# 2002–03 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2002–03 Carolina Hurricanes season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Hockey League and sixth as the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes missed the playoffs, despite making it to the Stanley Cup Finals the previous year, finishing the season with an NHL-worst record of 22–43–11–6 (61 points).

## Regular season

The Hurricanes finished 30th in scoring, with just 171 goals for. They also had the most power-play opportunities of all 30 teams, with 420.

### 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: 5–4–1–1 (home: 3–2–1–0; road: 2–2–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1LOctober 9, 20021–4New York Rangers (2002–03)0–1–0–018,730Recap
2WOctober 11, 20025–3Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)1–1–0–013,962Recap
3LOctober 12, 20021–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)1–2–0–019,814Recap
4OTLOctober 15, 20021–2 OT@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)1–2–0–113,222Recap
5LOctober 17, 20021–2Washington Capitals (2002–03)1–3–0–110,597Recap
6WOctober 19, 20023–1New Jersey Devils (2002–03)2–3–0–115,518Recap
7WOctober 22, 20024–1@ New York Islanders (2002–03)3–3–0–113,514Recap
8LOctober 23, 20021–4@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)3–4–0–114,847Recap
9TOctober 26, 20023–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (2002–03)3–4–1–115,613Recap
10WOctober 29, 20022–1@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)4–4–1–110,328Recap
11WOctober 30, 20024–2New York Islanders (2002–03)5–4–1–112,495Recap :
November: 6–3–3–2 (home: 4–1–3–2; road: 2–2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
12TNovember 1, 20022–2 OTMontreal Canadiens (2002–03)5–4–2–115,357Recap
13OTLNovember 5, 20021–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2002–03)5–4–2–215,501Recap
14WNovember 7, 20022–0Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)6–4–2–211,588Recap
15WNovember 9, 20023–2Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)7–4–2–218,730Recap
16WNovember 12, 20023–2Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)8–4–2–210,707Recap
17TNovember 15, 20021–1 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2002–03)8–4–3–217,480Recap
18OTLNovember 17, 20021–2 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)8–4–3–313,970Recap
19TNovember 19, 20024–4 OTOttawa Senators (2002–03)8–4–4–311,044Recap
20LNovember 21, 20021–3@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)8–5–4–310,667Recap
21WNovember 23, 20027–3@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)9–5–4–320,420Recap
22LNovember 25, 20021–3@ New York Rangers (2002–03)9–6–4–318,200Recap
23LNovember 27, 20022–3Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)9–7–4–314,943Recap
24WNovember 29, 20026–4Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)10–7–4–318,730Recap
25WNovember 30, 20024–2@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)11–7–4–318,136Recap :
December: 4–8–1–0 (home: 1–3–1–0; road: 3–5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
26WDecember 3, 20022–1@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)12–7–4–310,258Recap
27LDecember 4, 20022–4@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)12–8–4–310,944Recap
28LDecember 6, 20020–2Florida Panthers (2002–03)12–9–4–317,006Recap
29LDecember 7, 20022–5@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)12–10–4–315,328Recap
30LDecember 11, 20021–4@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)12–11–4–316,091Recap
31WDecember 12, 20024–3@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)13–11–4–314,528Recap
32LDecember 15, 20021–2@ Minnesota Wild (2002–03)13–12–4–318,568Recap
33TDecember 18, 20021–1 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)13–12–5–315,236Recap
34WDecember 20, 20023–2 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)14–12–5–312,831Recap
35WDecember 22, 20021–0Dallas Stars (2002–03)15–12–5–317,127Recap
36LDecember 27, 20023–5Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)15–13–5–318,730Recap
37LDecember 28, 20020–3@ New York Islanders (2002–03)15–14–5–315,559Recap
38LDecember 31, 20020–2New York Rangers (2002–03)15–15–5–318,730Recap :
January: 2–10–1–2 (home: 1–5–0–1; road: 1–5–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
39LJanuary 3, 20033–6@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)15–16–5–313,757Recap
40WJanuary 4, 20034–2@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)16–16–5–316,407Recap
41TJanuary 7, 20033–3 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)16–16–6–39,061Recap
42LJanuary 8, 20031–5@ New York Rangers (2002–03)16–17–6–318,200Recap
43LJanuary 10, 20031–4Washington Capitals (2002–03)16–18–6–316,553Recap
44OTLJanuary 12, 20032–3 OTColorado Avalanche (2002–03)16–18–6–418,730Recap
45LJanuary 15, 20030–2Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)16–19–6–415,265Recap
46LJanuary 17, 20031–2New Jersey Devils (2002–03)16–20–6–418,730Recap
47LJanuary 18, 20032–5@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)16–21–6–417,574Recap
48LJanuary 20, 20033–5St. Louis Blues (2002–03)16–22–6–414,654Recap
49LJanuary 22, 20033–5@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)16–23–6–412,954Recap
50WJanuary 24, 20033–1Florida Panthers (2002–03)17–23–6–415,346Recap
51OTLJanuary 25, 20032–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)17–23–6–516,122Recap
52LJanuary 29, 20032–3Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)17–24–6–518,094Recap
53LJanuary 30, 20031–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)17–25–6–513,541Recap :
February: 1–6–3–1 (home: 1–1–2–0; road: 0–5–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
54LFebruary 5, 20032–6@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)17–26–6–517,108Recap
55LFebruary 7, 20032–8@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)17–27–6–518,118Recap
