# 2002–03 Minnesota Wild season

The 2002–03 Minnesota Wild season was the team's third season in the National Hockey League (NHL). After qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the Wild won two playoff series before losing in the Western Conference Final to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

## Regular season

The Wild tied the Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins for most times shut-out with 10.

### Final standings

Northwest Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 251 | 194 | 105 |
| 2 | 4 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 264 | 208 | 104 |
| 3 | 6 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 198 | 178 | 95 |
| 4 | 8 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 231 | 230 | 92 |
| 5 | 12 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 29 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 186 | 228 | 75 |
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 | Z- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 245 | 169 | 111 |
| 2 | Y- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 269 | 203 | 110 |
| 3 | Y- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 251 | 194 | 105 |
| 4 | X- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 264 | 208 | 104 |
| 5 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 253 | 222 | 99 |
| 6 | X- Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 198 | 178 | 95 |
| 7 | X- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 203 | 193 | 95 |
| 8 | X- Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 231 | 230 | 92 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 30 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 207 | 226 | 79 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 221 | 78 |
| 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 204 | 230 | 78 |
| 12 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 29 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 186 | 228 | 75 |
| 13 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 27 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 183 | 206 | 74 |
| 14 | San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 8 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 213 | 263 | 69 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Playoffs

The Wild are the only team in NHL history to rally back from 3–1 down twice in the same playoff.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2002–03 regular season :
October: 8–1–2–0 (home: 6–1–0–0; road: 2–0–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 11, 20025–1Boston Bruins (2002–03)1–0–0–0Recap
2TOctober 12, 20022–2 OT@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)1–0–1–0Recap
3WOctober 15, 20024–1Florida Panthers (2002–03)2–0–1–0Recap
4WOctober 17, 20023–1Dallas Stars (2002–03)3–0–1–0Recap
5LOctober 19, 20023–5Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)3–1–1–0Recap
6WOctober 22, 20024–3 OTCalgary Flames (2002–03)4–1–1–0Recap
7WOctober 24, 20023–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)5–1–1–0Recap
8WOctober 26, 20026–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)6–1–1–0Recap
9TOctober 27, 20023–3 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)6–1–2–0Recap
10WOctober 29, 20023–2 OTColorado Avalanche (2002–03)7–1–2–0Recap
11WOctober 31, 20022–1 OTSan Jose Sharks (2002–03)8–1–2–0Recap :
November: 5–6–3–0 (home: 2–3–3–0; road: 3–3–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12LNovember 2, 20022–4Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)8–2–2–0Recap
13WNovember 4, 20025–2@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)9–2–2–0Recap
14LNovember 7, 20021–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)9–3–2–0Recap
15WNovember 9, 20024–2@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)10–3–2–0Recap
16LNovember 10, 20020–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)10–4–2–0Recap
17LNovember 12, 20022–3Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)10–5–2–0Recap
18TNovember 14, 20021–1 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)10–5–3–0Recap
19WNovember 16, 20021–0Washington Capitals (2002–03)11–5–3–0Recap
20TNovember 19, 20022–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (2002–03)11–5–4–0Recap
21WNovember 21, 20024–3@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)12–5–4–0Recap
22WNovember 23, 20024–2Nashville Predators (2002–03)13–5–4–0Recap
23LNovember 25, 20021–2Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)13–6–4–0Recap
24LNovember 27, 20020–5@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)13–7–4–0Recap
25TNovember 29, 20022–2 OTColorado Avalanche (2002–03)13–7–5–0Recap :
December: 7–4–2–1 (home: 4–2–0–0; road: 3–2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26OTLDecember 3, 20021–2 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)13–7–5–1Recap
27TDecember 5, 20021–1 OT@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)13–7–6–1Recap
28WDecember 7, 20024–2@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)14–7–6–1Recap
29WDecember 10, 20025–3Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)15–7–6–1Recap
30WDecember 12, 20023–2@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)16–7–6–1Recap
31LDecember 14, 20021–3@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)16–8–6–1Recap
32WDecember 15, 20022–1Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)17–8–6–1Recap
33WDecember 17, 20024–3 OTEdmonton Oilers (2002–03)18–8–6–1Recap
34LDecember 19, 20022–4New York Islanders (2002–03)18–9–6–1Recap
