# 2003–04 New York Rangers season

The 2003–04 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 78th season. The team finished with one of the worst records in the league and missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the seventh consecutive season despite bringing in future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr midway through the season. The team would eventually trade away most of its major acquisitions, including their long-time defensive stalwart Brian Leetch. This would prove to be the final season for team captain Mark Messier.

## Off-season

On July 1, 2003, general manager Glen Sather announced he would remain the Rangers head coach.

## Regular season

Glen Sather stepped down as head coach on February 25, 2004, to focus on his managerial duties. Assistant coach Tom Renney was named interim head coach. Sather would make nine trades between then and the March 9 trading deadline, shipping out several veteran players for draft picks and prospects.

### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
| 1 | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 229 | 186 | 101 |
| 2 | 6 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 43 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 213 | 164 | 100 |
| 3 | 8 | New York Islanders | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 237 | 210 | 91 |
| 4 | 13 | New York Rangers | 82 | 27 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 206 | 250 | 69 |
| 5 | 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 23 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 190 | 303 | 58 |
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.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 46 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 245 | 192 | 106 |
| 2 | Y- Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
| 3 | Y- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 209 | 188 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
| 5 | X- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
| 6 | X- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 43 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 213 | 164 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
| 8 | X- New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 237 | 210 | 91 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 33 | 37 | 8 | 4 | 214 | 243 | 78 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 28 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 172 | 209 | 76 |
| 12 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 28 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 188 | 221 | 75 |
| 13 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 27 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 206 | 250 | 69 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 23 | 46 | 10 | 3 | 186 | 253 | 59 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 23 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 190 | 303 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2003–04 regular season :
October: 3–3–2–0 (home: 3–1–2–0; road: 0–2–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
1October 10@ Minnesota Wild5 – 30–1–0–0Recap
2October 11@ Columbus Blue Jackets5 – 00–2–0–0Recap
3October 16Atlanta Thrashers0 – 0 OT0–2–1–0Recap
4October 18Carolina Hurricanes2 – 2 OT0–2–2–0Recap
5October 20Florida Panthers3 – 11–2–2–0Recap
6October 25Detroit Red Wings3 – 12–2–2–0Recap
7October 28Mighty Ducks of Anaheim3 – 12–3–2–0Recap
8October 30Carolina Hurricanes4 – 13–3–2–0Recap :
November: 6–5–3–2 (home: 3–2–0–2; road: 3–3–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
9November 1@ Montreal Canadiens5 – 14–3–2–0Recap
10November 2Colorado Avalanche3 – 2 OT4–3–2–1Recap
11November 4Dallas Stars3 – 05–3–2–1Recap
12November 6@ Carolina Hurricanes6 – 35–4–2–1Recap
13November 8Philadelphia Flyers2 – 1 OT5–4–2–2Recap
14November 10Edmonton Oilers5 – 45–5–2–2Recap
15November 12Pittsburgh Penguins6 – 26–5–2–2Recap