56LFebruary 9, 20031–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)17–28–6–515,599Recap
57OTLFebruary 11, 20031–2 OT@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)17–28–6–618,532Recap
58WFebruary 14, 20033–1Washington Capitals (2002–03)18–28–6–617,003Recap
59TFebruary 15, 20032–2 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)18–28–7–619,408Recap
60LFebruary 18, 20033–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)18–29–7–619,365Recap
61TFebruary 19, 20031–1 OTBoston Bruins (2002–03)18–29–8–616,194Recap
62TFebruary 21, 20032–2 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)18–29–9–616,732Recap
63LFebruary 23, 20030–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)18–30–9–615,053Recap
64LFebruary 26, 20032–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)18–31–9–612,168Recap :
March: 4–9–2–0 (home: 2–4–2–0; road: 2–5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
65LMarch 1, 20031–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)18–32–9–619,362Recap
66LMarch 2, 20030–2@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)18–33–9–616,198Recap
67LMarch 4, 20032–4Boston Bruins (2002–03)18–34–9–614,973Recap
68WMarch 6, 20034–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)19–34–9–614,812Recap
69WMarch 7, 20031–0Minnesota Wild (2002–03)20–34–9–613,224Recap
70WMarch 10, 20036–5Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)21–34–9–613,066Recap
71WMarch 12, 20033–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)22–34–9–615,425Recap
72LMarch 13, 20033–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)22–35–9–619,399Recap
73TMarch 15, 20030–0 OTLos Angeles Kings (2002–03)22–35–10–616,017Recap
74LMarch 18, 20035–6Ottawa Senators (2002–03)22–36–10–616,531Recap
75LMarch 22, 20033–5@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)22–37–10–621,273Recap
76TMarch 25, 20033–3 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)22–37–11–616,262Recap
77LMarch 26, 20031–5@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)22–38–11–69,994Recap
78LMarch 29, 20031–3Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)22–39–11–617,677Recap
79LMarch 31, 20030–4Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)22–40–11–614,157Recap :
April: 0–3–0–0 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 0–2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
80LApril 2, 20032–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)22–41–11–615,718Recap
81LApril 4, 20031–4@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)22–42–11–616,544Recap
82LApril 6, 20031–2New York Islanders (2002–03)22–43–11–616,918Recap :
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 Hurricanes only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 92 | Jeff O'Neill | LW | 82 | 30 | 31 | 61 | −21 | 38 |
| 10 | Ron Francis | C | 82 | 22 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 30 |
| 17 | Rod Brind'Amour | C | 48 | 14 | 23 | 37 | −9 | 37 |
| 22 | Sean Hill | D | 82 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 4 | 141 |
| 26 | Erik Cole | RW | 53 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 1 | 72 |
| 20 | Jan Hlavac† | LW | 52 | 9 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 22 |
| 63 | Josef Vasicek | C | 57 | 10 | 10 | 20 | −19 | 33 |
| 13 | Bates Battaglia‡ | LW | 70 | 5 | 14 | 19 | −17 | 90 |
| 14 | Kevyn Adams | C | 77 | 9 | 9 | 18 | −8 | 57 |
| 27 | Craig Adams | RW | 81 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −11 | 71 |
| 24 | Sami Kapanen‡ | RW | 43 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −17 | 12 |
| 6 | Bret Hedican | D | 72 | 3 | 14 | 17 | −24 | 75 |
| 47 | Ryan Bayda | LW | 25 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −5 | 16 |
| 62 | Jaroslav Svoboda | LW | 48 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −5 | 32 |
| 21 | David Tanabe | D | 68 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −27 | 24 |
| 7 | Niclas Wallin | D | 77 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −19 | 71 |
| 4 | Aaron Ward | D | 77 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −23 | 90 |
| 2 | Glen Wesley‡ | D | 63 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −5 | 40 |
| 25 | Bruno St. Jacques† | D | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −3 | 12 |
| 19 | Radim Vrbata† | LW | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | −7 | 2 |
| 37 | Tomas Kurka | LW | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | Craig MacDonald | LW | 35 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −3 | 20 |
| 11 | Jeff Daniels | C | 59 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −9 | 8 |
| 39 | Brad DeFauw | LW | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| 42 | Jeff Heerema | RW | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| 36 | Jesse Boulerice | RW | 48 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 108 |
| 46 | Michael Zigomanis | C | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −4 | 0 |
| 71 | Tomas Malec | D | 41 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 43 |
| 5 | Marek Malik‡ | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 16 |
| 52 | Damian Surma | C | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | Pavel Brendl† | LW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
| 15 | Harold Druken†‡† | C | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| 30 | Patrick DesRochers† | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 28 | Steven Halko | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Arturs Irbe | G | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 20 | Darren Langdon‡ | LW | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 29 | Mike Watt | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 80 | Kevin Weekes | G | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 16 | Tommy Westlund | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
| 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 |
