# 2003–04 New York Islanders season

The 2003–04 New York Islanders season was the 32nd season in the franchise's history.

## Offseason

Head coach Peter Laviolette was fired on June 3, 2003, and replaced by Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach Steve Stirling.

## Regular season
### 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
### Regular season

2003–04 regular season :
October: 4–3–2–0 (home: 3–1–0–0; road: 1–2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 9, 20031–6@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)0–1–0–0Recap
2WOctober 11, 20036–0@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)1–1–0–0Recap
3TOctober 14, 20032–2 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)1–1–1–0Recap
4WOctober 18, 20032–1Florida Panthers (2003–04)2–1–1–0Recap
5WOctober 20, 20035–2Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)3–1–1–0Recap
6LOctober 23, 20030–3@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)3–2–1–0Recap
7WOctober 25, 20037–2Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)4–2–1–0Recap
8LOctober 28, 20030–4New Jersey Devils (2003–04)4–3–1–0Recap
9TOctober 29, 20034–4 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)4–3–2–0Recap :
November: 5–8–0–0 (home: 4–3–0–0; road: 1–5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
10WNovember 1, 20034–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)5–3–2–0Recap
11WNovember 3, 20036–3Ottawa Senators (2003–04)6–3–2–0Recap
12WNovember 6, 20034–1Dallas Stars (2003–04)7–3–2–0Recap
13LNovember 8, 20033–4Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)7–4–2–0Recap
14LNovember 11, 20031–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)7–5–2–0Recap
15WNovember 13, 20033–1Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)8–5–2–0Recap
16LNovember 15, 20033–4@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)8–6–2–0Recap
17WNovember 19, 20034–1@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)9–6–2–0Recap
18LNovember 20, 20032–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)9–7–2–0Recap
19LNovember 22, 20031–2@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)9–8–2–0Recap
20LNovember 26, 20030–2Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)9–9–2–0Recap
21LNovember 28, 20030–6@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)9–10–2–0Recap
22LNovember 29, 20031–5Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)9–11–2–0Recap :
December: 10–4–0–1 (home: 7–2–0–0; road: 3–2–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
23LDecember 2, 20031–4Washington Capitals (2003–04)9–12–2–0Recap
24LDecember 4, 20032–4New York Rangers (2003–04)9–13–2–0Recap
25WDecember 6, 20035–2Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)10–13–2–0Recap
26WDecember 9, 20035–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)11–13–2–0Recap
27OTLDecember 10, 20030–1 OT@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)11–13–2–1Recap
28WDecember 13, 20034–0Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)12–13–2–1Recap
29WDecember 16, 20035–4New Jersey Devils (2003–04)13–13–2–1Recap
30LDecember 18, 20033–4@ New York Rangers (2003–04)13–14–2–1Recap
31LDecember 20, 20031–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)13–15–2–1Recap
32WDecember 21, 20035–4@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)14–15–2–1Recap
33WDecember 23, 20034–2Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)15–15–2–1Recap
34WDecember 26, 20034–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)16–15–2–1Recap
35WDecember 27, 20033–1Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)17–15–2–1Recap
36WDecember 29, 20033–1New Jersey Devils (2003–04)18–15–2–1Recap
37WDecember 31, 20036–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)19–15–2–1Recap :
January: 6–5–3–1 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 2–3–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
38LJanuary 1, 20040–1@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)19–16–2–1Recap
39TJanuary 3, 20043–3 OT@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)19–16–3–1Recap
40LJanuary 6, 20042–3Calgary Flames (2003–04)19–17–3–1Recap
41WJanuary 8, 20043–2Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)20–17–3–1Recap
42LJanuary 10, 20042–3New York Rangers (2003–04)20–18–3–1Recap
43LJanuary 13, 20041–4@ New York Rangers (2003–04)20–19–3–1Recap
44TJanuary 15, 20044–4 OT@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)20–19–4–1Recap
45WJanuary 17, 20044–2Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)21–19–4–1Recap
46WJanuary 19, 20045–2Ottawa Senators (2003–04)22–19–4–1Recap
47LJanuary 20, 20040–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)22–20–4–1Recap
48WJanuary 23, 20043–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)23–20–4–1Recap
49WJanuary 24, 20043–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)24–20–4–1Recap
50TJanuary 27, 20042–2 OTBoston Bruins (2003–04)24–20–5–1Recap
51OTLJanuary 29, 20041–2 OT@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)24–20–5–2Recap
52WJanuary 31, 20044–2Florida Panthers (2003–04)25–20–5–2Recap :
February: 5–3–4–1 (home: 3–1–2–1; road: 2–2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53WFebruary 3, 20045–4 OTVancouver Canucks (2003–04)26–20–5–2Recap
54LFebruary 5, 20041–2@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)26–21–5–2Recap
55TFebruary 10, 20041–1 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)26–21–6–2Recap
56TFebruary 11, 20044–4 OT@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)26–21–7–2Recap
57WFebruary 13, 20045–2@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)27–21–7–2Recap
58TFebruary 16, 20041–1 OTLos Angeles Kings (2003–04)27–21–8–2Recap
59WFebruary 18, 20044–3Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)28–21–8–2Recap
60LFebruary 19, 20042–6@ New York Rangers (2003–04)28–22–8–2Recap
61WFebruary 21, 20044–1Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)29–22–8–2Recap
62TFebruary 24, 20040–0 OTBoston Bruins (2003–04)29–22–9–2Recap
63LFebruary 26, 20043–6New York Rangers (2003–04)29–23–9–2Recap
64WFebruary 27, 20044–2@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)30–23–9–2Recap
65OTLFebruary 29, 20042–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)30–23–9–3Recap :
March: 7–6–1–1 (home: 4–2–0–0; road: 3–4–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66TMarch 2, 20043–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)30–23–10–3Recap
67LMarch 4, 20042–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)30–24–10–3Recap
68LMarch 6, 20042–4St. Louis Blues (2003–04)30–25–10–3Recap
69OTLMarch 9, 20042–3 OT@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)30–25–10–4Recap
70LMarch 11, 20044–5@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)30–26–10–4Recap
71WMarch 12, 20043–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)31–26–10–4Recap
72WMarch 16, 20043–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)32–26–10–4Recap
73LMarch 17, 20044–6@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)32–27–10–4Recap
74WMarch 19, 20043–1Minnesota Wild (2003–04)33–27–10–4Recap
75WMarch 21, 20043–0Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)34–27–10–4Recap
76WMarch 23, 20043–0Washington Capitals (2003–04)35–27–10–4Recap
77WMarch 25, 20044–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)36–27–10–4Recap
78LMarch 27, 20042–3Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)36–28–10–4Recap
79LMarch 28, 20042–3@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)36–29–10–4Recap
80WMarch 31, 20045–1Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)37–29–10–4Recap :
April: 1–0–1–0 (home: 0–0–1–0; road: 1–0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
81WApril 2, 20046–4@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)38–29–10–4Recap
82TApril 4, 20043–3 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2003–04)38–29–11–4Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) Tampa Bay Lightning – Lightning win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 8New York Islanders0–3Tampa Bay LightningSt. Pete Times Forum (18,536)0–1Recap
2April 10New York Islanders3–0Tampa Bay LightningSt. Pete Times Forum (19,982)1–1Recap
3April 12Tampa Bay Lightning3–0New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (16,234)1–2Recap
4April 14Tampa Bay Lightning3–0New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (16,234)1–3Recap
5April 16New York Islanders2–3 OTTampa Bay LightningSt. Pete Times Forum (20,927)1–4Recap :
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 Islanders only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders 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 |
| 7 | Trent Hunter | RW | 77 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 23 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 12 | Oleg Kvasha | LW | 81 | 15 | 36 | 51 | 4 | 48 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 21 | Mariusz Czerkawski | RW | 81 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 55 | Jason Blake | LW | 75 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 11 | 56 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 2 |
| 3 | Adrian Aucoin | D | 81 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 29 | 54 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 6 |
| 27 | Michael Peca | C | 76 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 17 | 71 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 6 |
| 37 | Mark Parrish | RW | 59 | 24 | 11 | 35 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 0 |
| 79 | Alexei Yashin | C | 47 | 15 | 19 | 34 | −1 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| 17 | Shawn Bates | C | 69 | 9 | 23 | 32 | −8 | 46 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 4 | Roman Hamrlik | D | 81 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 2 | 68 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Kenny Jonsson | D | 79 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 25 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| 44 | Janne Niinimaa | D | 82 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 12 | 64 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| 38 | Dave Scatchard | C | 61 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 12 | 78 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 6 |
| 45 | Arron Asham | LW | 79 | 12 | 12 | 24 | −12 | 92 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 77 | Cliff Ronning† | C | 40 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 11 | Mattias Weinhandl | RW | 55 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 9 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 26 | Justin Papineau | C | 64 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Eric Cairns | D | 72 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −5 | 189 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 24 | Radek Martinek | D | 47 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −9 | 43 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 52 | Sven Butenschon | D | 41 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −3 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 16 | Justin Mapletoft | C | 27 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Jason Wiemer‡ | C | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Sean Bergenheim | LW | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Mattias Timander‡ | D | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Rick DiPietro | G | 50 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 20 | Eric Manlow | C | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 49 | Eric Godard | RW | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Alexander Karpovtsev† | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Garth Snow | G | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Derek Bekar | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Wade Dubielewicz | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Jeff Hamilton | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Tomi Pettinen | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Steve Webb† | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 6 |

### 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 | Rick DiPietro | 50 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 1261 | 112 | 2.36 | .911 | 5 | 2844 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 120 | 11 | 2.18 | .908 | 1 | 303 |
| 30 | Garth Snow | 39 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 932 | 94 | 2.80 | .899 | 1 | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Wade Dubielewicz | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 3 | 1.71 | .940 | 0 | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Trent Hunter (Forward) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Adrian Aucoin |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Rick DiPietro (October 20) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Adrian Aucoin (November 10) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Adrian Aucoin (March 22) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Trent Hunter (December) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Trent Hunter |
| Team | Bob Nystrom Award | Adrian Aucoin |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Sean Bergenheim | October 9, 2003 |
| First game | Jeff Hamilton | December 2, 2003 |
| First game | Wade Dubielewicz | March 25, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Islanders 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 |
| January 22, 2004 (2004-01-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers Mattias Timander | To New York Islanders Tampa Bay's 7th-round pick in 2004 |
| March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Alain Nasreddine | To New York Islanders Steve Webb |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Chicago Blackhawks 4th-round pick in 2005 | To New York Islanders Alexander Karpovtsev |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Rob Collins | Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) | | Free agency |
| July 8, 2003 (2003-07-08) | Ryan Kraft | San Jose Sharks | | Free agency |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Mariusz Czerkawski | Montreal Canadiens | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 23, 2003 (2003-07-23) | Cail MacLean | Hershey Bears (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 7, 2003 (2003-08-07) | Dieter Kochan | Minnesota Wild | | Free agency |
| September 9, 2003 (2003-09-09) | Cole Jarrett | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) | | Free agency |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | Derek Bekar | Los Angeles Kings | | Free agency |
| January 9, 2004 (2004-01-09) | Cliff Ronning | Minnesota Wild | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Kevin Haller | | Contract expiration (III) |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Steve Valiquette | Edmonton Oilers | Free agency (VI) |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Ray Schultz | Nashville Predators | Free agency (VI) |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | Randy Robitaille | Atlanta Thrashers | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | David St. Germain | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 1, 2003 (2003-10-01) | Konstantin Kalmikov | Louisiana IceGators (ECHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| October 21, 2003 (2003-10-21) | Steve Webb | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 13, 2003 (2003-11-13) | Jason Wiemer | Minnesota Wild | Waivers |
| January 15, 2004 (2004-01-15) | Marco Charpentier | Toledo Storm (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| May 27, 2004 (2004-05-27) | Alan Letang | Hamburg Freezers (DEL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 25, 2003 (2003-06-25) | Eric Godard | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 10, 2003 (2003-07-10) | Kenny Jönsson | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Radek Martinek | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 18, 2003 (2003-07-18) | Arron Asham | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 18, 2003 (2003-07-18) | Jason Wiemer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 21, 2003 (2003-07-21) | Trent Hunter | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Rick DiPietro | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Garth Snow | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 23, 2003 (2003-07-23) | Sean Bergenheim | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 5, 2003 (2003-08-05) | Justin Papineau | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26) | Jeff Hamilton | | Re-signing |
| October 4, 2003 (2003-10-04) | Bruno Gervais | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

The Islanders' had 9 picks in the 2003 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 15 | Robert Nilsson | Forward | Canada | Leksands IF (Elitserien) |
| 2 | 48 | Dmitri Chernykh | Right wing | Russia | Khimik Voskresensk (RSL) |
| 2 | 53 | Evgeni Tunik | Forward | Russia | Kristall Elektrostal (RUS) |
| 2 | 58 | Jeremy Colliton | Center | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 4 | 120 | Stefan Blaho | Right wing | Slovakia | Dukla Trenčín Jr. (SVK Jr) |
| 6 | 182 | Bruno Gervais | Defense | Canada | Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 212 | Denis Rehak | Defense | Slovakia | Dukla Trenčín Jr. (SVK Jr) |
| 8 | 238 | Cody Blanshan | Defense | United States | University of Nebraska Omaha (CCHA) |
| 8 | 246 | Igor Volkov | Right wing | Russia | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (RSL) |

### Draft notes

* $^a$ The Edmonton Oilers' second-round pick (originally from the Washington Capitals) went to the New York Islanders as a result of a March 11, 2003 trade that sent Brad Isbister and Raffi Torres to the Oilers in exchange for Janne Niinimaa and this pick.
* $^b$ The St. Louis Blues' second-round pick went to the New York Islanders as a result of a March 11, 2003 trade that sent Chris Osgood and a 2003 third-round pick to the Blues in exchange for Justin Papineau and this pick.
* The New York Islanders' third-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a March 11, 2003 trade that sent Justin Papineau and a 2003 second-round pick to the Islanders in exchange for Chris Osgood and this pick.
* The New York Islanders' fifth-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a March 19, 2002 trade that sent Darren Van Impe to the Islanders in exchange for this pick.
* $^c$ Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for Group III free agent Kip Miller.
* The New York Islanders' ninth-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of an October 11, 2002 trade that sent Sven Butenschon to the Islanders in exchange for Juraj Kolnik and this pick.