# 2003–04 Carolina Hurricanes season

The 2003–04 Carolina Hurricanes season was the franchise's 25th season in the National Hockey League and seventh as the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

## Regular season

On December 15, 2003, head coach Paul Maurice was fired after an 8–12–8–2 start to the season and replaced by former New York Islanders head coach Peter Laviolette.
The Hurricanes season finale against the Florida Panthers on April 4, 2004 was the final tie in NHL history. The Hurricane player who scored the final game-tying goal to make it 6–6 was defenseman Brad Fast, who was playing in his first and what proved to be his only NHL game. Fast is one of only five NHL one-gamers to score a goal in their lone NHL appearance. Ties were eliminated after the 2004–05 NHL lockout when the shootout was adopted.
The Hurricanes finished 30th overall in the NHL in scoring for the second consecutive season, with just 172 goals for. They also struggled on the power-play, finishing 30th overall in power-play goals scored, with 41, and 30th overall in power-play percentage, at 10.68% (41 for 384).

### 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: 2–3–4–0 (home: 1–1–1–0; road: 1–2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 9, 20031–3@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)0–1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 11, 20031–2New Jersey Devils (2003–04)0–2–0–0Recap
3TOctober 13, 20032–2 OTFlorida Panthers (2003–04)0–2–1–0Recap
4TOctober 18, 20032–2 OT@ New York Rangers (2003–04)0–2–2–0Recap
5TOctober 22, 20031–1 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)0–2–3–0Recap
6WOctober 23, 20032–0@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)1–2–3–0Recap
7TOctober 25, 20034–4 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)1–2–4–0Recap
8WOctober 28, 20033–0San Jose Sharks (2003–04)2–2–4–0Recap
9LOctober 30, 20031–4@ New York Rangers (2003–04)2–3–4–0Recap :
November: 5–7–3–0 (home: 4–2–3–0; road: 1–5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
10LNovember 1, 20033–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)2–4–4–0Recap
11LNovember 2, 20031–2Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)2–5–4–0Recap
12WNovember 6, 20036–3New York Rangers (2003–04)3–5–4–0Recap
13WNovember 8, 20033–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (2003–04)4–5–4–0Recap
14TNovember 9, 20031–1 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)4–5–5–0Recap
15LNovember 12, 20031–7@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)4–6–5–0Recap
16WNovember 13, 20035–1Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)5–6–5–0Recap
17LNovember 15, 20031–2Washington Capitals (2003–04)5–7–5–0Recap
18TNovember 18, 20032–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2003–04)5–7–6–0Recap
19LNovember 20, 20031–6@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)5–8–6–0Recap
20LNovember 21, 20030–5@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)5–9–6–0Recap
21TNovember 23, 20030–0 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)5–9–7–0Recap
22WNovember 26, 20032–0@ New York Islanders (2003–04)6–9–7–0Recap
23LNovember 28, 20032–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)6–10–7–0Recap
24WNovember 29, 20034–3Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)7–10–7–0Recap :
December: 5–5–1–2 (home: 3–2–1–1; road: 2–3–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25OTLDecember 3, 20031–2 OTNashville Predators (2003–04)7–10–7–1Recap
26TDecember 5, 20031–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (2003–04)7–10–8–1Recap
27LDecember 6, 20031–3@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)7–11–8–1Recap
28WDecember 9, 20033–2@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)8–11–8–1Recap
29LDecember 11, 20030–1@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)8–12–8–1Recap
30OTLDecember 14, 20031–2 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)8–12–8–2Recap
31WDecember 18, 20032–1 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)9–12–8–2Recap
32WDecember 20, 20032–1@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)10–12–8–2Recap
33LDecember 22, 20031–3Dallas Stars (2003–04)10–13–8–2Recap
34LDecember 26, 20031–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)10–14–8–2Recap
35WDecember 27, 20032–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (2003–04)11–14–8–2Recap
36WDecember 29, 20032–1Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)12–14–8–2Recap
37LDecember 31, 20031–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)12–15–8–2Recap :
January: 5–9–2–0 (home: 2–7–1–0; road: 3–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
38LJanuary 2, 20041–4Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)12–16–8–2Recap
39LJanuary 4, 20040–3Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)12–17–8–2Recap
40WJanuary 6, 20042–0St. Louis Blues (2003–04)13–17–8–2Recap
41WJanuary 8, 20043–2New York Rangers (2003–04)14–17–8–2Recap
42LJanuary 9, 20041–4@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)14–18–8–2Recap
43TJanuary 11, 20042–2 OTOttawa Senators (2003–04)14–18–9–2Recap
44LJanuary 15, 20044–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)14–19–9–2Recap
45WJanuary 16, 20044–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)15–19–9–2Recap
46LJanuary 18, 20042–5Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)15–20–9–2Recap
47LJanuary 20, 20041–3Ottawa Senators (2003–04)15–21–9–2Recap
48WJanuary 21, 20042–1@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)16–21–9–2Recap
49LJanuary 23, 20042–3New York Islanders (2003–04)16–22–9–2Recap
50LJanuary 25, 20042–4Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)16–23–9–2Recap
51WJanuary 27, 20042–0@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)17–23–9–2Recap
52LJanuary 29, 20043–5Washington Capitals (2003–04)17–24–9–2Recap
53TJanuary 31, 20044–4 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)17–24–10–2Recap :
February: 3–3–3–2 (home: 1–0–2–1; road: 2–3–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54LFebruary 3, 20041–3@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)17–25–10–2Recap
55LFebruary 4, 20042–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)17–26–10–2Recap
56TFebruary 12, 20043–3 OTWashington Capitals (2003–04)17–26–11–2Recap
57LFebruary 14, 20041–4@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)17–27–11–2Recap
58WFebruary 16, 20043–1Florida Panthers (2003–04)18–27–11–2Recap
59OTLFebruary 19, 20041–2 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)18–27–11–3Recap
60TFebruary 21, 20043–3 OTBoston Bruins (2003–04)18–27–12–3Recap
61WFebruary 23, 20042–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)19–27–12–3Recap
62WFebruary 25, 20042–1@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)20–27–12–3Recap
63OTLFebruary 28, 20040–1 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)20–27–12–4Recap
64TFebruary 29, 20043–3 OT@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)20–27–13–4Recap :
March: 8–6–0–2 (home: 2–5–0–0; road: 6–1–0–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
65LMarch 2, 20040–3Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)20–28–13–4Recap
66WMarch 5, 20043–2 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)21–28–13–4Recap
67LMarch 6, 20041–4New Jersey Devils (2003–04)21–29–13–4Recap
68WMarch 8, 20044–1@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)22–29–13–4Recap
69LMarch 10, 20042–4Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)22–30–13–4Recap
70WMarch 12, 20044–2Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)23–30–13–4Recap
71WMarch 13, 20045–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)24–30–13–4Recap
72OTLMarch 15, 20040–1 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)24–30–13–5Recap
73WMarch 17, 20043–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)25–30–13–5Recap
74OTLMarch 19, 20043–4 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)25–30–13–6Recap
75WMarch 20, 20043–2 OT@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)26–30–13–6Recap
76LMarch 23, 20042–4Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)26–31–13–6Recap
77WMarch 25, 20043–2Florida Panthers (2003–04)27–31–13–6Recap
78WMarch 27, 20043–2@ New York Islanders (2003–04)28–31–13–6Recap
79LMarch 29, 20041–3@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)28–32–13–6Recap
80LMarch 30, 20042–3Boston Bruins (2003–04)28–33–13–6Recap :
April: 0–1–1–0 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 0–0–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
81LApril 2, 20044–6New York Islanders (2003–04)28–34–13–6Recap
82TApril 4, 20046–6 OT@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)28–34–14–6Recap :
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 Hurricanes only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Hurricanes only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 63 | Josef Vasicek | LW | 82 | 19 | 26 | 45 | −3 | 60 |
| 26 | Erik Cole | RW | 80 | 18 | 24 | 42 | −4 | 93 |
| 22 | Sean Hill | D | 80 | 13 | 26 | 39 | −2 | 84 |
| 17 | Rod Brind'Amour | C | 78 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 0 | 28 |
| 92 | Jeff O'Neill | RW | 67 | 14 | 20 | 34 | −12 | 60 |
| 12 | Eric Staal | C | 81 | 11 | 20 | 31 | −6 | 40 |
| 10 | Ron Francis‡ | C | 68 | 10 | 20 | 30 | −12 | 14 |
| 19 | Radim Vrbata | RW | 80 | 12 | 13 | 25 | −10 | 24 |
| 6 | Bret Hedican | D | 81 | 7 | 17 | 24 | −10 | 64 |
| 14 | Kevyn Adams | C | 73 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 6 | 43 |
| 11 | Justin Williams† | RW | 32 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 2 | 32 |
| 27 | Craig Adams | LW | 80 | 7 | 10 | 17 | −5 | 69 |
| 55 | Danny Markov‡ | D | 44 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −6 | 37 |
| 15 | Marty Murray | C | 66 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 8 |
| 7 | Niclas Wallin | D | 57 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −8 | 51 |
| 23 | Pavel Brendl | RW | 18 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | Aaron Ward | D | 49 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 37 |
| 36 | Jesse Boulerice | RW | 76 | 6 | 1 | 7 | −5 | 127 |
| 16 | Ryan Bayda | LW | 44 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −14 | 22 |
| 2 | Glen Wesley | D | 74 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 32 |
| 8 | Bob Boughner‡ | D | 43 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −9 | 80 |
| 62 | Jaroslav Svoboda | LW | 33 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 38 | Allan Rourke | D | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
| 18 | Michael Zigomanis | C | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| 25 | Bruno St. Jacques | D | 35 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −7 | 31 |
| 47 | Brad Fast | D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 52 | Damian Surma | LW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Arturs Irbe | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 37 | Tomas Kurka | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Brett Lysak | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 71 | Tomas Malec | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 1 | Jamie Storr | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 33 | Joey Tetarenko | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Kevin Weekes | G | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 |

