# 2003–04 Washington Capitals season

The 2003–04 Washington Capitals season was the Capitals's 30th season of play. The team finished in fifth and last-place in the Southeast Division, and fourteenth overall in the Eastern Conference, to miss the playoffs.

## Regular season

On December 10, 2003, head coach Bruce Cassidy was fired after a disappointing 8–18–1–1 start to the season. Assistant coach Glen Hanlon was named his replacement.
The Capitals were the most penalized team in the League, with 401 power-play opportunities against. They also scored the fewest short-handed goals in the League, with just 4.

### Final 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

2003–04 regular season :
October: 2–7–1–0 (home: 2–2–0–0; road: 0–5–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 9, 20036–1New York Islanders (2003–04)1–0–0–0Recap
2LOctober 11, 20033–4Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)1–1–0–0Recap
3TOctober 13, 20032–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)1–1–1–0Recap
4LOctober 14, 20031–5@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)1–2–1–0Recap
5LOctober 17, 20032–4@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)1–3–1–0Recap
6LOctober 18, 20031–4@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)1–4–1–0Recap
7LOctober 23, 20031–5@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)1–5–1–0Recap
8LOctober 25, 20031–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)1–6–1–0Recap
9LOctober 29, 20032–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)1–7–1–0Recap
10WOctober 31, 20032–1Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)2–7–1–0Recap :
November: 5–8–0–1 (home: 1–4–0–1; road: 4–4–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11LNovember 1, 20031–2@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)2–8–1–0Recap
12WNovember 4, 20035–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)3–8–1–0Recap
13LNovember 6, 20032–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)3–9–1–0Recap
14LNovember 8, 20032–3San Jose Sharks (2003–04)3–10–1–0Recap
15LNovember 10, 20032–3Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)3–11–1–0Recap
16WNovember 12, 20037–1Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)4–11–1–0Recap
17LNovember 14, 20032–5Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)4–12–1–0Recap
18WNovember 15, 20032–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)5–12–1–0Recap
19LNovember 20, 20032–3@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)5–13–1–0Recap
20OTLNovember 22, 20032–3 OTFlorida Panthers (2003–04)5–13–1–1Recap
21WNovember 24, 20034–1@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)6–13–1–1Recap
22LNovember 26, 20032–5@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)6–14–1–1Recap
23LNovember 28, 20033–5Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)6–15–1–1Recap
24WNovember 29, 20035–3@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)7–15–1–1Recap :
December: 4–8–2–0 (home: 2–4–1–0; road: 2–4–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25WDecember 2, 20034–1@ New York Islanders (2003–04)8–15–1–1Recap
26LDecember 4, 20030–3@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)8–16–1–1Recap
27LDecember 6, 20033–7@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)8–17–1–1Recap
28LDecember 8, 20031–4@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)8–18–1–1Recap
29WDecember 11, 20036–5Boston Bruins (2003–04)9–18–1–1Recap
30LDecember 13, 20031–5Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)9–19–1–1Recap
31WDecember 16, 20035–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)10–19–1–1Recap
32TDecember 17, 20032–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)10–19–2–1Recap
33TDecember 19, 20032–2 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)10–19–3–1Recap
34LDecember 21, 20034–5New York Islanders (2003–04)10–20–3–1Recap
35WDecember 23, 20033–2Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)11–20–3–1Recap
36LDecember 27, 20031–3Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)11–21–3–1Recap
37LDecember 29, 20031–3Boston Bruins (2003–04)11–22–3–1Recap
38LDecember 31, 20031–7@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)11–23–3–1Recap :
January: 5–7–2–1 (home: 3–4–2–0; road: 2–3–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39TJanuary 1, 20042–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (2003–04)11–23–4–1Recap
40LJanuary 3, 20042–5@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)11–24–4–1Recap
41LJanuary 4, 20041–4@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)11–25–4–1Recap
42LJanuary 7, 20040–3Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)11–26–4–1Recap
43WJanuary 9, 20044–1Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)12–26–4–1Recap
44WJanuary 11, 20041–0Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)13–26–4–1Recap
45TJanuary 14, 20043–3 OTCalgary Flames (2003–04)13–26–5–1Recap
46OTLJanuary 17, 20041–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)13–26–5–2Recap
47WJanuary 18, 20044–3Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)14–26–5–2Recap
48LJanuary 21, 20042–3Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)14–27–5–2Recap
49LJanuary 23, 20041–4@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)14–28–5–2Recap
50LJanuary 25, 20041–4Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)14–29–5–2Recap
51WJanuary 28, 20042–1@ New York Rangers (2003–04)15–29–5–2Recap
52WJanuary 29, 20045–3@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)16–29–5–2Recap
53LJanuary 31, 20041–6Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)16–30–5–2Recap :
February: 4–5–3–0 (home: 2–2–2–0; road: 2–3–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54WFebruary 3, 20042–1Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)17–30–5–2Recap
55LFebruary 4, 20041–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)17–31–5–2Recap
56TFebruary 12, 20043–3 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)17–31–6–2Recap
57LFebruary 13, 20042–5@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)17–32–6–2Recap
58WFebruary 15, 20044–0@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)18–32–6–2Recap
59TFebruary 17, 20041–1 OTOttawa Senators (2003–04)18–32–7–2Recap
60WFebruary 19, 20043–1New Jersey Devils (2003–04)19–32–7–2Recap
61TFebruary 21, 20042–2 OTFlorida Panthers (2003–04)19–32–8–2Recap
62LFebruary 23, 20043–6Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)19–33–8–2Recap
63LFebruary 25, 20041–2Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)19–34–8–2Recap
64WFebruary 27, 20044–1@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)20–34–8–2Recap
65LFebruary 28, 20042–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)20–35–8–2Recap :
March: 3–10–1–0 (home: 3–4–1–0; road: 0–6–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66LMarch 2, 20040–1Florida Panthers (2003–04)20–36–8–2Recap
67LMarch 5, 20042–3@ New York Rangers (2003–04)20–37–8–2Recap
68WMarch 6, 20042–1Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)21–37–8–2Recap
69LMarch 8, 20041–4Ottawa Senators (2003–04)21–38–8–2Recap
70LMarch 10, 20040–6Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)21–39–8–2Recap
71LMarch 12, 20043–4Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)21–40–8–2Recap
72LMarch 13, 20042–5@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)21–41–8–2Recap
73LMarch 16, 20041–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)21–42–8–2Recap
74WMarch 18, 20044–3 OTNew York Rangers (2003–04)22–42–8–2Recap
75TMarch 20, 20042–2 OTAtlanta Thrashers (2003–04)22–42–9–2Recap
76LMarch 23, 20040–3@ New York Islanders (2003–04)22–43–9–2Recap
77LMarch 24, 20042–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)22–44–9–2Recap
78LMarch 27, 20041–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)22–45–9–2Recap
79WMarch 30, 20044–2Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)23–45–9–2Recap :
April: 0–1–1–1 (home: 0–0–0–1; road: 0–1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
80TApril 1, 20043–3 OT@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)23–45–10–2Recap
81OTLApril 3, 20042–3 OTNew York Rangers (2003–04)23–45–10–3Recap
82LApril 4, 20043–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)23–46–10–3Recap :
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 Capitals only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 20 | Robert Lang‡ | C | 63 | 29 | 45 | 74 | 2 | 24 |
| 55 | Sergei Gonchar‡ | D | 56 | 7 | 42 | 49 | −20 | 44 |
| 11 | Jeff Halpern | C | 79 | 19 | 27 | 46 | −21 | 56 |
| 68 | Jaromir Jagr‡ | RW | 46 | 16 | 29 | 45 | −4 | 26 |
| 12 | Peter Bondra‡ | RW | 54 | 21 | 14 | 35 | −17 | 22 |
| 14 | Kip Miller | C | 66 | 9 | 22 | 31 | −10 | 8 |
| 9 | Dainius Zubrus | C | 54 | 12 | 15 | 27 | −16 | 38 |
| 28 | Alexander Semin | LW | 52 | 10 | 12 | 22 | −2 | 36 |
| 25 | Mike Grier‡ | RW | 68 | 8 | 12 | 20 | −19 | 32 |
| 24 | Brian Willsie | RW | 49 | 10 | 5 | 15 | −7 | 18 |
| 2 | Josef Boumedienne | D | 37 | 2 | 12 | 14 | −10 | 30 |
| 18 | Matt Pettinger | LW | 71 | 7 | 5 | 12 | −9 | 37 |
| 29 | Joel Kwiatkowski | D | 80 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −28 | 89 |
| 19 | Brendan Witt | D | 72 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −22 | 123 |
| 23 | Trent Whitfield | C | 44 | 6 | 5 | 11 | −2 | 14 |
| 3 | Jason Doig | D | 65 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −12 | 105 |
| 22 | Anson Carter†‡ | RW | 19 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 6 |
| 13 | Bates Battaglia† | LW | 66 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −23 | 38 |
| 15 | Boyd Gordon | C | 41 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −9 | 8 |
| 4 | Rick Berry | D | 65 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −5 | 108 |
| 27 | Craig Johnson† | LW | 15 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −6 | 8 |
| 51 | Stephen Peat | RW | 64 | 5 | 0 | 5 | −10 | 90 |
| 8 | Steve Eminger | D | 41 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −11 | 45 |
| 38 | Todd Rohloff† | D | 35 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 18 |
| 16 | Brian Sutherby | C | 30 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −5 | 28 |
| 27 | Ivan Ciernik | RW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 92 | Michael Nylander‡ | C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 76 | Darcy Verot | LW | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −6 | 135 |
| 34 | Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre† | D | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 14 |
| 17 | John Gruden | D | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 6 |
