# 2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the Blue Jackets' third season in the National Hockey League (NHL), as the team was coming off of a 22–47–8–5 record in the 2001–02 season, earning 57 points and finishing in last in the Western Conference.

## Offseason

Ray Whitney was named team captain on October 9.

## Regular season

The Blue Jackets got off to a good start, having a 7–5–1–1 record in their opening 14 games. Columbus, however, won only two of their next 12 games to fall out of the playoff picture. The club would play mediocre hockey for the rest of the season, finishing with a 29–42–8–3 record, earning 69 points for last place in the Western Conference for the second-straight season. Midway through the season, Columbus fired head coach Dave King after a 14–20–4–2 start. King was replaced by general manager Doug MacLean on an interim basis, as the Blue Jackets posted a record of 15–22–4–1 record under his guidance. The 69 points was a 12-point improvement over the previous season, but the club finished 23 points behind the Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff spot in the Conference. The previous season, the Blue Jackets scored a League-low 164 goals, however, the team would beat that total by 49 goals, finishing with a club record 213 goals. Columbus though led the NHL in goals against, allowing 263, also a club record.
Ray Whitney led the club in points for the second-straight season, earning a club record 76 points, as he scored 24 goals and 52 assists. Geoff Sanderson rebounded from an injury-plagued 2001–02 season to score a club record 34 goals, while Andrew Cassels earned 68 points in his first season in Columbus. David Vyborny had a breakout season, scoring 20 goals and 46 points. On the blueline, Jaroslav Spacek scored nine goals and earned 45 points in his first full season with the team. Jody Shelley led the team with 249 penalty minutes, setting a franchise record.
In goal, Marc Denis got the bulk of the action, winning a club-record 27 games, while posting a 3.09 goals against average (GAA) and earning five shutouts along the way.

### Season standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 269 | 203 | 110 |
| 2 | 5 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 253 | 222 | 99 |
| 3 | 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 30 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 207 | 226 | 79 |
| 4 | 13 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 27 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 183 | 206 | 74 |
| 5 | 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 213 | 263 | 69 |
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 | Z- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 245 | 169 | 111 |
| 2 | Y- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 269 | 203 | 110 |
| 3 | Y- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 251 | 194 | 105 |
| 4 | X- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 264 | 208 | 104 |
| 5 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 253 | 222 | 99 |
| 6 | X- Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 198 | 178 | 95 |
| 7 | X- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 203 | 193 | 95 |
| 8 | X- Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 231 | 230 | 92 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 30 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 207 | 226 | 79 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 221 | 78 |
| 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 204 | 230 | 78 |
| 12 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 29 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 186 | 228 | 75 |
| 13 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 27 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 183 | 206 | 74 |
| 14 | San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 8 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 213 | 263 | 69 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2002–03 regular season :
October: 3–5–1–0 (home: 3–2–1–0; road: 0–3–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPtsRecap
1October 10Chicago Blackhawks1–2Columbus Blue Jackets1–0–0–02Recap
2October 12Columbus Blue Jackets2–3New Jersey Devils1–1–0–02Recap
3October 14Phoenix Coyotes4–2Columbus Blue Jackets1–2–0–02Recap
4October 17Columbus Blue Jackets1–7St. Louis Blues1–3–0–02Recap
5October 19Florida Panthers1–4Columbus Blue Jackets2–3–0–04Recap
6October 23Tampa Bay Lightning2–2Columbus Blue Jackets2–3–1–05Recap
7October 25San Jose Sharks5–4Columbus Blue Jackets2–4–1–05Recap
8October 27Los Angeles Kings1–5Columbus Blue Jackets3–4–1–07Recap
9October 29Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Chicago Blackhawks3–5–1–07Recap :
November: 6–6–1–2 (home: 4–3–0–1; road: 2–3–1–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPtsRecap
10November 1Dallas Stars2–4Columbus Blue Jackets4–5–1–09Recap
11November 3Buffalo Sabres2–3Columbus Blue Jackets5–5–1–011Recap
12November 5Washington Capitals4–3Columbus Blue Jackets5–5–1–112Recap
13November 7Columbus Blue Jackets5–2St. Louis Blues6–5–1–114Recap
14November 9New York Rangers3–6Columbus Blue Jackets7–5–1–116Recap
15November 12Columbus Blue Jackets4–5Colorado Avalanche7–6–1–116Recap
16November 14Mighty Ducks of Anaheim3–2Columbus Blue Jackets7–7–1–116Recap
17November 16Columbus Blue Jackets1–1Nashville Predators7–7–2–117Recap
18November 17Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Dallas Stars7–7–2–218Recap
19November 20St. Louis Blues2–3Columbus Blue Jackets8–7–2–220Recap
20November 22Columbus Blue Jackets4–5Buffalo Sabres8–8–2–220Recap
21November 23Columbus Blue Jackets2–5Ottawa Senators8–9–2–220Recap
22November 27Edmonton Oilers3–1Columbus Blue Jackets8–10–2–220Recap
23November 29Columbus Blue Jackets4–2New York Islanders9–10–2–222Recap
24November 30Carolina Hurricanes4–2Columbus Blue Jackets9–11–2–222Recap :
December: 4–8–1–0 (home: 3–2–0–0; road: 1–6–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPtsRecap
25December 3Columbus Blue Jackets3–5New York Rangers9–12–2–222Recap
26December 6Columbus Blue Jackets2–3San Jose Sharks9–13–2–222Recap
27December 7Columbus Blue Jackets4–2Los Angeles Kings10–13–2–224Recap
28December 9Columbus Blue Jackets2–2Phoenix Coyotes10–13–3–225Recap
29December 12New Jersey Devils2–4Columbus Blue Jackets11–13–3–227Recap
30December 14Columbus Blue Jackets4–6Detroit Red Wings11–14–3–227Recap
31December 19Calgary Flames0–3Columbus Blue Jackets12–14–3–229Recap
32December 20Columbus Blue Jackets1–3Chicago Blackhawks12–15–3–229Recap
33December 23Detroit Red Wings1–0Columbus Blue Jackets12–16–3–229Recap
34December 26Columbus Blue Jackets2–4Detroit Red Wings12–17–3–229Recap
35December 28St. Louis Blues6–1Columbus Blue Jackets12–18–3–229Recap
36December 29Columbus Blue Jackets2–5St. Louis Blues12–19–3–229Recap
37December 31Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Columbus Blue Jackets13–19–3–231Recap :
January: 7–6–2–0 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 3–4–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPtsRecap
38January 3Columbus Blue Jackets2–2Washington Capitals13–19–4–232Recap
39January 4Phoenix Coyotes0–2Columbus Blue Jackets14–19–4–234Recap
40January 6Nashville Predators5–1Columbus Blue Jackets14–20–4–234Recap
41January 8Columbus Blue Jackets2–1Minnesota Wild15–20–4–236Recap
42January 10Columbus Blue Jackets3–2Vancouver Canucks16–20–4–238Recap
43January 11Columbus Blue Jackets7–2Calgary Flames17–20–4–240Recap
44January 13Columbus Blue Jackets5–8Edmonton Oilers17–21–4–240Recap
45January 15Mighty Ducks of Anaheim4–3Columbus Blue Jackets17–22–4–240Recap
46January 18Columbus Blue Jackets2–7Boston Bruins17–23–4–240Recap
47January 20Chicago Blackhawks1–5Columbus Blue Jackets18–23–4–242Recap
48January 22Columbus Blue Jackets2–4Dallas Stars18–24–4–242Recap
49January 23Columbus Blue Jackets0–5Colorado Avalanche18–25–4–242Recap
50January 25New York Islanders1–4Columbus Blue Jackets19–25–4–244Recap
51January 28Colorado Avalanche2–2Columbus Blue Jackets19–25–5–245Recap
52January 30Nashville Predators1–2Columbus Blue Jackets20–25–5–247Recap :
February: 3–7–1–0 (home: 2–1–1–0; road: 1–6–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPtsRecap
53February 5Vancouver Canucks4–4Columbus Blue Jackets20–25–6–248Recap
54February 8Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Nashville Predators20–26–6–248Recap
55February 12San Jose Sharks0–1Columbus Blue Jackets21–26–6–250Recap
56February 13Columbus Blue Jackets2–1Montreal Canadiens22–26–6–252Recap
57February 15Chicago Blackhawks7–1Columbus Blue Jackets22–27–6–252Recap
58February 18Columbus Blue Jackets2–5Phoenix Coyotes22–28–6–252Recap
59February 19Columbus Blue Jackets0–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim22–29–6–252Recap
60February 21Columbus Blue Jackets0–6San Jose Sharks22–30–6–252Recap
61February 23Columbus Blue Jackets2–7Vancouver Canucks22–31–6–252Recap
62February 25Columbus Blue Jackets0–5Nashville Predators22–32–6–252Recap
63February 27Los Angeles Kings1–3Columbus Blue Jackets23–32–6–254Recap :
March: 5–8–1–1 (home: 3–4–1–1; road: 2–4–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPtsRecap
64March 1Edmonton Oilers3–3Columbus Blue Jackets23–32–7–255Recap
65March 3Detroit Red Wings3–2Columbus Blue Jackets23–33–7–255Recap
66March 6Vancouver Canucks4–5Columbus Blue Jackets24–33–7–257Recap
67March 8Calgary Flames3–2Columbus Blue Jackets24–33–7–358Recap
68March 10Columbus Blue Jackets5–6Carolina Hurricanes24–34–7–358Recap
69March 11Dallas Stars2–0Columbus Blue Jackets24–35–7–358Recap
70March 13Colorado Avalanche5–1Columbus Blue Jackets24–36–7–358Recap
71March 15Minnesota Wild0–5Columbus Blue Jackets25–36–7–360Recap
72March 17Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Atlanta Thrashers25–37–7–360Recap
73March 20Toronto Maple Leafs3–4Columbus Blue Jackets26–37–7–362Recap
74March 22Atlanta Thrashers3–2Columbus Blue Jackets26–38–7–362Recap
75March 24Columbus Blue Jackets0–5Mighty Ducks of Anaheim26–39–7–362Recap
76March 25Columbus Blue Jackets2–1Los Angeles Kings27–39–7–364Recap
77March 28Columbus Blue Jackets0–4Edmonton Oilers27–40–7–364Recap
78March 29Columbus Blue Jackets6–4Calgary Flames28–40–7–366Recap :
April: 1–2–1–0 (home: 1–0–1–0; road: 0–2–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPtsRecap
79April 1Columbus Blue Jackets0–4Philadelphia Flyers28–41–7–366Recap
80April 2Minnesota Wild0–3Columbus Blue Jackets29–41–7–368Recap
81April 4Detroit Red Wings5–5Columbus Blue Jackets29–41–8–369Recap
82April 6Columbus Blue Jackets3–4Minnesota Wild29–42–8–369Recap :
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 Blue Jackets only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 14 | Ray Whitney | LW | 81 | 24 | 52 | 76 | −26 | 22 |
| 25 | Andrew Cassels | C | 79 | 20 | 48 | 68 | −4 | 30 |
| 8 | Geoff Sanderson | LW | 82 | 34 | 33 | 67 | −4 | 34 |
| 9 | David Vyborny | RW | 79 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 12 | 16 |
| 3 | Jaroslav Spacek | D | 81 | 9 | 36 | 45 | −23 | 70 |
| 16 | Mike Sillinger | C | 75 | 18 | 25 | 43 | −21 | 52 |
| 61 | Rick Nash | LW | 74 | 17 | 22 | 39 | −27 | 78 |
| 28 | Tyler Wright | C | 70 | 19 | 11 | 30 | −25 | 113 |
| 29 | Grant Marshall‡ | RW | 66 | 8 | 20 | 28 | −8 | 71 |
| 20 | Lasse Pirjeta | C | 51 | 11 | 10 | 21 | −4 | 12 |
| 23 | Derrick Walser | D | 53 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −9 | 34 |
| 44 | Rostislav Klesla | D | 72 | 2 | 14 | 16 | −22 | 71 |
| 19 | Sean Pronger | C | 78 | 7 | 6 | 13 | −26 | 72 |
| 22 | Luke Richardson | D | 82 | 0 | 13 | 13 | −16 | 73 |
| 21 | Espen Knutsen | C | 31 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −15 | 20 |
| 41 | Matt Davidson | RW | 34 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −12 | 18 |
| 24 | Hannes Hyvonen‡ | RW | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −11 | 22 |
| 42 | Duvie Westcott | D | 39 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −3 | 77 |
| 43 | David Ling | RW | 35 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −6 | 86 |
| 45 | Jody Shelley | LW | 68 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −5 | 249 |
| 17 | Tomi Kallio†‡ | LW | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −7 | 8 |
| 27 | Darren Van Impe† | D | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −6 | 10 |
| 34 | Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre | D | 41 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −6 | 64 |
| 33 | Jamie Allison | D | 48 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −15 | 99 |
| 7 | Scott Lachance | D | 61 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −20 | 46 |
| 26 | Andrej Nedorost | LW | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 4 |
| 38 | Blake Bellefeuille | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Mathieu Darche | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 30 | Marc Denis | G | 77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 |
| 11 | Kevin Dineen‡ | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 35 | Jean-Francois Labbe | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 17 | Paul Manning | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Kent McDonell | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 37 | Darrel Scoville | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 |
| 30 | Marc Denis | 77 | 27 | 41 | 8 | 2404 | 232 | 3.09 | .903 | 5 | 4511 |
| 35 | Jean-Francois Labbe | 11 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 233 | 27 | 3.59 | .884 | 0 | 451 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Rick Nash (Forward) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ray Whitney |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Rick Nash (November) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Rostislav Klesla |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Rick Nash |
| Team | Foundation Community Service Award | Tyler Wright |
| Team | Three Stars Award | Marc Denis |

### Records

Goaltender Marc Denis set the NHL record for most minutes played in a single season, surpassing Martin Brodeur’s mark set during the 1995–96 season. Brodeur would reclaim the record in 2003–04.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Rick Nash | October 10, 2002 |
| First game | Lasse Pirjeta | October 10, 2002 |
| First game | Paul Manning | January 4, 2003 |
| First game | Kent McDonell | April 2, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Blue Jackets 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 18, 2002 (2002-06-18) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick in 2002 | To Dallas Stars Ron Tugnutt2nd-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick in 2002 | To Florida Panthers 1st-round pick in 2002Option to switch 1st-round picks in 2003 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Rights to Mike PandolfoDetroit’s 1st-round pick in 2002 | To Buffalo Sabres Dallas’ 1st-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Buffalo’s 2nd-round pick in 2002Detroit’s 3rd-round pick in 2002 | To Atlanta Thrashers Detroit’s 1st-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 4th-round pick in 2002 | To New York Islanders Mattias Timander |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Vancouver’s 6th-round pick in 20027th-round pick in 2002 | To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 9th-round pick in 2002 | To Florida Panthers 9th-round pick in 2003 |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Rights to Petr Tenkrat | To Florida Panthers Mathieu Biron |
| December 2, 2002 (2002-12-02) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Tomi KallioPauli Levokari | To Atlanta Thrashers Chris NielsenRights to Petteri Nummelin |
| March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Conditional draft pick in 2004 | To New Jersey Devils Grant Marshall |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 4, 2002 (2002-07-04) | Scott Lachance | Vancouver Canucks | multi-year | Free agency |
| July 4, 2002 (2002-07-04) | Luke Richardson | Philadelphia Flyers | multi-year | Free agency |
| July 17, 2002 (2002-07-17) | Donald MacLean | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Andrew Cassels | Vancouver Canucks | multi-year | Free agency |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | Mathieu Biron | Tampa Bay Lightning | | Waiver draft |
| October 5, 2002 (2002-10-05) | Hannes Hyvonen | Florida Panthers | | Waivers |
| January 20, 2003 (2003-01-20) | Darren Van Impe | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) | | Free agency |
| May 15, 2003 (2003-05-15) | Joe Motzko | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) | multi-year | Free agency |
| June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02) | Fred Brathwaite | St. Louis Blues | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 4, 2002 (2002-07-04) | Brett Harkins | Skelleftea AIK (Allsvenskan) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 4, 2002 (2002-07-04) | Robert Kron | Lukko (Liiga) | Buyout |
| July 20, 2002 (2002-07-20) | Andrei Sryubko | Molot-Prikamye Perm (RSL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 26, 2002 (2002-07-26) | Martin Spanhel | HC Sparta Praha (ELH) | Free agency (II) |
| August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27) | Serge Aubin | Colorado Avalanche | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 5, 2002 (2002-10-05) | Greg Gardner | Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 16, 2002 (2002-10-16) | Deron Quint | Springfield Falcons (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 5, 2002 (2002-11-05) | Kevin Dineen | | Retirement |
| January 1, 2003 (2003-01-01) | Tomi Kallio | Philadelphia Flyers | Waivers |
| January 25, 2003 (2003-01-25) | Hannes Hyvonen | Farjestad BK (SHL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26) | Grant Marshall | multi-year | Re-signing |
| June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26) | Lasse Pirjeta | 1-year | Entry-level |
| June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) | Marc Denis | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02) | Tim Jackman | multi-year | Entry-level |
| July 8, 2002 (2002-07-08) | Jamie Allison | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 8, 2002 (2002-07-08) | Mike Pandolfo | multi-year | Entry-level |
| July 29, 2002 (2002-07-29) | Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 29, 2002 (2002-07-29) | Espen Knutsen | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 29, 2002 (2002-07-29) | Geoff Sanderson | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 21, 2002 (2002-08-21) | David Ling | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 21, 2002 (2002-08-21) | Matt Davidson | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 28, 2002 (2002-08-28) | Blake Bellefeuille | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 28, 2002 (2002-08-28) | Derrick Walser | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 7, 2002 (2002-09-07) | Kevin Dineen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 24, 2002 (2002-09-24) | Mathieu Darche | | Re-signing |
| October 7, 2002 (2002-10-07) | Rick Nash | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 7, 2003 (2003-05-07) | Geoff Sanderson | multi-year | Extension |
| May 7, 2003 (2003-05-07) | David Vyborny | 1-year | Extension |
| May 15, 2003 (2003-05-15) | Duvie Westcott | multi-year | Extension |
| June 3, 2003 (2003-06-03) | Aaron Johnson | multi-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Columbus' draft picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 1 | Rick Nash | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 2 | 41 | Joakim Lindstrom | Sweden | Modo Hockey (Sweden) |
| 3 | 65 | Ole-Kristian Tollefsen | Norway | Lillehammer IK (Norway) |
| 3 | 96 | Jeff Genovy | United States | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) |
| 4 | 98 | Ivan Tkachenko | Russia | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 4 | 119 | Jekabs Redlihs | Latvia | New York Applecore (EJHL) |
| 5 | 133 | Lasse Pirjeta | Finland | Karpat (Finland) |
| 6 | 168 | Tim Konsorada | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 6 | 184 | Jaroslav Balastik | Czech Republic | Continental Zlin (Czech Republic) |
| 7 | 199 | Greg Mauldin | United States | University of Massachusetts Amherst (Hockey East) |
| 7 | 225 | Steve Goertzen | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 8 | 231 | Jaroslav Kracik | Czech Republic | HC Plzen (Czech Republic) |
| 9 | 263 | Sergei Mozyakin | Russia | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |