# 2002–03 Detroit Red Wings season

The 2002–03 Detroit Red Wings season was the 77th National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The Red Wings scored 110 points, winning the Central Division, but just one point behind the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference's first seed.
Coming off their latest Stanley Cup victory, the Red Wings started looking towards the future. Dominik Hasek and Scotty Bowman had retired over the summer and captain Steve Yzerman was out for the first 66 games of the regular season. The weight of the team fell on Sergei Fedorov and veteran Brett Hull, who helped the Red Wings score the most goals of any team in the regular season. As newly acquired goaltender Curtis Joseph held steady in net, two more pieces of the Stanley Cup team would be traded over the course of the year. Maxim Kuznetsov and Sean Avery left in a trade for the Los Angeles Kings' Mathieu Schneider right before the trade deadline in an effort to push the Wings towards the playoffs. However, the moves did not come to complete fruition, as the Wings entered the 2003 playoffs by finding themselves pitted against the seventh-seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks shocked the hockey world when they swept the Red Wings in four games en route to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
Three Red Wings were named to the roster for the 2003 All-Star Game: defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom, center Sergei Fedorov and head coach Dave Lewis. It was Lidstrom's seventh appearance at the All-Star Game, Fedorov's sixth and Lewis's first appearance as a coach.
The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2002–03 as 20,058 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit.

## Regular season

The Red Wings led the NHL in scoring during the regular season, with 269 goals for, and power-play percentage, at 23.82% (76 for 319). They also tied the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals for fewest short-handed goals allowed, with just four.

### Season standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 269 | 203 | 110 |
| 2 | 5 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 253 | 222 | 99 |
| 3 | 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 30 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 207 | 226 | 79 |
| 4 | 13 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 27 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 183 | 206 | 74 |
| 5 | 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 213 | 263 | 69 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 245 | 169 | 111 |
| 2 | Y- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 269 | 203 | 110 |
| 3 | Y- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 251 | 194 | 105 |
| 4 | X- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 264 | 208 | 104 |
| 5 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 253 | 222 | 99 |
| 6 | X- Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 198 | 178 | 95 |
| 7 | X- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 203 | 193 | 95 |
| 8 | X- Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 231 | 230 | 92 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 30 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 207 | 226 | 79 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 221 | 78 |
| 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 204 | 230 | 78 |
| 12 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 29 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 186 | 228 | 75 |
| 13 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 27 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 183 | 206 | 74 |
| 14 | San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 8 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 213 | 263 | 69 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Playoffs

