# 2002–03 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 2002–03 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the Penguins' 36th season. The team finished fifth and last in the Atlantic Division and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

## Regular season

The Penguins were shut out an NHL-high ten times, tied with the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.

### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 46 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 216 | 166 | 108 |
| 2 | 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 45 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 211 | 166 | 107 |
| 3 | 8 | New York Islanders | 82 | 35 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 224 | 231 | 83 |
| 4 | 9 | New York Rangers | 82 | 32 | 36 | 10 | 4 | 210 | 231 | 78 |
| 5 | 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 27 | 44 | 6 | 5 | 189 | 255 | 65 |
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: 6–2–2–0 (home: 4–1–1–0; road: 2–1–1–0), 14 points
#OctVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPointsRecap
110Toronto Maple Leafs6–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (15309)0–1–0–00Recap
212New York Rangers0–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14813)1–1–0–02Recap
314Pittsburgh Penguins5–4Toronto Maple LeafsAir Canada Centre (18843)2–1–0–04Recap
416Atlanta Thrashers2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (12161)3–1–0–06Recap
519Tampa Bay Lightning3–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16106)3–1–1–07Recap
622Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (19895)3–1–2–08Recap
725Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Detroit Red WingsJoe Louis Arena (20058)3–2–2–08Recap
826Buffalo Sabres2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16188)4–2–2–010Recap
928Washington Capitals2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14303)5–2–2–012Recap
1030Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Ottawa SenatorsCanadian Tire Centre (17987)6–2–2–014Recap :
November: 5–4–1–3 (home: 3–2–0–1; road: 2–2–1–2), 14 points
#NovVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPointsRecap
112Tampa Bay Lightning3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (17108)7–2–2–016Recap
126Pittsburgh Penguins3–4 OTFlorida PanthersBB&T Center (14244)7–2–2–117Recap
138Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Tampa Bay LightningAmalie Arena (18741)7–3–2–117Recap
149Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Carolina HurricanesPNC Arena (18730)7–4–2–117Recap
1514Pittsburgh Penguins1–1Minnesota WildXcel Energy Center (18568)7–4–3–118Recap
1616New York Islanders3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (15723)7–5–3–118Recap
1718Pittsburgh Penguins4–5 OTMontreal CanadiensBell Centre (21273)7–5–3–219Recap
1820Montreal Canadiens3–2 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13549)7–5–3–320Recap
1922Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Atlanta ThrashersPhilips Arena (17375)8–5–3–322Recap
2023San Jose Sharks1–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16958)9–5–3–324Recap
2127Philadelphia Flyers2–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16385)10–5–3–326Recap
2229Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Buffalo SabresFirst Niagara Center (15733)11–5–3–328Recap
2330Boston Bruins3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (15111)11–6–3–328Recap :
December: 4–9–0–2 (home: 3–3–0–1; road: 1–6–0–1), 10 points
#DecVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPointsRecap
243Washington Capitals4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (11640)11–7–3–328Recap
256Pittsburgh Penguins1–3New Jersey DevilsIzod Center (16860)11–8–3–328Recap
267New York Islanders6–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13170)11–9–3–328Recap
2710Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Toronto Maple LeafsAir Canada Centre (19388)11–10–3–328Recap
2812Pittsburgh Penguins2–5San Jose SharksSAP Center at San Jose (17496)11–11–3–328Recap
2914Pittsburgh Penguins2–3 OTLos Angeles KingsStaples Center (18184)11–11–3–429Recap
3015Pittsburgh Penguins0–5Mighty Ducks of AnaheimHonda Center (16542)11–12–3–429Recap
3117Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Phoenix CoyotesAmerica West Arena (13174)11–13–3–429Recap
3219New Jersey Devils3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14220)11–14–3–429Recap
3321Calgary Flames0–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (12571)12–14–3–431Recap
