# 2003–04 Vancouver Canucks season

The 2003–04 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' 34th NHL season. It was the first time since the Northwest Division was created that a team other than the Colorado Avalanche won the division title.

## Regular season

The Canucks began their season with the top line of Brendan Morrison, Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. The Sedin twins continued to develop and began seeing some success initially being paired with Jason King. With their initial team chemistry, Jason King plotting 12 goals and being named NHL Rookie of the Month in November. The trio briefly formed "The Mattress Line" (Two Twins and a King). The season looked promising with the Canucks being near the top of the standings. When February came along, the Canucks narrowly defeated the Colorado Avalanche 1-0 but it came at a cost with Avalanche forward Steve Moore hitting Canucks captain Markus Naslund resulting in Naslund getting a concussion and Moore not penalized. Many Canucks vowed revenge against Moore (notably Brad May). When the two teams met again in Denver on March 3 (with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance), there were no incidents and both teams skated to a 5-5 draw. On March 8, however, in Vancouver, everything fell apart. The Avalanche jumped out to a 5-0 lead and Brad May cut the deficit to 5-2 while at the same time taunting Avalanche goalie David Aebischer after each goal. Bertuzzi made it his personal mission to go after Steve Moore and after trying (and failing) to incite him, sucker punched him and falling on top of him. Bertuzzi would be suspended the rest of the regular season and playoffs. The Canucks had some difficulty recovering from this incident and managed to win the Northwest Division on the final day of the regular season, their first division championship since the 1992-93 season.

### Final standings

Northwest Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
| 1 | 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 235 | 194 | 101 |
| 2 | 4 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 235 | 198 | 100 |
| 3 | 6 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 200 | 176 | 94 |
| 4 | 9 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 36 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 221 | 208 | 89 |
| 5 | 10 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 30 | 29 | 20 | 3 | 188 | 183 | 83 |
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 | P- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 255 | 189 | 109 |
| 2 | Y- San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 43 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 255 | 183 | 104 |
| 3 | Y- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 235 | 194 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 236 | 198 | 100 |
| 5 | X- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 41 | 26 | 13 | 2 | 194 | 175 | 97 |
| 6 | X- Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 200 | 176 | 94 |
| 7 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 191 | 198 | 91 |
| 8 | X- Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 216 | 217 | 91 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 221 | 208 | 89 |
| 10 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 30 | 29 | 20 | 3 | 188 | 183 | 83 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 28 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 205 | 217 | 81 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 29 | 35 | 10 | 8 | 184 | 213 | 76 |
| 13 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 22 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 188 | 245 | 68 |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 177 | 238 | 62 |
| 15 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 20 | 43 | 11 | 8 | 188 | 259 | 59 |
Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Playoffs
### Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (6) Calgary Flames

