# 2002–03 Florida Panthers season

The 2002–03 Florida Panthers season was their tenth season in the National Hockey League. The Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season, but did host the 53rd All-Star Game.

## Offseason

Rick Dudley was named the team’s new general manager.

## Regular season
### All-Star Game

The 53rd National Hockey League All-Star Game was held during the 2002–03 NHL season, and took place at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida, the home of the Florida Panthers, on February 2, 2003. It was the first All-Star Game since the 1997 All-Star Game to use the Eastern Conference – Western Conference format.

### Final standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 219 | 210 | 93 |
| 2 | 6 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 39 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 224 | 220 | 92 |
| 3 | 11 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 31 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 226 | 284 | 74 |
| 4 | 13 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 24 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 176 | 237 | 70 |
| 5 | 15 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 22 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 171 | 240 | 61 |
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 | P- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 263 | 182 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 216 | 166 | 108 |
| 3 | Y- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 219 | 210 | 93 |
| 4 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 211 | 166 | 107 |
| 5 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 44 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 236 | 208 | 98 |
| 6 | X- Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 39 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 224 | 220 | 92 |
| 7 | X- Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 36 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 245 | 237 | 87 |
| 8 | X- New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 35 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 224 | 231 | 83 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 32 | 36 | 10 | 4 | 210 | 231 | 78 |
| 10 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 30 | 35 | 8 | 9 | 206 | 234 | 77 |
| 11 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 31 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 226 | 284 | 74 |
| 12 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 27 | 37 | 10 | 8 | 190 | 219 | 72 |
| 13 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 24 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 176 | 237 | 70 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 27 | 44 | 6 | 5 | 189 | 255 | 65 |
| 15 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 22 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 171 | 240 | 61 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

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

## 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 Panthers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 12 | Olli Jokinen | C | 81 | 36 | 29 | 65 | −17 | 79 |
| 25 | Viktor Kozlov | C | 74 | 22 | 34 | 56 | −8 | 18 |
| 22 | Kristian Huselius | LW | 78 | 20 | 23 | 43 | −6 | 20 |
| 18 | Marcus Nilson | LW | 82 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 2 | 31 |
| 39 | Ivan Novoseltsev | RW | 78 | 10 | 17 | 27 | −16 | 30 |
| 44 | Sandis Ozolinsh‡ | D | 51 | 7 | 19 | 26 | −16 | 40 |
| 20 | Valeri Bure‡ | RW | 46 | 5 | 21 | 26 | −11 | 10 |
| 14 | Niklas Hagman | LW | 80 | 8 | 15 | 23 | −8 | 20 |
| 9 | Stephen Weiss | C | 77 | 6 | 15 | 21 | −13 | 17 |
| 27 | Jaroslav Bednar† | RW | 52 | 5 | 13 | 18 | −2 | 14 |
| 4 | Jay Bouwmeester | D | 82 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −29 | 14 |
| 16 | Matt Cullen† | C | 30 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −4 | 22 |
| 6 | Andreas Lilja† | D | 56 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 56 |
| 56 | Ivan Majesky | D | 82 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −18 | 92 |
| 34 | Mathieu Biron | D | 34 | 1 | 8 | 9 | −18 | 14 |
| 32 | Stephane Matteau | LW | 52 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −9 | 27 |
| 45 | Brad Ference‡ | D | 60 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 118 |
| 17 | Ryan Johnson‡ | C | 58 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −13 | 26 |
| 36 | Dmitri Yushkevich‡ | D | 23 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −12 | 14 |
| 21 | Denis Shvidki | RW | 23 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −7 | 12 |
| 8 | Peter Worrell | LW | 63 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −14 | 193 |
| 49 | Lance Ward‡ | D | 36 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −4 | 78 |
| 29 | Jeff Toms | C | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 19 | Byron Ritchie | C | 30 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 19 |
| 7 | Pavel Trnka† | D | 22 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −1 | 24 |
| 5 | Branislav Mezei | D | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 10 |
| 55 | Igor Ulanov | D | 56 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 39 |
| 38 | Eric Beaudoin | LW | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −7 | 25 |
| 23 | Juraj Kolnik† | RW | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | Igor Kravchuk† | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 4 |
| 15 | Jim Campbell | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Pierre Dagenais | RW | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| 24 | Darcy Hordichuk† | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 15 |
| 30 | Jani Hurme | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 1 | Roberto Luongo | G | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 28 | Jamie Rivers† | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 33 | Kyle Rossiter | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 36 | Joey Tetarenko‡ | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 1 | Roberto Luongo | 65 | 20 | 34 | 7 | 2011 | 164 | 2.71 | .918 | 6 | 3627 |
| 30 | Jani Hurme | 28 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 707 | 66 | 2.88 | .907 | 1 | 1376 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Jay Bouwmeester (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Olli Jokinen |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Sandis Ozolinsh |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Jay Bouwmeester |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Niklas Hagman |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Stephen Weiss |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Jay Bouwmeester | October 10, 2002 | |
| First game | Ivan Majesky | October 10, 2002 | |

