The 2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 42nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers began the 2008–09 season by naming Mike Richards the 17th captain in Flyers history on September 17, with Jason Smith headed to Ottawa as a free agent. The Flyers were looking to build on the success of the previous season but instead got off to an 0-3-3 start which became indicative of the season ahead. Despite a solid December and January and finishing with 4 points more than the year before, for the most part the 2008-09 Flyers played inconsistent and looked like different teams, playing at the top of their ability one night and a subpar performance the next. Derian Hatcher missed the entire regular season and playoffs with a knee injury, and Steve Downie was traded to Tamp