# 2003–04 Detroit Red Wings season

The 2003–04 Detroit Red Wings season was the 78th National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. Despite multiple injuries to key players, the Wings found themselves once again winning the Presidents' Trophy for having the best regular season record in the NHL, scoring 109 points. In the post-season, they advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they were eliminated by the eventual Western Conference champion Calgary Flames in six games.
Two Red Wings were named to the roster for the 2004 All-Star Game: defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and center Pavel Datsyuk. Lidstrom was voted into his eighth appearance at the All-Star game by fans, and Datsyuk was selected to the roster for his first appearance.
The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2003–04 as 20,066 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit.

## Goaltending controversy

Detroit's early exit from the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs left Curtis Joseph to be heavily scrutinized by the media as to whether or not he was up to task to start for Detroit. During the subsequent offseason, Dominik Hasek shocked the hockey world when he announced he was coming out of retirement and fulfilling his contractual obligation to the Red Wings. Given their previous success with Hasek, the Red Wings welcomed him back to the team.
With the Wings appearing to favor Hasek as their starting goaltender, Joseph opted to have surgery to repair his ankle prior to the start of the season, resulting with the Red Wings using Hasek and Manny Legace as their goaltending tandem. When Joseph returned from injury and subsequent conditioning assignment in the minors, anger quickly grew on and off the ice between Hasek and Joseph. General Manager Ken Holland attempted to move Joseph to alleviate the situation, but Holland was not able to find a trade partner nor give Joseph up via the waiver wire due to the hefty terms of his contract (the contract had two years remaining with an annual salary of US$8 million and a no-trade clause). Unable to continue holding three goaltenders on roster, Detroit elected to send Joseph to Detroit's minor league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on a permanent basis following a poor performance against the Washington Capitals.
While Hasek assumed the starting role, he did not do so with ease. Hasek was not conditioned properly to handle the competition at the NHL level and was wrought with inconsistent play and injuries. By December 2003, both Hasek and Legace went down with injuries and Joseph was recalled from the minors, along with Joey MacDonald. While MacDonald was returned to the minors when Legace returned from injury, Joseph remained with the Red Wings as Hasek opted to remain on the injured reserve and did not return for the remainder of the season.
Joseph and Legace would find themselves in a platoon situation until Joseph injured his ankle in a contest against the San Jose Sharks. The Red Wings recalled Marc Lamothe from the Griffins to support Legace. Lamothe would appear in two games during his time with Detroit, making him the fifth goaltender to dress for Detroit and the fourth to play for them that season (MacDonald did not play in any games while on roster). Lamothe was returned to the minors once Joseph returned from injury.
Despite being viewed by many as Detroit's "third" goaltender, Manny Legace ended up the de facto starting goaltender for the season, leading the other goaltenders on the team in games played, wins and shutouts. (At the time, those were also career records for Legace.) Legace also had a better save percentage and goals against average (GAA) than either Hasek or Joseph. Based on his regular season play, Legace was named the starting goaltender going into the playoffs. During the opening round against the Nashville Predators, Legace won the first two games, but was pulled after the fourth game following consecutive three-goal losses.
Joseph took over the starting duties and responded admirably, posting a .300 GAA, .977 save percentage and one shutout for the remainder of the series. While Joseph had a strong performance against Calgary (1.83 GAA and .928 SV%), Detroit suffered an offensive drought and, with the series tied at two games a piece, were shut-out the final two games of the series, eliminating Detroit from the playoffs.
Joseph never appeared for the Red Wings again, as the last year of his contract was nullified by the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Instead, Joseph signed with the Phoenix Coyotes once the lockout was resolved. Legace went on to assume the starting role for Detroit, but was released after the season following another disappointing playoff exit. Hasek appeared with the Ottawa Senators during the 2005–06 season, but later returned to Detroit for what would be his last two seasons as an NHL goaltender.

## Regular season

The Red Wings tied the Tampa Bay Lightning for most short-handed goals scored in the NHL, with 15, and had the best penalty-kill percentage in the League (86.75%).

### Season standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 255 | 189 | 109 |
| 2 | 7 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 191 | 198 | 91 |
| 3 | 8 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 216 | 217 | 91 |
| 4 | 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 177 | 238 | 62 |
| 5 | 15 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 20 | 43 | 11 | 8 | 188 | 259 | 59 |
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 | P- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 255 | 189 | 109 |
| 2 | Y- San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 43 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 255 | 183 | 104 |
| 3 | Y- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 235 | 194 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 236 | 198 | 100 |
| 5 | X- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 41 | 26 | 13 | 2 | 194 | 175 | 97 |
| 6 | X- Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 200 | 176 | 94 |
| 7 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 191 | 198 | 91 |
| 8 | X- Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 216 | 217 | 91 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 221 | 208 | 89 |
| 10 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 30 | 29 | 20 | 3 | 188 | 183 | 83 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 28 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 205 | 217 | 81 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 29 | 35 | 10 | 8 | 184 | 213 | 76 |
| 13 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 22 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 188 | 245 | 68 |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 177 | 238 | 62 |
| 15 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 20 | 43 | 11 | 8 | 188 | 259 | 59 |
Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot For complete final standings, see 2003–04 NHL season

## Playoffs

The Detroit Red Wings ended the 2003–04 regular season as the Western Conference's first seed and played the Nashville Predators in the first round. They defeated Nashville in six games and met the Calgary Flames in the second round. Calgary would go on to defeat Detroit and reach the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in Game 7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2003–04 regular season :
October: 5–5–0–0 (home: 4–1–0–0; road: 1–4–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
1October 9Los Angeles2 – 3DetroitHasek20,0661–0–0–02Recap
2October 11Detroit3 – 2OttawaOTHasek18,5002–0–0–04Recap
3October 16Vancouver2 – 3DetroitHasek20,0663–0–0–06Recap
4October 18Detroit3 – 4PittsburghHasek13,4213–1–0–06Recap
5October 20Detroit1 – 2MontrealHasek19,4073–2–0–06Recap
6October 22Columbus1 – 4DetroitLegace20,0664–2–0–08Recap
7October 24Dallas0 – 4DetroitHasek20,0665–2–0–010Recap
8October 25Detroit1 – 3NY RangersHasek18,2005–3–0–010Recap
9October 29St. Louis6 – 5DetroitLegace20,0665–4–0–010Recap
10October 30Detroit3 – 5NashvilleJoseph12,3225–5–0–010Recap :
November: 9–4–2–0 (home: 4–2–0–0; road: 5–2–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
11November 1Detroit4 – 4EdmontonOTLegace16,8395–5–1–011Recap
12November 3Detroit1 – 5VancouverLegace18,6305–6–1–011Recap
13November 4Detroit3 – 0CalgaryJoseph15,2596–6–1–013Recap
14November 8Nashville4 – 3DetroitJoseph20,0666–7–1–013Recap
15November 10Chicago0 – 3DetroitHasek20,0667–7–1–015Recap
16November 12Detroit6 – 2DallasHasek18,5328–7–1–017Recap
17November 14Detroit4 – 3ChicagoOTHasek21,8569–7–1–019Recap
18November 15Detroit1 – 1MinnesotaOTHasek18,5689–7–2–020Recap
19November 19Columbus1 – 5DetroitLegace20,06610–7–2–022Recap
20November 20Detroit0 – 3ColumbusLegace18,13610–8–2–022Recap
21November 22Detroit5 – 2MinnesotaJoseph18,56811–8–2–024Recap
22November 24Washington4 – 1DetroitJoseph20,06611–9–2–024Recap
23November 26Edmonton1 – 7DetroitLegace20,06612–9–2–026Recap
24November 28NY Islanders0 – 6DetroitLegace20,06613–9–2–028Recap
25November 29Detroit2 – 1St. LouisLegace20,00614–9–2–030Recap :
December: 9–3–2–1 (home: 7–0–1–0; road: 2–3–1–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
26December 3Anaheim2 – 7DetroitLegace20,06615–9–2–032Recap
27December 4Detroit4 – 4St. LouisOTHasek18,50415–9–3–033Recap
28December 6Detroit2 – 5TorontoLegace19,47015–10–3–033Recap
29December 8Los Angeles2 – 3DetroitOTHasek20,06616–10–3–035Recap
30December 10Detroit7 – 2BuffaloJoseph16,28317–10–3–037Recap
31December 11Detroit3 – 4ChicagoOTJoseph18,48917–10–3–138Recap
32December 13Detroit5 – 1WashingtonJoseph18,27718–10–3–140Recap
33December 15Florida1 – 4DetroitJoseph20,06619–10–3–142Recap
34December 17San Jose2 – 2DetroitOTJoseph20,06620–10–3–144Recap
35December 19Chicago2 – 3DetroitLegace20,06621–10–3–146Recap
36December 20Detroit0 – 1NashvilleJoseph17,11321–11–3–146Recap
37December 22St. Louis1 – 2DetroitJoseph20,06622–11–3–148Recap
38December 26Minnesota2 – 2DetroitOTJoseph20,06622–11–4–149Recap
39December 28Detroit0 – 3ChicagoLegace21,12222–12–4–149Recap
40December 31Atlanta5 – 6DetroitOTJoseph20,06623–12–4–151Recap :
January: 6–3–4–1 (home: 4–1–2–0; road: 2–2–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
41January 2Detroit4 – 1CarolinaJoseph17,05324–12–4–153Recap
42January 3Anaheim1 – 3DetroitLegace20,06625–12–4–155Recap
43January 5Nashville0 – 6DetroitJoseph20,06626–12–4–157Recap
44January 7Boston3 – 0DetroitJoseph20,06626–13–4–157Recap
45January 10Detroit1 – 2BostonOTJoseph17,56526–13–4–258Recap
46January 14Chicago2 – 4DetroitLegace20,06627–13–4–260Recap
47January 16Phoenix3 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,06627–13–5–261Recap
48January 19Detroit1 – 2San JoseJoseph17,36127–14–5–261Recap
49January 21Detroit2 – 2AnaheimOTLegace17,17427–14–6–262Recap
50January 22Detroit5 – 4Los AngelesJoseph18,11828–14–6–264Recap
51January 24Detroit2 – 5PhoenixJoseph19,01928–15–6–264Recap
52January 26Detroit2 – 2DallasOTLegace18,53228–15–7–265Recap
53January 29New Jersey2 – 5DetroitJoseph20,06629–15–7–267Recap
54January 31Carolina4 – 4DetroitOTLegace20,06630–15–8–268Recap :
February: 8–2–1–0 (home: 5–1–0–0; road: 3–1–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
55February 3Detroit4 – 1NashvilleLegace15,13430–15–8–270Recap
56February 5Detroit3 – 2ColoradoOTJoseph18,00731–15–8–272Recap
57February 11San Jose2 – 4DetroitLegace20,06632–15–8–274Recap
58February 14Colorado5 – 2DetroitLegace20,06632–16–8–274Recap
59February 16Edmonton1 – 2DetroitLegace20,06633–16–8–276Recap
60February 18Phoenix2 – 5DetroitLegace20,06634–16–8–278Recap
61February 20St. Louis1 – 5DetroitLegace20,06635–16–8–280Recap
62February 23Detroit1 – 1EdmontonOTLamothe16,83935–16–9–281Recap
63February 24Detroit2 – 4VancouverLegace18,63035–17–9–281Recap
64February 26Detroit2 – 1CalgaryLegace17,86236–17–9–283Recap
65February 29Philadelphia2 – 4DetroitLegace20,06637–17–9–285Recap :
March: 10–3–2–0 (home: 6–1–1–0; road: 4–2–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
66March 3Calgary1 – 2DetroitLegace20,06638–17–9–287Recap
67March 5Vancouver1 – 3DetroitLegace20,06639–17–9–289Recap
68March 8Tampa Bay1 – 1DetroitOTLegace20,06639–17–10–290Recap
69March 11Detroit4 – 2ColumbusJoseph18,13640–17–10–292Recap
70March 13Dallas0 – 3DetroitLegace20,06641–17–10–294Recap
71March 14Nashville2 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,06642–17–10–296Recap
72March 16Calgary4 – 1DetroitLegace20,06642–18–10–296Recap
73March 18Detroit1 – 1PhoenixOTJoseph18,70442–18–11–297Recap
74March 20Detroit4 – 2Los AngelesJoseph18,11843–18–11–299Recap
75March 21Detroit6 – 8AnaheimJoseph17,17443–19–11–299Recap
76March 23Detroit2 – 5San JoseLegace17,49643–20–11–299Recap
77March 25Detroit3 – 1ColoradoLegace18,00744–20–11–2101Recap
78March 27Colorado0 – 2DetroitLegace20,06645–20–11–2103Recap
79March 29Minnesota3 – 5DetroitLegace20,06646–20–11–2105Recap
80March 31Detroit3 – 2ColumbusLegace18,13647–20–11–2107Recap :
April: 1–1–0–0 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 1–0–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPtsRecap
81April 1Detroit3 – 2St. LouisLamothe20,01848–20–11–2109Recap
82April 3Columbus4 – 1DetroitLegace20,06648–21–11–2109Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals: vs. (8) Nashville Predators — Detroit wins 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 7Nashville1–3DetroitLegace20,066Red Wings lead 1–0Recap
2April 10Nashville1–2DetroitLegace20,066Red Wings lead 2–0Recap
3April 11Detroit1–3NashvilleLegace17,113Red Wings lead 2–1Recap
4April 13Detroit0–3NashvilleLegace17,113Series tied 2–2Recap
5April 15Nashville1–4DetroitJoseph20,066Red Wings lead 3–2Recap
6April 17Detroit2–0NashvilleJoseph17,329Red Wings win 4–2Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals: vs. (6) Calgary Flames — Calgary wins 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 22Calgary2–1DetroitOTJoseph20,066Flames lead 1–0Recap
2April 24Calgary2–5DetroitJoseph20,066Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 27Detroit2–3CalgaryJoseph19,289Flames lead 2–1Recap
4April 29Detroit4–2CalgaryJoseph19,289Series tied 2–2Recap
5May 1Calgary1–0DetroitJoseph20,066Flames lead 3–2Recap
6May 3Detroit0–1CalgaryOTJoseph19,289Flames 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 Red Wings 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 |
| 13 | Pavel Datsyuk | C | 75 | 30 | 38 | 68 | −2 | 35 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Brett Hull | RW | 81 | 25 | 43 | 68 | −4 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Brendan Shanahan | LW | 82 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 15 | 117 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 20 |
| 19 | Steve Yzerman | C | 75 | 18 | 33 | 51 | 10 | 46 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −1 | 0 |
| 23 | Mathieu Schneider | D | 78 | 14 | 32 | 46 | 22 | 56 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 40 | Henrik Zetterberg | LW | 61 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 41 | Ray Whitney | LW | 67 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 7 | 22 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −4 | 4 |
| 33 | Kris Draper | C | 67 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 22 | 31 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Nicklas Lidstrom | D | 81 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 19 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| 18 | Kirk Maltby | LW | 79 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 24 | 80 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
| 96 | Tomas Holmstrom | LW | 67 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 8 | 38 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| 32 | Steve Thomas† | RW | 44 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 8 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 24 | Chris Chelios | D | 69 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 12 | 61 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | Jiri Fischer | D | 81 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 0 | 75 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 16 |
| 15 | Jason Woolley | D | 55 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 6 |
| 21 | Boyd Devereaux | C | 61 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −1 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 29 | Jason Williams | C | 49 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Mathieu Dandenault | D | 65 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 40 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 |
| 25 | Darren McCarty | RW | 43 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 50 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 44 | Mark Mowers | RW | 52 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Jamie Rivers | D | 50 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 55 | Niklas Kronwall | D | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Robert Lang† | C | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −1 | 6 |
| 2 | Derian Hatcher | D | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 26 | Jiri Hudler | C | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Kevin Miller | C | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Darryl Bootland | RW | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Dominik Hasek | G | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Anders Myrvold | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Manny Legace | G | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 31 | Curtis Joseph | G | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 38 | Nathan Robinson | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 52 | Ryan Barnes | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Marc Lamothe | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 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 |
| 34 | Manny Legace | 41 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 1019 | 82 | 2.12 | .920 | 3 | 2325 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 84 | 8 | 2.18 | .905 | 0 | 220 |
| 31 | Curtis Joseph | 31 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 744 | 68 | 2.39 | .909 | 2 | 1708 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 197 | 12 | 1.39 | .939 | 1 | 518 |
| 39 | Dominik Hasek | 14 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 324 | 30 | 2.20 | .907 | 2 | 817 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Marc Lamothe | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 3 | 1.45 | .948 | 0 | 125 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Frank J. Selke Trophy | Kris Draper |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pavel Datsyuk |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Dave Lewis (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Nicklas Lidstrom |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Month | Pavel Datsyuk (December) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Pavel Datsyuk (December 15) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Jiri Hudler | October 16, 2003 |
