# 2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 12th National Hockey League season in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning won their first Stanley Cup over the Calgary Flames this season, after the Flames were attempting to be the first Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.
The Lightning's 1st Stanley Cup championship came just a year after their NFL (National Football League) counterparts, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won Super Bowl XXXVII, also their 1st championship.

## Offseason

The Lightning did not have a first-round pick. For their first pick, they chose Mike Egener in the second round, 35th overall.

## Regular season

On Saturday, December 27, 2003, the Lightning scored three short-handed goals in a 4–2 win over the Boston Bruins.
The Lightning finished the regular season having tied the Detroit Red Wings for the most short-handed goals scored, with 15.

### Season standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
| 1 | 1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 46 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 245 | 192 | 106 |
| 2 | 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 33 | 37 | 8 | 4 | 214 | 243 | 78 |
| 3 | 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 28 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 172 | 209 | 76 |
| 4 | 12 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 28 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 188 | 221 | 75 |
| 5 | 14 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 23 | 46 | 10 | 3 | 186 | 253 | 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.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 46 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 245 | 192 | 106 |
| 2 | Y- Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
| 3 | Y- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 209 | 188 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
| 5 | X- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
| 6 | X- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 43 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 213 | 164 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
| 8 | X- New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 38 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 237 | 210 | 91 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 33 | 37 | 8 | 4 | 214 | 243 | 78 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 28 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 172 | 209 | 76 |
| 12 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 28 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 188 | 221 | 75 |
| 13 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 27 | 40 | 7 | 8 | 206 | 250 | 69 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 23 | 46 | 10 | 3 | 186 | 253 | 59 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 23 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 190 | 303 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2003–04 regular season :
October: 6–0–1–0, 13 points (home: 4–0–1–0; road: 2–0–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 10Boston Bruins5–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum20,4541–0–0–02Recap
2October 16Phoenix Coyotes5–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum12,7842–0–0–04Recap
3October 18@ New Jersey Devils3–2KhabibulinContinental Airlines Arena15,5903–0–0–06Recap
4October 21Atlanta Thrashers3–2OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum14,8224–0–0–08Recap
5October 23@ Columbus Blue Jackets1–0GrahameNationwide Arena16,5425–0–0–010Recap
6October 25Minnesota Wild3–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum16,2236–0–0–012Recap
7October 30San Jose Sharks2–2OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum17,6096–0–1–013Recap :
November: 5–4–3–1, 14 points (home: 4–2–1–1; road: 1–2–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
8November 1Carolina Hurricanes4–3KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum16,6167–0–1–015Recap
9November 4Washington Capitals1–5KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum14,3127–1–1–015Recap
10November 6Los Angeles Kings0–1OTGrahameSt. Pete Times Forum14,2877–1–1–116Recap
11November 8Pittsburgh Penguins9–0KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum18,2628–1–1–118Recap
12November 9@ Carolina Hurricanes1–1OTGrahameRBC Center9,8218–1–2–119Recap
13November 11@ Florida Panthers0–4KhabibulinOffice Depot Center13,2148–2–2–119Recap
14November 14@ Washington Capitals5–2GrahameMCI Center14,5369–2–2–121Recap
15November 20New York Islanders3–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum14,89810–2–2–123Recap
16November 22Buffalo Sabres2–1GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum20,11211–2–2–125Recap
17November 23@ Carolina Hurricanes0–0OTKhabibulinRBC Center10,39111–2–3–126Recap
18November 25New York Rangers0–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum16,03411–3–3–126Recap
19November 28St. Louis Blues2–2OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum18,78711–3–4–127Recap
20November 28@ Atlanta Thrashers1–2GrahamePhilips Arena16,84711–4–4–127Recap :
December: 4–9–2–0, 10 points (home: 1–4–1–0; road: 3–5–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
21December 2@ Montreal Canadiens2–3KhabibulinBell Centre19,85811–5–4–127Recap
22December 4Ottawa Senators1–4GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum15,22111–6–4–127Recap
23December 6@ Buffalo Sabres3–1KhabibulinHSBC Arena15,83312–6–4–129Recap
24December 7@ New York Rangers3–2GrahameMadison Square Garden18,20013–6–4–131Recap
25December 9@ New York Islanders2–5KhabibulinNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,86013–7–4–131Recap
26December 11@ Ottawa Senators2–3KhabibulinCorel Centre17,25613–8–4–131Recap
27December 13Montreal Canadiens2–5GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum17,22813–9–4–131Recap
28December 16@ Toronto Maple Leafs0–3KhabibulinAir Canada Centre19,33113–10–4–131Recap
29December 18@ Philadelphia Flyers5–4OTKhabibulinWachovia Center19,33214–10–4–133Recap
30December 20Dallas Stars1–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum16,23314–11–4–133Recap
31December 23@ Boston Bruins1–1OTKhabibulinFleetCenter13,26614–11–5–134Recap
32December 26@ Atlanta Thrashers1–3KhabibulinPhilips Arena18,54514–12–5–134Recap
33December 27Boston Bruins4–2GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum19,94215–12–5–136Recap
34December 29Mighty Ducks of Anaheim0–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum17,66215–13–5–136Recap
35December 31Florida Panthers2–2OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum15,23415–13–6–137Recap :
January: 11–3–0–2, 24 points (home: 4–1–0–1; road: 7–2–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
36January 2Columbus Blue Jackets0–2GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum13,60915–14–6–137Recap
37January 3Philadelphia Flyers6–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,24216–14–6–139Recap
38January 6@ Ottawa Senators2–5KhabibulinCorel Centre16,89016–15–6–139Recap
39January 8@ Montreal Canadiens4–1GrahameBell Centre20,70617–15–6–141Recap
40January 9@ New Jersey Devils4–1GrahameContinental Airlines Arena19,04018–15–6–143Recap
41January 11@ New York Rangers2–1OTGrahameMadison Square Garden18,20019–15–6–145Recap
42January 13@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–1GrahameMellon Arena10,03920–15–6–147Recap
43January 15Carolina Hurricanes5–4KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,90921–15–6–149Recap
44January 17@ Florida Panthers1–2GrahameOffice Depot Center19,25021–16–6–149Recap
45January 19Colorado Avalanche4–5OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,21221–16–6–250Recap
46January 21@ Vancouver Canucks4–5OTKhabibulinGeneral Motors Place18,63021–16–6–351Recap
47January 22@ Edmonton Oilers3–2GrahameRexall Place16,83922–16–6–353Recap
48January 24@ Calgary Flames6–2GrahamePengrowth Saddledome17,10923–16–6–355Recap
49January 27@ Pittsburgh Penguins6–2GrahameMellon Arena9,93124–16–6–357Recap
50January 29Pittsburgh Penguins5–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum15,84725–16–6–359Recap
51January 31Atlanta Thrashers5–2GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum20,76226–16–6–361Recap :
February: 9–1–1–2, 21 points (home: 5–0–1–0; road: 4–1–0–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
52February 2@ Philadelphia Flyers2–1KhabibulinWachovia Center19,04827–16–6–363Recap
53February 3@ Washington Capitals1–2KhabibulinMCI Center13,08527–17–6–363Recap
54February 5@ Nashville Predators5–2KhabibulinGaylord Entertainment Center9,87928–17–6–365Recap
All-Star Break (February 6–9)
55February 10Toronto Maple Leafs4–4OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum17,22228–17–7–366Recap
56February 12Montreal Canadiens5–3GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum15,64429–17–7–368Recap
57February 14Florida Panthers3–2GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum18,88830–17–7–370Recap
58February 17Philadelphia Flyers5–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum17,54531–17–7–372Recap
59February 19@ St. Louis Blues3–4OTKhabibulinSavvis Center17,97331–17–7–473Recap
60February 20@ Buffalo Sabres3–4OTGrahameHSBC Arena18,12431–17–7–574Recap
61February 23@ Washington Capitals6–3KhabibulinMCI Center16,05132–17–7–576Recap
62February 25@ Atlanta Thrashers4–2KhabibulinPhilips Arena14,66733–17–7–578Recap
63February 26Toronto Maple Leafs4–3KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,90934–17–7–580Recap
64February 28Washington Capitals4–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum20,12435–17–7–582Recap :
March: 10–4–1–1, 22 points (home: 5–2–0–1; road: 5–2–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
65March 1@ Colorado Avalanche3–0KhabibulinPepsi Center18,00736–17–7–584Recap
66March 3@ Chicago Blackhawks5–3KhabibulinUnited Center10,70237–17–7–586Recap
67March 5New Jersey Devils3–2OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum20,23938–17–7–588Recap
