|---|---|---|
| Coach: | Don Granato (Chicago Wolves) | Bob Woods (Hershey Bears) |
| Assistant coach(es): | Jason Christie, Wendell Young (Chicago Wolves) | Mark French (Hershey Bears) |
| Starters: |
|
|
| Reserves: |
|
|
* indicates player was called up to his NHL team. ** indicates player was named to All-Star team, but missed game due to injury. † indicates player was named as a replacement due to callups or injury.
Trophy and Award Winners[]
Team Awards[]
| Calder Cup Playoff champions: |
Hershey Bears |
| Richard F. Canning Trophy Eastern Conference playoff champions: |
Hershey Bears |
| Robert W. Clarke Trophy Western Conference playoff champions: |
Manitoba Moose |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Regular season champions, League: |
Manitoba Moose |
| Frank Mathers Trophy Regular season champions, Eastern Conference: |
Hershey Bears |
| Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy Regular season champions, Western Conference: |
Manitoba Moose |
| Emile Francis Trophy Regular season champions, Atlantic Division: |
Hartford Wolf Pack |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular season champions, East Division: |
Hershey Bears |
| Sam Pollock Trophy Regular season champions, North Division: |
Manitoba Moose |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular season champions, West Division: |
Milwaukee Admirals |