# 2003–04 Boston Bruins season

The 2003–04 Boston Bruins season was the team's 80th season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Off-season

Mike Sullivan was named the team’s new head coach on June 23, 2003.

## Regular season

The Bruins had the fewest power-play opportunities of any team in the League, with just 300.

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
| 2 | 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
| 3 | 5 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
| 4 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
| 5 | 9 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
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: 6–2–2–1 (home: 0–1–1–1; road: 6–1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 8, 20033–3 OTNew Jersey Devils (2003–04)0–0–1–0Recap
2LOctober 10, 20031–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)0–1–1–0Recap
3TOctober 11, 20031–1 OT@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)0–1–2–0Recap
4WOctober 15, 20032–0@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)1–1–2–0Recap
5WOctober 18, 20034–3@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)2–1–2–0Recap
6WOctober 19, 20034–3 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)3–1–2–0Recap
7WOctober 21, 20034–1@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)4–1–2–0Recap
8LOctober 23, 20030–2Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)4–2–2–0Recap
9WOctober 25, 20035–2@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)5–2–2–0Recap
10WOctober 28, 20032–0@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)6–2–2–0Recap
11OTLOctober 30, 20030–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (2003–04)6–2–2–1Recap :
November: 5–2–2–3 (home: 4–1–2–0; road: 1–1–0–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12OTLNovember 1, 20032–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)6–2–2–2Recap
13TNovember 6, 20035–5 OTSan Jose Sharks (2003–04)6–2–3–2Recap
14WNovember 8, 20034–1Dallas Stars (2003–04)7–2–3–2Recap
15WNovember 11, 20034–3Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)8–2–3–2Recap
16WNovember 14, 20034–0@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)9–2–3–2Recap
17WNovember 15, 20032–1 OTVancouver Canucks (2003–04)10–2–3–2Recap
18OTLNovember 19, 20034–5 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)10–2–3–3Recap
19WNovember 20, 20033–2Washington Capitals (2003–04)11–2–3–3Recap
20LNovember 22, 20032–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)11–3–3–3Recap
21OTLNovember 25, 20033–4 OT@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)11–3–3–4Recap
22LNovember 28, 20031–2Nashville Predators (2003–04)11–4–3–4Recap
23TNovember 30, 20033–3 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2003–04)11–4–4–4Recap :
December: 3–7–5–0 (home: 0–4–3–0; road: 3–3–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
24WDecember 3, 20036–4@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)12–4–4–4Recap
25LDecember 4, 20030–6Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)12–5–4–4Recap
26TDecember 6, 20031–1 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2003–04)12–5–5–4Recap
27TDecember 8, 20032–2 OTOttawa Senators (2003–04)12–5–6–4Recap
28TDecember 10, 20031–1 OT@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)12–5–7–4Recap
29LDecember 11, 20035–6@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)12–6–7–4Recap
30WDecember 13, 20033–2@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)13–6–7–4Recap
31TDecember 16, 20031–1 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)13–6–8–4Recap
32LDecember 18, 20030–5Calgary Flames (2003–04)13–7–8–4Recap
33LDecember 20, 20031–2Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)13–8–8–4Recap
34LDecember 22, 20032–4@ New York Rangers (2003–04)13–9–8–4Recap
35TDecember 23, 20031–1 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)13–9–9–4Recap
36LDecember 27, 20032–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)13–10–9–4Recap
37WDecember 29, 20033–1@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)14–10–9–4Recap
38LDecember 30, 20030–3Ottawa Senators (2003–04)14–11–9–4Recap :
January: 10–3–2–0 (home: 6–2–1–0; road: 4–1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39WJanuary 1, 20043–2Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)15–11–9–4Recap
40TJanuary 3, 20043–3 OTNew York Islanders (2003–04)15–11–10–4Recap
41WJanuary 7, 20043–0@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)16–11–10–4Recap
42WJanuary 8, 20043–1Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)17–11–10–4Recap
43WJanuary 10, 20042–1 OTDetroit Red Wings (2003–04)18–11–10–4Recap
44WJanuary 12, 20044–3Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)19–11–10–4Recap
45WJanuary 15, 20041–0@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)20–11–10–4Recap
46LJanuary 17, 20040–4@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)20–12–10–4Recap