| First game | Darryl Bootland | November 8, 2003 |
| First game | Nathan Robinson | November 28, 2003 |
| First game | Niklas Kronwall | December 10, 2003 |
| First game | Ryan Barnes | December 15, 2003 |
| 1,000th game played | Nicklas Lidstrom | February 29, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Red Wings 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 | Ref |
| February 27, 2004 (2004-02-27) | To Detroit Red Wings Robert Lang | To Washington Capitals Tomas Fleischmann1st-round pick in 20044th-round pick in 2006 | |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Derian Hatcher | Dallas Stars | 5-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29) | Jamie Rivers | Florida Panthers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29) | Ray Whitney | Columbus Blue Jackets | 3-year | Free agency |
| August 27, 2003 (2003-08-27) | Kevin Miller | HC Davos (NLA) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 1, 2003 (2003-09-01) | Anders Myrvold | Adler Mannheim (DEL) | | Free agency |
| November 5, 2003 (2003-11-05) | Steve Thomas | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | 1-year | Free agency |
| December 1, 2003 (2003-12-01) | Blake Sloan | Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 18, 2003 (2003-06-18) | Dmitri Bykov | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | Free agency (II) |
| July 19, 2003 (2003-07-19) | Sergei Fedorov | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Free agency (III) |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Luc Robitaille | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (III) |
| July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31) | Ed Campbell | Boston Bruins | Free agency (VI) |
| July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31) | Jesse Wallin | Calgary Flames | Free agency (VI) |
| August 8, 2003 (2003-08-08) | Bryan Adams | Iserlohn Roosters (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28) | Patrick Boileau | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency (VI) |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | Igor Larionov | New Jersey Devils | Free agency (III) |
| N/A | Tim Verbeek | Utah Grizzlies (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| December 3, 2003 (2003-12-03) | Blake Sloan | Dallas Stars | Waivers |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26) | Pavel Datsyuk | 1-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Dominik Hasek | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Darren McCarty | 4-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Jason Woolley | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Marc Lamothe | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 7, 2003 (2003-07-07) | Jiri Hudler | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Mathieu Dandenault | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Niklas Kronwall | 2-year | Entry-level |
| July 16, 2003 (2003-07-16) | Mark Mowers | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 20, 2003 (2003-08-20) | Ryan Barnes | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 25, 2003 (2003-08-25) | Steve Yzerman | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 15, 2003 (2003-09-15) | Jason Williams | 1-year | Re-signing |
| April 2, 2004 (2004-04-02) | Tomas Holmstrom | 3-year | Extension |
| April 3, 2004 (2004-04-03) | Nicklas Lidstrom | 2-year | Extension |
| June 2, 2004 (2004-06-02) | Todd Jackson | 2-year | Entry-level |
| June 2, 2004 (2004-06-02) | Logan Koopmans | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 2, 2004 (2004-06-02) | Derek Meech | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The Red Wings were slated to pick 27th overall but traded their first pick to the Los Angeles Kings at the 2003 trade deadline.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 64 | Jimmy Howard (G) | United States | University of Maine (Hockey East) |
| 4 | 132 | Kyle Quincey (D) | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 5 | 164 | Ryan Oulahen (C) | Canada | Brampton Battalion (OHL) |
| 6 | 170 | Andreas Sundin (LW) | Sweden | Linkopings HC (SWE) |
| 6 | 194 | Stefan Blom (D) | Sweden | Hammarby IF (SWE) |
| 7 | 226 | Tomas Kollar | Sweden | Hammarby IF (SWE) |
| 8 | 258 | Vladimir Kutny | Slovakia | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 289 | Mikael Johansson (C) | Sweden | Arvika (SWE) |

## Farm teams
### Grand Rapids Griffins

The Griffins were Detroit's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2003–04.

### Toledo Storm

The Storm were the Red Wings' ECHL affiliate for the 2003–04 season.