16November 15@ New Jersey Devils5 – 06–6–2–2Recap
17November 16@ Chicago Blackhawks2 – 2 OT6–6–3–2Recap
18November 18@ San Jose Sharks2 – 2 OT6–6–4–2Recap
19November 20@ Colorado Avalanche4 – 36–7–4–2Recap
20November 23Ottawa Senators6 – 27–7–4–2Recap
21November 25@ Tampa Bay Lightning2 – 08–7–4–2Recap
22November 26@ Florida Panthers3 – 3 OT8–7–5–2Recap
23November 28@ Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 19–7–5–2Recap
24November 30Toronto Maple Leafs4 – 29–8–5–2Recap :
December: 6–5–0–1 (home: 2–2–0–1; road: 4–3–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
25December 2@ Toronto Maple Leafs5 – 49–9–5–2Recap
26December 4@ New York Islanders4 – 210–9–5–2Recap
27December 7Tampa Bay Lightning3 – 210–10–5–2Recap
28December 10Montreal Canadiens2 – 110–11–5–2Recap
29December 12@ Buffalo Sabres3 – 111–11–5–2Recap
30December 13@ Toronto Maple Leafs3 – 111–12–5–2Recap
31December 18New York Islanders4 – 312–12–5–2Recap
32December 20@ Ottawa Senators3 – 112–13–5–2Recap
33December 22Boston Bruins4 – 213–13–5–2Recap
34December 26Toronto Maple Leafs6 – 5 OT13–13–5–3Recap
35December 29@ Phoenix Coyotes3 – 2 OT14–13–5–3Recap
36December 30@ Los Angeles Kings3 – 2 OT15–13–5–3Recap :
January: 4–10–2–1 (home: 2–5–1–1; road: 2–5–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
37January 1@ St. Louis Blues5 – 415–14–5–3Recap
38January 3@ Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 116–14–5–3Recap
39January 5Calgary Flames5 – 016–15–5–3Recap
40January 8@ Carolina Hurricanes3 – 216–16–5–3Recap
41January 10@ New York Islanders3 – 217–16–5–3Recap
42January 11Tampa Bay Lightning2 – 1 OT17–16–5–4Recap
43January 13New York Islanders4 – 118–16–5–4Recap
44January 15New Jersey Devils3 – 3 OT18–16–6–4Recap
45January 17@ Montreal Canadiens2 – 2 OT18–16–7–4Recap
46January 19@ Boston Bruins5 – 218–17–7–4Recap
47January 20Boston Bruins4 – 118–18–7–4Recap
48January 22Philadelphia Flyers4 – 218–19–7–4Recap
49January 24@ Ottawa Senators9 – 118–20–7–4Recap
50January 26Florida Panthers5 – 219–20–7–4Recap
51January 28Washington Capitals2 – 119–21–7–4Recap
52January 30Buffalo Sabres3 – 119–22–7–4Recap
53January 31@ Buffalo Sabres3 – 119–23–7–4Recap :
February: 4–7–0–1 (home: 2–5–0–0; road: 2–2–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
54February 2Vancouver Canucks4 – 320–23–7–4Recap
55February 4Minnesota Wild4 – 320–24–7–4Recap
56February 11@ New Jersey Devils3 – 121–24–7–4Recap
57February 12Philadelphia Flyers2 – 121–25–7–4Recap
58February 14@ Philadelphia Flyers6 – 221–26–7–4Recap
59February 16Ottawa Senators4 – 121–27–7–4Recap
60February 19New York Islanders6 – 222–27–7–4Recap
61February 21New Jersey Devils7 – 322–28–7–4Recap
62February 23Montreal Canadiens4 – 122–29–7–4Recap
63February 26@ New York Islanders6 – 323–29–7–4Recap
64February 28@ Nashville Predators2 – 1 OT23–29–7–5Recap
65February 29@ Atlanta Thrashers3 – 223–30–7–5Recap :
March: 3–10–0–3 (home: 1–6–0–0; road: 2–4–0–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
66March 2Atlanta Thrashers4 – 323–31–7–5Recap
67March 4@ Boston Bruins3 – 123–32–7–5Recap
68March 5Washington Capitals3 – 224–32–7–5Recap
69March 7Pittsburgh Penguins7 – 424–33–7–5Recap
70March 9@ Atlanta Thrashers2 – 025–33–7–5Recap
71March 12@ Tampa Bay Lightning5 – 225–34–7–5Recap
72March 13@ Florida Panthers3 – 2 OT25–34–7–6Recap
73March 15New Jersey Devils3 – 125–35–7–6Recap
74March 18@ Washington Capitals4 – 3 OT25–35–7–7Recap
75March 20@ Philadelphia Flyers3 – 025–36–7–7Recap
76March 21@ Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 3 OT25–36–7–8Recap
77March 23Pittsburgh Penguins5 – 225–37–7–8Recap
78March 25Nashville Predators4 – 225–38–7–8Recap
79March 27@ Philadelphia Flyers3 – 126–38–7–8Recap
80March 30@ New Jersey Devils5 – 026–39–7–8Recap
81March 31Buffalo Sabres4 – 326–40–7–8Recap :
April: 1–0–0–0 (home: 0–0–0–0; road: 1–0–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
82April 3@ Washington Capitals3 – 2 OT27–40–7–8Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