3423Buffalo Sabres2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16569)13–14–3–433Recap
3526Pittsburgh Penguins6–1New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV) (18200)14–14–3–435Recap
3628Montreal Canadiens2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16109)15–14–3–437Recap
3730Atlanta Thrashers3–2 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16989)15–14–3–538Recap
3831Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Columbus Blue JacketsNationwide Arena (18136)15–15–3–538Recap :
January: 6–7–1–0 (home: 2–3–0–0; road: 4–4–1–0), 13 points
#JanVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPointsRecap
393Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Atlanta ThrashersPhilips Arena (14177)16–15–3–540Recap
404New York Islanders2–3 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14331)17–15–3–542Recap
417Pittsburgh Penguins3–6New York IslandersNassau Coliseum (14857)17–16–3–542Recap
429Toronto Maple Leafs4–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13889)17–17–3–542Recap
4311New York Rangers3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14769)17–18–3–542Recap
4413Pittsburgh Penguins2–1Boston BruinsTD Garden (15672)18–18–3–544Recap
4515Pittsburgh Penguins2–0Carolina HurricanesPNC Arena (15265)19–18–3–546Recap
4617Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Tampa Bay LightningAmalie Arena (18202)20–18–3–548Recap
4718Pittsburgh Penguins0–3Florida PanthersBB&T Center (18313)20–19–3–548Recap
4821Pittsburgh Penguins0–0Buffalo SabresFirst Niagara Center (13858)20–19–4–549Recap
4923Boston Bruins4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13271)20–20–4–549Recap
5025Chicago Blackhawks3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16958)21–20–4–551Recap
5128Pittsburgh Penguins2–5New York IslandersNassau Coliseum (14246)21–21–4–551Recap
5230Pittsburgh Penguins1–2Washington CapitalsVerizon Center (18277)21–22–4–551Recap :
February: 4–8–0–0 (home: 2–6–0–0; road: 2–2–0–0), 8 points
#FebVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPointsRecap
534Vancouver Canucks3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13202)21–23–4–551Recap
546Florida Panthers6–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (12231)21–24–4–551Recap
558Pittsburgh Penguins5–2Boston BruinsTD Garden (17565)22–24–4–553Recap
5612Ottawa Senators3–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14197)22–25–4–553Recap
5714Pittsburgh Penguins0–1New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV) (18200)22–26–4–553Recap
5815Pittsburgh Penguins4–1New Jersey DevilsIzod Center (18235)23–26–4–555Recap
5918Edmonton Oilers3–4 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13552)24–26–4–557Recap
6020Colorado Avalanche5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13751)24–27–4–557Recap
6122St. Louis Blues1–2 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14718)25–27–4–559Recap
6223New Jersey Devils4–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (17148)25–28–4–559Recap
6325Los Angeles Kings5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (11736)25–29–4–559Recap
6427Pittsburgh Penguins0–6Nashville PredatorsBridgestone Arena (13581)25–30–4–559Recap :
March: 1–13–2–0 (home: 0–7–1–0; road: 1–6–1–0), 4 points
#MarVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPointsRecap
651Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Colorado AvalanchePepsi Center (18007)25–31–4–559Recap
662Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Dallas StarsAmerican Airlines Center (18532)25–32–4–559Recap
674Phoenix Coyotes4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13686)25–33–4–559Recap
686Carolina Hurricanes4–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14812)25–34–4–559Recap
698Ottawa Senators5–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (14354)25–35–4–559Recap
709Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Ottawa SenatorsCanadian Tire Centre (18500)25–36–4–559Recap
7112Nashville Predators2–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (17148)25–36–5–560Recap
7215Philadelphia Flyers4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (17032)25–37–5–560Recap
7316Florida Panthers4–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (16958)25–38–5–560Recap
7418Detroit Red Wings5–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (13840)25–39–5–560Recap
7520Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Philadelphia FlyersWells Fargo Center (19487)25–40–5–560Recap
7621Pittsburgh Penguins1–3New Jersey DevilsIzod Center (15401)25–41–5–560Recap
7723Pittsburgh Penguins1–1Chicago BlackhawksUnited Center (16234)25–41–6–561Recap
7826Pittsburgh Penguins3–1New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV) (18200)26–41–6–563Recap
7929Pittsburgh Penguins0–3Philadelphia FlyersWells Fargo Center (19654)26–42–6–563Recap
8031Philadelphia Flyers6–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (12505)26–43–6–563Recap :
April: 1–1–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 0–1–0–0), 2 points
#AprVisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPointsRecap
812Carolina Hurricanes2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena (15718)27–43–6–565Recap
825Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Washington CapitalsVerizon Center (18277)27–44–6–565Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mario Lemieux | 67 | 28 | 63 | 91 | -25 | 43 |
| Alex Kovalev$^‡$ | 54 | 27 | 37 | 64 | -11 | 50 |
| Martin Straka | 60 | 18 | 28 | 46 | -18 | 12 |
| Dick Tarnstrom | 61 | 7 | 34 | 41 | -11 | 50 |
| Jan Hrdina$^‡$ | 57 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 1 | 34 |
| Aleksey Morozov | 27 | 9 | 16 | 25 | -3 | 16 |
| Ville Nieminen | 75 | 9 | 12 | 21 | -25 | 93 |
| Randy Robitaille$^‡$ | 41 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 8 |
| Wayne Primeau$^‡$ | 70 | 5 | 11 | 16 | -30 | 55 |
| Rico Fata$^†$ | 27 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -6 | 10 |
| Milan Kraft | 31 | 7 | 5 | 12 | -8 | 10 |
| Tomas Surovy | 26 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 10 |
| Steve McKenna | 79 | 9 | 1 | 10 | -18 | 128 |
| Michal Rozsival | 53 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -5 | 40 |
| Shean Donovan$^‡$ | 52 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -6 | 30 |
| Alexandre Daigle | 33 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -10 | 8 |
| Marc Bergevin$^‡$ | 69 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -9 | 36 |
| Kent Manderville | 82 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -22 | 46 |
| Janne Laukkanen$^‡$ | 17 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -3 | 8 |
| Ian Moran$^‡$ | 70 | 0 | 7 | 7 | -17 | 46 |
| Eric Meloche | 13 | 5 | 1 | 6 | -2 | 4 |
| Michal Sivek | 38 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -5 | 14 |
| Guillaume Lefebvre$^†$ | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Mathias Johansson$^†$ | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Richard Lintner$^†$ | 19 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -9 | 10 |
| Hans Jonsson | 63 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -23 | 36 |
| Jamie Pushor | 76 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -28 | 76 |
| Dan Lacouture$^‡$ | 44 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -8 | 72 |
| Andrew Ference$^‡$ | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -16 | 36 |
| Brian Holzinger$^†$ | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -6 | 6 |
| Dan Focht$^†$ | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -7 | 19 |
| Mikael Samuelsson$^†$ | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -21 | 8 |
| Shawn Heins$^†$ | 27 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 33 |
| Vladimir Vujtek | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 0 |
| Joel Bouchard$^†$ | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -6 | 0 |
| Tom Kostopoulos | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 0 |
| Kris Beech | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 6 |
| Josef Melichar | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 |
| Ramzi Abid | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 |
| Konstantin Koltsov | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Ross Lupaschuk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 4 |
| Brooks Orpik | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 189 | 331 | 520 | — | 1,067 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Johan Hedberg | 41 | 39 | 2410:11 | 14 | 22 | 4 | 126 | 3.14 | 1197 | 0.895 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| Sebastien Caron | 24 | 23 | 1408:07 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 62 | 2.64 | 741 | 0.916 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Jean-Sebastien Aubin | 21 | 20 | 1132:16 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 59 | 3.13 | 589 | 0.900 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 82 | 4950:34 | 27 | 49 | 6 | 247 | 2.99 | 2527 | 0.902 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 26 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

## Awards and records

* Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 1000 assists for the Penguins. He did so in a 5–2 win over Boston on February 8.

### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Sebastien Caron (Goaltender) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Alexei Kovalev |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mario Lemieux |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Month | Mario Lemieux (October) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Mario Lemieux (October 21) |
| Team | A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award | Mario Lemieux |
| Team | Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award | Steve McKenna |
| Team | Leading Scorer Award | Mario Lemieux |
| Team | Michel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy | No winner |
| Team | Most Valuable Player Award | Mario Lemieux |
| Team | Players' Player Award | No winner |
| Team | The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award | Johan Hedberg |
| Team | The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award | Steve McKenna |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Michal Sivek | November 29, 2002 |
| First game | Ross Lupaschuk | December 10, 2002 |
| First game | Brooks Orpik | December 10, 2002 |
| First game | Sebastien Caron | January 11, 2003 |
| First game | Konstantin Koltsov | January 28, 2003 |
| First game | Tomas Surovy | February 14, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Penguins 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 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To New York Rangers Krzysztof Oliwa | To Pittsburgh Penguins Future considerations |
| February 9, 2003 (2003-02-09) | To San Jose Sharks Conditional 5th-round pick in 2003 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Shawn Heins |
| February 10, 2003 (2003-02-10) | To Calgary Flames Andrew Ference | To Pittsburgh Penguins Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2004 |
| February 10, 2003 (2003-02-10) | To New York Rangers Alexei KovalevDan LaCoutureJanne LaukkanenMike Wilson | To Pittsburgh Penguins Joel BouchardRico FataRichard LintnerMikael SamuelssonCash ($3.9 million) |
| March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09) | To New York Islanders Randy Robitaille | To Pittsburgh Penguins 5th-round pick in 2003 |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To San Jose Sharks Wayne Primeau | To Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Bradley |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Phoenix Coyotes Jan HrdinaFrancois Leroux | To Pittsburgh Penguins Ramzi AbidDan FochtGuillaume Lefebvre |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Boston Bruins Ian Moran | To Pittsburgh Penguins 4th-round pick in 2003 |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Tampa Bay Lightning Marc Bergevin | To Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Holzinger |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Calgary Flames Shean Donovan | To Pittsburgh Penguins Micki DuPontMattias Johansson |
| May 12, 2003 (2003-05-12) | To Tampa Bay Lightning 9th-round pick in 2003 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Marc Bergevin |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26) | Brendan Buckley | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) | | Free agency |
| July 12, 2002 (2002-07-12) | Steve McKenna | New York Rangers | | Free agency |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Vladimir Vujtek | HPK (Liiga) | | Free agency |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Francois Leroux | Berlin Capitals (DEL) | | Free agency |
| July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18) | Marc Bergevin | St. Louis Blues | | Free agency |
| August 6, 2002 (2002-08-06) | Dick Tarnstrom | New York Islanders | | Waivers |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | Alexandre Daigle | New York Rangers | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Robert Lang | Washington Capitals | Free agency (III) |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Martin Sonnenberg | Calgary Flames | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Darcy Verot | Calgary Flames | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 11, 2002 (2002-07-11) | Jeff Toms | Florida Panthers | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 17, 2002 (2002-07-17) | Robert Dome | Calgary Flames | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 7, 2002 (2002-08-07) | Peter Ratchuk | Buffalo Sabres | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 8, 2002 (2002-08-08) | Bert Robertsson | Ilves (Liiga) | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Dylan Gyori | Roanoke Express (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) | John Jakopin | San Jose Sharks | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 27, 2002 (2002-09-27) | Kevin Stevens | | Retirement (III) |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | Rick Berry | Washington Capitals | Waiver draft |
| October 31, 2002 (2002-10-31) | Alexandre Mathieu | Lexington Men O' War (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 25, 2002 (2002-06-25) | Jean-Sebastien Aubin | | Re-signing |
| June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26) | Mario Lemieux | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Konstantin Koltsov | | Entry-level |
| July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) | Rick Berry | | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) | Ville Nieminen | | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) | Jamie Pushor | | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Andrew Ference | | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Shean Donovan | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Randy Robitaille | | Re-signing |
| August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02) | Dan LaCouture | | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2002 (2002-08-03) | Matt Murley | | Entry-level |
| August 7, 2002 (2002-08-07) | Alexei Morozov | | Re-signing |
| September 3, 2002 (2002-09-03) | Colby Armstrong | | Entry-level |
| September 3, 2002 (2002-09-03) | Rob Tallas | | Re-signing |
| September 9, 2002 (2002-09-09) | Tom Kostopoulos | | Re-signing |
| September 9, 2002 (2002-09-09) | Josef Melichar | | Re-signing |
| September 11, 2002 (2002-09-11) | Michal Rozsival | | Re-signing |
| September 27, 2002 (2002-09-27) | Matt Hussey | | Entry-level |
| May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30) | Drew Fata | | Entry-level |
| May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30) | Alexandre Rouleau | | Entry-level |

### Other

| Name | Date | Notes |
| Herb Brooks | August 16, 2002 | Hired as director of player development |
| Rick Kehoe | April 15, 2003 | Fired as head coach |

## Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Ryan Whitney | Defense | United States | Boston University (Hockey East) |
| 2 | 35 | Ondrej Nemec | Defense | Czech Republic | HC Vsetín (Czech Republic) |
| 3 | 69 | Erik Christensen | Center | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 4 | 101 | Daniel Fernholm | Defense | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (Sweden) |
| 5 | 136 | Andy Sertich | Left wing | United States | Greenway High School (USHS-MN) |
| 5 | 137 | Cam Paddock | Center | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 6 | 171 | Robert Goepfert | Goaltender | United States | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) |
| 7 | 202 | Patrik Bartschi | Forward | Switzerland | Kloten Flyers (Switzerland) |
| 8 | 234 | Maxime Talbot | Center | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 239 | Ryan Lannon | Defense | United States | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 9 | 265 | Dwight LaBrosse | Goaltender | United States | Guelph Storm (OHL) |

### Draft notes

* $^a$ Compensatory pick received for loss of Group III free agent Garth Snow.
* $^b$ Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for Group III free agent Garth Snow per Michel Leduc.
* $^c$ Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for Group III free agent Marc Bergevin.