# 2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 37th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Eastern Conference Finals but lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

## Regular season

Free-agent goaltender Jeff Hackett was signed from the Boston Bruins to replace Roman Cechmanek and challenge backup Robert Esche for the number one spot in 2003–04, but Hackett was forced to retire in February due to vertigo. During the course of the season, serious injuries suffered by both Jeremy Roenick (broken jaw) and Keith Primeau (concussion) in February forced the Flyers to trade for the Chicago Blackhawks' Alexei Zhamnov, who filled in well and kept the Flyers afloat. Esche entrenched himself as starter and remained in that position even after the Flyers re-acquired Sean Burke from the Phoenix Coyotes, as the Flyers clinched the Atlantic Division title over the New Jersey Devils on the last day of the season.

### Season 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

## Playoffs

Though solid in net, Esche's performance was over-shadowed by the play of captain Keith Primeau in the playoffs. Primeau led the Flyers past the defending Stanley Cup champion Devils in five, and the Toronto Maple Leafs in six on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals and a match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite winning Game 6 on the late-game heroics of Primeau and winger Simon Gagne, the Flyers would come up short once again losing Game 7 in Tampa, 2–1.

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

2003 preseason :
Preseason: 3–4–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRef
1September 19New Jersey Devils6 – 11–0–0
2September 20@ Washington Capitals4 – 22–0–0
3September 23@ New Jersey Devils0 – 32–1–0
4September 26New Jersey Devils5 – 4 OT3–1–0
5September 27@ New Jersey Devils2 – 43–2–0
6September 30New York Islanders1 – 43–3–0
7October 1@ Washington Capitals4 – 4 OT3–3–1
8October 2@ New York Islanders2 – 43–4–1
Notes:
$^a$ Game played at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.
$^b$ Game played at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Regular season