68March 6@ Florida Panthers5–3KhabibulinOffice Depot Center17,50939–17–7–590Recap
69March 8@ Detroit Red Wings1–1OTKhabibulinJoe Louis Arena20,06639–17–8–591Recap
70March 10@ Carolina Hurricanes4–2GrahameRBC Center13,53140–17–8–593Recap
71March 12New York Rangers5–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum20,02641–17–8–595Recap
72March 13Carolina Hurricanes1–5GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum20,23741–18–8–595Recap
73March 16New York Islanders1–3KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,91441–19–8–595Recap
74March 18Buffalo Sabres1–3KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,94642–19–8–597Recap
75March 20@ Boston Bruins4–5KhabibulinFleetCenter17,56542–20–8–597Recap
76March 21@ New York Islanders0–3GrahameNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum14,44742–21–8–597Recap
77March 23@ Toronto Maple Leafs7–2GrahameAir Canada Centre19,45243–21–8–599Recap
78March 25New Jersey Devils2–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,01344–21–8–5101Recap
79March 27Washington Capitals4–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum18,81245–21–8–5103Recap
80March 29Ottawa Senators4–5OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,84445–21–8–6104Recap :
April: 1–1–0–0, 2 points (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 0–0–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
81April 1Florida Panthers4–3GrahameSt. Pete Times Forum17,72646–21–8–6106Recap
82April 3Atlanta Thrashers1–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum20,24446–22–8–6106Recap :
Lightning score listed first;
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. New York Islanders (8) – Tampa Bay wins series 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 8New York Islanders3–0KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum18,536Lightning lead 1–0Recap
2April 10New York Islanders0–3KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,982Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 12@ New York Islanders3–0KhabibulinNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum16,234Lightning lead 2–1Recap
4April 14@ New York Islanders3–0KhabibulinNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum16,234Lightning lead 3–1Recap
5April 16New York Islanders3–24:07 OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum20,927Lightning win 4–1Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Montreal Canadiens (7) – Tampa Bay wins series 4–0
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 23Montreal Canadiens4–0KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum18,904Lightning lead 1–0Recap
2April 25Montreal Canadiens3–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum19,435Lightning lead 2–0Recap
3April 27@ Montreal Canadiens3–21:05 OTKhabibulinBell Centre21,273Lightning lead 3–0Recap
4April 29@ Montreal Canadiens3–1KhabibulinBell Centre21,273Lightning win 4–0Recap :
Eastern Conference Finals vs. Philadelphia Flyers (3) – Tampa Bay wins series 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 8Philadelphia Flyers3–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum21,425Lightning lead 1–0Recap
2May 10Philadelphia Flyers2–6KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum21,314Series tied 1–1Recap
3May 13@ Philadelphia Flyers4–1KhabibulinWachovia Center19,897Lightning lead 2–1Recap
4May 15@ Philadelphia Flyers2–3KhabibulinWachovia Center19,872Series tied 2–2Recap
5May 18Philadelphia Flyers4–2KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum21,517Lightning lead 3–2Recap
6May 20@ Philadelphia Flyers4–518:18 OTKhabibulinWachovia Center19,910Series tied 3–3Recap
7May 22Philadelphia Flyers2–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum22,117Lightning win 4–3Recap :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. Calgary Flames (6W) – Tampa Bay wins series 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 25Calgary Flames1–4KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum21,674Flames lead 1–0Recap
2May 27Calgary Flames4–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum22,222Series tied 1–1Recap
3May 29@ Calgary Flames0–3KhabibulinPengrowth Saddledome19,221Flames lead 2–1Recap
4May 31@ Calgary Flames1–0KhabibulinPengrowth Saddledome19,221Series tied 2–2Recap
5June 3Calgary Flames2–314:40 OTKhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum22,426Flames lead 3–2Recap
6June 5@ Calgary Flames3–20:33 2OTKhabibulinPengrowth Saddledome19,221Series tied 3–3Recap
7June 7Calgary Flames2–1KhabibulinSt. Pete Times Forum22,717Lightning win 4–3Recap :
Lightning score listed first;
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## 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 Lightning only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 26 | Martin St. Louis | RW | 82 | 38 | 56 | 94 | 35 | 24 | 23 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 6 | 14 |
| 61 | Cory Stillman | LW | 81 | 25 | 55 | 80 | 18 | 36 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 15 |
| 19 | Brad Richards | C | 82 | 26 | 53 | 79 | 14 | 12 | 23 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | Vincent Lecavalier | C | 81 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 23 | 52 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 16 | −2 | 25 |
| 33 | Fredrik Modin | LW | 82 | 29 | 28 | 57 | 31 | 32 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 7 | 10 |
| 25 | Dave Andreychuk | RW | 82 | 21 | 18 | 39 | −9 | 42 | 23 | 1 | 13 | 14 | −2 | 14 |
| 17 | Ruslan Fedotenko | LW | 77 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 14 | 30 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| 22 | Dan Boyle | D | 78 | 9 | 30 | 39 | 23 | 60 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 16 |
| 13 | Pavel Kubina | D | 81 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 9 | 85 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 50 |
| 27 | Tim Taylor | C | 82 | 7 | 15 | 22 | −5 | 25 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 31 |
| 37 | Brad Lukowich | D | 79 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 29 | 24 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 21 | Cory Sarich | D | 82 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 5 | 89 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 25 |
| 29 | Dmitry Afanasenkov | RW | 71 | 6 | 10 | 16 | −4 | 12 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 6 |
| 7 | Ben Clymer | RW | 66 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Martin Cibak | C | 63 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −1 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Jassen Cullimore | D | 79 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 58 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 55 | Darryl Sydor† | D | 31 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −4 | 9 |
| 11 | Chris Dingman | LW | 74 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −9 | 140 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 63 |
| 24 | Shane Willis | RW | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | Nolan Pratt | D | 58 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 42 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 16 | Alexander Svitov‡ | C | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Andre Roy | RW | 33 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −5 | 78 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 61 |
| 9 | Eric Perrin | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 38 | Darren Rumble | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Nikolai Khabibulin | G | 55 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 12 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 47 | John Grahame | G | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 2 | Stan Neckar† | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | 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 | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 35 | Nikolai Khabibulin | 55 | 28 | 19 | 7 | 1414 | 127 | 2.33 | .910 | 3 | 3274 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 598 | 40 | 1.71 | .933 | 5 | 1401 |
| 47 | John Grahame | 29 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 664 | 58 | 2.06 | .913 | 1 | 1688 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 3.53 | .882 | 0 | 34 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Art Ross Trophy | Martin St. Louis |
| League (annual) | Conn Smythe Trophy | Brad Richards |
| League (annual) | Hart Memorial Trophy | Martin St. Louis |
| League (annual) | Jack Adams Award | John Tortorella |
| League (annual) | Lady Byng Memorial Trophy | Brad Richards |
| League (annual) | Lester B. Pearson Award | Martin St. Louis |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Martin St. Louis (Right wing) |
| League (annual) | NHL Plus-Minus Award | Martin St. Louis |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pavel Kubina |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Martin St. Louis |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Month | Nikolai Khabibulin (October) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Jassen Cullimore & Cory Sarich (November 24) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Nikolai Khabibulin (March 8) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Month | Martin St. Louis (January) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Month | Martin St. Louis (February) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Vincent Lecavalier (February 16) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Eric Perrin | March 27, 2004 | |

## Transactions

The Lightning 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 Florida Panthers 1st-round pick in 2003 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 20032nd-round pick in 20036th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 21, 2003 (2003-06-21) | To St. Louis Blues 2nd-round pick in 2003 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Cory Stillman |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 20049th-round pick in 2004 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 8th-round pick in 20039th-round pick in 2003 |
| October 27, 2003 (2003-10-27) | To St. Louis Blues Erkki Rajamaki | To Tampa Bay Lightning 8th-round pick in 2004 |
| January 27, 2004 (2004-01-27) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Alexander Svitov3rd-round pick in 2004 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Darryl Sydor4th-round pick in 2004 |
| February 25, 2004 (2004-02-25) | To Nashville Predators 8th-round pick in 2004 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Timo Helbling |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Nashville Predators 6th-round pick in 2004 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Stan Neckar |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| June 19, 2003 (2003-06-19) | Eric Perrin | JYP (Liiga) | Free agency |
| July 23, 2003 (2003-07-23) | Pascal Trepanier | Florida Panthers | Free agency |
| October 17, 2003 (2003-10-17) | Dwayne Hay | St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL) | Free agency |
| October 24, 2003 (2003-10-24) | Sheldon Keefe | New York Rangers | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Kristian Kudroc | Florida Panthers | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Boyd Kane | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (VI) |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Vaclav Prospal | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Free agency (V) |
| September 1, 2003 (2003-09-01) | Ryan Tobler | Colorado Eagles (CHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| September 29, 2003 (2003-09-29) | Corey Foster | St. Jean Mission (QSPHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Sheldon Keefe | New York Rangers | Waiver draft |
| October 5, 2003 (2003-10-05) | Matt Elich | Pensacola Ice Pilots (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 5, 2003 (2003-10-05) | Kenton Smith | Columbus Cottonmouths (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 19, 2003 (2003-10-19) | Harlan Pratt | HC TPS (Liiga) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 31, 2003 (2003-10-31) | Janne Laukkanen | | Buyout |
| November 26, 2003 (2003-11-26) | Stan Neckar | Nashville Predators | Free agency (UFA) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26) | Dave Andreychuk | | Re-signing |
| July 2, 2003 (2003-07-02) | Gerard Dicaire | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 10, 2003 (2003-07-10) | Ryan Craig | | Entry-level |
| July 10, 2003 (2003-07-10) | Andreas Holmqvist | | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Evgeny Artyukhin | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Brad Lukowich | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Andre Roy | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Darren Rumble | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Fredrik Modin | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 18, 2003 (2003-07-18) | John Grahame | 3-year | Re-signing |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Ben Clymer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29) | Dmitri Afanasenkov | | Re-signing |
| July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29) | Martin Cibak | | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Sheldon Keefe | | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Shane Willis | | Re-signing |
| August 8, 2003 (2003-08-08) | Janne Laukkanen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 13, 2003 (2003-08-13) | Cory Stillman | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2003 (2003-08-16) | Nolan Pratt | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 20, 2003 (2003-08-20) | Dan Boyle | multi-year | Re-signing |
| August 27, 2003 (2003-08-27) | Brad Richards | multi-year | Re-signing |
| June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01) | Adam Henrich | | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01) | Paul Ranger | | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01) | Darren Reid | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Tampa Bay's draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 2 | 34 | Mike Egener | Defense | Germany | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |
| 2 | 41 | Matt Smaby | Defense | United States | Shattuck-Saint Mary's (Midget Major AAA) |
| 3 | 96 | Jonathan Boutin | Goalie | Canada | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 192 | Doug O'Brien | Defense | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 224 | Gerald Coleman | Goalie | United States | London Knights (OHL) |
| 7 | 227 | Jay Rosehill | Left wing | Canada | Olds Grizzlys (AJHL) |
| 8 | 255 | Raimonds Danilics | Forward | Latvia | Stalkers (LHL) |
| 8 | 256 | Brady Greco | Defense | United States | Chicago Steel (USHL) |
| 9 | 273 | Albert Vishnyakov | Left wing | Russia | Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) |
| 9 | 286 | Zbynek Hrdel | Center | Czech Republic | Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 287 | Nick Tarnasky | Center | Canada | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) |