# 2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks season

The 2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 78th season of operation of the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. The Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

## Regular season

General manager Mike Smith was fired on October 24, 2003. Bob Pulford replaced Smith on an interim basis until a replacement could be found.
On December 11, 2003, Mark Bell scored just 15 seconds into the overtime period to give the Blackhawks a 4–3 home win over the Detroit Red Wings. The Sabres' Derek Roy would match that mark in the overtime period on March 17, 2004, in a 4–3 Buffalo road win over the Atlanta Thrashers. Both goals would prove to be the fastest overtime goals scored during the 2003–04 NHL regular season. In February, team captain Alexei Zhamnov was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. The team chose not to name a replacement for the rest of the season.

### Final standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 255 | 189 | 109 |
| 2 | 7 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 191 | 198 | 91 |
| 3 | 8 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 216 | 217 | 91 |
| 4 | 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 177 | 238 | 62 |
| 5 | 15 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 20 | 43 | 11 | 8 | 188 | 259 | 59 |
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 | P- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 255 | 189 | 109 |
| 2 | Y- San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 43 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 255 | 183 | 104 |
| 3 | Y- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 235 | 194 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 236 | 198 | 100 |
| 5 | X- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 41 | 26 | 13 | 2 | 194 | 175 | 97 |
| 6 | X- Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 200 | 176 | 94 |
| 7 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 191 | 198 | 91 |
| 8 | X- Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 216 | 217 | 91 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 221 | 208 | 89 |
| 10 | Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 30 | 29 | 20 | 3 | 188 | 183 | 83 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 28 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 205 | 217 | 81 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 29 | 35 | 10 | 8 | 184 | 213 | 76 |
| 13 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 22 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 188 | 245 | 68 |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 177 | 238 | 62 |
| 15 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 20 | 43 | 11 | 8 | 188 | 259 | 59 |
Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2003–04 regular season :
October: 3–5–3–0 (home: 2–2–0–0; road: 1–3–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 8, 20031–0Minnesota Wild (2003–04)1–0–0–0Recap
2LOctober 10, 20030–5@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)1–1–0–0Recap
3LOctober 12, 20032–4Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)1–2–0–0Recap
4LOctober 16, 20031–2@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)1–3–0–0Recap
5LOctober 18, 20032–7@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)1–4–0–0Recap
6WOctober 19, 20033–1Nashville Predators (2003–04)2–4–0–0Recap
7TOctober 23, 20033–3 OT@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)2–4–1–0Recap
8WOctober 25, 20033–2@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)3–4–1–0Recap
9TOctober 26, 20031–1 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)3–4–2–0Recap
10TOctober 28, 20032–2 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)3–4–3–0Recap
11LOctober 30, 20030–1Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)3–5–3–0Recap :
November: 3–7–1–3 (home: 1–1–1–2; road: 2–6–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12WNovember 1, 20033–2@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)4–5–3–0Recap
13WNovember 2, 20033–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)5–5–3–0Recap
14WNovember 7, 20032–1@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)6–5–3–0Recap
15OTLNovember 9, 20033–4 OTColorado Avalanche (2003–04)6–5–3–1Recap
16LNovember 10, 20030–3@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)6–6–3–1Recap
17LNovember 12, 20032–6Calgary Flames (2003–04)6–7–3–1Recap
18OTLNovember 14, 20033–4 OTDetroit Red Wings (2003–04)6–7–3–2Recap
19TNovember 16, 20032–2 OTNew York Rangers (2003–04)6–7–4–2Recap
20LNovember 18, 20032–5@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)6–8–4–2Recap
21OTLNovember 20, 20032–3 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)6–8–4–3Recap
22LNovember 22, 20031–2@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)6–9–4–3Recap
23LNovember 26, 20032–3@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)6–10–4–3Recap
24LNovember 28, 20033–4@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)6–11–4–3Recap
25LNovember 29, 20031–3@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)6–12–4–3Recap :
December: 3–7–3–1 (home: 3–2–3–1; road: 0–5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26LDecember 3, 20032–3Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)6–13–4–3Recap
27LDecember 6, 20032–5@ New York Islanders (2003–04)6–14–4–3Recap
28TDecember 7, 20032–2 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2003–04)6–14–5–3Recap
29WDecember 11, 20034–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (2003–04)7–14–5–3Recap
30LDecember 12, 20030–1@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)7–15–5–3Recap
31TDecember 14, 20031–1 OTDallas Stars (2003–04)7–15–6–3Recap
32LDecember 18, 20031–6@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)7–16–6–3Recap
33LDecember 19, 20032–3@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)7–17–6–3Recap
34TDecember 21, 20032–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (2003–04)7–17–7–3Recap
35WDecember 23, 20033–0St. Louis Blues (2003–04)8–17–7–3Recap
36LDecember 26, 20031–4Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)8–18–7–3Recap
37WDecember 28, 20033–0Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)9–18–7–3Recap
38LDecember 29, 20030–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)9–19–7–3Recap
39OTLDecember 31, 20033–4 OTVancouver Canucks (2003–04)9–19–7–4Recap :
January: 4–9–0–1 (home: 3–2–0–1; road: 1–7–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
40WJanuary 2, 20042–1San Jose Sharks (2003–04)10–19–7–4Recap
41LJanuary 4, 20043–4Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)10–20–7–4Recap
42LJanuary 7, 20044–7@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)10–21–7–4Recap
43WJanuary 8, 20043–1Calgary Flames (2003–04)11–21–7–4Recap
44OTLJanuary 11, 20044–5 OTColorado Avalanche (2003–04)11–21–7–5Recap
45LJanuary 12, 20044–7@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)11–22–7–5Recap
46LJanuary 14, 20042–4@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)11–23–7–5Recap
47LJanuary 18, 20041–2Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)11–24–7–5Recap
48LJanuary 21, 20042–4@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)11–25–7–5Recap
49WJanuary 22, 20047–0Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)12–25–7–5Recap
50LJanuary 24, 20043–4@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)12–26–7–5Recap
51LJanuary 27, 20042–3@ Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)12–27–7–5Recap
52LJanuary 29, 20042–5@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)12–28–7–5Recap
53WJanuary 30, 20045–3@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)13–28–7–5Recap :
February: 5–5–1–0 (home: 3–3–1–0; road: 2–2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54LFebruary 1, 20044–6@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)13–29–7–5Recap
55WFebruary 3, 20044–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)14–29–7–5Recap
56WFebruary 11, 20045–2Nashville Predators (2003–04)15–29–7–5Recap
57WFebruary 14, 20042–1 OTBoston Bruins (2003–04)16–29–7–5Recap
58LFebruary 15, 20040–4Washington Capitals (2003–04)16–30–7–5Recap
59LFebruary 19, 20043–6San Jose Sharks (2003–04)16–31–7–5Recap
60WFebruary 22, 20043–2 OTSt. Louis Blues (2003–04)17–31–7–5Recap
61LFebruary 24, 20041–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)17–32–7–5Recap
62WFebruary 25, 20044–3@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)18–32–7–5Recap
63LFebruary 27, 20043–4Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)18–33–7–5Recap
64TFebruary 29, 20042–2 OTFlorida Panthers (2003–04)18–33–8–5Recap :
March: 2–8–3–2 (home: 1–6–1–1; road: 1–2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
65TMarch 1, 20042–2 OT@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)18–33–9–5Recap
66LMarch 3, 20043–5Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)18–34–9–5Recap
67LMarch 5, 20042–5Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)18–35–9–5Recap
68OTLMarch 7, 20043–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (2003–04)18–35–9–6Recap
69LMarch 11, 20044–6@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)18–36–9–6Recap
70WMarch 12, 20044–3@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)19–36–9–6Recap
71LMarch 14, 20040–4Dallas Stars (2003–04)19–37–9–6Recap
72LMarch 17, 20042–3Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)19–38–9–6Recap
73WMarch 19, 20044–3 OTVancouver Canucks (2003–04)20–38–9–6Recap
74TMarch 21, 20042–2 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2003–04)20–38–10–6Recap
75TMarch 23, 20042–2 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)20–38–11–6Recap
76LMarch 25, 20042–8Minnesota Wild (2003–04)20–39–11–6Recap
77OTLMarch 27, 20043–4 OT@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)20–39–11–7Recap
78LMarch 28, 20041–3St. Louis Blues (2003–04)20–40–11–7Recap
79LMarch 30, 20042–5@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)20–41–11–7Recap :
April: 0–2–0–1 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 0–1–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
80LApril 1, 20041–3Nashville Predators (2003–04)20–42–11–7Recap
81OTLApril 3, 20041–2 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)20–42–11–8Recap
82LApril 4, 20042–5@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)20–43–11–8Recap :