The Detroit Red Wings ended the 2002–03 regular season as the Western Conference's second seed and played Anaheim in the first round. Anaheim upset Detroit in a four-game sweep. The Mighty Ducks would advance and reach the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2002–03 regular season :
October: 6–3–1–0 (home: 3–1–1–0; road: 3–2–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
1October 10Detroit6 – 3San JoseJoseph17,4961–0–0–02Recap
2October 12Detroit2 – 3Los AngelesJoseph18,1771–1–0–02Recap
3October 13Detroit4 – 2AnaheimLegace17,1742–1–0–04Recap
4October 17Montreal3 – 2DetroitJoseph20,0582–2–0–04Recap
5October 19Detroit5 – 3MinnesotaJoseph19,3443–2–0–06Recap
6October 21Calgary0 – 4DetroitJoseph20,0584–2–0–08Recap
7October 23Los Angeles3 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,0584–2–1–09Recap
8October 25Pittsburgh3 – 7DetroitLegace20,0585–2–1–011Recap
9October 26Detroit1 – 3NashvilleJoseph17,1135–3–1–011Recap
10October 29San Jose2 – 3DetroitJoseph20,0586–3–1–013Recap :
November: 6–4–2–1 (home: 4–1–1–1; road: 2–3–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
11November 2Detroit2 – 5OttawaJoseph18,2106–4–1–013Recap
12November 3Dallas3 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,0586–4–2–014Recap
13November 5Chicago2 – 0DetroitLegace20,0586–5–2–014Recap
14November 7Boston1 – 2DetroitOTLegace20,0587–5–2–016Recap
15November 12Nashville1 – 4DetroitJoseph20,0588–5–2–018Recap
16November 15Anaheim1 – 2DetroitOTJoseph20,0589–5–2–020Recap
17November 16Detroit2 – 1TorontoLegace19,11010–5–2–022Recap
18November 19Detroit5 – 0CalgaryJoseph16,06111–5–2–024Recap
19November 22Detroit1 – 4VancouverLegace18,42211–6–2–024Recap
20November 23Detroit1 – 1EdmontonOTJoseph16,83911–6–3–025Recap
21November 25Edmonton5 – 4DetroitOTLegace20,05811–6–3–126Recap
22November 27New Jersey2 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,05812–6–3–128Recap
23November 29Detroit4 – 6CarolinaJoseph20,06612–7–3–128Recap :
December: 10–1–4–0 (home: 7–1–1–0; road: 3–0–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
24December 1Calgary2 – 4DetroitJoseph20,06613–7–3–130Recap
25December 3Anaheim1 – 2DetroitJoseph18,50414–7–3–132Recap
26December 5Detroit5 – 3PhoenixJoseph15,18915–7–3–134Recap
27December 6Detroit3 – 3DallasOTJoseph18,53215–7–4–135Recap
28December 8St. Louis3 – 4DetroitOTJoseph20,05816–7–4–137Recap
29December 12Minnesota3 – 2DetroitJoseph20,05816–8–4–137Recap
30December 14Columbus4 – 6DetroitJoseph20,05817–8–4–139Recap
31December 17Detroit2 – 2NY IslandersOTLegace14,88417–8–5–140Recap
32December 19Dallas1 – 1DetroitOTLegace20,05817–8–6–141Recap
33December 21NY Rangers2 – 3DetroitLegace20,05818–8–6–143Recap
34December 23Detroit1 – 0ColumbusJoseph18,13619–8–6–145Recap
35December 26Columbus2 – 4DetroitJoseph20,05820–8–6–147Recap
36December 28Detroit4 – 2NashvilleLegace17,11321–8–6–149Recap
37December 29Detroit2 – 2DallasOTJoseph18,53221–8–7–150Recap
38December 31St. Louis1 – 5DetroitJoseph20,05822–8–7–152Recap :
January: 5–7–1–1 (home: 1–2–1–0; road: 4–5–0–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
39January 3Phoenix4 – 1DetroitJoseph20,05822–9–7–152Recap
40January 5Detroit4 – 3ChicagoOTJoseph21,29523–9–7–154Recap
41January 7Detroit0 – 1Tampa BayJoseph19,94123–10–7–154Recap
42January 8Detroit2 – 1FloridaOTLegace19,25024–10–7–156Recap
43January 11Detroit2 – 3PhiladelphiaJoseph19,65424–11–7–156Recap
44January 13Chicago4 – 5DetroitOTJoseph20,05825–11–7–158Recap
45January 15Detroit1 – 4ChicagoLegace21,39125–12–7–158Recap
46January 16Detroit2 – 4ColoradoJoseph18,00726–12–7–160Recap
47January 19Vancouver4 – 1DetroitJoseph20,05826–13–7–160Recap
48January 22Detroit3 – 4EdmontonOTJoseph16,83926–13–7–261Recap
49January 24Detroit5 – 2VancouverLegace18,42227–13–7–263Recap
50January 25Detroit1 – 4CalgaryJoseph18,02827–14–7–263Recap
51January 28Detroit0 – 1New JerseyLegace16,45327–15–7–263Recap
52January 30Florida2 – 2DetroitOTLegace20,05827–15–8–264Recap :
February: 7–2–1–1 (home: 5–1–1–1; road: 2–1–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
53February 4Nashville5 – 5DetroitOTJoseph20,05827–15–9–265Recap
54February 6Colorado1 – 0DetroitJoseph20,05827–16–9–265Recap
55February 8Detroit3 – 5ColoradoJoseph18,00727–17–9–265Recap
56February 10San Jose5 – 4DetroitLegace20,05828–17–9–267Recap
57February 13Buffalo2 – 4DetroitJoseph20,05829–17–9–269Recap
58February 15Detroit6 – 2AtlantaJoseph18,85730–17–9–271Recap
59February 18Vancouver4 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,05830–17–9–372Recap
60February 20Edmonton2 – 6DetroitJoseph20,05831–17–9–374Recap
61February 22Detroit5 – 1WashingtonJoseph18,27732–17–9–376Recap
62February 24Los Angeles4 – 5DetroitLegace20,05833–17–9–378Recap
63February 27Toronto2 – 7DetroitJoseph20,05834–17–9–380Recap :
March: 13–3–0–0 (home: 7–0–0–0; road: 6–3–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
64March 2Phoenix2 – 5DetroitJoseph20,05835–17–9–382Recap
65March 3Detroit3 – 2ColumbusLegace18,13636–17–9–384Recap
66March 5Tampa Bay2 – 3DetroitJoseph20,05837–17–9–386Recap
67March 7St. Louis2 – 7DetroitJoseph20,05838–17–9–388Recap
68March 9Detroit1 – 4AnaheimLegace17,17438–18–9–388Recap
69March 10Detroit2 – 3Los AngelesLegace18,34439–18–9–390Recap
70March 12Detroit2 – 3PhoenixJoseph15,81340–18–9–392Recap
71March 15Colorado3 – 5DetroitJoseph20,05841–18–9–394Recap
72March 16Ottawa2 – 6DetroitJoseph20,05842–18–9–396Recap
73March 18Detroit5 – 1PittsburghLegace13,84043–18–9–398Recap
74March 22Detroit4 – 2St. LouisJoseph19,99544–18–9–3100Recap
75March 23Detroit0 – 4MinnesotaLegace18,56844–19–9–3100Recap
76March 25Minnesota0 – 4DetroitJoseph20,05845–19–9–3102Recap
77March 27Detroit0 – 3San JoseJoseph17,49645–20–9–3102Recap
78March 29Detroit6 – 2St. LouisLegace19,95146–20–9–3104Recap
79March 31Nashville0 – 3DetroitJoseph20,05847–20–9–3106Recap :
April: 1–0–1–1 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 0–0–1–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
80April 3NY Islanders2 – 5DetroitJoseph20,05848–20–9–3108Recap
81April 4Detroit5 – 5ColumbusOTLegace18,13648–20–10–3109Recap
82April 6Detroit3 – 4ChicagoOTJoseph21,56548–20–10–4110Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals: vs. (7) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim — Anaheim wins 4–0
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 10Anaheim2 – 1DetroitOTJoseph20,058Anaheim leads 1–0Recap
2April 12Anaheim3 – 2DetroitJoseph20,058Anaheim leads 2–0Recap
3April 14Detroit1 – 2AnaheimJoseph17,174Anaheim leads 3–0Recap
4April 16Detroit2 – 3AnaheimOTJoseph17,174Anaheim wins 4–0Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 91 | Sergei Fedorov | C | 80 | 36 | 47 | 83 | 15 | 52 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 0 |
| 17 | Brett Hull | RW | 82 | 37 | 39 | 76 | 11 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 0 |
| 14 | Brendan Shanahan | LW | 78 | 30 | 38 | 68 | 5 | 103 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| 5 | Nicklas Lidstrom | D | 82 | 18 | 44 | 62 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 13 | Pavel Datsyuk | C | 64 | 12 | 39 | 51 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 40 | Henrik Zetterberg | LW | 79 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −4 | 0 |
| 8 | Igor Larionov | C | 74 | 10 | 33 | 43 | −7 | 48 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 96 | Tomas Holmstrom | LW | 74 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 11 | 62 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | Kirk Maltby | LW | 82 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 17 | 91 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 33 | Kris Draper | C | 82 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 6 | 82 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 20 | Luc Robitaille | LW | 81 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 4 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Darren McCarty | RW | 73 | 13 | 9 | 23 | 10 | 138 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| 15 | Jason Woolley† | D | 62 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 12 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| 11 | Mathieu Dandenault | D | 74 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 25 | 64 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 24 | Chris Chelios | D | 66 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 4 | 78 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| 21 | Boyd Devereaux | C | 61 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | Dmitri Bykov | D | 71 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 42 | Sean Avery‡ | LW | 39 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 120 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Patrick Boileau | D | 25 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Steve Yzerman | C | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Mathieu Schneider† | D | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 6 |
| 29 | Jason Williams | C | 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Jiri Fischer | D | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Maxim Kuznetsov‡ | D | 57 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Manny Legace | G | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Jesse Wallin | D | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Curtis Joseph | G | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 23 | Stacy Roest | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 31 | Curtis Joseph | 61 | 34 | 19 | 6 | 1676 | 148 | 2.49 | .912 | 5 | 3566 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 120 | 10 | 2.08 | .917 | 0 | 289 |
| 34 | Manny Legace | 25 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 681 | 51 | 2.18 | .925 | 0 | 1406 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy | Steve Yzerman |
| League (annual) | James Norris Memorial Trophy | Nicklas Lidstrom |
| League (annual) | King Clancy Memorial Trophy | Brendan Shanahan |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Henrik Zetterberg (Forward) |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Nicklas Lidstrom (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Sergei Fedorov |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Dave Lewis (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Nicklas Lidstrom |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Henrik Zetterberg (February) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Dmitri Bykov | October 10, 2002 |
| First game | Henrik Zetterberg | October 10, 2002 |
| 700th goal | Brett Hull | February 10, 2003 |
| 600th assist | Brett Hull | March 7, 2003 |
| 400th goal | Sergei Fedorov | April 6, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions from June 14, 2002, the day after the deciding game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 9, 2003, the day of the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Detroit Red Wings Boston's 3rd-round pick in 2002 | To Nashville Predators 3rd-round pick in 2003 |
| September 11, 2002 (2002-09-11) | To Detroit Red Wings Future considerations | To Calgary Flames Ladislav Kohn |
| November 16, 2002 (2002-11-16) | To Detroit Red Wings Jason Woolley | To Buffalo Sabres Future considerations |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Detroit Red Wings Mathieu Schneider | To Los Angeles Kings Sean AveryMaxim Kuznetsov1st-round pick in 20032nd-round pick in 2004 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02) | Curtis Joseph | Calgary Flames | 3-year | Free agency |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Derek King | Munich Barons (DEL) | | Free agency |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Michel Picard | Adler Mannheim (DEL) | | Free agency |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Bryan Adams | Atlanta Thrashers | | Free agency |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Patrick Boileau | Washington Capitals | | Free agency |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Ed Campbell | St. Louis Blues | | Free agency |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Marc Lamothe | Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) | | Free agency |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Mark Mowers | Nashville Predators | | Free agency |
| August 12, 2002 (2002-08-12) | Danny Groulx | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) | | Free agency |
| August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27) | Stacy Roest | Minnesota Wild | | Free agency |
| August 29, 2002 (2002-08-29) | Darryl Bootland | Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| August 29, 2002 (2002-08-29) | Matt Ellis | Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| October 12, 2002 (2002-10-12) | Nathan Robinson | Belleville Bulls (OHL) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 25, 2002 (2002-06-25) | Dominik Hasek | | Retirement |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Dwayne Zinger | Washington Capitals | Free agency (VI) |
| July 12, 2002 (2002-07-12) | Fredrik Olausson | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Free agency (III) |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Jason Elliott | HC TPS (Liiga) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19) | Uwe Krupp | Atlanta Thrashers | Free agency (III) |
| July 22, 2002 (2002-07-22) | Steve Brule | Colorado Avalanche | Free agency (VI) |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Ryan Gaucher | Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22) | Josh DeWolf | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 2, 2002 (2002-09-02) | John Wikstrom | Bodens IK (Allsvenskan) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 3, 2002 (2002-09-03) | Bruce Richardson | Louisiana IceGators (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 9, 2002 (2002-09-09) | Jiri Slegr | HC Litvinov (ELH) | Free agency (III) |
| October 20, 2002 (2002-10-20) | Steve Duchesne | | Retirement (III) |
| March 14, 2003 (2003-03-14) | Stacy Roest | SC Rapperswil-Jona (NLA) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03) | Chris Chelios | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 11, 2002 (2002-07-11) | Mathieu Dandenault | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Dmitri Bykov | 1-year | Entry-level |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Igor Larionov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 3, 2002 (2002-09-03) | Jiri Fischer | 2-year | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2002 (2002-09-12) | Jesse Wallin | | Re-signing |
| September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13) | Darren McCarty | 1-year | Re-signing |
| December 13, 2002 (2002-12-13) | Kirk Maltby | 4-year | Extension |
| March 28, 2003 (2003-03-28) | Brett Hull | 1-year | Extension |

## Draft picks

Detroit's picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The Red Wings were slated to pick 30th overall but traded their first pick to the Atlanta Thrashers.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 58 | Jiri Hudler (C) | Czech Republic | HC Vsetin (Czech Extraliga) |
| 2 | 63 | Tomas Fleischmann (LW) | Czech Republic | HC Vitkovice (Czech Extraliga) |
| 3 | 95 | Valtteri Filppula (C) | Finland | Jokerit (SM-liiga) |
| 4 | 131 | Johan Berggren (D) | Sweden | Sunne (SWE) |
| 5 | 166 | Logan Koopmans (G) | Canada | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
| 6 | 197 | Jimmy Cuddihy (C) | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 229 | Derek Meech (D) | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 8 | 260 | Pierre-Olivier Beaulieu (D) | Canada | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 262 | Christian Soderstrom (LW) | Sweden | Timra IK (SWE) |
| 9 | 291 | Jonathan Ericsson (D) | Sweden | Sodertalje SK (SWE) |

## Farm teams
### Grand Rapids Griffins

The Griffins were Detroit's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2002–03.

### Toledo Storm

The Storm were the Red Wings' ECHL affiliate for the 2002–03 season.