| 80 | Kevin Weekes | 51 | 14 | 24 | 9 | 1438 | 126 | 2.50 | 0.912 | 5 | 2965 |
| 1 | Arturs Irbe | 34 | 7 | 24 | 2 | 816 | 100 | 3.18 | 0.877 | 0 | 1884 |
| 30 | Patrick DesRochers† | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 7 | 3.41 | 0.901 | 0 | 122 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jeff O'Neill |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Erik Cole |
| Team | Good Guy Award | Kevyn Adams |
| Team | Most Valuable Player | Ron Francis |
| Team | Steve Chiasson Award | Kevyn Adams |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| 1,000th game played | Rod Brind'Amour | November 15, 2002 |
| First game | Tomas Malec | December 15, 2002 |
| First game | Jeff Heerema | January 17, 2003 |
| First game | Ryan Bayda | February 14, 2003 |
| First game | Tomas Kurka | February 26, 2003 |
| First game | Michael Zigomanis | February 26, 2003 |
| First game | Brad DeFauw | March 10, 2003 |
| First game | Damian Surma | March 18, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Hurricanes 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 Carolina Hurricanes Carolina’s 3rd-round pick in 2002 | To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 20023rd-round pick in 2003 |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To Carolina Hurricanes 4th-round pick in 2003 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th-round pick in 20028th-round pick in 2002Philadelphia’s 8th-round pick in 20029th-round pick in 2002 |
| November 1, 2002 (2002-11-01) | To Carolina Hurricanes Harold DrukenJan Hlavac | To Vancouver Canucks Darren LangdonMarek Malik |
| December 31, 2002 (2002-12-31) | To Carolina Hurricanes Patrick DesRochers | To Phoenix Coyotes Jean-Marc PelletierConditional draft pick in 2003 |
| February 7, 2003 (2003-02-07) | To Carolina Hurricanes Pavel BrendlBruno St. Jacques | To Philadelphia Flyers Ryan BastSami Kapanen |
| March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09) | To Carolina Hurricanes 2nd-round pick in 2004 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Glen Wesley |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Carolina Hurricanes Radim Vrbata | To Colorado Avalanche Bates Battaglia |
| May 29, 2003 (2003-05-29) | To Carolina Hurricanes Allan Rourke | To Toronto Maple Leafs Harold Druken |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Ryan Bast | Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Ed Hill | Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Steven Halko | St. Louis Blues | | Free agency |
| August 9, 2002 (2002-08-09) | Mike Watt | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year | Free agency |
| January 17, 2003 (2003-01-17) | Harold Druken | Toronto Maple Leafs | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02) | Martin Gelinas | Calgary Flames | Free agency (III) |
| July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02) | Ian MacNeil | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (VI) |
| July 5, 2002 (2002-07-05) | Tyler Moss | Vancouver Canucks | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19) | Jeremiah McCarthy | Amur Khabarovsk (RSL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 28, 2002 (2002-08-28) | Ted Drury | Hamburg Freezers (DEL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| N/A | Greg Kuznik | Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| December 11, 2002 (2002-12-11) | Harold Druken | Toronto Maple Leafs | Waivers |
| April 11, 2003 (2003-04-11) | Tommy Westlund | Leksands IF (SHL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26) | Jeff O'Neill | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) | Darren Langdon | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 29, 2002 (2002-06-29) | Ron Francis | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 30, 2002 (2002-06-30) | Bret Hedican | 6-year | Re-signing |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Daniel Boisclair | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 11, 2002 (2002-07-11) | Kevyn Adams | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Brad DeFauw | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Kaspars Astashenko | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Jesse Boulerice | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Jeff Daniels | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Nikos Tselios | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02) | Niclas Wallin | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 8, 2002 (2002-08-08) | Aaron Ward | 4-year | Re-signing |
| August 13, 2002 (2002-08-13) | Sami Kapanen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) | Randy Petruk | 2-year | Re-signing |
| September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13) | David Tanabe | 1-year | Re-signing |
| October 9, 2002 (2002-10-09) | Sean Curry | 3-year | Entry-level |
| March 24, 2003 (2003-03-24) | Brad Fast | 2-year | Entry-level |
| April 26, 2003 (2003-04-26) | Jeff Daniels | 1-year | Extension |
| April 28, 2003 (2003-04-28) | Patrick DesRochers | 1-year | Extension |
| May 2, 2003 (2003-05-02) | Craig Adams | 1-year | Extension |
| June 6, 2003 (2003-06-06) | Kevin Weekes | 1-year | Extension |

## Draft picks

Carolina's picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 25 | Cam Ward | G | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 3 | 91 | Jesse Lane | D | United States | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 160 | Daniel Manzato | G | Canada | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 224 | Adam Taylor | C | United States | Kootenay Ice (WHL) |

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League

The Lowell Lock Monsters are the Hurricanes American Hockey League affiliate for the 2002–03 AHL season.

### East Coast Hockey League

The Florida Everblades are the Hurricanes East Coast Hockey League affiliate.