After splitting the first two games in Vancouver, Dan Cloutier was injured midway through Game 3 in Calgary. With backup Johan Hedberg playing in relief, Vancouver would also split Games 3 and 4 in Calgary. Alex Auld took over in goal starting in Game 5, which the Canucks lost 2-1. Facing elimination in Game 6, Brendan Morrison scored the winner in the third overtime period to force a Game 7 in Vancouver. In the series-deciding game, the Canucks found themselves down a goal and on the penalty kill in the last minute. With Auld on the bench for the extra attacker, winger Matt Cooke tied the game with 5.7 seconds left to force overtime. However, with Ed Jovanovski still in the penalty box, former Canuck Martin Gelinas eliminated the Canucks on the power play.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2003–04 regular season :
October: 7–2–2–0 (home: 5–0–1–0; road: 2–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 9, 20034–1Calgary Flames (2003–04)1–0–0–0Recap
2WOctober 11, 20033–0Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)2–0–0–0Recap
3LOctober 13, 20032–3@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)2–1–0–0Recap
4LOctober 16, 20032–3@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)2–2–0–0Recap
5TOctober 18, 20032–2 OT@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)2–2–1–0Recap
6WOctober 20, 20036–1Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)3–2–1–0Recap
7WOctober 22, 20033–2St. Louis Blues (2003–04)4–2–1–0Recap
8TOctober 26, 20033–3 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2003–04)4–2–2–0Recap
9WOctober 28, 20036–3Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)5–2–2–0Recap
10WOctober 30, 20033–1@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)6–2–2–0Recap
11WOctober 31, 20034–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)7–2–2–0Recap :
November: 7–4–1–2 (home: 4–1–0–0; road: 3–3–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12WNovember 3, 20035–1Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)8–2–2–0Recap
13WNovember 5, 20034–3@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)9–2–2–0Recap
14LNovember 6, 20032–3@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)9–3–2–0Recap
15WNovember 8, 20034–3Minnesota Wild (2003–04)10–3–2–0Recap
16LNovember 11, 20030–1@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)10–4–2–0Recap
17OTLNovember 13, 20033–4 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)10–4–2–1Recap
18OTLNovember 15, 20031–2 OT@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)10–4–2–2Recap
19WNovember 18, 20035–4 OTMontreal Canadiens (2003–04)11–4–2–2Recap
20WNovember 20, 20033–2 OTChicago Blackhawks (2003–04)12–4–2–2Recap
21LNovember 22, 20033–5Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)12–5–2–2Recap
22LNovember 24, 20031–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)12–6–2–2Recap
23WNovember 25, 20035–2@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)13–6–2–2Recap
24WNovember 27, 20033–2 OT@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)14–6–2–2Recap
25TNovember 29, 20034–4 OT@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)14–6–3–2Recap :
December: 7–3–3–0 (home: 2–2–3–0; road: 5–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26LDecember 4, 20031–4Calgary Flames (2003–04)14–7–3–2Recap
27TDecember 6, 20031–1 OTMinnesota Wild (2003–04)14–7–4–2Recap
28WDecember 9, 20034–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)15–7–4–2Recap
29TDecember 11, 20031–1 OTColorado Avalanche (2003–04)15–7–5–2Recap
30WDecember 14, 20032–1 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2003–04)16–7–5–2Recap
31WDecember 16, 20032–1 OT@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)17–7–5–2Recap
32LDecember 17, 20031–3@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)17–8–5–2Recap
33WDecember 20, 20033–0@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)18–8–5–2Recap
34TDecember 22, 20034–4 OTLos Angeles Kings (2003–04)18–8–6–2Recap
35WDecember 26, 20032–0@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)19–8–6–2Recap
36LDecember 27, 20032–6Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)19–9–6–2Recap
37WDecember 29, 20033–2@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)20–9–6–2Recap
38WDecember 31, 20034–3 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)21–9–6–2Recap :
January: 9–5–1–0 (home: 3–4–1–0; road: 6–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39LJanuary 2, 20042–4Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)21–10–6–2Recap
40WJanuary 3, 20043–1@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)22–10–6–2Recap
41LJanuary 5, 20041–2San Jose Sharks (2003–04)22–11–6–2Recap
42WJanuary 8, 20043–1@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)23–11–6–2Recap
43WJanuary 9, 20045–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)24–11–6–2Recap
44TJanuary 11, 20042–2 OTFlorida Panthers (2003–04)24–11–7–2Recap
45WJanuary 13, 20044–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)25–11–7–2Recap
46LJanuary 15, 20041–3@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)25–12–7–2Recap
47LJanuary 17, 20041–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)25–13–7–2Recap
48LJanuary 19, 20042–3Dallas Stars (2003–04)25–14–7–2Recap
49WJanuary 21, 20045–4 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)26–14–7–2Recap
50WJanuary 25, 20044–1Nashville Predators (2003–04)27–14–7–2Recap
51WJanuary 27, 20043–2Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)28–14–7–2Recap
52WJanuary 29, 20044–2@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)29–14–7–2Recap
53WJanuary 31, 20046–1@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)30–14–7–2Recap :
February: 5–5–0–2 (home: 3–3–0–0; road: 2–2–0–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54LFebruary 2, 20043–4@ New York Rangers (2003–04)30–15–7–2Recap
55OTLFebruary 3, 20044–5 OT@ New York Islanders (2003–04)30–15–7–3Recap
56WFebruary 5, 20044–0@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)31–15–7–3Recap
57LFebruary 11, 20042–3Calgary Flames (2003–04)31–16–7–3Recap
58LFebruary 13, 20041–4Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)31–17–7–3Recap
59LFebruary 14, 20041–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)31–18–7–3Recap
60WFebruary 16, 20041–0@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)32–18–7–3Recap
61LFebruary 19, 20042–6@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)32–19–7–3Recap
62OTLFebruary 21, 20043–4 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)32–19–7–4Recap
63WFebruary 24, 20044–2Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)33–19–7–4Recap
64WFebruary 26, 20043–2 OTSan Jose Sharks (2003–04)34–19–7–4Recap
65WFebruary 28, 20042–0St. Louis Blues (2003–04)35–19–7–4Recap :
March: 6–5–3–1 (home: 3–3–2–0; road: 3–2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66TMarch 3, 20045–5 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)35–19–8–4Recap
67LMarch 5, 20041–3@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)35–20–8–4Recap
68WMarch 6, 20044–0@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)36–20–8–4Recap
69LMarch 8, 20042–9Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)36–21–8–4Recap
70TMarch 10, 20041–1 OTMinnesota Wild (2003–04)36–21–9–4Recap
71WMarch 12, 20044–3 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)37–21–9–4Recap
72LMarch 13, 20041–2Ottawa Senators (2003–04)37–22–9–4Recap
73TMarch 16, 20042–2 OTNashville Predators (2003–04)37–22–10–4Recap
74LMarch 18, 20040–3@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)37–23–10–4Recap
75OTLMarch 19, 20043–4 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)37–23–10–5Recap
76LMarch 21, 20044–5Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)37–24–10–5Recap
77WMarch 24, 20041–0Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)38–24–10–5Recap
78WMarch 27, 20043–2 OTDallas Stars (2003–04)39–24–10–5Recap
79WMarch 29, 20046–1Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)40–24–10–5Recap
80WMarch 31, 20042–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)41–24–10–5Recap :
April: 2–0–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 1–0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
81WApril 2, 20044–1@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)42–24–10–5Recap
82WApril 3, 20045–2Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)43–24–10–5Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (6) Calgary Flames: Calgary won 4–3
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 7Calgary3–5VancouverCloutier18,630Canucks lead 1–0Recap
2April 9Calgary2–1VancouverKiprusoff18,630Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 11Vancouver2–1CalgaryHedberg19,289Canucks lead 2–1Recap
4April 13Vancouver0–4CalgaryKiprusoff19,289Series tied 2–2Recap
5April 15Calgary2–1VancouverKiprusoff18,630Flames lead 3–2Recap
6April 17Vancouver5–4Calgary3OTAuld19,289Series tied 3–3Recap
7April 19Calgary3–2VancouverOTKiprusoff18,630Flames win 4–3Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Canucks only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks 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 |
| 19 | Markus Naslund | LW | 78 | 35 | 49 | 84 | 24 | 58 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Brendan Morrison | C | 82 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 16 | 50 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 44 | Todd Bertuzzi | RW | 69 | 17 | 43 | 60 | 21 | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Daniel Sedin | LW | 82 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 18 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Henrik Sedin | C | 76 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 23 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Brent Sopel | D | 80 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 11 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 0 |