### Goaltending

| 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 |
| 80 | Kevin Weekes | 66 | 23 | 30 | 5 | 1652 | 146 | 2.33 | .912 | 6 | 3765 |
| 1 | Arturs Irbe | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 228 | 23 | 2.45 | .899 | 0 | 564 |
| 1 | Jamie Storr | 14 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 262 | 32 | 2.91 | .878 | 0 | 660 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL YoungStars Game selection | Eric Staal |
| Team | Good Guy Award | Kevyn Adams |
| Team | Most Valuable Player | Sean Hill |
| Team | Steve Chiasson Award | Sean Hill |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Eric Staal | October 9, 2003 |
| First game | Allan Rourke | October 28, 2003 |
| First game | Brett Lysak | March 19, 2004 |
| First game | Brad Fast | April 4, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Hurricanes 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 Phoenix Coyotes Igor KnyazevDavid Tanabe | To Carolina Hurricanes Danny MarkovConditional 4th-round pick in 2004 |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004 | To Carolina Hurricanes Marty Murray |
| June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 4th-round pick in 2004 | To Carolina Hurricanes 5th-round pick in 20036th-round pick in 2003 |
| July 16, 2003 (2003-07-16) | To Calgary Flames Columbus’ 4th-round pick in 2004Conditional 5th-round pick in 2005 | To Carolina Hurricanes Bob Boughner |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | To Atlanta Thrashers Jani Hurme | To Carolina Hurricanes 4th-round pick in 2004 |
| January 20, 2004 (2004-01-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers Danny Markov | To Carolina Hurricanes Justin Williams |
| February 20, 2004 (2004-02-20) | To Colorado Avalanche Bob Boughner | To Carolina Hurricanes Rights to Chris BahenWashington’s 3rd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Toronto Maple Leafs Ron Francis | To Carolina Hurricanes 4th-round pick in 2005 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 2, 2003 (2003-07-02) | Joey Tetarenko | Ottawa Senators | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 8, 2003 (2003-07-08) | Glen Wesley | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 6, 2003 (2003-08-06) | Chad LaRose | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Jani Hurme | Florida Panthers | | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Jamie Storr | Los Angeles Kings | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01) | Steven Halko | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Mike Watt | SKA Saint Petersburg (RSL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 21, 2003 (2003-07-21) | Nikos Tselios | Phoenix Coyotes | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30) | Ryan Murphy | New Jersey Devils | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 14, 2003 (2003-08-14) | Craig MacDonald | Florida Panthers | Free agency (VI) |
| August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28) | Jan Hlavac | New York Rangers | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 13, 2003 (2003-09-13) | Kaspars Astasenko | HK Riga 2000 (LHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| September 30, 2003 (2003-09-30) | Jeff Heerema | New York Rangers | Waivers |
| October 2, 2003 (2003-10-02) | Brent McDonald | Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22) | Shaun Fisher | Texas Wildcatters (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 17, 2003 (2003-11-17) | Jeff Daniels | | Retirement |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 10, 2003 (2003-07-10) | Bruno St. Jacques | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14) | Allan Rourke | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Jeff Heerema | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 11, 2003 (2003-08-11) | Jaroslav Svoboda | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2003 (2003-08-12) | Danny Markov | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 13, 2003 (2003-08-13) | Erik Cole | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 3, 2003 (2003-09-03) | Josef Vasicek | 1-year | Re-signing |
| October 6, 2003 (2003-10-06) | Eric Staal | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 13, 2004 (2004-05-13) | Cam Ward | multi-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Carolina'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 (League) |
| 1 | 2 | Eric Staal | C | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 2 | 31 | Danny Richmond | RW | United States | University of Michigan (NCAA) |
| 4 | 102 | Aaron Dawson | D | United States | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 4 | 126 | Kevin Nastiuk | G | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (OHL) |
| 4 | 130 | Matej Trojovsky | D | Czech Republic | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 5 | 137 | Tyson Strachan | D | Canada | Vernon Vipers (BCHL) |
| 7 | 198 | Shay Stephenson | LW | Canada | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 8 | 230 | Jamie Hoffmann | C | United States | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) |
| 9 | 262 | Ryan Rorabeck | C | Canada | Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL) |

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League

The Lowell Lock Monsters are the Hurricanes American Hockey League affiliate for the 2003–04 AHL season.

### ECHL

The Florida Everblades are the Hurricanes ECHL affiliate.