## Transactions

The Panthers 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 Florida Panthers 1st-round pick in 2002Option to switch 1st-round picks in 2003 | To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Florida Panthers Future considerations | To Atlanta Thrashers Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in 2002NY Rangers’ 4th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Florida Panthers 1st-round pick in 2002 | To Calgary Flames 1st-round pick in 20024th-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Florida Panthers Florida’s 3rd-round pick in 2002 | To New York Islanders Eric Godard |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To Florida Panthers 9th-round pick in 2003 | To Columbus Blue Jackets 9th-round pick in 2002 |
| July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03) | To Florida Panthers Branislav Mezei | To New York Islanders Jason Wiemer |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | To Florida Panthers Hannes Hyvonen | To San Jose Sharks Future considerations |
| July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18) | To Florida Panthers Rights to Dmitri Yushkevich | To Toronto Maple Leafs Rights to Robert Svehla |
| October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01) | To Florida Panthers Jani Hurme | To Ottawa Senators Rights to Billy ThompsonRights to Greg Watson |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | To Florida Panthers Mathieu Biron | To Columbus Blue Jackets Rights to Petr Tenkrat |
| October 11, 2002 (2002-10-11) | To Florida Panthers Juraj Kolnik9th-round pick in 2003 | To New York Islanders Sven Butenschon |
| November 26, 2002 (2002-11-26) | To Florida Panthers Jaroslav BednarAndreas Lilja | To Los Angeles Kings Dmitri Yushkevich5th-round pick in 2003 |
| January 30, 2003 (2003-01-30) | To Florida Panthers Matt CullenPavel Trnka4th-round pick in 2003 | To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Sandis OzolinshLance Ward |
| March 4, 2003 (2003-03-04) | To Florida Panthers Simon Lajeunesse | To Ottawa Senators Joey Tetarenko |
| March 8, 2003 (2003-03-08) | To Florida Panthers Darcy Hordichuk2nd-round pick in 2003 | To Phoenix Coyotes Brad Ference |
| March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09) | To Florida Panthers Pascal Trepanier | To Nashville Predators Wade Flaherty |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Florida Panthers Mike Van Ryn | To St. Louis Blues Valeri BureConditional 5th-round pick in 2004 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Sven Butenschon | Edmonton Oilers | | Free agency |
| July 10, 2002 (2002-07-10) | Jeff Toms | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Andy Lundbohm | San Jose Sharks | | Free agency |
| July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19) | Jim Campbell | Chicago Blackhawks | | Free agency |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Tyrone Garner | Greenville Grrrowl (ECHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02) | Stephane Matteau | San Jose Sharks | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) | Scott Kelman | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | | Free agency |
| August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22) | Chris Mason | Nashville Predators | | Free agency |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | Petr Tenkrat | Nashville Predators | | Waiver draft |
| December 16, 2002 (2002-12-16) | Jamie Rivers | San Antonio Rampage (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | Igor Kravchuk | Calgary Flames | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| N/A | David MacIsaac | Amur Khabarovsk (RSL) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18) | Matt Herr | Boston Bruins | Free agency (VI) |
| August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22) | Nick Smith | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26) | Trevor Kidd | Toronto Maple Leafs | Buyout |
| August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27) | Lance Pitlick | Colorado Avalanche | Free agency (III) |
| September 25, 2002 (2002-09-25) | Andrew Allen | Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 5, 2002 (2002-10-05) | Hannes Hyvonen | Columbus Blue Jackets | Waivers |
| October 8, 2002 (2002-10-08) | Brad Norton | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (VI) |
| October 12, 2002 (2002-10-12) | Paul Harvey | Arkansas RiverBlades (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| February 19, 2003 (2003-02-19) | Ryan Johnson | St. Louis Blues | Waivers |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19) | Olli Jokinen | | Re-signing |
| July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19) | Ivan Majesky | | Re-signing |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Dmitri Yushkevich | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) | Viktor Kozlov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Serge Payer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Brad Ference | multi-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Joey Tetarenko | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2002 (2002-08-16) | Ivan Novoseltsev | 1-year | Re-signing |
| October 7, 2002 (2002-10-07) | Jay Bouwmeester | 3-year | Entry-level |
| February 5, 2003 (2003-02-05) | Jani Hurme | 3-year | Extension |
| March 16, 2003 (2003-03-16) | Grant McNeill | | Entry-level |
| March 27, 2003 (2003-03-27) | Gregory Campbell | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Florida'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 | 3 | Jay Bouwmeester | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 1 | 9 | Petr Taticek | Czech Republic | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 2 | 40 | Rob Globke | United States | University of Notre Dame (Hockey East) |
| 3 | 67 | Gregory Campbell | Canada | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
| 5 | 134 | Topi Jaakola | Finland | Karpat (Finland) |
| 5 | 158 | Vince Bellissimo | Canada | Topeka ScareCrows (USHL) |
| 6 | 169 | Jeremy Swanson | Canada | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| 6 | 196 | Mikael Vuorio | Finland | Lukko (Finland) |
| 7 | 200 | Denis Yachmenev | Russia | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 8 | 232 | Peter Hafner | United States | Taft High School (USHS-CT) |