## 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 Rangers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 16 | Bobby Holik | C | 82 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 4 | 96 |
| 11 | Mark Messier | C | 76 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 3 | 42 |
| 27 | Alexei Kovalev‡ | RW | 66 | 13 | 29 | 42 | −5 | 54 |
| 26 | Martin Rucinsky‡ | LW | 69 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 13 | 62 |
| 2 | Brian Leetch‡ | D | 57 | 13 | 23 | 36 | −5 | 24 |
| 36 | Matthew Barnaby‡ | RW | 69 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 15 | 120 |
| 88 | Eric Lindros | C | 39 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 7 | 60 |
| 93 | Petr Nedved‡ | C | 65 | 14 | 17 | 31 | −9 | 42 |
| 68 | Jaromir Jagr† | RW | 31 | 15 | 14 | 29 | −1 | 12 |
| 37 | Jan Hlavac | LW | 72 | 5 | 21 | 26 | −8 | 16 |
| 3 | Tom Poti | D | 67 | 10 | 14 | 24 | −1 | 47 |
| 17 | Chris Simon‡ | LW | 65 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 14 | 225 |
| 23 | Vladimir Malakhov‡ | D | 56 | 3 | 15 | 18 | −5 | 53 |
| 22 | Anson Carter‡ | RW | 43 | 10 | 7 | 17 | −12 | 14 |
| 29 | Boris Mironov | D | 75 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 1 | 86 |
| 4 | Greg de Vries‡ | D | 53 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 37 |
| 21 | Jamie Lundmark | C | 56 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −8 | 33 |
| 6 | Darius Kasparaitis | D | 44 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 48 |
| 74 | Joel Bouchard | D | 28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 39 | Dan LaCouture | LW | 59 | 5 | 2 | 7 | −13 | 82 |
| 51 | Fedor Tyutin | D | 25 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −4 | 14 |
| 41 | Jed Ortmeyer | RW | 58 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −10 | 16 |
| 44 | Josh Green† | LW | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 20 | Jozef Balej† | RW | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 22 | Thomas Pock† | D | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
| 23 | Karel Rachunek† | D | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −9 | 4 |
| 47 | Mike Green† | C | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 | Dominic Moore | C | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Dale Purinton | D | 40 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −9 | 117 |
| 10 | Sandy McCarthy† | RW | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −8 | 2 |
| 25 | Garth Murray | C | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 24 |
| 15 | Chad Wiseman | LW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 34 | Jason LaBarbera | G | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 |
| 18 | Cory Larose | C | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 24 | Chris McAllister† | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 12 |
| 30 | Mike Dunham | G | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 22 | Benoit Dusablon | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 12 | Ken Gernander | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 25 | Paul Healey‡ | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Bryce Lampman | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
| 43 | Jason MacDonald† | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 19 |
| 40 | Jussi Markkanen‡ | G | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 33 | Jamie McLennan† | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 28 | Lawrence Nycholat | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 |
| 24 | Jamie Pushor† | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 20 | Pascal Rheaume†‡ | C | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 5 |
| 13 | Richard Scott | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 18 | Mike Siklenka‡ | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Layne Ulmer | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 45 | Steve Valiquette† | G | 2 | 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 |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Mike Dunham | 57 | 16 | 30 | 5 | 1522 | 159 | 3.03 | .896 | 2 | 3148 |
| 40 | Jussi Markkanen‡ | 26 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 611 | 53 | 2.56 | .913 | 2 | 1244 |
| 33 | Jamie McLennan† | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 97 | 12 | 2.96 | .876 | 0 | 243 |
| 34 | Jason LaBarbera | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 91 | 16 | 4.85 | .824 | 0 | 198 |
| 45 | Steve Valiquette† | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 6 | 3.00 | .915 | 0 | 119 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Lester Patrick Trophy | John Davidson |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jaromir Jagr |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mark Messier |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Martin Rucinsky (November 24) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Mark Messier (January 5) |
| Team | Ceil Saidel Memorial Award | Mark Messier |
| Team | "Crumb Bum" Award | Matthew Barnaby |
| Team | Frank Boucher Trophy | Eric Lindros |
| Team | Good Guy Award | Eric Lindros |
| Team | Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award | Dominic Moore |
| Team | Players' Player Award | Brian Leetch |
| Team | Rangers MVP | Bobby Holik |
| Team | Rookie of the Year | Jed Ortmeyer |
| Team | Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award | Jed Ortmeyer |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Dominic Moore | November 1, 2003 |
| First game | Jed Ortmeyer | November 15, 2003 |
| First game | Jason MacDonald | December 12, 2003 |
| First game | Lawrence Nycholat | January 20, 2004 |
| First game | Garth Murray | January 30, 2004 |
| First game | Fedor Tyutin | February 14, 2004 |
| First game | Cory Larose | February 16, 2004 |
| First game | Benoit Dusablon | March 4, 2004 |
| First game | Bryce Lampman | March 9, 2004 |
| First game | Thomas Pock | March 23, 2004 |
| First game | Layne Ulmer | April 3, 2004 |
| 1,000th game played | Jaromir Jagr | January 30, 2004 |
| 1,000th game played | Bobby Holík | February 14, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Rangers were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2003, the day after the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 2004, the day of the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 21, 2003 (2003-06-21) | To San Jose Sharks 2nd-round pick in 2003 | To New York Rangers Boston's 2nd-round pick in 20033rd-round pick in 2003 |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To San Jose Sharks Previous considerations | To New York Rangers 6th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | To Edmonton Oilers Rights to Brian Leetch | To New York Rangers Jussi Markkanen4th-round pick in 2004 |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | To San Jose Sharks Rights to Mark Messier | To New York Rangers Future considerations |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | To San Jose Sharks Nils Ekman | To New York Rangers Chad Wiseman |
| January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23) | To Washington Capitals Anson Carter | To New York Rangers Jaromir Jagr |
| January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 8th-round pick in 2004 | To New York Rangers Jamie Pushor |
| March 2, 2004 (2004-03-02) | To Montreal Canadiens Alexei Kovalev | To New York Rangers Jozef Balej2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 3, 2004 (2004-03-03) | To Edmonton Oilers Jussi MarkkanenPetr Nedved | To New York Rangers Steve ValiquetteRights to Dwight Helminen2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 3, 2004 (2004-03-03) | To Toronto Maple Leafs Brian LeetchConditional draft pick | To New York Rangers Maxim KondratievRights to Jarkko Immonen1st-round pick in 20042nd-round pick in 2005 |
| March 6, 2004 (2004-03-06) | To Calgary Flames Chris Simon7th-round pick in 2004 | To New York Rangers Blair BettsJamie McLennanRights to Greg Moore |
| March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08) | To Philadelphia Flyers Vladimir Malakhov | To New York Rangers Rights to Rick Kozak2nd-round pick in 2005 |
| March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08) | To Colorado Avalanche Matthew Barnaby3rd-round pick in 2004 | To New York Rangers Chris McAllisterRights to David Liffiton2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Ottawa Senators Greg de Vries | To New York Rangers Alexandre GirouxKarel Rachunek |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Florida Panthers Paul Healey | To New York Rangers Jeff Paul |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Martin Rucinsky | To New York Rangers Martin GrenierRights to R. J. Umberger |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Greg de Vries | Colorado Avalanche | Free agency |
| July 25, 2003 (2003-07-25) | Chris Simon | Chicago Blackhawks | Free agency |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Paul Healey | Toronto Maple Leafs | Free agency |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Brian Leetch | Edmonton Oilers | Free agency |
| August 21, 2003 (2003-08-21) | John Jakopin | San Jose Sharks | Free agency |
| August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28) | Jan Hlavac | Carolina Hurricanes | Free agency |
| August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28) | Martin Rucinsky | St. Louis Blues | Free agency |
| September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05) | Mark Messier | San Jose Sharks | Free agency |
| September 30, 2003 (2003-09-30) | Jeff Heerema | Carolina Hurricanes | Waivers |
| September 30, 2003 (2003-09-30) | Shawn Heins | Atlanta Thrashers | Waivers |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Joel Bouchard | Buffalo Sabres | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Sheldon Keefe | Tampa Bay Lightning | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Mike Siklenka | Philadelphia Flyers | Waiver draft |
| October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22) | Pascal Rheaume | New Jersey Devils | Free agency |
| November 23, 2003 (2003-11-23) | Phil Osaer | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) | Free agency |
| December 11, 2003 (2003-12-11) | Jason MacDonald | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) | Free agency |
| January 10, 2004 (2004-01-10) | Jeff Heerema | St. Louis Blues | Waivers |
| March 6, 2004 (2004-03-06) | Josh Green | Calgary Flames | Waivers |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | Mike Green | Florida Panthers | Waivers |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | Sandy McCarthy | Boston Bruins | Waivers |
| March 23, 2004 (2004-03-23) | Thomas Pock | University of Massachusetts Amherst (HE) | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Mike Wilson | Phoenix Coyotes | Buyout |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Vladimir Chebaturkin | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Ted Donato | Boston Bruins | Free agency (III) |
| August 6, 2003 (2003-08-06) | John Tripp | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (VI) |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | Sandy McCarthy | Boston Bruins | Free agency (III) |
| September 4, 2003 (2003-09-04) | Mike Richter | | Retirement |
| September 8, 2003 (2003-09-08) | Ales Pisa | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) | Free agency (II) |
| September 23, 2003 (2003-09-23) | Dixon Ward | SC Rapperswil-Jona (NLA) | Free agency (III) |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Jeff Heerema | St. Louis Blues | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Shawn Heins | Atlanta Thrashers | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Ronald Petrovicky | Atlanta Thrashers | Waiver draft |
| October 17, 2003 (2003-10-17) | Billy Tibbetts | San Diego Gulls (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 24, 2003 (2003-10-24) | Sheldon Keefe | Tampa Bay Lightning | Waivers |
| November 5, 2003 (2003-11-05) | Mike Siklenka | Philadelphia Flyers | Waivers |
| November 19, 2003 (2003-11-19) | Dave Karpa | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) | Free agency (III) |
| January 16, 2004 (2004-01-16) | Sylvain Lefebvre | SC Bern (NLA) | Free agency (III) |
| January 29, 2004 (2004-01-29) | Pascal Rheaume | St. Louis Blues | Waivers |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Dan LaCouture | | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Ronald Petrovicky | | Re-signing |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Jussi Markkanen | | Re-signing |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Richard Scott | | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | Tom Poti | 2-year | Arbitration award |
| August 13, 2003 (2003-08-13) | Alexei Kovalev | | Re-signing |
| August 18, 2003 (2003-08-18) | Anson Carter | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 3, 2003 (2003-09-03) | Boris Mironov | | Re-signing |
| September 8, 2003 (2003-09-08) | Dominic Moore | | Entry-level |
| September 12, 2003 (2003-09-12) | Jason LaBarbera | | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2003 (2003-09-12) | Lawrence Nycholat | | Re-signing |
| June 7, 2004 (2004-06-07) | Ryan Hollweg | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 12 | Hugh Jessiman | RW | United States | Dartmouth College (ECAC) |
| 2 | 50 | Ivan Baranka | D | Slovakia | Spartak Dubnica Jr. (Slovakia Jr.) |
| 3 | 75 | Ken Roche | C | United States | St. Sebastian's School (USHS–MA) |
| 4 | 122 | Corey Potter | D | United States | Michigan State University (CCHA) |
| 5 | 149 | Nigel Dawes | LW | Canada | Kootenay Ice (WHL) |
| 6 | 176 | Ivan Dornic | C | Slovakia | Slovan Bratislava (Slovak Extraliga) |
| 6 | 179 | Philippe Furrer | D | Switzerland | SC Bern (NLA) |
| 6 | 180 | Chris Holt | G | Canada | US National Team Development Program (USA) |
| 7 | 209 | Dylan Reese | D | United States | Pittsburgh Forge (NAHL) |
| 8 | 243 | Jan Marek | F | Czech Republic | Oceláři Třinec (Czech Extraliga) |