| 63 | Owen Fussey | RW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | G | 63 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 |
| 22 | Steve Konowalchuk‡ | LW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 0 |
| 21 | Brooks Laich† | C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 41 | Brad Norton† | D | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 17 |
| 33 | Maxime Ouellet | G | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 64 | Roman Tvrdon | C | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
| 49 | Dwayne Zinger | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 69 | Mel Angelstad† | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Sebastien Charpentier | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 36 | Jakub Cutta | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 36 | Colin Forbes† | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | Jean-Francois Fortin | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | Chris Hajt | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 39 | Graham Mink | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 26 | Shaone Morrisonn† | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | Andrej Podkonicky | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 1 | Rastislav Stana | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 56 | Garret Stroshein | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 14 |
| 31 | Matthew Yeats† | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 40 | Nolan Yonkman | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals 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 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | 63 | 19 | 35 | 9 | 1958 | 180 | 2.89 | .908 | 2 | 3738 |
| 33 | Maxime Ouellet | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 210 | 19 | 3.12 | .910 | 1 | 365 |
| 1 | Rastislav Stana | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 100 | 11 | 3.13 | .890 | 0 | 211 |
| 31 | Matthew Yeats† | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 141 | 13 | 3.02 | .908 | 0 | 258 |
| 35 | Sebastien Charpentier | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 168 | 21 | 3.41 | .875 | 0 | 369 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Robert Lang |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Olaf Kolzig (February 23) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Month | Robert Lang (November) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Robert Lang (November 17) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Robert Lang (December 22) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Jeff Halpern (April 5) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Boyd Gordon | October 9, 2003 |
| First game | Alexander Semin | October 14, 2003 |
| First game | Rastislav Stana | November 14, 2003 |
| First game | Dwayne Zinger | December 11, 2003 |
| First game | Darcy Verot | January 1, 2004 |
| First game | Graham Mink | February 3, 2004 |
| First game | Owen Fussey | March 10, 2004 |
| First game | Roman Tvrdon | March 18, 2004 |
| First game | Matthew Yeats | March 23, 2004 |
| First game | Garret Stroshein | April 1, 2004 |
| First game | Mel Angelstad | April 3, 2004 |
| 500th game played | Olaf Kolzig | November 22, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Capitals 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 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 20037th-round pick in 2003 | To Washington Capitals Nashville’s 4th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Ottawa Senators Future considerations | To Washington Capitals Washington’s 9th-round pick in 2003 |
| June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30) | To Philadelphia Flyers Conditional 7th-round pick in 2004 | To Washington Capitals Rights to Dmitri Yushkevich |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | To Nashville Predators Mike Farrell | To Washington Capitals Alexander Riazantsev |
| October 5, 2003 (2003-10-05) | To Ottawa Senators Denis Hamel | To Washington Capitals Future considerations |
| October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22) | To Colorado Avalanche Steve Konowalchuk3rd-round pick in 2004 | To Washington Capitals Bates BattagliaRights to Jonas Johansson |
| January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23) | To New York Rangers Jaromir Jagr | To Washington Capitals Anson Carter |
| February 18, 2004 (2004-02-18) | To Ottawa Senators Peter Bondra | To Washington Capitals Brooks Laich2nd-round pick in 2005 |
| February 27, 2004 (2004-02-27) | To Detroit Red Wings Robert Lang | To Washington Capitals Tomas Fleischmann1st-round pick in 20044th-round pick in 2006 |
| March 3, 2004 (2004-03-03) | To Boston Bruins Sergei Gonchar | To Washington Capitals Shaone Morrisonn1st-round pick in 20042nd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 4, 2004 (2004-03-04) | To Boston Bruins Michael Nylander | To Washington Capitals 2nd-round pick in 2006Future considerations |