2003–04 regular season :
October: 4–2–3–1, 12 points (home: 3–0–2–0; road: 1–2–1–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 9Buffalo Sabres2–01–0–0–02Recap
2October 11Pittsburgh Penguins3–3 OT1–0–1–03Recap
3October 16@ San Jose Sharks0–0 OT1–0–2–04Recap
4October 18@ Phoenix Coyotes5–42–0–2–06Recap
5October 21@ Los Angeles Kings0–42–1–2–06Recap
6October 22@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim3–4 OT2–1–2–17Recap
7October 25Carolina Hurricanes4–4 OT2–1–3–18Recap
8October 27Montreal Canadiens5–03–1–3–110Recap
9October 29Florida Panthers5–14–1–3–112Recap
10October 30@ New Jersey Devils2–34–2–3–112Recap :
November: 10–0–2–0, 22 points (home: 7–0–0–0; road: 3–0–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
11November 1@ Toronto Maple Leafs7–15–2–3–114Recap
12November 6Washington Capitals4–26–2–3–116Recap
13November 8@ New York Rangers2–1 OT7–2–3–118Recap
14November 11New York Islanders2–18–2–3–120Recap
15November 13Vancouver Canucks4–3 OT9–2–3–122Recap
16November 15Atlanta Thrashers4–010–2–3–124Recap
17November 18@ Carolina Hurricanes2–2 OT10–2–4–125Recap
18November 20Minnesota Wild3–111–2–4–127Recap
19November 22Boston Bruins3–212–2–4–129Recap
20November 26@ Pittsburgh Penguins1–1 OT12–2–5–130Recap
21November 28Carolina Hurricanes4–213–2–5–132Recap
22November 29@ New York Islanders5–114–2–5–134Recap :
December: 5–4–4–3, 17 points (home: 3–1–0–2; road: 2–3–4–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
23December 1@ Ottawa Senators1–414–3–5–134Recap
24December 3Pittsburgh Penguins5–215–3–5–136Recap
25December 5Phoenix Coyotes3–216–3–5–138Recap
26December 6@ Boston Bruins1–1 OT16–3–6–139Recap
27December 8@ Montreal Canadiens3–217–3–6–141Recap
28December 10@ Columbus Blue Jackets1–1 OT17–3–7–142Recap
29December 12@ New Jersey Devils3–3 OT17–3–8–143Recap
30December 13New Jersey Devils0–217–4–8–143Recap
31December 16Calgary Flames2–3 OT17–4–8–244Recap
32December 18Tampa Bay Lightning4–5 OT17–4–8–345Recap
33December 20New York Islanders3–118–4–8–347Recap
34December 21@ Atlanta Thrashers1–418–5–8–347Recap
35December 23@ New York Islanders2–418–6–8–347Recap
36December 27@ Colorado Avalanche2–3 OT18–6–8–448Recap
37December 29@ Dallas Stars2–2 OT18–6–9–449Recap
38December 30@ St. Louis Blues7–219–6–9–451Recap :
January: 7–5–2–1, 17 points (home: 2–3–0–1; road: 5–2–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
39January 2@ Florida Panthers2–120–6–9–453Recap
40January 3@ Tampa Bay Lightning1–620–7–9–453Recap
41January 7@ Buffalo Sabres1–1 OT20–7–10–454Recap
42January 8Florida Panthers3–4 OT20–7–10–555Recap
43January 10Edmonton Oilers0–320–8–10–555Recap
44January 12Pittsburgh Penguins1–220–9–10–555Recap
45January 13@ Buffalo Sabres2–620–10–10–555Recap
46January 16Toronto Maple Leafs4–121–10–10–557Recap
47January 17@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–022–10–10–559Recap
48January 20Montreal Canadiens1–422–11–10–559Recap
49January 22@ New York Rangers4–223–11–10–561Recap
50January 24Buffalo Sabres2–124–11–10–563Recap
51January 25@ Washington Capitals4–125–11–10–565Recap
52January 28@ Florida Panthers3–3 OT25–11–11–566Recap
53January 31@ Pittsburgh Penguins5–326–11–11–568Recap :
February: 7–5–1–1, 16 points (home: 5–3–0–0; road: 2–2–1–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
54February 2Tampa Bay Lightning1–226–12–11–568Recap
55February 4Washington Capitals5–127–12–11–570Recap
56February 5@ Atlanta Thrashers5–128–12–11–572Recap
57February 10New Jersey Devils4–129–12–11–574Recap
58February 12@ New York Rangers2–130–12–11–576Recap
59February 14New York Rangers6–231–12–11–578Recap
60February 16San Jose Sharks2–531–13–11–578Recap
61February 17@ Tampa Bay Lightning2–531–14–11–578Recap
62February 19Boston Bruins3–431–15–11–578Recap
63February 21Atlanta Thrashers5–432–15–11–580Recap
64February 24Chicago Blackhawks3–133–15–11–582Recap
65February 26@ Ottawa Senators1–1 OT33–15–12–583Recap
66February 28@ Boston Bruins2–3 OT33–15–12–684Recap
67February 29@ Detroit Red Wings2–433–16–12–684Recap :
March: 6–4–2–0, 14 points (home: 4–3–1–0; road: 2–1–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
68March 3Nashville Predators5–234–16–12–686Recap
69March 5Ottawa Senators5–335–16–12–688Recap
70March 6@ Washington Capitals1–235–17–12–688Recap
71March 9@ New Jersey Devils3–136–17–12–690Recap
72March 11Dallas Stars2–2 OT36–17–13–691Recap
73March 13New Jersey Devils2–137–17–13–693Recap
74March 14@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–3 OT37–17–14–694Recap
75March 18Toronto Maple Leafs2–337–18–14–694Recap
76March 20New York Rangers3–038–18–14–696Recap
77March 23@ Carolina Hurricanes4–239–18–14–698Recap
78March 25New York Islanders2–439–19–14–698Recap
79March 27New York Rangers1–339–20–14–698Recap :
April: 1–1–1–0, 3 points (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 1–0–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
80April 1@ Montreal Canadiens2–040–20–14–6100Recap
81April 2Ottawa Senators1–340–21–14–6100Recap
82April 4@ New York Islanders3–3 OT40–21–15–6101Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. New Jersey Devils – Flyers win 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 8New Jersey Devils3–219,608Flyers lead 1–0Recap
2April 10New Jersey Devils3–219,779Flyers lead 2–0Recap
3April 12@ New Jersey Devils2–418,023Flyers lead 2–1Recap
4April 14@ New Jersey Devils3–019,040Flyers lead 3–1Recap
5April 17New Jersey Devils3–119,778Flyers win 4–1Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – Flyers win 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 22Toronto Maple Leafs3–119,447Flyers lead 1–0Recap
2April 25Toronto Maple Leafs2–119,792Flyers lead 2–0Recap
3April 28@ Toronto Maple Leafs1–419,628Flyers lead 2–1Recap
4April 30@ Toronto Maple Leafs1–319,614Series tied 2–2Recap
5May 2Toronto Maple Leafs7–219,825Flyers lead 3–2Recap
6May 4@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–2 OT19,625Flyers win 4–2Recap :
Eastern Conference Finals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning – Lightning win 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 8@ Tampa Bay Lightning1–321,425Lightning lead 1–0Recap
2May 10@ Tampa Bay Lightning6–221,314Series tied 1–1Recap
3May 13Tampa Bay Lightning1–419,897Lightning lead 2–1Recap
4May 15Tampa Bay Lightning3–219,872Series tied 2–2Recap
5May 18@ Tampa Bay Lightning2–421,517Lightning lead 3–2Recap
6May 20Tampa Bay Lightning5–4 OT19,910Series tied 3–3Recap
7May 22@ Tampa Bay Lightning1–222,117Lightning win 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 Flyers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers 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 |
| 8 | Mark Recchi | LW | 82 | 26 | 49 | 75 | 18 | 47 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −3 | 4 |
| 26 | Michal Handzus | C | 82 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 18 | 82 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | John LeClair | LW | 75 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 20 | 51 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 11 | Tony Amonte | RW | 80 | 20 | 33 | 53 | 13 | 38 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 97 | Jeremy Roenick | C | 62 | 19 | 28 | 47 | 1 | 62 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 8 |
| 12 | Simon Gagne | LW | 80 | 24 | 21 | 45 | 12 | 29 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| 5 | Kim Johnsson | D | 80 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 16 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −3 | 8 |
| 24 | Sami Kapanen | RW | 74 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 6 |
| 44 | Joni Pitkanen | D | 71 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 15 | 44 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −6 | 6 |
| 14 | Justin Williams‡ | RW | 47 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 10 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Keith Primeau | C | 54 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 80 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 22 |
| 23 | Alexei Zhamnov† | C | 20 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 7 | 14 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −1 | 8 |
| 28 | Marcus Ragnarsson | D | 70 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 58 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 14 |
| 20 | Radovan Somik | LW | 53 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −2 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 87 | Donald Brashear | LW | 64 | 6 | 7 | 13 | −1 | 212 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 61 |
| 37 | Eric Desjardins | D | 48 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Chris Therien‡ | D | 56 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 89 | Mike Comrie†‡ | C | 21 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Eric Weinrich‡ | D | 54 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Branko Radivojevic† | RW | 24 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 36 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 32 |
| 13 | Claude Lapointe | C | 42 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Patrick Sharp | C | 41 | 5 | 2 | 7 | −3 | 55 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| 23 | Jim Vandermeer‡ | D | 23 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −5 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | Danny Markov† | D | 34 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 58 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 25 |
| 29 | Todd Fedoruk | LW | 49 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −4 | 136 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 3 | Mattias Timander† | D | 34 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| 19 | Eric Chouinard‡ | RW | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 45 | John Slaney | D | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 47 | Kirby Law | RW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Vladimir Malakhov† | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| 41 | Sean Burke† | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 42 | Robert Esche | G | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 31 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8 |
| 33 | Jeff Hackett‡ | G | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 51 | Randy Jones | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Boyd Kane | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Neil Little | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | Freddy Meyer | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Antero Niittymaki | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Mike Peluso | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Dennis Seidenberg | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | Peter White | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | 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 | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 42 | Robert Esche | 40 | 40 | 21 | 11 | 7 | 932 | 79 | 2.04 | .915 | 3 | 2,322 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 498 | 41 | 2.32 | .918 | 1 | 1,061 |
| 33 | Jeff Hackett‡ | 27 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 684 | 65 | 2.39 | .905 | 3 | 1,630 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Sean Burke† | 15 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 389 | 35 | 2.55 | .910 | 1 | 825 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1.50 | .889 | 0 | 40 |
| 30 | Antero Niittymaki | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 3 | 1.00 | .961 | 0 | 180 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Neil Little | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3.61 | .750 | 0 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Joni Pitkanen (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ken Hitchcock (coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Keith Primeau |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jeremy Roenick |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Robert Esche (November 3) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Robert Esche (March 15) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Joni Pitkanen |
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Kim Johnsson |
| Team | Bobby Clarke Trophy | Mark Recchi |
| Team | Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy | Robert Esche |
| Team | Toyota Cup | Mark Recchi |
| Team | Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award | Sami Kapanen |