| 16 | Trevor Linden | C | 82 | 14 | 22 | 36 | −6 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| 2 | Mattias Ohlund | D | 82 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 14 | 73 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −6 | 13 |
| 6 | Sami Salo | D | 74 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 8 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 2 |
| 24 | Matt Cooke | LW | 53 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 5 | 73 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| 55 | Ed Jovanovski | D | 56 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 2 | 64 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 17 | Jason King | RW | 47 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Artem Chubarov | C | 65 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| 8 | Marek Malik | D | 78 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 | Mike Keane | RW | 64 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 7 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 4 |
| 21 | Magnus Arvedson | C | 41 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Jarkko Ruutu | RW | 71 | 6 | 8 | 14 | −13 | 133 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 10 |
| 10 | Brad May | LW | 70 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −2 | 137 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 6 |
| 14 | Geoff Sanderson† | LW | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −1 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| 5 | Bryan Allen | D | 74 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −10 | 94 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 71 | Jiri Slegr‡ | D | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Ryan Kesler | C | 28 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Tyler Bouck | C | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 26 | Martin Rucinsky† | LW | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 6 |
| 4 | Nolan Baumgartner† | D | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Wade Brookbank† | D | 20 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Marc Bergevin† | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Martin Grenier‡ | D | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Pat Kavanagh | RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Dan Cloutier | G | 60 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 18 | Fedor Fedorov | C | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Sean Pronger† | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Brandon Reid | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Alex Auld | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 1 | Johan Hedberg | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 29 | Nathan Smith | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 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 |
| 39 | Dan Cloutier | 60 | 33 | 21 | 2 | 1554 | 134 | 2.27 | .914 | 5 | 3539 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 64 | 5 | 2.17 | .922 | 0 | 138 |
| 1 | Johan Hedberg | 21 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 459 | 46 | 2.51 | .900 | 3 | 1098 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 4 | 2.45 | .922 | 0 | 98 |
| 35 | Alex Auld | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 168 | 12 | 2.06 | .929 | 0 | 349 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 88 | 9 | 2.43 | .898 | 0 | 222 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Markus Naslund (Left wing) |
| League (annual) | NHL Plus-Minus Award | Marek Malik |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Todd Bertuzzi |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Marc Crawford (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Markus Naslund |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Markus Naslund (November 10) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Markus Naslund (December 1) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Jason King (November) |
| Team | Babe Pratt Trophy | Mattias Ohlund |
| Team | Cyclone Taylor Trophy | Markus Naslund |
| Team | Cyrus H. McLean Trophy | Markus Naslund |
| Team | Fred J. Hume Award | Brent Sopel |
| Team | Molson Cup | Dan Cloutier |
| Team | Most Exciting Player Award | Todd Bertuzzi |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Nathan Smith | November 18, 2003 | |
| First game | Ryan Kesler | November 24, 2003 | |

