# 2002–03 Ottawa Senators season

The 2002–03 Ottawa Senators season was the 11th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season saw the Senators reach the highest point in the playoffs until the 2006–07 season. They were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils, the eventual Stanley Cup winning team in the Eastern Conference final. On top of their larger success, with their total 113 points they won the Presidents' Trophy, the Northeast Division title and the Eastern Conference title.
After their long history of debt problems, the Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003. They continued regular season play after receiving emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, they had a successful year, compared to their early day woes. The Presidents' Trophy awarded to the Senators made them the first Canadian team to win it since the Calgary Flames in their championship season of 1989, and the first Eastern Conference team to win it since the New York Rangers' title in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. In the playoffs, they defeated their former teammate Alexei Yashin and his New York Islanders, then the Philadelphia Flyers before coming within one game of making it into the Finals, falling to the New Jersey Devils.

## Offseason

General manager Marshall Johnston resigned and was replaced by John Muckler on July 1, 2002. Muckler had been a candidate for the positions of Ottawa head coach or GM back in 1992, but had chosen to sign on with the Buffalo Sabres instead.

## Regular season

Right winger Marian Hossa led Ottawa in scoring, just eclipsing Yashin's previous record of 44 goals. Without the goaltending issues that had plagued Senators teams of the past, Patrick Lalime showed one of his best seasons, with career bests in goals against average (GAA) and wins.
After a slow start to the season after an even .500 ratio, the Senators turned around their game with a ten-game unbeaten streak. Fans were concerned whether their start was due to off-ice problems. These worries, however, were soon irrelevant to fans when the Senators again clinched a playoff berth. Before the playoffs, the Senators addressed toughness concerns through separate trades to the Buffalo Sabres for grinders Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray respectively, plus two-way forward Bryan Smolinski from the Los Angeles Kings.

### Division standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 52 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 263 | 182 | 113 |
| 2 | 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 44 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 236 | 208 | 98 |
| 3 | 7 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 36 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 245 | 237 | 87 |
| 4 | 10 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 30 | 35 | 8 | 9 | 206 | 234 | 77 |
| 5 | 12 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 27 | 37 | 10 | 8 | 190 | 219 | 72 |
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 | P- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 263 | 182 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 216 | 166 | 108 |
| 3 | Y- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 219 | 210 | 93 |
| 4 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 211 | 166 | 107 |
| 5 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 44 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 236 | 208 | 98 |
| 6 | X- Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 39 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 224 | 220 | 92 |
| 7 | X- Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 36 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 245 | 237 | 87 |
| 8 | X- New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 35 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 224 | 231 | 83 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 32 | 36 | 10 | 4 | 210 | 231 | 78 |
| 10 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 30 | 35 | 8 | 9 | 206 | 234 | 77 |
| 11 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 31 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 226 | 284 | 74 |
| 12 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 27 | 37 | 10 | 8 | 190 | 219 | 72 |
| 13 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 24 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 176 | 237 | 70 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 27 | 44 | 6 | 5 | 189 | 255 | 65 |
| 15 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 22 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 171 | 240 | 61 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, the team played the New York Islanders, facing former team captain Alexei Yashin for the first time in the playoffs. Yashin played well in the first game and the Islanders won the first game at the Corel Centre 3–0. The loss by the Senators was attributed to paying too much attention to stopping Yashin and not enough on the rest of the Islanders. The Senators adjusted their play for the next game winning it and the next three games in a row to win the series 4–1.
In the second round, the team faced the Philadelphia Flyers who had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. The Senators won the series on the basis of their strong defence, holding the Flyers to only ten goals in the six games, advancing to the Eastern Conference final series against the New Jersey Devils to decide the Prince of Wales Trophy.
The first two games of the series were in Ottawa and the wins were split between the Senators and Devils. In New Jersey, the Devils won both games to put the Senators at the brink of elimination. However, the Senators came back, winning the fifth game at home and the sixth game in New Jersey to force a seventh and deciding game at home.
In the seventh game, Ottawa got out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Magnus Arvedson. The Devils would score the next two on goals in the second period by Jamie Langenbrunner. Going into the third down 2-1 the Sens tied it on a goal by Radek Bonk and dominated play in the third, when with two minutes remaining, Devils' forward Jeff Friesen deked out Patrick Lalime and shot over his leg pad, into the net, to score the series-winning goal.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2002–03 regular season :
October: 3–4–1–0 (home: 2–2–0–0; road: 1–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1LOctober 10, 20021–2New Jersey Devils (2002–03)0–1–0–016,865Recap
2WOctober 12, 20022–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)1–1–0–019,198Recap
3WOctober 15, 20022–1Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)2–1–0–013,816Recap
4WOctober 23, 20024–1Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)3–1–0–014,847Recap
5TOctober 24, 20022–2 OT@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)3–1–1–017,565Recap
6LOctober 26, 20023–5@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)3–2–1–020,812Recap
7LOctober 29, 20021–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)3–3–1–019,077Recap
8LOctober 30, 20021–4Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)3–4–1–017,987Recap :
November: 10–2–2–0 (home: 7–1–0–0; road: 3–1–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
9WNovember 2, 20025–2Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)4–4–1–018,210Recap
10WNovember 6, 20025–2@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)5–4–1–018,007Recap
11LNovember 8, 20022–3Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)5–5–1–016,926Recap
12LNovember 9, 20021–7@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)5–6–1–013,954Recap
13WNovember 12, 20025–3@ New York Islanders (2002–03)6–6–1–012,659Recap
14WNovember 14, 20023–2 OTFlorida Panthers (2002–03)7–6–1–013,323Recap
15WNovember 16, 20024–1Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)8–6–1–015,298Recap
16TNovember 19, 20024–4 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)8–6–2–011,044Recap
17WNovember 21, 20023–2Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)9–6–2–016,010Recap
18WNovember 23, 20025–2Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)10–6–2–015,684Recap
19WNovember 25, 20022–0Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)11–6–2–018,035Recap
20TNovember 27, 20022–2 OT@ New York Islanders (2002–03)11–6–3–014,887Recap