47WJanuary 19, 20045–2New York Rangers (2003–04)21–12–10–4Recap
48WJanuary 20, 20044–1@ New York Rangers (2003–04)22–12–10–4Recap
49LJanuary 22, 20042–3Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)22–13–10–4Recap
50LJanuary 24, 20041–2Florida Panthers (2003–04)22–14–10–4Recap
51TJanuary 27, 20042–2 OT@ New York Islanders (2003–04)22–14–11–4Recap
52WJanuary 29, 20042–1 OTNew York Islanders (2003–04)23–14–11–4Recap
53WJanuary 31, 20041–0@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)24–14–11–4Recap :
February: 7–1–2–3 (home: 3–1–0–1; road: 4–0–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54WFebruary 1, 20044–1Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)25–14–11–4Recap
55WFebruary 3, 20045–4Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)26–14–11–4Recap
56WFebruary 5, 20046–2@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)27–14–11–4Recap
57WFebruary 10, 20046–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)28–14–11–4Recap
58OTLFebruary 12, 20042–3 OT@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)28–14–11–5Recap
59OTLFebruary 14, 20041–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)28–14–11–6Recap
60WFebruary 17, 20045–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)29–14–11–6Recap
61WFebruary 19, 20044–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)30–14–11–6Recap
62TFebruary 21, 20043–3 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)30–14–12–6Recap
63LFebruary 23, 20040–2Florida Panthers (2003–04)30–15–12–6Recap
64TFebruary 24, 20040–0 OT@ New York Islanders (2003–04)30–15–13–6Recap
65OTLFebruary 26, 20042–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (2003–04)30–15–13–7Recap
66WFebruary 28, 20043–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2003–04)31–15–13–7Recap :
March: 9–3–1–0 (home: 5–2–1–0; road: 4–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
67LMarch 2, 20042–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)31–16–13–7Recap
68WMarch 4, 20043–1New York Rangers (2003–04)32–16–13–7Recap
69TMarch 6, 20042–2 OTAtlanta Thrashers (2003–04)32–16–14–7Recap
70WMarch 9, 20043–2@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)33–16–14–7Recap
71WMarch 11, 20043–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)34–16–14–7Recap
72WMarch 13, 20043–2 OTBuffalo Sabres (2003–04)35–16–14–7Recap
73WMarch 16, 20042–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)36–16–14–7Recap
74LMarch 18, 20040–2Minnesota Wild (2003–04)36–17–14–7Recap
75WMarch 20, 20045–4Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)37–17–14–7Recap
76WMarch 23, 20044–2Ottawa Senators (2003–04)38–17–14–7Recap
77LMarch 25, 20040–3Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)38–18–14–7Recap
78WMarch 27, 20043–2 OTMontreal Canadiens (2003–04)39–18–14–7Recap
79WMarch 30, 20043–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)40–18–14–7Recap :
April: 1–1–1–0 (home: 0–1–1–0; road: 1–0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
80TApril 1, 20043–3 OTWashington Capitals (2003–04)40–18–15–7Recap
81LApril 3, 20042–5New Jersey Devils (2003–04)40–19–15–7Recap
82WApril 4, 20043–1@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)41–19–15–7Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens win 4–3
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 7Montreal3–0BostonRaycroft17,565Boston leads 1–0Recap
2April 9Montreal2–1BostonOTRaycroft17,565Boston leads 2–0Recap
3April 11Boston3–2MontrealTheodore21,273Boston leads 2–1Recap
4April 13Boston3–4MontrealOTRaycroft21,273Boston leads 3–1Recap
5April 15Montreal1–5BostonTheodore17,565Boston leads 3–2Recap
6April 17Boston2–5MontrealTheodore21,273Series tied 3–3Recap
7April 19Montreal2–0BostonTheodore17,565Montreal wins 4–3Recap :
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 Bruins only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins 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 | Joe Thornton | C | 77 | 23 | 50 | 73 | 18 | 98 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 14 |
| 27 | Glen Murray | RW | 81 | 32 | 28 | 60 | 17 | 56 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 8 |
| 12 | Brian Rolston | C | 82 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 9 | 40 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 8 |
| 26 | Mike Knuble | RW | 82 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 19 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −5 | 0 |
| 14 | Sergei Samsonov | LW | 58 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 37 | Patrice Bergeron | C | 71 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 5 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 44 | Nick Boynton | D | 81 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 17 | 98 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Dan McGillis | D | 80 | 5 | 23 | 28 | −1 | 65 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| 20 | Martin Lapointe | RW | 78 | 15 | 10 | 25 | −5 | 67 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 14 |
