# 2002–03 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2002–03 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 11th National Hockey League (NHL) season in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning made it back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1996.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 36 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 219 | 210 | 93 |
| 2 | 6 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 39 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 224 | 220 | 92 |
| 3 | 11 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 31 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 226 | 284 | 74 |
| 4 | 13 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 24 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 176 | 237 | 70 |
| 5 | 15 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 22 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 171 | 240 | 61 |
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
### Regular season

2002–03 regular season :
October: 7–1–2–0 (home: 4–0–0–0; road: 3–1–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 10, 20024–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)1–0–0–0Recap
2WOctober 12, 20025–1Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)2–0–0–0Recap
3WOctober 18, 20028–5Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)3–0–0–0Recap
4TOctober 19, 20023–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)3–0–1–0Recap
5WOctober 21, 20024–2@ New York Rangers (2002–03)4–0–1–0Recap
6TOctober 23, 20022–2 OT@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)4–0–2–0Recap
7WOctober 25, 20023–2Washington Capitals (2002–03)5–0–2–0Recap
8LOctober 26, 20021–5@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)5–1–2–0Recap
9WOctober 28, 20026–1@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)6–1–2–0Recap
10WOctober 30, 20023–0New York Rangers (2002–03)7–1–2–0Recap :
November: 5–6–1–1 (home: 3–3–0–1; road: 2–3–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11LNovember 1, 20022–3@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)7–2–2–0Recap
12LNovember 2, 20023–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)7–3–2–0Recap
13LNovember 5, 20023–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)7–4–2–0Recap
14WNovember 8, 20024–1Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)8–4–2–0Recap
15OTLNovember 9, 20022–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (2002–03)8–4–2–1Recap
16WNovember 11, 20024–2Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)9–4–2–1Recap
17WNovember 15, 20024–2San Jose Sharks (2002–03)10–4–2–1Recap
18WNovember 17, 20022–1 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)11–4–2–1Recap
19LNovember 19, 20022–3Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)11–5–2–1Recap
20LNovember 21, 20022–7New York Islanders (2002–03)11–6–2–1Recap
21WNovember 23, 20023–1@ New Jersey Devils (2002–03)12–6–2–1Recap
22TNovember 27, 20021–1 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)12–6–3–1Recap
23LNovember 29, 20023–5Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)12–7–3–1Recap :
December: 5–6–2–2 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 1–4–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
24LDecember 1, 20023–4@ New York Rangers (2002–03)12–8–3–1Recap
25OTLDecember 3, 20023–4 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)12–8–3–2Recap
26WDecember 5, 20023–2Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)13–8–3–2Recap
27OTLDecember 7, 20022–3 OT@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)13–8–3–3Recap
28LDecember 8, 20021–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)13–9–3–3Recap
29LDecember 10, 20023–5@ Minnesota Wild (2002–03)13–10–3–3Recap
30WDecember 12, 20023–2@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)14–10–3–3Recap
31WDecember 14, 20024–3New York Islanders (2002–03)15–10–3–3Recap
32TDecember 18, 20021–1 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)15–10–4–3Recap
33LDecember 19, 20021–2Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)15–11–4–3Recap
34TDecember 21, 20022–2 OTNashville Predators (2002–03)15–11–5–3Recap
35LDecember 23, 20020–3@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)15–12–5–3Recap
36WDecember 27, 20025–2Boston Bruins (2002–03)16–12–5–3Recap
37WDecember 29, 20025–3New York Rangers (2002–03)17–12–5–3Recap
38LDecember 31, 20023–6Ottawa Senators (2002–03)17–13–5–3Recap :
January: 5–6–2–1 (home: 3–1–2–1; road: 2–5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39LJanuary 2, 20031–4@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)17–14–5–3Recap
40LJanuary 4, 20031–5@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)17–15–5–3Recap
41WJanuary 7, 20031–0Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)18–15–5–3Recap
42OTLJanuary 9, 20032–3 OTAtlanta Thrashers (2002–03)18–15–5–4Recap
43TJanuary 11, 20033–3 OTNew Jersey Devils (2002–03)18–15–6–4Recap
44LJanuary 14, 20030–7@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)18–16–6–4Recap
45LJanuary 17, 20032–3Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)18–17–6–4Recap
46LJanuary 18, 20032–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)18–18–6–4Recap
47WJanuary 20, 20036–2Ottawa Senators (2002–03)19–18–6–4Recap
48TJanuary 22, 20032–2 OTMontreal Canadiens (2002–03)19–18–7–4Recap
49WJanuary 24, 20034–1@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)20–18–7–4Recap
50LJanuary 25, 20032–3@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)20–19–7–4Recap
51WJanuary 28, 20033–0@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)21–19–7–4Recap
52WJanuary 30, 20033–1Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)22–19–7–4Recap :
February: 5–3–3–1 (home: 5–2–0–1; road: 0–1–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53LFebruary 4, 20031–5Washington Capitals (2002–03)22–20–7–4Recap
54OTLFebruary 6, 20032–3 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)22–20–7–5Recap
55TFebruary 8, 20034–4 OT@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)22–20–8–5Recap
56LFebruary 11, 20032–6@ New York Islanders (2002–03)22–21–8–5Recap
57TFebruary 14, 20032–2 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)22–21–9–5Recap
58WFebruary 15, 20035–2Boston Bruins (2002–03)23–21–9–5Recap
59WFebruary 17, 20033–1Washington Capitals (2002–03)24–21–9–5Recap
60WFebruary 19, 20032–0Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)25–21–9–5Recap
61TFebruary 21, 20032–2 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)25–21–10–5Recap
62LFebruary 23, 20031–4Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)25–22–10–5Recap
63WFebruary 25, 20032–0Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)26–22–10–5Recap
64WFebruary 27, 20033–1Florida Panthers (2002–03)27–22–10–5Recap :
March: 8–1–6–0 (home: 2–0–4–0; road: 6–1–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
65WMarch 1, 20032–1@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)28–22–10–5Recap
66WMarch 4, 20033–1@ New York Islanders (2002–03)29–22–10–5Recap
67LMarch 5, 20032–3@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)29–23–10–5Recap
68WMarch 7, 20034–3Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)30–23–10–5Recap
69TMarch 9, 20031–1 OTBuffalo Sabres (2002–03)30–23–11–5Recap
70WMarch 12, 20034–2Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)31–23–11–5Recap
71WMarch 14, 20034–2@ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03)32–23–11–5Recap
72WMarch 15, 20032–1@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)33–23–11–5Recap
73TMarch 17, 20033–3 OTMinnesota Wild (2002–03)33–23–12–5Recap
74TMarch 20, 20032–2 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)33–23–13–5Recap
75WMarch 22, 20034–0@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)34–23–13–5Recap
76WMarch 24, 20034–1@ San Jose Sharks (2002–03)35–23–13–5Recap
77TMarch 27, 20032–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (2002–03)35–23–14–5Recap
78TMarch 29, 20031–1 OTFlorida Panthers (2002–03)35–23–15–5Recap
79TMarch 31, 20032–2 OT@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)35–23–16–5Recap :
April: 1–2–0–0 (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 0–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
80WApril 2, 20032–1Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)36–23–16–5Recap
81LApril 4, 20031–4Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)36–24–16–5Recap
82LApril 6, 20032–6@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)36–25–16–5Recap :
Lightning score listed first;
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Washington Capitals (6) – Lightning win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 10, 20030–3Washington CapitalsCapitals lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 12, 20033–6Washington CapitalsCapitals lead 2–0Recap
3WApril 15, 20034–3 OT@ Washington CapitalsCapitals lead 2–1Recap
4WApril 16, 20033–1@ Washington CapitalsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5WApril 18, 20032–1Washington CapitalsLightning lead 3–2Recap
6WApril 20, 20032–1 3OT@ Washington CapitalsLightning win 4–2Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. New Jersey Devils (2) – Devils wins 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 24, 20030–3@ New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 26, 20032–3 OT@ New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 2–0Recap
3WApril 28, 20034–3New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 30, 20031–3New Jersey DevilsDevils lead 3–1Recap
5LMay 2, 20031–2 3OT@ New Jersey DevilsDevils win 4–1Recap :
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 |
| 20 | Vaclav Prospal | C | 80 | 22 | 57 | 79 | 9 | 53 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −3 | 8 |
| 4 | Vincent Lecavalier | C | 80 | 33 | 45 | 78 | 0 | 39 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −2 | 22 |
| 19 | Brad Richards | C | 80 | 17 | 57 | 74 | 3 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −3 | 12 |
| 26 | Martin St. Louis | RW | 82 | 33 | 37 | 70 | 10 | 32 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| 22 | Dan Boyle | D | 77 | 13 | 40 | 53 | 9 | 44 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| 33 | Fredrik Modin | LW | 76 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 7 | 43 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| 25 | Dave Andreychuk | LW | 72 | 20 | 14 | 34 | −12 | 34 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −1 | 10 |
| 17 | Ruslan Fedotenko | LW | 76 | 19 | 13 | 32 | −7 | 44 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 2 |
| 13 | Pavel Kubina | D | 75 | 3 | 19 | 22 | −7 | 78 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 12 |
| 7 | Ben Clymer | RW | 65 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −2 | 57 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 6 |
| 36 | Andre Roy | RW | 62 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 119 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 37 | Brad Lukowich | D | 70 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 46 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| 21 | Cory Sarich | D | 82 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −3 | 63 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 27 | Tim Taylor | C | 82 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −13 | 38 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 16 | Alexander Svitov | C | 63 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 58 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 |
| 44 | Nolan Pratt | D | 67 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −6 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 28 | Sheldon Keefe | RW | 37 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −1 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Nikita Alexeev | RW | 37 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −6 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| 2 | Stan Neckar | D | 70 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −6 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Jassen Cullimore | D | 28 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| 11 | Chris Dingman | LW | 51 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −11 | 91 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 35 | Nikolai Khabibulin | G | 65 | 0 | 3 | 3 | | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 18 | Jimmie Olvestad | LW | 37 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −2 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Janne Laukkanen† | D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Brian Holzinger‡ | C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Marc Bergevin† | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 47 | John Grahame† | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 30 | Kevin Hodson‡ | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Evgeny Konstantinov | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Darren Rumble | D | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 | 65 | 30 | 22 | 11 | 1760 | 156 | 2.47 | .911 | 4 | 3787 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 299 | 26 | 2.42 | .913 | 0 | 644 |
| 47 | John Grahame† | 17 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 424 | 34 | 2.23 | .920 | 2 | 914 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 2 | 1.08 | .958 | 0 | 111 |
| 30 | Kevin Hodson‡ | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 101 | 12 | 2.54 | .881 | 0 | 283 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Evgeny Konstantinov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3.00 | .833 | 0 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Nikolai Khabibulin |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Vincent Lecavalier |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Martin St. Louis |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Month | Nikolai Khabibulin (March) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Nikolai Khabibulin (November 18) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Nikolai Khabibulin (March 3) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Vaclav Prospal (March 17) |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Alexander Svitov |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Alexander Svitov | October 10, 2002 | |

## Transactions

The Lightning 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 21, 2002 (2002-06-21) | To Tampa Bay Lightning Ruslan FedotenkoTampa Bay’s 2nd-round pick in 2002Phoenix’s 2nd-round pick in 2002 | To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Tampa Bay Lightning Brad Lukowich7th-round pick in 2003 | To Dallas Stars 2nd-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 20025th-round pick in 2002 | To San Jose Sharks Phoenix’s 2nd-round pick in 2002 |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th-round pick in 20028th-round pick in 2002Philadelphia’s 8th-round pick in 20029th-round pick in 2002 | To Carolina Hurricanes 4th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th-round pick in 2002 | To Ottawa Senators Josef Boumedienne |
| October 10, 2002 (2002-10-10) | To Tampa Bay Lightning Boyd Kane | To New York Rangers Gordie Dwyer |
| January 13, 2003 (2003-01-13) | To Tampa Bay Lightning John Grahame | To Boston Bruins 4th-round pick in 2004 |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To Tampa Bay Lightning Marc Bergevin | To Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Holzinger |
| 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 |
| September 11, 2002 (2002-09-11) | Darren Rumble | Worcester IceCats (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| January 23, 2003 (2003-01-23) | Corey Foster | Springfield Falcons (AHL) | | Free agency |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | Janne Laukkanen | New York Rangers | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05) | Dieter Kochan | Minnesota Wild | Free agency (VI) |
| N/A | Kyle Kos | Arkansas RiverBlades (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| N/A | Gaetan Royer | San Antonio Rampage (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) | Mathieu Biron | Columbus Blue Jackets | Waiver draft |
| October 20, 2002 (2002-10-20) | Grant Ledyard | | Retirement (III) |
| January 16, 2003 (2003-01-16) | Kevin Hodson | | Retirement |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 17, 2002 (2002-06-17) | Alexander Svitov | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 25, 2002 (2002-06-25) | Dave Andreychuk | 1-year | Option exercised |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Fredrik Modin | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 22, 2002 (2002-07-22) | Pavel Kubina | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 26, 2002 (2002-07-26) | Mathieu Biron | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 27, 2002 (2002-07-27) | Shane Willis | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) | Chris Dingman | multi-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Ben Clymer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Andre Roy | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 6, 2002 (2002-08-06) | Dan Boyle | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 7, 2002 (2002-08-07) | Mike Jones | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 13, 2002 (2002-08-13) | Vaclav Prospal | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Gordie Dwyer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Ruslan Fedotenko | 2-year | Re-signing |
| May 14, 2003 (2003-05-14) | Tim Taylor | multi-year | Extension |
| May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30) | Jean-Francois Soucy | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 4, 2003 (2003-06-04) | Eero Somervuori | 1-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Tampa Bay'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) |
| 2 | 60 | Adam Henrich | Canada | Brampton Battalion (OHL) |
| 4 | 100 | Dmitri Kazionov | Russia | CSKA Moscow Jr. (Russia) |
| 5 | 135 | Joseph Pearce | United States | New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) |
| 5 | 162 | Gerard Dicaire | Canada | Kootenay Ice (WHL) |
| 6 | 170 | P. J. Atherton | United States | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) |
| 6 | 174 | Karri Akkanen | Finland | Ilves Jrs. (Finland) |
| 6 | 183 | Paul Ranger | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 7 | 213 | Fredrik Norrena | Finland | TPS (Finland) |
| 8 | 233 | Vasily Koshechkin | Russia | Lada Togliatti (Russia) |
| 8 | 255 | Ryan Craig | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 8 | 256 | Darren Reid | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 9 | 286 | Alexei Glukhov | Russia | Khimik Voskresensk Jr. (Russia) |
| 9 | 287 | John Toffey | United States | Ohio State University (CCHA) |