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 Blackhawks only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 39 | Tyler Arnason | C | 82 | 22 | 33 | 55 | −13 | 16 |
| 4 | Bryan Berard† | D | 58 | 13 | 34 | 47 | −24 | 53 |
| 28 | Mark Bell | C | 82 | 21 | 24 | 45 | −14 | 106 |
| 15 | Tuomo Ruutu | LW | 82 | 23 | 21 | 44 | −31 | 58 |
| 26 | Steve Sullivan‡ | RW | 56 | 15 | 28 | 43 | −7 | 36 |
| 19 | Kyle Calder | LW | 66 | 21 | 18 | 39 | −18 | 29 |
| 53 | Brett McLean | C | 76 | 11 | 20 | 31 | −11 | 54 |
| 43 | Nathan Dempsey‡ | D | 58 | 8 | 17 | 25 | −5 | 30 |
| 12 | Scott Nichol | C | 75 | 7 | 11 | 18 | −16 | 145 |
| 13 | Alex Zhamnov‡ | C | 23 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −8 | 14 |
| 22 | Igor Korolev | C | 62 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −15 | 22 |
| 20 | Ville Nieminen‡ | LW | 60 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −15 | 40 |
| 17 | Stephane Robidas† | D | 45 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 33 |
| 23 | Jim Vandermeer† | D | 23 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −6 | 58 |
| 55 | Eric Daze | RW | 19 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −7 | 0 |
| 2 | Deron Quint | D | 51 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −26 | 18 |
| 50 | Igor Radulov | LW | 36 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −2 | 18 |
| 36 | Mikhail Yakubov | C | 30 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −12 | 8 |
| 25 | Alexander Karpovtsev‡ | D | 24 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −17 | 14 |
| 59 | Travis Moen | LW | 82 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −17 | 142 |
| 44 | Burke Henry | D | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 24 |
| 14 | Ryan VandenBussche | RW | 65 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −10 | 120 |
| 11 | Matt Keith | RW | 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −5 | 10 |
| 8 | Steve Poapst | D | 53 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −16 | 26 |
| 5 | Steve McCarthy | D | 25 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −9 | 8 |
| 34 | Jason Strudwick | D | 54 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −16 | 73 |
| 32 | Pavel Vorobiev | RW | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Eric Nickulas† | RW | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −6 | 8 |
| 6 | Anton Babchuk | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| 49 | Michael Leighton | G | 34 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 2 |
| 33 | Shawn Thornton | RW | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| 56 | Johnathan Aitken | D | 41 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −9 | 70 |
| 42 | Michal Barinka | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 6 |
| 16 | Matt Ellison | RW | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| 42 | Jon Klemm‡ | D | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 20 |
| 47 | Lasse Kukkonen | D | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 45 | Quintin Laing | LW | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | Craig Anderson | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 30 | Adam Munro† | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 29 | Steve Passmore | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 40 | Matt Underhill† | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks 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 |
| 31 | Craig Anderson | 21 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 602 | 57 | 2.84 | .905 | 1 | 1205 |
| 49 | Michael Leighton | 34 | 6 | 18 | 8 | 987 | 99 | 2.99 | .900 | 2 | 1988 |
| 41 | Jocelyn Thibault | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 450 | 39 | 2.85 | .913 | 1 | 821 |
| 29 | Steve Passmore | 9 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 221 | 23 | 2.89 | .896 | 0 | 478 |
| 30 | Adam Munro† | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 217 | 26 | 3.66 | .880 | 0 | 426 |
| 40 | Matt Underhill† | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 4 | 3.93 | .879 | 0 | 61 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy | Bryan Berard |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Michael Leighton (December 30) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Tuomo Ruutu (March) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Tuomo Ruutu |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Lasse Kukkonen | October 8, 2003 |
| First game | Travis Moen | October 8, 2003 |
| First game | Tuomo Ruutu | October 8, 2003 |
| First game | Pavel Vorobiev | October 12, 2003 |
| First game | Mikhail Yakubov | November 28, 2003 |
| First game | Anton Babchuk | January 8, 2004 |
| First game | Matt Ellison | February 1, 2004 |
| First game | Matt Keith | February 24, 2004 |
| First game | Quintin Laing | February 29, 2004 |
| First game | Adam Munro | March 1, 2004 |
| First game | Matt Underhill | March 7, 2004 |