### Draft notes

* The New York Rangers' second-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a June 21, 2003 trade that sent a 2003 second-round pick and a 2003 third-round pick to the Rangers in exchange for this pick.
* $^a$ The San Jose Sharks' second-round pick went to the New York Rangers as a result of a June 21, 2003 trade that sent a 2003 second round pick to the Sharks in exchange for a 2003 third-round pick and this pick.
* $^b$ The San Jose Sharks' third-round pick went to the New York Rangers as a result of a June 21, 2003 trade that sent a 2003 second round pick to the Sharks in exchange for a 2003 second-round pick and this pick.
* The New York Rangers' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as the result of an August 20, 2001 trade that sent Eric Lindros to the Rangers in exchange for Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl, Jan Hlavac and this pick.
* The New York Rangers' fourth-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a March 18, 2002 trade that sent Pavel Bure and a 2002 second-round pick to the Rangers in exchange for Igor Ulanov, Filip Novak, a 2002 first round pick, a 2002 second round pick and this pick.
* $^c$ The Edmonton Oilers' fourth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as a result of a June 30, 2002 trade that sent Mike Richter to the Oilers in exchange for this pick.
* $^d$ The Calgary Flames' sixth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as a result of a January 22, 2003 trade that sent Mike Mottau to the Flames in exchange for a 2004 sixth-round pick and this pick.
* $^e$ The San Jose Sharks' sixth-round pick (originally New York Rangers) went to the New York Rangers as a result of a June 22, 2003 trade that sent previous considerations to the Sharks in exchange for this pick.
* $^f$ The Los Angeles Kings' sixth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as a result of a July 16, 2002 trade that sent Derek Armstrong to the Kings in exchange for this conditional pick.
* The New York Rangers' ninth-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the result of a June 23, 2002 trade that sent Krysztof Oliwa to the Rangers in exchange for future considerations (this pick).