## Transactions

The Canucks 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 |
| July 25, 2003 (2003-07-25) | To Vancouver Canucks Martin Grenier | To Phoenix Coyotes Bryan Helmer |
| August 25, 2003 (2003-08-25) | To Vancouver Canucks Johan Hedberg | To Pittsburgh Penguins 2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| October 30, 2003 (2003-10-30) | To Vancouver Canucks Sean Pronger | To Columbus Blue Jackets Zenith Komarniski |
| December 17, 2003 (2003-12-17) | To Vancouver Canucks Wade Brookbank | To Nashville Predators Future considerations |
| January 17, 2004 (2004-01-17) | To Vancouver Canucks Future considerations | To Boston Bruins Jiri Slegr |
| February 16, 2004 (2004-02-16) | To Vancouver Canucks Peter Sarno | To Edmonton Oilers Tyler Moss |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Martin Rucinsky | To New York Rangers Martin GrenierRights to R. J. Umberger |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Geoff Sanderson | To Columbus Blue Jackets 3rd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Marc Bergevin | To Pittsburgh Penguins 7th-round pick in 2004 |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Sylvain Blouin | To Montreal Canadiens Rene Vydareny |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Sergei Varlamov | To St. Louis Blues Ryan Ready |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Jesse Schultz | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | | Free agency |
| August 6, 2003 (2003-08-06) | Dallas Eakins | Atlanta Thrashers | | Free agency |
| September 4, 2003 (2003-09-04) | Jiri Slegr | Detroit Red Wings | | Free agency |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | Magnus Arvedson | Ottawa Senators | | Free agency |
| October 8, 2003 (2003-10-08) | Mike Keane | Colorado Avalanche | 1-year | Free agency |
| November 1, 2003 (2003-11-01) | Nolan Baumgartner | Pittsburgh Penguins | | Waivers |
| December 31, 2003 (2003-12-31) | Wade Brookbank | Florida Panthers | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 11, 2003 (2003-06-11) | Herberts Vasiljevs | Amur Khabarovsk (RSL) | Free agency (VI) |
| June 13, 2003 (2003-06-13) | Chris Herperger | Krefeld Pinguine (DEL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Trevor Letowski | Columbus Blue Jackets | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 7, 2003 (2003-07-07) | Trent Klatt | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (III) |
| August 25, 2003 (2003-08-25) | Justin Kurtz | Krefeld Pinguine (DEL) | Free agency (II) |
| August 27, 2003 (2003-08-27) | John Craighead | Nottingham Panthers (EIHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05) | Murray Baron | St. Louis Blues | Free agency (III) |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | Regan Darby | Utah Grizzlies (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| N/A | Denis Martynyuk | HC Rybinsk (RUS-2) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Nolan Baumgartner | Pittsburgh Penguins | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Darren Langdon | Montreal Canadiens | Waiver draft |
| October 15, 2003 (2003-10-15) | Darrell Hay | Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| December 19, 2003 (2003-12-19) | Wade Brookbank | Ottawa Senators | Waivers |
| April 17, 2004 (2004-04-17) | Mikko Jokela | HPK (Liiga) | Free agency |
| April 26, 2004 (2004-04-26) | Jaroslav Obsut | Lulea HF (SHL) | Free agency |
| May 26, 2004 (2004-05-26) | Dallas Eakins | | Retirement |
| June 2, 2004 (2004-06-02) | Sean Pronger | Frankfurt Lions (DEL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Jarkko Ruutu | | Re-signing |
| July 11, 2003 (2003-07-11) | Brad May | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Kirill Koltsov | | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Dan Cloutier | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Marek Malik | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Mats Lindgren | | Re-signing |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Sami Salo | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Daniel Sedin | | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Henrik Sedin | | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Nolan Baumgartner | | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2003 (2003-08-01) | Bryan Allen | | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2003 (2003-08-01) | Artem Chubarov | | Re-signing |
| August 18, 2003 (2003-08-18) | Ryan Kesler | | Entry-level |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | Tyler Moss | | Re-signing |
| September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26) | Tyler Bouck | | Re-signing |
| September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26) | Pat Kavanagh | | Re-signing |
| September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26) | Zenith Komarniski | | Re-signing |
| September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26) | Chris Nielsen | | Re-signing |
| October 26, 2003 (2003-10-26) | Todd Bertuzzi | 4-year | New contract |

## Draft picks

Vancouver's draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 23 | Ryan Kesler | C | United States | Ohio State University (NCAA) |
| 2 | 60 | Marc-Andre Bernier | RW | Canada | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 111 | Brandon Nolan | LW | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 4 | 128 | Ty Morris | LW | Canada | St. Albert (AJHL) |
| 5 | 150 | Nicklas Danielsson | RW | Sweden | Brynäs IF (SWE) |
| 6 | 190 | Chad Brownlee | D | Canada | Vernon Vipers (BCHL) |
| 7 | 222 | Francois-Pierre Guenette | C | Canada | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 252 | Sergei Topol | F | Russia | OMSK (RUS) |
| 8 | 254 | Nathan McIver | D | Canada | Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL) |
| 9 | 285 | Matthew Hansen | D | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |