# 2002–03 Washington Capitals season

The 2002–03 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals 29th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Off-season

Head coach Ron Wilson was fired on May 10. The Capitals named Bruce Cassidy their new head coach on June 25. Steve Konowalchuk was named the team’s lone captain while Brendan Witt, who was co-captain of the team in 2001–02 with Konowalchuk, remained one of four alternate captains.

## Regular season

The Capitals tied the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils for the fewest short-handed goals allowed, with just four.
On January 11, 2003, the Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers at home by a score of 12–2. Jaromir Jagr had seven points in the game (three goals, four assists). It was the first time that an NHL team had scored ten goals in a game since March 30, 2002, when the San Jose Sharks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets at home by a score of 10–2. Furthermore, it was the first time that the Capitals had scored ten goals in a regular-season game since February 3, 1999, when they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning at home by a score of 10–1.

### Final standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 219 | 210 | 93 |
| 2 | 6 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 39 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 224 | 220 | 92 |
| 3 | 11 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 31 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 226 | 284 | 74 |
| 4 | 13 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 24 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 176 | 237 | 70 |
| 5 | 15 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 22 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 171 | 240 | 61 |
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

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2002–03 regular season :
October: 4–5–1–0 (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 3–4–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 11, 20025–4Nashville Predators (2002–03)1–0–0–0Recap
2WOctober 12, 20022–1@ New York Islanders (2002–03)2–0–0–0Recap
3WOctober 17, 20022–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)3–0–0–0Recap
4LOctober 19, 20021–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)3–1–0–0Recap
5LOctober 20, 20022–5@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)3–2–0–0Recap
6WOctober 23, 20022–1@ New York Rangers (2002–03)4–2–0–0Recap
7LOctober 25, 20022–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)4–3–0–0Recap
8TOctober 26, 20021–1 OT@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)4–3–1–0Recap
9LOctober 28, 20022–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)4–4–1–0Recap
10LOctober 30, 20022–7Boston Bruins (2002–03)4–5–1–0Recap :
November: 6–7–1–0 (home: 5–4–0–0; road: 1–3–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11WNovember 1, 20023–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)5–5–1–0Recap
12LNovember 2, 20021–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)5–6–1–0Recap
13WNovember 5, 20024–3 OT@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)6–6–1–0Recap
14WNovember 7, 20022–1 OTFlorida Panthers (2002–03)7–6–1–0Recap
15WNovember 9, 20024–1Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)8–6–1–0Recap
16LNovember 13, 20021–6Dallas Stars (2002–03)8–7–1–0Recap
17TNovember 15, 20022–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)8–7–2–0Recap
18LNovember 16, 20020–1@ Minnesota Wild (2002–03)8–8–2–0Recap
19LNovember 19, 20022–3San Jose Sharks (2002–03)8–9–2–0Recap
20LNovember 21, 20023–4Minnesota Wild (2002–03)8–10–2–0Recap
21WNovember 23, 20026–3Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)9–10–2–0Recap
22LNovember 26, 20024–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)9–11–2–0Recap
23WNovember 27, 20024–2Calgary Flames (2002–03)10–11–2–0Recap
24LNovember 29, 20022–6Ottawa Senators (2002–03)10–12–2–0Recap :
December: 8–4–1–1 (home: 5–0–0–0; road: 3–4–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25LDecember 1, 20024–5@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)10–13–2–0Recap
26WDecember 3, 20024–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)11–13–2–0Recap
27WDecember 6, 20027–6 OTAtlanta Thrashers (2002–03)12–13–2–0Recap
28LDecember 7, 20023–4@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)12–14–2–0Recap
29LDecember 11, 20020–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)12–15–2–0Recap
30WDecember 13, 20024–3@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)13–15–2–0Recap
31LDecember 14, 20020–2@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)13–16–2–0Recap
32TDecember 16, 20022–2 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)13–16–3–0Recap
33WDecember 19, 20025–3Boston Bruins (2002–03)14–16–3–0Recap
34WDecember 21, 20023–1@ New York Islanders (2002–03)15–16–3–0Recap
35WDecember 23, 20023–0Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)16–16–3–0Recap
36WDecember 27, 20023–2New Jersey Devils (2002–03)17–16–3–0Recap
37OTLDecember 28, 20021–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)17–16–3–1Recap
38WDecember 30, 20024–3Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)18–16–3–1Recap :
January: 6–3–4–2 (home: 5–2–1–2; road: 1–1–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39OTLJanuary 1, 20031–2 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2002–03)18–16–3–2Recap
40TJanuary 3, 20032–2 OTColumbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)18–16–4–2Recap
41TJanuary 4, 20032–2 OT@ New York Rangers (2002–03)18–16–5–2Recap
42WJanuary 10, 20034–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)19–16–5–2Recap
43WJanuary 11, 200312–2Florida Panthers (2002–03)20–16–5–2Recap
44WJanuary 13, 20034–3 OTNew York Islanders (2002–03)21–16–5–2Recap
45OTLJanuary 15, 20031–2 OTNew York Rangers (2002–03)21–16–5–3Recap
46LJanuary 17, 20031–4Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)21–17–5–3Recap
47LJanuary 18, 20032–5@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)21–18–5–3Recap
48TJanuary 20, 20033–3 OT@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)21–18–6–3Recap
49WJanuary 22, 20035–3Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)22–18–6–3Recap
50TJanuary 25, 20031–1 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)22–18–7–3Recap
51WJanuary 26, 20037–2New York Rangers (2002–03)23–18–7–3Recap
52LJanuary 28, 20033–5St. Louis Blues (2002–03)23–19–7–3Recap
53WJanuary 30, 20032–1Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)24–19–7–3Recap :
February: 6–6–0–0 (home: 3–4–0–0; road: 3–2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54WFebruary 4, 20035–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)25–19–7–3Recap
55LFebruary 5, 20031–4New Jersey Devils (2002–03)25–20–7–3Recap
56WFebruary 7, 20033–0New York Islanders (2002–03)26–20–7–3Recap
57LFebruary 9, 20030–2Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)26–21–7–3Recap
58WFebruary 12, 20035–1@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)27–21–7–3Recap
59LFebruary 14, 20031–3@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)27–22–7–3Recap
60WFebruary 15, 20032–1@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)28–22–7–3Recap
61LFebruary 17, 20031–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)28–23–7–3Recap
62LFebruary 20, 20032–6Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)28–24–7–3Recap
63LFebruary 22, 20031–5Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)28–25–7–3Recap
64WFebruary 24, 20034–1Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)29–25–7–3Recap
65WFebruary 26, 20033–2Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)30–25–7–3Recap :
March: 7–3–1–3 (home: 3–1–1–0; road: 4–2–0–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66OTLMarch 1, 20031–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)30–25–7–4Recap
67WMarch 2, 20032–0Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)31–25–7–4Recap
68WMarch 4, 20032–1@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)32–25–7–4Recap
69TMarch 6, 20034–4 OTAtlanta Thrashers (2002–03)32–25–8–4Recap
70OTLMarch 8, 20034–5 OT@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)32–25–8–5Recap
71WMarch 10, 20032–1 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2002–03)33–25–8–5Recap
72LMarch 14, 20031–3Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)33–26–8–5Recap
73WMarch 16, 20032–1Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)34–26–8–5Recap
74WMarch 20, 20034–1@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)35–26–8–5Recap
75LMarch 22, 20033–5@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)35–27–8–5Recap
76LMarch 23, 20030–6@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)35–28–8–5Recap
77WMarch 25, 20034–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)36–28–8–5Recap
78WMarch 28, 20033–2@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)37–28–8–5Recap
79OTLMarch 29, 20033–4 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)37–28–8–6Recap :
April: 2–1–0–0 (home: 2–1–0–0; road: 0–0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
80WApril 1, 20033–0Florida Panthers (2002–03)38–28–8–6Recap
81LApril 3, 20031–5Ottawa Senators (2002–03)38–29–8–6Recap
82WApril 5, 20035–3Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)39–29–8–6Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (3) – Lightning win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 10, 20033–0@ Tampa Bay LightningCapitals lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 12, 20036–3@ Tampa Bay LightningCapitals lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 15, 20033–4 OTTampa Bay LightningCapitals lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 16, 20031–3Tampa Bay LightningSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LApril 18, 20031–2@ Tampa Bay LightningLightning lead 3–2Recap
6LApril 20, 20031–2 3OTTampa Bay LightningLightning win 4–2Recap :
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 Capitals only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals 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 |
| 68 | Jaromir Jagr | RW | 75 | 36 | 41 | 77 | 5 | 38 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | Robert Lang | C | 82 | 22 | 47 | 69 | 12 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 55 | Sergei Gonchar | D | 82 | 18 | 49 | 67 | 13 | 52 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| 12 | Peter Bondra | RW | 76 | 30 | 26 | 56 | −3 | 52 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| 92 | Michael Nylander† | C | 71 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 3 | 36 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 14 | Kip Miller | C | 72 | 12 | 38 | 50 | −1 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Dainius Zubrus | C | 63 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 15 | 43 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 |
| 11 | Jeff Halpern | C | 82 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 6 | 88 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| 25 | Mike Grier | RW | 82 | 15 | 17 | 32 | −14 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Steve Konowalchuk | LW | 77 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 3 | 71 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| 27 | Ivan Ciernik | RW | 47 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Ken Klee | D | 70 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 22 | 89 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | Calle Johansson | D | 82 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 0 |
| 46 | Brian Sutherby | C | 72 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 93 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 19 | Brendan Witt | D | 69 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 106 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 94 | Sergei Berezin† | LW | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| 54 | Jason Doig | D | 55 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 21 | Glen Metropolit | C | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Andreas Salomonsson† | RW | 32 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Rick Berry | D | 43 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −3 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Josh Green† | LW | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Joel Kwiatkowski† | D | 34 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 | Trent Whitfield | C | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 44 | Steve Eminger | D | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Chris Simon‡ | LW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Josef Boumedienne† | D | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 51 | Stephen Peat | RW | 27 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 58 | Jean-Francois Fortin | D | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Craig Billington‡ | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Sebastien Charpentier | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Sylvain Cote‡ | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Mike Farrell | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Colin Forbes | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 45 | Alex Henry† | D | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | G | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 18 | Matt Pettinger | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
| 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 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | 66 | 33 | 25 | 6 | 1925 | 156 | 2.40 | .919 | 4 | 3894 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 192 | 14 | 2.08 | .927 | 1 | 404 |
| 35 | Sebastien Charpentier | 17 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 426 | 40 | 2.79 | .906 | 0 | 859 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Craig Billington‡ | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 96 | 17 | 4.70 | .823 | 0 | 217 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star Team | Sergei Gonchar (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Sergei Gonchar |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jaromir Jagr |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Brian Sutherby |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Steve Eminger | October 11, 2002 | |

## Transactions

The Capitals 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 Washington Capitals Rights to Petr Sykora | To Nashville Predators Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2003 |
| October 7, 2002 (2002-10-07) | To Washington Capitals Mike Grier | To Edmonton Oilers 2nd-round pick in 20033rd-round pick in 2003 |
| November 1, 2002 (2002-11-01) | To Washington Capitals Michael Nylander3rd-round pick in 2003Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2004 | To Chicago Blackhawks Andrei NikolishinChris Simon |
| 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 Future considerations |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Washington Capitals Sergei Berezin | To Chicago Blackhawks 4th-round pick in 2004 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Robert Lang | Pittsburgh Penguins | 5-year | Free agency |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Kip Miller | New York Islanders | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Dwayne Zinger | Detroit Red Wings | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23) | Chris Hajt | Edmonton Oilers | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13) | Jason Doig | Ottawa Senators | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | Rick Berry | Pittsburgh Penguins | | Waiver draft |
| October 15, 2002 (2002-10-15) | Andreas Salomonsson | New Jersey Devils | | Waivers |
| October 24, 2002 (2002-10-24) | Alex Henry | Edmonton Oilers | | Waivers |
| January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15) | Josh Green | New York Rangers | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| N/A | Dmitri Khristich | Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Martin Hlinka | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Dmitri Mironov | | Contract expiration (III) |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Patrick Boileau | Detroit Red Wings | Free agency (VI) |
| August 11, 2002 (2002-08-11) | Benoit Hogue | | Retirement (III) |
| August 13, 2002 (2002-08-13) | Ulf Dahlen | Dallas Stars | Free agency (III) |
| August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) | Corey Hirsch | Dallas Stars | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27) | Rob Zettler | | Retirement (III) |
| October 10, 2002 (2002-10-10) | Mike Siklenka | Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 12, 2002 (2002-11-12) | Sylvain Cote | | Release |
| November 13, 2002 (2002-11-13) | Curtis Cruickshank | San Diego Gulls (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| January 2, 2003 (2003-01-02) | Joe Sacco | Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL) | Free agency (III) |
| December 16, 2002 (2002-12-16) | Craig Billington | | Buyout |
| April 22, 2003 (2003-04-22) | Glen Metropolit | Jokerit (Liiga) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23) | Ivan Ciernik | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23) | Mark Murphy | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23) | Trent Whitfield | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Chris Simon | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) | Jean-Francois Fortin | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Colin Forbes | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Glen Metropolit | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06) | Chris Ferraro | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06) | Peter Ferraro | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13) | Owen Fussey | 3-year | Entry-level |
| October 7, 2002 (2002-10-07) | Steve Eminger | 3-year | Entry-level |
| October 8, 2002 (2002-10-08) | Dainius Zubrus | 2-year | Re-signing |
| March 20, 2003 (2003-03-20) | Sebastien Charpentier | 1-year | Extension |
| May 15, 2003 (2003-05-15) | Josef Boumedienne | 1-year | Extension |

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 12 | Steve Eminger | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 1 | 13 | Alexander Semin | Russia | Traktor Chelyabinsk Jrs. (Russia) |
| 1 | 17 | Boyd Gordon | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 2 | 59 | Maxime Daigneault | Canada | Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 77 | Patrick Wellar | Canada | Portland Winterhawks (WHL) |
| 3 | 92 | Derek Krestanovich | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 4 | 109 | Jevon Desautels | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 4 | 118 | Petr Dvorak | Czech Republic | Havirov Femax HC (Czech Republic) |
| 5 | 145 | Robert Gherson | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 6 | 179 | Marian Havel | Czech Republic | Vancouver Giants (WHL) |
| 7 | 209 | Joni Lindlof | Finland | Tappara Jr. (Finland) |
| 8 | 242 | Igor Ignatushkin | Russia | Elemash Elektrosal (Russia) |
| 9 | 272 | Patric Blomdahl | Sweden | AIK IF Jr. (Sweden) |