| March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08) | To Los Angeles Kings Anson Carter | To Washington Capitals Jared Aulin |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Buffalo Sabres Mike Grier | To Washington Capitals Rights to Jakub Klepis |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Andrej Podkonicky | Iserlohn Roosters (DEL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Garret Stroshein | Portland Pirates (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 18, 2003 (2003-07-18) | John Gruden | Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 18, 2003 (2003-08-18) | Francois Methot | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05) | Darcy Verot | Calgary Flames | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Denis Hamel | Ottawa Senators | | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Brian Willsie | Colorado Avalanche | | Waiver draft |
| November 4, 2003 (2003-11-04) | Colin Forbes | Portland Pirates (AHL) | | Free agency |
| January 9, 2004 (2004-01-09) | Todd Rohloff | Columbus Blue Jackets | | Waivers |
| March 4, 2004 (2004-03-04) | Brad Norton | Los Angeles Kings | | Waivers |
| March 5, 2004 (2004-03-05) | Craig Johnson | Toronto Maple Leafs | | Waivers |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre | Atlanta Thrashers | | Waivers |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | Bill Lindsay | Atlanta Thrashers | | Waivers |
| March 19, 2004 (2004-03-19) | Matthew Yeats | Portland Pirates (AHL) | | Free agency |
| April 3, 2004 (2004-04-03) | Mel Angelstad | Portland Pirates (AHL) | | Free agency |
| April 26, 2004 (2004-04-26) | Justin Eddy | Quinnipiac University (AHA) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Krys Barch | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Nathan Forster | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Chris Ferraro | Phoenix Coyotes | Free agency (VI) |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Peter Ferraro | Phoenix Coyotes | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Josh Green | Calgary Flames | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Mark Murphy | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (VI) |
| August 7, 2003 (2003-08-07) | Calle Johansson | | Retirement (III) |
| August 7, 2003 (2003-08-07) | Andreas Salomonsson | Modo Hockey (SHL) | Free agency (II) |
| September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05) | Todd Rohloff | Columbus Blue Jackets | Free agency (VI) |
| September 27, 2003 (2003-09-27) | Ken Klee | Toronto Maple Leafs | Free agency (III) |
| N/A | Ryan VanBuskirk | Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Glen Metropolit | Ottawa Senators | Waiver draft |
| October 9, 2003 (2003-10-09) | Alex Henry | Minnesota Wild | Waivers |
| October 14, 2003 (2003-10-14) | Colin Forbes | Portland Pirates (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 11, 2003 (2003-11-11) | Dmitri Yushkevich | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| December 11, 2003 (2003-12-11) | Sergei Berezin | HC CSKA Moscow (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| May 2, 2004 (2004-05-02) | Andrej Podkonicky | HC Liberec (ELH) | Free agency |
| May 26, 2004 (2004-05-26) | Rastislav Stana | Sodertalje SK (SHL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26) | Peter Bondra | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26) | Jeff Halpern | 1-year | Option exercised |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Boyd Gordon | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Petr Sykora | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Jean-Francois Fortin | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Chris Hajt | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2003 (2003-07-16) | Alexander Semin | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 17, 2003 (2003-07-17) | Jason Doig | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 21, 2003 (2003-07-21) | Trent Whitfield | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Stephen Peat | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Mike Grier | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 25, 2003 (2003-07-25) | Rick Berry | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28) | Matt Pettinger | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31) | Alex Henry | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 10, 2003 (2003-08-10) | Michael Nylander | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 19, 2003 (2003-08-19) | Rastislav Stana | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05) | Ivan Ciernik | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 11, 2003 (2003-09-11) | Joel Kwiatkowski | 1-year | Re-signing |
| May 27, 2004 (2004-05-27) | Maxime Daigneault | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01) | Tomas Fleischmann | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01) | Jonas Johansson | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Washington'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 | 18 | Eric Fehr | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 3 | 83 | Stephen Werner | United States | University of Massachusetts (NCAA) |
| 4 | 109 | Andreas Valdix | Sweden | Malmo Redhawks (Sweden) |
| 5 | 155 | Josh Robertson | United States | Proctor High School (USHS-MN) |
| 8 | 249 | Andrew Joudrey | Canada | Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL) |
| 9 | 279 | Mark Olafson | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |

## Farm teams

The Capitals main American Hockey League affiliate was the Portland Pirates. Though they had no direct ECHL affiliate, players were sent from time to time between the Dayton Bombers and Reading Royals.