| First game | Michal Barinka | March 11, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Blackhawks 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 21, 2003 (2003-06-21) | To Colorado Avalanche Andrei Nikolishin | To Chicago Blackhawks 4th-round pick in 2004 |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Florida Panthers Dmytro Tolkunov | To Chicago Blackhawks 9th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To San Jose Sharks Florida's 9th-round pick in 2003 | To Chicago Blackhawks 8th-round pick in 2004 |
| November 17, 2003 (2003-11-17) | To Dallas Stars Jon Klemm4th-round pick in 2004 | To Chicago Blackhawks Stephane Robidas2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| February 16, 2004 (2004-02-16) | To Nashville Predators Steve Sullivan | To Chicago Blackhawks 2nd-round pick in 20042nd-round pick in 2005 |
| February 19, 2004 (2004-02-19) | To Philadelphia Flyers Alexei Zhamnov4th-round pick in 2004 | To Chicago Blackhawks Jim VandermeerRights to Colin Fraser2nd-round pick in 2004 |
| February 24, 2004 (2004-02-24) | To Calgary Flames Ville Nieminen | To Chicago Blackhawks Jason MorganConditional draft pick |
| March 2, 2004 (2004-03-02) | To Florida Panthers Rights to Ty Jones | To Chicago Blackhawks Future considerations |
| March 2, 2004 (2004-03-02) | To Los Angeles Kings Nathan Dempsey | To Chicago Blackhawks 4th-round pick in 2005Future considerations |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To New York Islanders Alexander Karpovtsev | To Chicago Blackhawks 4th-round pick in 2005 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Scott Nichol | Calgary Flames | Free agency |
| July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29) | Ville Nieminen | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency |
| August 5, 2003 (2003-08-05) | Deron Quint | Phoenix Coyotes | Free agency |
| October 31, 2003 (2003-10-31) | Bryan Berard | Boston Bruins | Free agency |
| February 18, 2004 (2004-02-18) | Adam Munro | Norfolk Admirals (AHL) | Free agency |
| February 24, 2004 (2004-02-24) | Eric Nickulas | St. Louis Blues | Waivers |
| March 4, 2004 (2004-03-04) | Matt Underhill | Norfolk Admirals (AHL) | Free agency |
| March 31, 2004 (2004-03-31) | Nick Kuiper | University of Massachusetts Amherst (HE) | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 23, 2003 (2003-07-23) | Matt Henderson | Iserlohn Roosters (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Mike Peluso | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (VI) |
| July 25, 2003 (2003-07-25) | Casey Hankinson | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Free agency (VI) |
| July 25, 2003 (2003-07-25) | Chris Simon | New York Rangers | Free agency (III) |
| July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31) | Mike Eastwood | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency (III) |
| August 1, 2003 (2003-08-01) | Sami Helenius | Jokerit (Liiga) | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 14, 2003 (2003-08-14) | Kent Huskins | Florida Panthers | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 20, 2003 (2003-08-20) | Todd Gill | Florida Panthers | Free agency (III) |
| September 23, 2003 (2003-09-23) | Bob Probert | | Retirement (III) |
| October 27, 2003 (2003-10-27) | Michael Souza | Florence Pride (ECHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| December 27, 2003 (2003-12-27) | Louie DeBrusk | Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) | Free agency (III) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract type |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Shawn Thornton | Re-signing |
| July 2, 2003 (2003-07-02) | Jason Strudwick | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Michal Barinka | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Vladimir Gusev | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Alexander Kozhevnikov | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Lasse Kukkonen | Entry-level |
| July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29) | Mark Bell | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2003 (2003-08-01) | Steve McCarthy | Re-signing |
| August 13, 2003 (2003-08-13) | Ajay Baines | Re-signing |
| August 27, 2003 (2003-08-27) | Tyler Arnason | Re-signing |
| August 27, 2003 (2003-08-27) | Matt Ellison | Entry-level |
| August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28) | Tuomo Ruutu | Entry-level |
| October 8, 2003 (2003-10-08) | Duncan Keith | Entry-level |
| March 22, 2004 (2004-03-22) | Mike Brodeur | Entry-level |
| March 22, 2004 (2004-03-22) | James Wisniewski | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 14 | Brent Seabrook | Canada | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |
| 2 | 52 | Corey Crawford | Canada | Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 59 | Michal Barinka | Czech Republic | HC Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic) |
| 5 | 151 | Lasse Kukkonen | Finland | Karpat (Finland) |
| 5 | 156 | Alexei Ivanov | Russia | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russia) |
| 6 | 181 | Johan Andersson | Sweden | Troja (Sweden) |
| 7 | 211 | Mike Brodeur | Canada | Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL) |
| 8 | 245 | Dustin Byfuglien | United States | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| 9 | 275 | Michael Grenzy | United States | Chicago Steel (USHL) |
| 9 | 282 | Chris Porter | Canada | Lincoln Stars (USHL) |