35LDecember 21, 20022–4@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)18–10–6–1Recap
36LDecember 23, 20022–3Calgary Flames (2002–03)18–11–6–1Recap
37TDecember 26, 20022–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)18–11–7–1Recap
38WDecember 28, 20024–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)19–11–7–1Recap
39WDecember 31, 20024–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)20–11–7–1Recap :
January: 5–7–1–0 (home: 2–4–0–0; road: 3–3–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
40WJanuary 2, 20032–1 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)21–11–7–1Recap
41LJanuary 4, 20032–3@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)21–12–7–1Recap
42LJanuary 6, 20032–3Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)21–13–7–1Recap
43LJanuary 8, 20031–2Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)21–14–7–1Recap
44WJanuary 10, 20032–1Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)22–14–7–1Recap
45LJanuary 14, 20030–1Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)22–15–7–1Recap
46WJanuary 16, 20035–2Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)23–15–7–1Recap
47LJanuary 18, 20030–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)23–16–7–1Recap
48WJanuary 20, 20032–1 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)24–16–7–1Recap
49WJanuary 23, 20032–1@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)25–16–7–1Recap
50LJanuary 25, 20031–4@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)25–17–7–1Recap
51TJanuary 28, 20032–2 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)25–17–8–1Recap
52LJanuary 29, 20031–5@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)25–18–8–1Recap :
February: 7–4–0–0 (home: 4–2–0–0; road: 3–2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53WFebruary 5, 20032–1Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)26–18–8–1Recap
54WFebruary 7, 20034–3San Jose Sharks (2002–03)27–18–8–1Recap
55LFebruary 9, 20032–3@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)27–19–8–1Recap
56WFebruary 10, 20031–0@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)28–19–8–1Recap
57WFebruary 12, 20032–0Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)29–19–8–1Recap
58LFebruary 14, 20032–3Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)29–20–8–1Recap
59LFebruary 15, 20032–3@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)29–21–8–1Recap
60LFebruary 19, 20032–4New York Rangers (2002–03)29–22–8–1Recap
61WFebruary 23, 20033–1St. Louis Blues (2002–03)30–22–8–1Recap
62WFebruary 25, 20033–0@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)31–22–8–1Recap
63WFebruary 27, 20036–3@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)32–22–8–1Recap :
March: 9–5–2–0 (home: 6–1–0–0; road: 3–4–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
64LMarch 1, 20030–2@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)32–23–8–1Recap
65WMarch 4, 20033–2New Jersey Devils (2002–03)33–23–8–1Recap
66TMarch 6, 20032–2 OT@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)33–23–9–1Recap
67LMarch 7, 20030–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)33–24–9–1Recap
68WMarch 9, 20036–4@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)34–24–9–1Recap
69WMarch 12, 20034–2Dallas Stars (2002–03)35–24–9–1Recap
70WMarch 14, 20033–1Nashville Predators (2002–03)36–24–9–1Recap
71LMarch 15, 20030–5@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)36–25–9–1Recap
72TMarch 17, 20033–3 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)36–25–10–1Recap
73WMarch 19, 20033–1@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)37–25–10–1Recap
74WMarch 21, 20033–2 OT@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)38–25–10–1Recap
75WMarch 23, 20034–0Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)39–25–10–1Recap
76LMarch 25, 20030–4@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)39–26–10–1Recap
77LMarch 26, 20030–1St. Louis Blues (2002–03)39–27–10–1Recap
78WMarch 28, 20034–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (2002–03)40–27–10–1Recap
79WMarch 31, 20033–0Calgary Flames (2002–03)41–27–10–1Recap :
April: 1–2–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 0–2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
80LApril 2, 20030–3@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)41–28–10–1Recap
81LApril 3, 20031–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)41–29–10–1Recap
82WApril 6, 20034–3Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)42–29–10–1Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Colorado Avalanche – Wild win 4–3
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 10Minnesota4–2ColoradoRoloson18,007Wild lead 1–0Recap
2April 12Minnesota2–3ColoradoRoloson18,007Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 14Colorado3–0MinnesotaRoloson19,354Avalanche lead 2–1Recap
4April 16Colorado3–1MinnesotaRoloson19,350Avalanche lead 3–1Recap
5April 19Minnesota3–2ColoradoFernandez18,007Avalanche lead 3–2Recap
6April 21Colorado2–3MinnesotaOTFernandez19,350Series tied 3–3Recap
7April 22Minnesota3–2ColoradoOTFernandez18,007Wild win 4–3Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Vancouver Canucks – Wild win 4–3
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 25Minnesota3–4VancouverOTFernandez18,514Canucks lead 1–0Recap
2April 27Minnesota3–2VancouverRoloson18,514Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 29Vancouver3–2MinnesotaRoloson19,394Canucks lead 2–1Recap
4May 2Vancouver3–2MinnesotaOTFernandez19,386Canucks lead 3–1Recap
5May 5Minnesota7–2VancouverRoloson18,514Canucks lead 3–2Recap
6May 7Vancouver1–5MinnesotaRoloson19,350Series tied 3–3Recap
7May 8Minnesota4–2VancouverRoloson18,514Wild win 4–3Recap :
Western Conference Finals vs. (7) Anaheim Mighty Ducks – Mighty Ducks win 4–0
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 10Anaheim1–0Minnesota2OTFernandez19,350Mighty Ducks lead 1–0Recap
2May 12Anaheim2–0MinnesotaRoloson19,350Mighty Ducks lead 2–0Recap
3May 14Minnesota0–4AnaheimRoloson17,174Mighty Ducks lead 3–0Recap
4May 16Minnesota1–2AnaheimFernandez17,174Mighty Ducks win 4–0Recap :
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 Wild only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Wild 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 |
| 10 | Marian Gaborik | RW | 81 | 30 | 35 | 65 | 12 | 46 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 6 |
| 11 | Pascal Dupuis | LW | 80 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 17 | 44 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 | Cliff Ronning | C | 80 | 17 | 31 | 48 | −6 | 24 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −3 | 4 |
| 15 | Andrew Brunette | LW | 82 | 18 | 28 | 46 | −10 | 30 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 13 | −3 | 4 |
| 33 | Sergei Zholtok | C | 78 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −7 | 0 |
| 37 | Wes Walz | C | 80 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 11 | 63 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 14 |
| 24 | Antti Laaksonen | LW | 82 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 4 | 26 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −3 | 4 |
| 17 | Filip Kuba | D | 78 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 0 | 29 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −8 | 24 |
| 34 | Jim Dowd | C | 78 | 8 | 17 | 25 | −1 | 31 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 18 | Richard Park | RW | 81 | 14 | 10 | 24 | −3 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −2 | 4 |
| 96 | Pierre-Marc Bouchard | C | 50 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 1 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| 20 | Andrei Zyuzin† | D | 66 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −7 | 34 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 14 |
| 5 | Brad Bombardir | D | 58 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 2 | Willie Mitchell | D | 69 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 84 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| 28 | Jeremy Stevenson† | LW | 32 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 69 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 12 |
| 77 | Lubomir Sekeras | D | 60 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −12 | 30 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 6 |
| 55 | Nick Schultz | D | 75 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 16 | Bill Muckalt | RW | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| 12 | Matt Johnson | LW | 60 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −8 | 201 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 14 | Darby Hendrickson | C | 28 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −3 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 23 | Jason Marshall | D | 45 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 69 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 16 |
| 19 | Stephane Veilleux | LW | 38 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −6 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Rickard Wallin | C | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Kyle Wanvig | RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Brad Brown | D | 57 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 90 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 16 |
| 35 | Manny Fernandez | G | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 30 | Dwayne Roloson | G | 50 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 3 | Ladislav Benysek | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Sylvain Blouin‡ | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | Hnat Domenichelli | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Dieter Kochan | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Curtis Murphy | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Jean-Guy Trudel | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 |
| 30 | Dwayne Roloson | 50 | 23 | 16 | 8 | 1334 | 98 | 2.00 | .927 | 4 | 2945 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 257 | 25 | 2.59 | .903 | 0 | 579 |
| 35 | Manny Fernandez | 35 | 19 | 13 | 2 | 972 | 74 | 2.24 | .924 | 2 | 1979 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 253 | 18 | 1.96 | .929 | 0 | 552 |
| 31 | Dieter Kochan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5 | 5.00 | .821 | 0 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Jack Adams Award | Jacques Lemaire |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Marian Gaborik |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Marian Gaborik (October 28) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Nick Schultz |
| Team | Three Star Award | Dwayne Roloson |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Pierre-Marc Bouchard | October 11, 2002 |
| First game | Stephane Veilleux | October 19, 2002 |
| First game | Kyle Wanvig | November 25, 2002 |
| First game | Rickard Wallin | December 12, 2002 |
| First game | Curtis Murphy | December 15, 2002 |

## Transactions

The Wild 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 Minnesota Wild 9th-round pick in 2002 | To Calgary Flames Jamie McLennan |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Minnesota Wild Cliff Ronning | To Los Angeles Kings 4th-round pick in 2002 |
| October 31, 2002 (2002-10-31) | To Minnesota Wild 7th-round pick in 2003 | To Montreal Canadiens Sylvain Blouin |
| February 20, 2003 (2003-02-20) | To Minnesota Wild Jay Henderson | To New York Rangers Cory Larose |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Minnesota Wild Johan Holmqvist | To New York Rangers Lawrence Nycholat |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03) | Bill Muckalt | Ottawa Senators | multi-year | Free agency |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Tony Tuzzolino | Boston Bruins | | Free agency |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Jean-Guy Trudel | Phoenix Coyotes | | Free agency |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Dieter Kochan | Tampa Bay Lightning | | Free agency |
| November 2, 2002 (2002-11-02) | Andrei Zyuzin | New Jersey Devils | | Waivers |
| November 26, 2002 (2002-11-26) | Jeremy Stevenson | Houston Aeros (AHL) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| N/A | Steve Aronson | London Knights (BISL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02) | Cam Stewart | | Retirement (UFA) |
| July 12, 2002 (2002-07-12) | Mike Matteucci | New Jersey Devils | Free agency (VI) |
| July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23) | Brett McLean | Chicago Blackhawks | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Aaron Gavey | Toronto Maple Leafs | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 13, 2002 (2002-08-13) | Shawn Carter | Augsburger Panther (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27) | Stacy Roest | Detroit Red Wings | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 27, 2002 (2002-09-27) | Mike Crowley | | Retirement |
| April 3, 2003 (2003-04-03) | Jean-Guy Trudel | HC Ambri-Piotta (NLA) | Free agency |
| April 14, 2003 (2003-04-14) | Tony Virta | HPK (Liiga) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26) | Sylvain Blouin | multi-year | Re-signing |
| June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) | Travis Roche | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 8, 2002 (2002-07-08) | Mike Crowley | | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Rickard Wallin | | Entry-level |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Brad Brown | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) | Ladislav Benysek | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) | Matt Johnson | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) | Cory Larose | | Re-signing |
| August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) | Richard Park | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 19, 2002 (2002-08-19) | Antti Laaksonen | 1-year | Arbitration award |
| September 27, 2002 (2002-09-27) | Pierre-Marc Bouchard | | Entry-level |
| November 20, 2002 (2002-11-20) | Filip Kuba | multi-year | Extension |
| January 6, 2003 (2003-01-06) | Chris Heid | multi-year | Entry-level |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | Dwayne Roloson | multi-year | Extension |
| April 6, 2003 (2003-04-06) | Josh Harding | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Minnesota'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 | 8 | Pierre-Marc Bouchard | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 38 | Josh Harding | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 3 | 72 | Mike Erickson | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 3 | 73 | Barry Brust | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 5 | 155 | Armands Berzins | Latvia | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 175 | Matt Foy | Canada | Merrimack College (Hockey East) |
| 7 | 204 | Niklas Eckerblom | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (Elitserien) |
| 8 | 237 | Christoph Brandner | Austria | Krefeld Pinguine (DEL) |
| 9 | 268 | Mikhail Tyulyapkin | Russia | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Jr. (Russia) |
| 9 | 269 | Mika Hannula | Sweden | Malmö Redhawks (Elitserien) |