21WNovember 29, 20026–2@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)12–6–3–015,822Recap
22WNovember 30, 20024–2New York Islanders (2002–03)13–6–3–015,121Recap :
December: 10–3–2–0 (home: 4–1–1–0; road: 6–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
23LDecember 4, 20020–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)13–7–3–012,137Recap
24TDecember 5, 20022–2 OT@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)13–7–4–017,189Recap
25WDecember 7, 20025–2Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)14–7–4–015,328Recap
26WDecember 10, 20024–2@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)15–7–4–09,966Recap
27WDecember 12, 20025–2@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)16–7–4–011,893Recap
28WDecember 14, 20024–3 OTNew Jersey Devils (2002–03)17–7–4–017,284Recap
29LDecember 16, 20022–3Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)17–8–4–016,807Recap
30WDecember 18, 20023–0@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)18–8–4–011,876Recap
31WDecember 19, 20029–3San Jose Sharks (2002–03)19–8–4–014,848Recap
32WDecember 21, 20023–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)20–8–4–019,543Recap
33TDecember 23, 20022–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2002–03)20–8–5–017,787Recap
34WDecember 26, 20023–2@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)21–8–5–012,677Recap
35WDecember 27, 20023–2 OTMontreal Canadiens (2002–03)22–8–5–018,500Recap
36LDecember 30, 20022–3@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)22–9–5–011,584Recap
37WDecember 31, 20026–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)23–9–5–014,452Recap :
January: 9–5–1–1 (home: 5–0–0–1; road: 4–5–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
38WJanuary 2, 20038–1Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)24–9–5–018,026Recap
39OTLJanuary 4, 20031–2 OTBuffalo Sabres (2002–03)24–9–5–116,406Recap
40WJanuary 6, 20035–2@ New York Rangers (2002–03)25–9–5–118,200Recap
41LJanuary 8, 20034–6@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)25–10–5–118,422Recap
42WJanuary 9, 20031–0@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)26–10–5–116,058Recap
43WJanuary 11, 20032–0@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)27–10–5–116,839Recap
44WJanuary 14, 20037–0Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)28–10–5–118,500Recap
45WJanuary 16, 20033–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)29–10–5–118,034Recap
46WJanuary 18, 20035–2Washington Capitals (2002–03)30–10–5–118,500Recap
47LJanuary 20, 20032–6@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)30–11–5–112,022Recap
48WJanuary 22, 20032–1@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)31–11–5–113,944Recap
49TJanuary 23, 20033–3 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)31–11–6–110,805Recap
50WJanuary 25, 20034–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (2002–03)32–11–6–118,241Recap
51LJanuary 27, 20033–5@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)32–12–6–118,532Recap
52LJanuary 29, 20032–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)32–13–6–113,230Recap
53LJanuary 30, 20030–3@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)32–14–6–116,518Recap :
February: 8–3–1–0 (home: 5–2–1–0; road: 3–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
54WFebruary 5, 20035–3@ New York Rangers (2002–03)33–14–6–118,200Recap
55TFebruary 6, 20032–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2002–03)33–14–7–116,599Recap
56WFebruary 8, 20033–1Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)34–14–7–118,371Recap
57WFebruary 12, 20033–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)35–14–7–114,197Recap
58WFebruary 13, 20032–0Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)36–14–7–118,115Recap
59LFebruary 15, 20031–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)36–15–7–119,415Recap
60WFebruary 17, 20033–2New York Rangers (2002–03)37–15–7–118,094Recap
61WFebruary 19, 20035–3@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)38–15–7–112,298Recap
62LFebruary 20, 20033–4Florida Panthers (2002–03)38–16–7–115,250Recap
63WFebruary 22, 20034–0Nashville Predators (2002–03)39–16–7–117,971Recap
64LFebruary 25, 20030–3Minnesota Wild (2002–03)39–17–7–117,371Recap
65WFebruary 27, 20033–2 OTDallas Stars (2002–03)40–17–7–118,500Recap :
March: 9–4–1–0 (home: 4–3–1–0; road: 5–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
66LMarch 1, 20031–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)40–18–7–118,033Recap
67WMarch 4, 20034–1Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)41–18–7–118,500Recap
68WMarch 8, 20035–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)42–18–7–114,354Recap
69WMarch 9, 20034–2Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)43–18–7–118,500Recap
70WMarch 11, 20034–3 OTBoston Bruins (2002–03)44–18–7–118,230Recap
71WMarch 13, 20033–2 OTNew York Rangers (2002–03)45–18–7–118,011Recap
72LMarch 15, 20032–5New York Islanders (2002–03)45–19–7–118,349Recap
73LMarch 16, 20032–6@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)45–20–7–120,058Recap
74WMarch 18, 20036–5@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)46–20–7–116,531Recap
75WMarch 21, 20035–1@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)47–20–7–116,114Recap
76WMarch 22, 20033–1@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)48–20–7–118,613Recap
77TMarch 25, 20032–2 OTColorado Avalanche (2002–03)48–20–8–118,036Recap
78LMarch 28, 20032–3Washington Capitals (2002–03)48–21–8–118,311Recap
79WMarch 29, 20033–1@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)49–21–8–121,273Recap :
April: 3–0–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 2–0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
80WApril 1, 20033–2Boston Bruins (2002–03)50–21–8–118,500Recap
81WApril 3, 20035–1@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)51–21–8–115,784Recap
82WApril 5, 20033–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)52–21–8–119,445Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Islanders – Senators win 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesAttendanceRecap
1LApril 9, 20030–3New York IslandersIslanders lead 1–018,273Recap
2WApril 12, 20033–0New York IslandersSeries tied 1–118,500Recap
3WApril 14, 20033–2 2OT@ New York IslandersSenators lead 2–116,234Recap
4WApril 16, 20033–1@ New York IslandersSenators lead 3–116,234Recap
5WApril 17, 20034–1New York IslandersSenators win 4–118,500Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Philadelphia Flyers – Senators win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesAttendanceRecap
1WApril 25, 20034–2Philadelphia FlyersSenators lead 1–018,197Recap
2LApril 27, 20034–2Philadelphia FlyersSeries tied 1–118,500Recap
3WApril 29, 20033–2 OT@ Philadelphia FlyersSenators lead 2–119,680Recap
4LMay 1, 20030–1@ Philadelphia FlyersSeries tied 2–219,842Recap
5WMay 3, 20035–2Philadelphia FlyersSenators lead 3–218,500Recap
6WMay 5, 20035–1@ Philadelphia FlyersSenators win 4–219,454Recap :
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (2) New Jersey Devils – Devils win 4–3
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesAttendanceRecap
1WMay 10, 20033–2 OTNew Jersey DevilsSenators lead 1–018,500Recap
2LMay 13, 20031–4New Jersey DevilsSeries tied 1–118,500Recap
3LMay 15, 20030–1@ New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 2–119,040Recap
4LMay 17, 20032–5@ New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 3–119,040Recap
5WMay 19, 20033–1New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 3–218,500Recap
6WMay 21, 20032–1 OT@ New Jersey DevilsSeries tied 3–319,040Recap
7LMay 23, 20032–3New Jersey DevilsDevils win 4–318,500Recap :
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 Senators only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators 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 |
| 18 | Marian Hossa | RW | 80 | 45 | 35 | 80 | 8 | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −1 | 6 |
| 11 | Daniel Alfredsson | RW | 78 | 27 | 51 | 78 | 15 | 42 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −3 | 12 |
| 28 | Todd White | C | 80 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 19 | 28 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −1 | 6 |
| 9 | Martin Havlat | RW | 67 | 24 | 35 | 59 | 20 | 30 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 14 |
| 14 | Radek Bonk | C | 70 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 6 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 | Wade Redden | D | 76 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 23 | 70 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Zdeno Chara | D | 74 | 9 | 30 | 39 | 29 | 116 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 14 |
| 12 | Mike Fisher | C | 74 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 13 | 54 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 16 |
| 20 | Magnus Arvedson | LW | 80 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 13 | 48 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −4 | 16 |
| 22 | Shaun Van Allen | C | 78 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 17 | 66 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 12 |
| 23 | Karel Rachunek | D | 58 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 23 | 30 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −5 | 14 |
| 15 | Peter Schaefer | LW | 75 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 11 | 32 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 39 | Jason Spezza | C | 33 | 7 | 14 | 21 | −3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Petr Schastlivy | LW | 33 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Chris Phillips | D | 78 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 7 | 71 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 24 | Anton Volchenkov | D | 57 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −4 | 40 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | Jody Hull | RW | 70 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Chris Neil | RW | 68 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 147 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| 21 | Bryan Smolinski† | C | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
| 26 | Vaclav Varada† | RW | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 18 |
| 34 | Shane Hnidy | D | 67 | 0 | 8 | 8 | −1 | 130 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Curtis Leschyshyn | D | 54 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Brian Pothier | D | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Steve Martins‡ | C | 14 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Brad Smyth | RW | 12 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −2 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Joel Kwiatkowski‡ | D | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Toni Dahlman | RW | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | Patrick Lalime | G | 67 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 33 | Josh Langfeld | RW | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Dennis Bonvie | RW | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Ray Emery | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Martin Prusek | G | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Rob Ray† | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Joey Tetarenko† | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 |
| 40 | Patrick Lalime | 67 | 39 | 20 | 7 | 1591 | 142 | 2.16 | .911 | 8 | 3943 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 449 | 34 | 1.82 | .924 | 1 | 1122 |
| 31 | Martin Prusek | 18 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 415 | 37 | 2.37 | .911 | 0 | 935 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Ray Emery | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 1.41 | .923 | 0 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Zdeno Chara |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Marian Hossa |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Patrick Lalime |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jacques Martin (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Month | Todd White (December) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game | Anton Volchenkov |
| Team | Molson Cup | Daniel Alfredsson |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Anton Volchenkov | October 10, 2002 |
| First game | Jason Spezza | October 24, 2002 |
| First game | Ray Emery | January 8, 2003 |
| 25th shutout | Patrick Lalime | January 14, 2003 |
| 750th game coached | Jacques Martin | February 20, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Senators 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 New York Rangers 3rd-round pick in 20024th-round pick in 2002 | To Ottawa Senators 3rd-round pick in 2002 |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th-round pick in 2002 | To Ottawa Senators Josef Boumedienne |
| June 29, 2002 (2002-06-29) | To Atlanta Thrashers Shawn McEachern6th-round pick in 2004 | To Ottawa Senators Brian Pothier |
| September 21, 2002 (2002-09-21) | To Vancouver Canucks Sami Salo | To Ottawa Senators Peter Schaefer |
| October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01) | To Florida Panthers Jani Hurme | To Ottawa Senators Rights to Billy ThompsonRights to Greg Watson |
| December 16, 2002 (2002-12-16) | To Washington Capitals Josef Boumedienne | To Ottawa Senators Dean Melanson |
| January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15) | To Washington Capitals Joel Kwiatkowski | To Ottawa Senators 9th-round pick in 2003 |
| February 25, 2003 (2003-02-25) | To Buffalo Sabres Jakub Klepis | To Ottawa Senators Vaclav Varada5th-round pick in 2003 |
| March 4, 2003 (2003-03-04) | To Florida Panthers Simon Lajeunesse | To Ottawa Senators Joey Tetarenko |
| March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10) | To Buffalo Sabres Future considerations | To Ottawa Senators Rob Ray |
| March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10) | To Nashville Predators Future considerations | To Ottawa Senators Bob Wren |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Los Angeles Kings Rights to Tim Gleason | To Ottawa Senators Bryan Smolinski |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Shaun Van Allen | Montreal Canadiens | multi-year | Free agency |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Brad Smyth | New York Rangers | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26) | Dennis Bonvie | Boston Bruins | 1-year | Free agency |
| June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02) | Brian McGrattan | Binghamton Senators (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03) | Bill Muckalt | Minnesota Wild | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Chris Herperger | Atlanta Thrashers | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Travis Richards | Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02) | Ricard Persson | Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) | Free agency (III) |
| September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13) | Jason Doig | Washington Capitals | Free agency (VI) |
| October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01) | Kevin Grimes | Jackson Bandits (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 25, 2002 (2002-10-25) | Benoit Brunet | | Retirement (III) |
| January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15) | Steve Martins | St. Louis Blues | Waivers |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) | Joel Kwiatkowski | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Daniel Alfredsson | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Christoph Schubert | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Anton Volchenkov | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Josh Langfeld | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Sami Salo | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Jeff Ulmer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Josef Boumedienne | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Steve Martins | multi-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Petr Schastlivy | multi-year | Re-signing |
| August 8, 2002 (2002-08-08) | Radek Bonk | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 8, 2002 (2002-08-08) | Chris Phillips | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 21, 2002 (2002-08-21) | Jody Hull | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26) | Brian Pothier | multi-year | Re-signing |
| September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14) | Mike Fisher | multi-year | Re-signing |
| September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14) | Chris Neil | multi-year | Re-signing |
| September 21, 2002 (2002-09-21) | Peter Schaefer | multi-year | Re-signing |
| November 8, 2002 (2002-11-08) | Karel Rachunek | 2-year | Re-signing |
| November 27, 2002 (2002-11-27) | Billy Thompson | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02) | Brooks Laich | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02) | Jan Platil | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02) | Greg Watson | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 6, 2003 (2003-06-06) | Shaun Van Allen | 1-year | Option exercised |

## Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks from the 2002 NHL entry draft held on June 22 and June 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 16 | Jakub Klepis | Czech Republic | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 2 | 47 | Alexei Kaigorodov | Russia | Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RSL) |
| 3 | 75 | Arttu Luttinen | Finland | HIFK (SM-liiga) |
| 4 | 113 | Scott Dobben | Canada | Erie Otters (OHL) |
| 4 | 125 | Johan Bjork | Sweden | Malmö IF (Elitserien) |
| 5 | 150 | Brock Hooton | Canada | Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL) |
| 8 | 246 | Josef Vavra | Czech Republic | HC Vsetín (Czech Extraliga) |
| 9 | 276 | Vitaly Atyushov | Russia | Molot-Prikamye Perm (RSL) |

## Farm teams

* Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League)