| 11 | P. J. Axelsson | LW | 68 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 42 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 71 | Jiri Slegr† | D | 36 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 5 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 39 | Travis Green | C | 64 | 11 | 5 | 16 | −6 | 67 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 23 | Jeff Jillson‡ | D | 50 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −1 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 92 | Michael Nylander† | C | 15 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 40 | Ted Donato | LW | 63 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Sean O'Donnell | D | 82 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 110 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 55 | Sergei Gonchar† | D | 15 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −4 | 4 |
| 17 | Rob Zamuner | LW | 57 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 25 | Hal Gill | D | 82 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 99 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 28 | Shaone Morrisonn‡ | D | 30 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Michal Grosek | LW | 33 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Ian Moran | D | 35 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Sandy McCarthy‡ | RW | 37 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Craig MacDonald† | LW | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 52 | Carl Corazzini | C | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Andy Hilbert | C | 18 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Andrew Raycroft | G | 57 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 56 | Doug Doull | LW | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 132 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 54 | Sergei Zinovjev | C | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Ivan Huml | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Zdenek Kutlak | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | Patrick Leahy | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 75 | Colton Orr | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Felix Potvin | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | Martin Samuelsson | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | P. J. Stock | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 76 | Kris Vernarsky | C | 3 | 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 |
| 1 | Andrew Raycroft | 57 | 29 | 18 | 9 | 1586 | 117 | 2.05 | .926 | 3 | 3420 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 210 | 16 | 2.15 | .924 | 1 | 447 |
| 29 | Felix Potvin | 28 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 690 | 67 | 2.50 | .903 | 4 | 1605 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Calder Memorial Trophy | Andrew Raycroft |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Andrew Raycroft (Goaltender) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Nick Boynton |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Glen Murray |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Joe Thornton |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Andrew Raycroft (February 2) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Glen Murray (February 2) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Andrew Raycroft (January) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Patrice Bergeron |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Andrew Raycroft |
| Team | Eddie Shore Award | Andrew Raycroft |
| Team | Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy | Andrew Raycroft |
| Team | John P. Bucyk Award | Martin Lapointe |
| Team | Seventh Player Award | Andrew Raycroft |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Andrew Raycroft (1st) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Joe Thornton (2nd) |
| Team | Three Stars Awards | Glen Murray (3rd) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Patrice Bergeron | October 8, 2003 |
| First game | Sergei Zinovjev | October 25, 2003 |
| First game | Pat Leahy | December 6, 2003 |
| First game | Doug Doull | December 11, 2003 |
| First game | Colton Orr | January 8, 2004 |
| First game | Carl Corazzini | January 15, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Bruins 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 |
| June 20, 2003 (2003-06-20) | To Los Angeles Kings Jozef Stumpel7th-round pick in 2003 | To Boston Bruins Philadelphia’s 4th-round pick in 2003Detroit’s 2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| June 21, 2003 (2003-06-21) | To San Jose Sharks 1st-round pick in 2003 | To Boston Bruins 1st-round pick in 20032nd-round pick in 20034th-round pick in 2003 |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 6th-round pick in 2004 | To Boston Bruins Travis Green |
| October 5, 2003 (2003-10-05) | To Florida Panthers Steve Shields | To Boston Bruins Future considerations |
| January 17, 2004 (2004-01-17) | To Vancouver Canucks Future considerations | To Boston Bruins Jiri Slegr |
| March 3, 2004 (2004-03-03) | To Washington Capitals Shaone Morrisonn1st-round pick in 20042nd-round pick in 2004 | To Boston Bruins Sergei Gonchar |
| March 4, 2004 (2004-03-04) | To Washington Capitals 4th-round pick in 2005Conditional draft pick in 2006 | To Boston Bruins Michael Nylander |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To San Jose Sharks Jeff Jillson | To Boston Bruins Brad Boyes |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To San Jose Sharks 9th-round pick in 2005 | To Boston Bruins Andy Delmore |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Ted Donato | New York Rangers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Doug Doull | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Pat Leahy | Providence Bruins (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Robert Liscak | Providence Bruins (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31) | Ed Campbell | Detroit Red Wings | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | Sandy McCarthy | New York Rangers | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 3, 2003 (2003-09-03) | Felix Potvin | Los Angeles Kings | 1-year | Free agency |
| January 20, 2004 (2004-01-20) | Craig MacDonald | Florida Panthers | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Jeff Hackett | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (III) |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Brantt Myhres | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Don Sweeney | Dallas Stars | Free agency (III) |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Sean Brown | New Jersey Devils | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Lee Goren | Florida Panthers | Free agency (VI) |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Krzysztof Oliwa | Calgary Flames | Free agency |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | Bryan Berard | Chicago Blackhawks | Release (II) |
| September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05) | Chris Kelleher | Krefeld Pinguine (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | Sandy McCarthy | New York Rangers | Waivers |
| May 5, 2004 (2004-05-05) | Zdenek Kutlak | HC Karlovy Vary (ELH) | Free agency |
| May 17, 2004 (2004-05-17) | Tim Thomas | Jokerit (Liiga) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | P. J. Stock | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Darren Van Oene | 1-year | Option exercised |
| July 10, 2003 (2003-07-10) | Hannu Toivonen | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 10, 2003 (2003-07-10) | Sergei Zinovjev | 2-year | Entry-level |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | P. J. Axelsson | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Jonathan Girard | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Michal Grosek | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 23, 2003 (2003-07-23) | Hal Gill | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Ian Moran | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31) | Zdenek Kutlak | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31) | Andrew Raycroft | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | Brian Rolston | 1-year | Arbitration award |
| September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02) | Tim Thomas | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 7, 2003 (2003-09-07) | Carl Corazzini | | Re-signing |
| September 11, 2003 (2003-09-11) | Sergei Samsonov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 30, 2003 (2003-09-30) | Nick Boynton | 2-year | Re-signing |
| October 6, 2003 (2003-10-06) | Patrice Bergeron | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 21 | Mark Stuart | United States | Colorado College (WCHA) |
| 2 | 45 | Patrice Bergeron | Canada | Acadie–Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 66 | Masi Marjamaki | Finland | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 4 | 107 | Byron Bitz | Canada | Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) |
| 4 | 118 | Frank Rediker | United States | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 4 | 129 | Patrik Valcak | Czech Republic | HC Vítkovice Jr. (Czech Republic) |
| 5 | 153 | Mike Brown | United States | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
| 6 | 183 | Nate Thompson | United States | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 8 | 247 | Benoit Mondou | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 277 | Kevin Regan | United States | Saint Sebastian's School (USHS-MA) |