### Records

The March 5, 2004 game against the Ottawa Senators set four NHL records. The Flyers set the records for most penalty minutes in a game (213) and most penalty minutes in a period (209). Likewise, both teams penalty minute totals set the combined game (419) and period (409) records. The Flyers 32 penalties during the third period set a franchise record.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Joni Pitkanen | October 9, 2003 |
| First game | Boyd Kane | October 16, 2003 |
| First game | Antero Niittymaki | February 4, 2004 |
| First game | Randy Jones | March 6, 2004 |
| First game | Freddy Meyer | March 6, 2004 |
| 25th shutout | Jeff Hackett | October 16, 2003 |
| 500th game played | Jeff Hackett | January 13, 2004 |
| 1,000th game played | Tony Amonte | March 5, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Flyers 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 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004 | To Carolina Hurricanes Marty Murray |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004 | To San Jose Sharks 7th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004 | To Florida Panthers 7th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 20049th-round pick in 2004 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 8th-round pick in 20039th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | To Philadelphia Flyers Conditional 7th-round pick in 2004 | To Washington Capitals Rights to Dmitri Yushkevich |
| December 16, 2003 (2003-12-16) | To Philadelphia Flyers Rights to Mike Comrie | To Edmonton Oilers Jeff Woywitka1st-round pick in 20043rd-round pick in 2005 |
| December 17, 2003 (2003-12-17) | To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2004 | To Minnesota Wild Eric Chouinard |
| January 20, 2004 (2004-01-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers Danny Markov | To Carolina Hurricanes Justin Williams |
| January 22, 2004 (2004-01-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers Mattias Timander | To New York Islanders Tampa Bay's 7th-round pick in 2004 |
| February 9, 2004 (2004-02-09) | To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2004 | To St. Louis Blues Eric Weinrich |
| February 9, 2004 (2004-02-09) | To Philadelphia Flyers Sean BurkeBranko RadivojevicRights to Ben Eager | To Phoenix Coyotes Mike Comrie |
| February 16, 2004 (2004-02-16) | To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Gainey | To Dallas Stars Mike Siklenka |
| February 19, 2004 (2004-02-19) | To Philadelphia Flyers Alexei ZhamnovWashington's 4th-round pick in 2004 | To Chicago Blackhawks Jim VandermeerRights to Colin FraserLos Angeles' 2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08) | To Philadelphia Flyers Vladimir Malakhov | To New York Rangers Rights to Rick Kozak2nd-round pick in 2005 |
| March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08) | To Philadelphia Flyers Phoenix's 8th-round pick in 20043rd-round pick in 2005 | To Dallas Stars Chris Therien |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Jeff Hackett | Boston Bruins | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Joey Hope | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) | | Free agency |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Boyd Kane | Tampa Bay Lightning | | Free agency |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Randy Jones | Clarkson University (ECAC) | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Mark Murphy | Washington Capitals | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Mike Peluso | Chicago Blackhawks | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 21, 2003 (2003-10-21) | Steve Webb | New York Islanders | 1-year | Free agency |
| November 5, 2003 (2003-11-05) | Mike Siklenka | New York Rangers | | Waivers |
| March 20, 2004 (2004-03-20) | Stephen Wood | Providence College (HE) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | David Harlock | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Joe Sacco | | Contract expiration (III) |
| August 19, 2003 (2003-08-19) | Matt Zultek | Trenton Titans (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02) | Jamie Wright | Edmonton Oilers | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 11, 2003 (2003-09-11) | Mike Lephart | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 1, 2003 (2003-10-01) | Ian Forbes | Florida Everblades (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Ryan Bast | Alaska Aces (ECHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Mike Siklenka | New York Rangers | Waiver draft |
| October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22) | Brad Tiley | Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22) | Steve Webb | Pittsburgh Penguins | Waivers |
| December 26, 2003 (2003-12-26) | Dan Peters | Frankfurt Lions (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| February 9, 2004 (2004-02-09) | Jeff Hackett | | Retirement |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 10, 2003 (2003-06-10) | Eric Chouinard | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 10, 2003 (2003-06-10) | Sami Kapanen | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Eric Desjardins | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | Claude Lapointe | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Mathieu Brunelle | | Entry-level |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Mike Siklenka | | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Peter Vandermeer | | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Peter White | | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Joni Pitkanen | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Radovan Somik | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Justin Williams | 1-year | Re-signing |
| December 20, 2003 (2003-12-20) | Mike Comrie | 1-year | Re-signing |
| April 7, 2004 (2004-04-07) | Ben Eager | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 21–22, 2003. The Flyers traded their originally allotted second, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth-round draft picks in five different trades.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 1 | 11 | Jeff Carter | Center | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 1 | 24 | Mike Richards | Center | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 3 | 69 | Colin Fraser | Center | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 3 | 81 | Stefan Ruzicka | Right wing | Slovakia | MHC Nitra (Slovakia) |
| 3 | 85 | Alexandre Picard | Defense | Canada | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 87 | Ryan Potulny | Center | United States | Lincoln Stars (USHL) |
| 3 | 95 | Rick Kozak | Right wing | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 4 | 108 | Kevin Romy | Center | Switzerland | Geneve-Servette HC (NLA) |
| 5 | 140 | David Tremblay | Goaltender | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 191 | Rejean Beauchemin | Goaltender | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 6 | 193 | Ville Hostikka | Goaltender | Finland | SaiPa Jrs. (FIN) |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL.