# 2002–03 Los Angeles Kings season

The 2002–03 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' 36th season in the National Hockey League. The Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1999, ending a three season playoff streak.

## Regular season

The Kings tied the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals for the fewest short-handed goals allowed, with just four.

### Final standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 245 | 169 | 111 |
| 2 | 7 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 203 | 193 | 95 |
| 3 | 10 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 221 | 78 |
| 4 | 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 204 | 230 | 78 |
| 5 | 14 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 8 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
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: 5–2–2–1 (home: 2–1–1–0; road: 3–1–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 9, 20024–1Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)1–0–0–0Recap
2WOctober 12, 20023–2Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)2–0–0–0Recap
3WOctober 16, 20024–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)3–0–0–0Recap
4LOctober 17, 20021–4Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)3–1–0–0Recap
5TOctober 19, 20022–2 OTVancouver Canucks (2002–03)3–1–1–0Recap
6TOctober 23, 20023–3 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)3–1–2–0Recap
7WOctober 25, 20026–2@ New York Rangers (2002–03)4–1–2–0Recap
8LOctober 27, 20021–5@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)4–2–2–0Recap
9WOctober 29, 20024–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)5–2–2–0Recap
10OTLOctober 31, 20021–2 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)5–2–2–1Recap :
November: 5–5–2–2 (home: 3–2–0–0; road: 2–3–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11WNovember 2, 20026–5 OTNashville Predators (2002–03)6–2–2–1Recap
12LNovember 4, 20022–5Minnesota Wild (2002–03)6–3–2–1Recap
13LNovember 5, 20022–5@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)6–4–2–1Recap
14WNovember 8, 20023–2@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)7–4–2–1Recap
15LNovember 9, 20021–3@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)7–5–2–1Recap
16OTLNovember 12, 20023–4 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)7–5–2–2Recap
17LNovember 14, 20022–3@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)7–6–2–2Recap
18WNovember 16, 20024–1@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)8–6–2–2Recap
19TNovember 19, 20022–2 OT@ Minnesota Wild (2002–03)8–6–3–2Recap
20OTLNovember 21, 20022–3 OT@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)8–6–3–3Recap
21WNovember 23, 20022–0Dallas Stars (2002–03)9–6–3–3Recap
22LNovember 27, 20022–5Florida Panthers (2002–03)9–7–3–3Recap
23TNovember 29, 20022–2 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)9–7–4–3Recap
24WNovember 30, 20024–1Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)10–7–4–3Recap :
December: 6–7–0–0 (home: 4–3–0–0; road: 2–4–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25LDecember 5, 20022–3Nashville Predators (2002–03)10–8–4–3Recap
26LDecember 7, 20022–4Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)10–9–4–3Recap
27WDecember 10, 20023–0@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)11–9–4–3Recap
28WDecember 11, 20023–0@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)12–9–4–3Recap
29WDecember 14, 20023–2 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)13–9–4–3Recap
30LDecember 15, 20021–2@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)13–10–4–3Recap
31WDecember 17, 20026–2St. Louis Blues (2002–03)14–10–4–3Recap
32WDecember 19, 20025–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)15–10–4–3Recap
33LDecember 22, 20021–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)15–11–4–3Recap
34LDecember 23, 20020–5@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)15–12–4–3Recap
35WDecember 26, 20024–3 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2002–03)16–12–4–3Recap
36LDecember 29, 20021–6@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)16–13–4–3Recap
37LDecember 30, 20020–2Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)16–14–4–3Recap :
January: 4–10–0–1 (home: 3–6–0–0; road: 1–4–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
38LJanuary 2, 20031–4Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)16–15–4–3Recap
39LJanuary 4, 20032–3Dallas Stars (2002–03)16–16–4–3Recap
40WJanuary 6, 20033–2@ Minnesota Wild (2002–03)17–16–4–3Recap
41LJanuary 7, 20034–7@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)17–17–4–3Recap
42LJanuary 9, 20034–5Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)17–18–4–3Recap
43LJanuary 11, 20031–2St. Louis Blues (2002–03)17–19–4–3Recap
44WJanuary 13, 20033–2 OTSan Jose Sharks (2002–03)18–19–4–3Recap
45LJanuary 16, 20030–2@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)18–20–4–3Recap
46OTLJanuary 18, 20031–2 OT@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)18–20–4–4Recap
47LJanuary 22, 20035–6@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)18–21–4–4Recap
48LJanuary 23, 20031–2Minnesota Wild (2002–03)18–22–4–4Recap
49WJanuary 25, 20032–1 OTNew Jersey Devils (2002–03)19–22–4–4Recap
50LJanuary 27, 20030–3San Jose Sharks (2002–03)19–23–4–4Recap
51LJanuary 28, 20031–3@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)19–24–4–4Recap
52WJanuary 30, 20033–0Ottawa Senators (2002–03)20–24–4–4Recap :
February: 7–5–0–0 (home: 4–1–0–0; road: 3–4–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53WFebruary 5, 20034–3Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)21–24–4–4Recap
54WFebruary 7, 20038–2Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)22–24–4–4Recap
55LFebruary 9, 20031–3@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)22–25–4–4Recap
56WFebruary 11, 20033–2@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)23–25–4–4Recap
57WFebruary 13, 20034–2Calgary Flames (2002–03)24–25–4–4Recap
58LFebruary 15, 20032–3New York Islanders (2002–03)24–26–4–4Recap
59WFebruary 17, 20033–2San Jose Sharks (2002–03)25–26–4–4Recap
60LFebruary 20, 20030–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)25–27–4–4Recap
61WFebruary 21, 20034–1@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)26–27–4–4Recap
62LFebruary 24, 20034–5@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)26–28–4–4Recap
63WFebruary 25, 20035–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)27–28–4–4Recap
64LFebruary 27, 20031–3@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)27–29–4–4Recap :
March: 4–7–2–2 (home: 2–5–1–2; road: 2–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
65WMarch 1, 20034–1Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)28–29–4–4Recap
66LMarch 4, 20031–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)28–30–4–4Recap
67LMarch 6, 20031–2Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)28–31–4–4Recap
68WMarch 8, 20032–1Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)29–31–4–4Recap
69LMarch 10, 20032–3Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)29–32–4–4Recap
70LMarch 12, 20032–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)29–33–4–4Recap
71WMarch 14, 20033–1@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)30–33–4–4Recap
72TMarch 15, 20030–0 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)30–33–5–4Recap
73LMarch 18, 20031–4Calgary Flames (2002–03)30–34–5–4Recap
74TMarch 20, 20032–2 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)30–34–6–4Recap
75OTLMarch 22, 20033–4 OTBoston Bruins (2002–03)30–34–6–5Recap
76OTLMarch 25, 20031–2 OTColumbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)30–35–6–5Recap
77LMarch 27, 20030–3@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)30–36–6–5Recap
78LMarch 29, 20031–5Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)30–37–6–5Recap
79WMarch 31, 20035–4 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)31–37–6–5Recap :
April: 2–0–0–1 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 1–0–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
80WApril 2, 20035–3Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)32–37–6–5Recap
81OTLApril 4, 20031–2 OT@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)32–37–6–6Recap
82WApril 6, 20032–0@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)33–37–6–6Recap :
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 Kings only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Kings only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 33 | Zigmund Palffy | RW | 76 | 37 | 48 | 85 | 22 | 47 |
| 10 | Mathieu Schneider‡ | D | 65 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 0 | 57 |
| 21 | Bryan Smolinski‡ | C | 58 | 18 | 20 | 38 | −1 | 18 |
| 44 | Jaroslav Modry | D | 82 | 13 | 25 | 38 | −13 | 68 |
| 32 | Derek Armstrong | C | 66 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 5 | 30 |
| 25 | Eric Belanger | C | 62 | 16 | 19 | 35 | −5 | 26 |
| 24 | Alexander Frolov | LW | 79 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 12 | 34 |
| 41 | Jason Allison | C | 26 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 9 | 22 |
| 17 | Lubomir Visnovsky | D | 57 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 2 | 28 |
| 22 | Ian Laperriere | RW | 73 | 7 | 12 | 19 | −9 | 122 |
| 28 | Adam Deadmarsh | RW | 20 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 21 |
| 42 | Mikko Eloranta | LW | 75 | 5 | 12 | 17 | −15 | 56 |
| 27 | Erik Rasmussen | C | 57 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −1 | 28 |
| 29 | Brad Chartrand | C | 62 | 8 | 6 | 14 | −10 | 33 |
| 26 | Joe Corvo | D | 50 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 14 |
| 57 | Steve Heinze | RW | 27 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 12 |
| 23 | Craig Johnson | LW | 70 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −13 | 22 |
| 27 | Jaroslav Bednar‡ | RW | 15 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 4 |
| 13 | Michael Cammalleri | C | 28 | 5 | 3 | 8 | −4 | 22 |
| 63 | Brad Norton | D | 53 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 97 |
| 3 | Aaron Miller | D | 49 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −7 | 24 |
| 14 | Mattias Norstrom | D | 82 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 49 |
| 11 | Steve Kelly | C | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −6 | 0 |
| 31 | Jared Aulin | C | 17 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
| 19 | Sean Avery† | C | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 33 |
| 6 | Andreas Lilja‡ | D | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| 36 | Dmitri Yushkevich†‡ | D | 42 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 24 |
| 5 | Tomas Zizka | D | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −4 | 4 |
| 38 | Chris McAlpine | D | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 24 |
| 51 | Chris Schmidt | C | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 5 |
| 43 | Jon Sim† | LW | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 19 |
| 52 | Jerred Smithson | C | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 21 |
| 49 | Ryan Flinn | LW | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 |
| 53 | Jason Holland | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Jamie Storr | G | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 8 |
| 62 | Scott Barney | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 58 | Derek Bekar | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| 12 | Ken Belanger | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 37 | Kip Brennan | LW | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 |
| 35 | Cristobal Huet | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 6 | Maxim Kuznetsov† | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | Felix Potvin | G | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 55 | Pavel Rosa | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |

### 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 |
| 39 | Felix Potvin | 42 | 17 | 20 | 3 | 987 | 105 | 2.66 | .894 | 3 | 2367 |
| 1 | Jamie Storr | 39 | 12 | 19 | 2 | 904 | 86 | 2.55 | .905 | 3 | 2027 |
| 35 | Cristobal Huet | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 241 | 21 | 2.33 | .913 | 1 | 541 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mathieu Schneider |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Alexander Frolov |
| Team | Ace Bailey Memorial Award | Ian Laperriere |
| Team | Bill Libby Memorial Award | Zigmund Palffy |
| Team | Defensive Player | Mattias Norstrom |
| Team | Jim Fox Community Service | Craig Johnson |
| Team | Jim Fox Community Service | Jamie Storr |
| Team | Leading Scorer | Zigmund Palffy |
| Team | Mark Bavis Memorial Award | Alexander Frolov |
| Team | Most Popular Player | Ian Laperriere |
| Team | Outstanding Defenseman | Mattias Norstrom |
| Team | Unsung Hero | Derek Armstrong |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Alexander Frolov | October 9, 2002 |
| First game | Michael Cammalleri | November 8, 2002 |
| First game | Joe Corvo | December 14, 2002 |
| First game | Jared Aulin | December 17, 2002 |
| First game | Jerred Smithson | December 29, 2002 |
| First game | Tomas Zizka | January 22, 2003 |
| First game | Scott Barney | January 25, 2003 |
| First game | Chris Schmidt | February 11, 2003 |
| First game | Cristobal Huet | February 20, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Kings 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 Los Angeles Kings4th-round pick in 2002 | To Minnesota WildCliff Ronning |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | To Los Angeles KingsDerek Armstrong | To New York RangersConditional draft pick in 2003 |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | To Los Angeles KingsErik Rasmussen | To Buffalo SabresAdam Mair5th-round pick in 2003 |
| November 26, 2002 (2002-11-26) | To Los Angeles KingsDmitri Yushkevich5th-round pick in 2003 | To Florida PanthersJaroslav BednarAndreas Lilja |
| February 4, 2003 (2003-02-04) | To Los Angeles KingsGreg Koehler | To Nashville PredatorsFuture considerations |
| March 1, 2003 (2003-03-01) | To Los Angeles Kings4th-round pick in 20037th-round pick in 2004 | To Philadelphia FlyersDmitri Yushkevich |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Los Angeles KingsRights to Tim Gleason | To Ottawa SenatorsBryan Smolinski |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Los Angeles KingsSean AveryMaxim Kuznetsov1st-round pick in 20032nd-round pick in 2004 | To Detroit Red WingsMathieu Schneider |
| May 28, 2003 (2003-05-28) | To Los Angeles KingsRoman Cechmanek | To Philadelphia Flyers2nd-round pick in 2004 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27) | Chris McAlpine | Chicago Blackhawks | | Free agency |
| October 8, 2002 (2002-10-08) | Brad Norton | Florida Panthers | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 8, 2003 (2003-03-08) | Jon Sim | Nashville Predators | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 30, 2002 (2002-06-30) | Nelson Emerson | | Buyout |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Nate Miller | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Greg Phillips | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02) | Philippe Boucher | Dallas Stars | Free agency (V) |
| July 7, 2002 (2002-07-07) | Kelly Buchberger | Phoenix Coyotes | Free agency (III) |
| July 8, 2002 (2002-07-08) | Ted Donato | New York Rangers | Free agency (III) |
| July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18) | Rich Brennan | Boston Bruins | Free agency (VI) |
| July 20, 2002 (2002-07-20) | Marcel Cousineau | Severstal Cherepovets (RSL) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Rob Valicevic | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) | Scott Thomas | San Jose Sharks | Free agency (UFA) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) | Felix Potvin | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 28, 2002 (2002-06-28) | Derek Bekar | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 28, 2002 (2002-06-28) | Jason Holland | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 8, 2002 (2002-07-08) | Joe Corvo | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Cristobal Huet | 2-year | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Alexander Frolov | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Derek Armstrong | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Brad Chartrand | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Pavel Rosa | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Richard Seeley | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 20, 2002 (2002-07-20) | Adam Mair | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 25, 2002 (2002-07-25) | Michael Cammalleri | multi-year | Entry-level |
| July 26, 2002 (2002-07-26) | Eric Belanger | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) | Mike Pudlick | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Mikko Eloranta | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Steve Kelly | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Jamie Storr | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Jaroslav Bednar | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14) | Mattias Norstrom | multi-year | Extension |
| October 2, 2002 (2002-10-02) | Scott Barney | 1-year | Re-signing |
| March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10) | Aaron Miller | 4-year | Extension |
| April 3, 2003 (2003-04-03) | Noah Clarke | 1-year | Entry-level |
| April 8, 2003 (2003-04-08) | Zigmund Palffy | 1-year | Option exercised |
| April 8, 2003 (2003-04-08) | Lubomir Visnovsky | 1-year | Option exercised |
| May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30) | Tim Gleason | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Los Angeles'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 | 18 | Denis Grebeshkov | Russia | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 2 | 50 | Sergei Anshakov | Russia | CSKA Moscow Jr. (Russia) |
| 3 | 66 | Petr Kanko | Czech Republic | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 4 | 104 | Aaron Rome | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
| 4 | 115 | Mark Rooneem | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 5 | 152 | Gregory Hogeboom | Canada | Miami University (NCHC) |
| 5 | 157 | Joel Andresen | Canada | St. Albert Steel (AJHL) |
| 6 | 185 | Ryan Murphy | United States | Boston College (Hockey East) |
| 7 | 215 | Mikhail Lyubushin | Russia | Krylya Sovetov (Russia) |
| 8 | 248 | Tuukka Pulliainen | Finland | TuTo (Finland) |
| 9 | 279 | Connor James | Canada | University of Denver (NCHC) |