# 2002–03 San Jose Sharks season

The 2002–03 San Jose Sharks season was the Sharks' twelfth season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sharks placed 14th in the conference and did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 1996–97 season, thus ending their five-year playoff streak. This would also be the last time the Sharks missed the playoffs until the 2014–15 season.

## Regular season

After 24 games and an 8–12–2–2 record, Darryl Sutter was fired. One game was coached by Cap Raeder before Ron Wilson, the former coach of the Washington Capitals was hired. Wilson was not able to guide the team to the playoffs and finished with a 19–25–7–6 record for the season. General manager Dean Lombardi was fired on March 18.
Captain Owen Nolan was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Sharks' penalty kill struggled, as they finished 30th overall in penalty-kill percentage, at 81.01%.

### Final standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 245 | 169 | 111 |
| 2 | 7 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 203 | 193 | 95 |
| 3 | 10 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 221 | 78 |
| 4 | 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 204 | 230 | 78 |
| 5 | 14 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 8 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
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.
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 245 | 169 | 111 |
| 2 | Y- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 269 | 203 | 110 |
| 3 | Y- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 251 | 194 | 105 |
| 4 | X- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 264 | 208 | 104 |
| 5 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 253 | 222 | 99 |
| 6 | X- Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 198 | 178 | 95 |
| 7 | X- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 203 | 193 | 95 |
| 8 | X- Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 231 | 230 | 92 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 30 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 207 | 226 | 79 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 221 | 78 |
| 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 204 | 230 | 78 |
| 12 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 29 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 186 | 228 | 75 |
| 13 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 27 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 183 | 206 | 74 |
| 14 | San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 8 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 213 | 263 | 69 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2002–03 regular season :
October: 3–6–0–1 (home: 1–3–0–0; road: 2–3–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentDecisionRecordRecap
1LOctober 10, 20023–6Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)Kiprusoff0–1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 12, 20023–5@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)Kiprusoff0–2–0–0Recap
3WOctober 17, 20024–3Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)Toskala1–2–0–0Recap
4LOctober 19, 20021–3Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)Toskala1–3–0–0Recap
5LOctober 21, 20022–5Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)Kiprusoff1–4–0–0Recap
6WOctober 24, 20022–1@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)Kiprusoff2–4–0–0Recap
7WOctober 25, 20025–4@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)Kiprusoff3–4–0–0Recap
8LOctober 27, 20022–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)Nabokov3–5–0–0Recap
9LOctober 29, 20022–3@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)Nabokov3–6–0–0Recap
10OTLOctober 31, 20021–2 OT@ Minnesota Wild (2002–03)Nabokov3–6–0–1Recap :
November: 5–6–2–1 (home: 1–3–1–0; road: 4–3–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentDecisionRecordRecap
11WNovember 3, 20024–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)Nabokov4–6–0–1Recap
12WNovember 5, 20025–2Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)Nabokov5–6–0–1Recap
13TNovember 7, 20022–2 OTNashville Predators (2002–03)Nabokov5–6–1–1Recap
14LNovember 9, 20022–4Minnesota Wild (2002–03)Nabokov5–7–1–1Recap
15LNovember 11, 20024–5New York Rangers (2002–03)Kiprusoff5–8–1–1Recap
16OTLNovember 13, 20022–3 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03)Nabokov5–8–1–2Recap
17LNovember 15, 20022–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)Nabokov5–9–1–2Recap
18WNovember 16, 20027–3@ Florida Panthers (2002–03)Nabokov6–9–1–2Recap
19WNovember 19, 20023–2@ Washington Capitals (2002–03)Nabokov7–9–1–2Recap
20TNovember 21, 20022–2 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)Nabokov7–9–2–2Recap
21LNovember 23, 20021–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)Nabokov7–10–2–2Recap
22WNovember 25, 20024–1@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)Nabokov8–10–2–2Recap
23LNovember 27, 20022–4@ Nashville Predators (2002–03)Nabokov8–11–2–2Recap
24LNovember 30, 20022–3Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)Nabokov8–12–2–2Recap :
December: 7–3–2–1 (home: 5–1–1–0; road: 2–2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentDecisionRecordRecap
25WDecember 3, 20023–2 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)Nabokov9–12–2–2Recap
26WDecember 6, 20023–2Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)Nabokov10–12–2–2Recap
27LDecember 7, 20022–4Nashville Predators (2002–03)Nabokov10–13–2–2Recap
28WDecember 12, 20025–2Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03)Nabokov11–13–2–2Recap
29WDecember 14, 20022–0Washington Capitals (2002–03)Nabokov12–13–2–2Recap
30OTLDecember 16, 20021–2 OT@ New York Rangers (2002–03)Kiprusoff12–13–2–3Recap
31WDecember 17, 20023–1@ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03)Nabokov13–13–2–3Recap
32LDecember 19, 20023–9@ Ottawa Senators (2002–03)Nabokov13–14–2–3Recap
33TDecember 21, 20023–3 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03)Nabokov13–14–3–3Recap
34LDecember 23, 20022–5@ Boston Bruins (2002–03)Nabokov13–15–3–3Recap
35WDecember 26, 20024–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)Nabokov14–15–3–3Recap
36TDecember 28, 20023–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (2002–03)Nabokov14–15–4–3Recap
37WDecember 30, 20022–1Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03)Nabokov15–15–4–3Recap :
January: 4–6–2–2 (home: 3–5–2–1; road: 1–1–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentDecisionRecordRecap
38LJanuary 2, 20031–3Dallas Stars (2002–03)Nabokov15–16–4–3Recap
39LJanuary 4, 20031–6Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)Nabokov15–17–4–3Recap
40TJanuary 6, 20035–5 OTEdmonton Oilers (2002–03)Nabokov15–17–5–3Recap
41LJanuary 9, 20031–4St. Louis Blues (2002–03)Nabokov15–18–5–3Recap
42WJanuary 11, 20033–0Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)Kiprusoff16–18–5–3Recap
43OTLJanuary 13, 20032–3 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)Kiprusoff16–18–5–4Recap
44TJanuary 16, 20032–2 OTBuffalo Sabres (2002–03)Nabokov16–18–6–4Recap
45LJanuary 18, 20031–3Dallas Stars (2002–03)Nabokov16–19–6–4Recap
46LJanuary 20, 20031–3@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)Nabokov16–20–6–4Recap
47OTLJanuary 22, 20034–5 OTNew Jersey Devils (2002–03)Kiprusoff16–20–6–5Recap
48WJanuary 25, 20034–1Minnesota Wild (2002–03)Nabokov17–20–6–5Recap
49WJanuary 27, 20033–0@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)Nabokov18–20–6–5Recap
50WJanuary 28, 20033–1Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)Nabokov19–20–6–5Recap
51LJanuary 30, 20033–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)Nabokov19–21–6–5Recap :
February: 5–7–0–0 (home: 3–1–0–0; road: 2–6–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentDecisionRecordRecap
52WFebruary 5, 20036–2Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03)Nabokov20–21–6–5Recap
53LFebruary 7, 20033–4@ Minnesota Wild (2002–03)Nabokov20–22–6–5Recap
54LFebruary 8, 20031–4@ St. Louis Blues (2002–03)Nabokov20–23–6–5Recap
55LFebruary 10, 20034–5@ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)Nabokov20–24–6–5Recap
56LFebruary 12, 20030–1@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)Kiprusoff20–25–6–5Recap
57WFebruary 14, 20034–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03)Kiprusoff21–25–6–5Recap
58LFebruary 16, 20031–3@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)Kiprusoff21–26–6–5Recap
59LFebruary 17, 20032–3@ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03)Nabokov21–27–6–5Recap
60LFebruary 19, 20030–3New York Islanders (2002–03)Nabokov21–28–6–5Recap
61WFebruary 21, 20036–0Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03)Nabokov22–28–6–5Recap
62WFebruary 24, 20035–2Calgary Flames (2002–03)Nabokov23–28–6–5Recap
63WFebruary 27, 20033–2@ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03)Nabokov24–28–6–5Recap :
March: 4–9–0–3 (home: 4–3–0–2; road: 0–6–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentDecisionRecordRecap
64LMarch 1, 20033–4@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)Nabokov24–29–6–5Recap
65LMarch 4, 20031–2@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)Kiprusoff24–30–6–5Recap
66WMarch 6, 20034–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (2002–03)Kiprusoff25–30–6–5Recap
67LMarch 8, 20034–6@ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03)Nabokov25–31–6–5Recap
68LMarch 9, 20030–3@ Dallas Stars (2002–03)Kiprusoff25–32–6–5Recap
69LMarch 11, 20032–4St. Louis Blues (2002–03)Kiprusoff25–33–6–5Recap
70OTLMarch 13, 20032–3 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)Kiprusoff25–33–6–6Recap
71WMarch 15, 20033–2Calgary Flames (2002–03)Toskala26–33–6–6Recap
72OTLMarch 17, 20032–3 OTChicago Blackhawks (2002–03)Toskala26–33–6–7Recap
73LMarch 20, 20030–2@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)Kiprusoff26–34–6–7Recap
74WMarch 21, 20033–2Boston Bruins (2002–03)Toskala27–34–6–7Recap
75OTLMarch 22, 20032–3 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03)Nabokov27–34–6–8Recap
76LMarch 24, 20031–4Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03)Nabokov27–35–6–8Recap
77WMarch 27, 20033–0Detroit Red Wings (2002–03)Toskala28–35–6–8Recap
78LMarch 29, 20033–4Dallas Stars (2002–03)Toskala28–36–6–8Recap
79LMarch 31, 20031–3@ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03)Nabokov28–37–6–8Recap :
April: 0–0–3–0 (home: 0–0–1–0; road: 0–0–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentDecisionRecordRecap
80TApril 2, 20032–2 OT@ Calgary Flames (2002–03)Nabokov28–37–7–8Recap
81TApril 3, 20033–3 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03)Toskala28–37–8–8Recap
82TApril 6, 20033–3 OTPhoenix Coyotes (2002–03)Nabokov28–37–9–8Recap :
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 Sharks only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 8 | Teemu Selanne | RW | 82 | 28 | 36 | 64 | −6 | 30 |
| 25 | Vincent Damphousse | C | 82 | 23 | 38 | 61 | −13 | 66 |
| 12 | Patrick Marleau | C | 82 | 28 | 29 | 57 | −10 | 33 |
| 19 | Marco Sturm | LW | 82 | 28 | 20 | 48 | 9 | 16 |
| 11 | Owen Nolan‡ | RW | 61 | 22 | 20 | 42 | −5 | 91 |
| 18 | Mike Ricci | C | 75 | 11 | 23 | 34 | −12 | 53 |
| 2 | Mike Rathje | D | 82 | 7 | 22 | 29 | −19 | 48 |
| 22 | Scott Hannan | D | 81 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 0 | 61 |
| 17 | Scott Thornton | LW | 41 | 9 | 12 | 21 | −7 | 41 |
| 21 | Jim Fahey | D | 43 | 1 | 19 | 20 | −3 | 33 |
| 13 | Todd Harvey | RW | 76 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 5 | 74 |
| 9 | Adam Graves | LW | 82 | 9 | 9 | 18 | −14 | 32 |
| 14 | Jonathan Cheechoo | RW | 66 | 9 | 7 | 16 | −5 | 39 |
| 3 | Dan McGillis†‡ | D | 37 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −6 | 30 |
| 16 | Mark Smith | C | 75 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 64 |
| 7 | Brad Stuart | D | 36 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −6 | 46 |
| 23 | Niko Dimitrakos | RW | 21 | 6 | 7 | 13 | −7 | 8 |
| 24 | Niklas Sundstrom‡ | RW | 47 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −4 | 22 |
| 27 | Bryan Marchment‡ | D | 67 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 108 |
| 10 | Alyn McCauley† | C | 16 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −2 | 4 |
| 10 | Marcus Ragnarsson‡ | D | 25 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 30 |
| 4 | Kyle McLaren† | D | 33 | 0 | 8 | 8 | −10 | 30 |
| 5 | Jeff Jillson‡ | D | 26 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −7 | 9 |
| 28 | Matt Bradley‡ | RW | 46 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −1 | 37 |
| 26 | Lynn Loyns | LW | 19 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −4 | 19 |
| 38 | Rob Davison | D | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
| 46 | Miroslav Zalesak | RW | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
| 15 | Wayne Primeau† | C | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Shawn Heins‡ | D | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 9 |
| 41 | Ryan Kraft | C | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 53 | Jesse Fibiger | D | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 |
| 4 | John Jakopin | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 37 | Miikka Kiprusoff | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 20 | Evgeni Nabokov | G | 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 |
| 29 | Vesa Toskala | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 49 | Chad Wiseman | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |

### 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 |
| 20 | Evgeni Nabokov | 55 | 19 | 28 | 8 | 1561 | 146 | 2.71 | .906 | 3 | 3227 |
| 37 | Miikka Kiprusoff | 22 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 537 | 65 | 3.25 | .879 | 1 | 1199 |
| 29 | Vesa Toskala | 11 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 287 | 21 | 2.35 | .927 | 1 | 537 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Teemu Selanne |
| Team | Sharks Player of the Year | Teemu Selanne |
| Team | Sharks Rookie of the Year | Jim Fahey |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Jonathan Cheechoo | October 10, 2002 |
| First game | Lynn Loyns | October 21, 2002 |
| First game | Ryan Kraft | November 23, 2002 |
| First game | Jim Fahey | December 12, 2002 |
| First game | Niko Dimitrakos | February 12, 2003 |
| First game | Chad Wiseman | March 4, 2003 |
| First game | Jesse Fibiger | March 6, 2003 |
| First game | Rob Davison | March 9, 2003 |
| First game | Miroslav Zalesak | March 11, 2003 |
| 400th goal | Vincent Damphousse | October 17, 2002 |
| 750th game coached | Ron Wilson | March 11, 2003 |

## Transactions

The Sharks 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 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To San Jose Sharks Phoenix's 2nd-round pick in 2002 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 20025th-round pick in 2002 |
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | To San Jose Sharks 3rd-round pick in 2002 | To Chicago Blackhawks 3rd-round pick in 20024th-round pick in 2002 |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To San Jose Sharks 6th-round pick in 2003Future considerations | To New York Rangers 6th-round pick in 2002 |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | To San Jose Sharks New Jersey's 7th-round pick in 2002 | To Atlanta Thrashers 8th-round pick in 20027th-round pick in 2003 |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | To San Jose Sharks Future considerations | To Florida Panthers Hannes Hyvonen |
| December 6, 2002 (2002-12-06) | To San Jose Sharks Dan McGillis | To Philadelphia Flyers Marcus Ragnarsson |
| January 23, 2003 (2003-01-23) | To San Jose Sharks Jeff Hackett | To Montreal Canadiens Niklas Sundstrom3rd-round pick in 2004 |
| January 23, 2003 (2003-01-23) | To San Jose Sharks Rights to Kyle McLaren4th-round pick in 2004 | To Boston Bruins Jeff HackettJeff Jillson |
| February 9, 2003 (2003-02-09) | To San Jose Sharks Conditional 5th-round pick in 2003 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Shawn Heins |
| March 5, 2003 (2003-03-05) | To San Jose Sharks Brad BoyesAlyn McCauley1st-round pick in 2003 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Owen Nolan |
| March 8, 2003 (2003-03-08) | To San Jose Sharks 3rd-round pick in 20035th-round pick in 2003 | To Colorado Avalanche Bryan Marchment |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To San Jose Sharks 2nd-round pick in 2003 | To Boston Bruins Dan McGillis |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | To San Jose Sharks Wayne Primeau | To Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Bradley |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| July 10, 2002 (2002-07-10) | David Cloutier | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL) | Free agency |
| September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) | Tavis Hansen | Hershey Bears (AHL) | Free agency |
| September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) | John Jakopin | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency |
| September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) | Jeff Nelson | Schwenninger Wild Wings (DEL) | Free agency |
| September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) | Scott Thomas | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency |
| September 20, 2002 (2002-09-20) | Josh Gorges | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | Free agency |
| April 4, 2003 (2003-04-04) | Tom Preissing | Colorado College (WCHA) | Free agency |
| April 4, 2003 (2003-04-04) | Craig Valette | Portland Winterhawks (WHL) | Free agency |
| April 18, 2003 (2003-04-18) | Grant Stevenson | Minnesota State University, Mankato (WCHA) | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| N/A | Joel Prpic | Kokudo Tokyo (JIHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09) | Alexander Korolyuk | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | Free agency (II) |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Steve Bancroft | St. Louis Blues | Free agency (VI) |
| July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16) | Andy Lundbohm | Florida Panthers | Free agency (VI) |
| August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02) | Stephane Matteau | Florida Panthers | Free agency (III) |
| August 3, 2002 (2002-08-03) | Brandon Smith | New York Islanders | Free agency (VI) |
| August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15) | Theoren Fleury | Chicago Blackhawks | Free agency (III) |
| September 10, 2002 (2002-09-10) | Gary Suter | | Retirement (III) |
| N/A | Adam Colagiacomo | Roanoke Express (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 22, 2002 (2002-10-22) | Adam Nittel | Quad City Mallards (UHL) | Free agency (UFA) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Shawn Heins | | Re-signing |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Patrick Marleau | | Option exercised |
| July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01) | Marco Sturm | | Option exercised |
| July 5, 2002 (2002-07-05) | Teemu Selanne | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 9, 2002 (2002-08-09) | Marcus Ragnarsson | | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2002 (2002-08-16) | Niklas Sundstrom | 2-year | Arbitration award |
| September 4, 2002 (2002-09-04) | Jim Fahey | | Entry-level |
| September 4, 2002 (2002-09-04) | Ryan Kraft | | Re-signing |
| September 4, 2002 (2002-09-04) | Willie Levesque | | Entry-level |
| September 4, 2002 (2002-09-04) | Mark Smith | | Re-signing |
| September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05) | Niko Dimitrakos | | Entry-level |
| September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06) | Matt Bradley | | Re-signing |
| September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13) | Scott Hannan | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 23, 2002 (2002-09-23) | Tomas Plihal | | Entry-level |
| October 22, 2002 (2002-10-22) | Evgeni Nabokov | 2-year | Re-signing |
| November 13, 2002 (2002-11-13) | Brad Stuart | 2-year | Re-signing |
| January 25, 2003 (2003-01-25) | Kyle McLaren | 4-year | Re-signing |
| May 22, 2003 (2003-05-22) | Douglas Murray | | Entry-level |
| May 22, 2003 (2003-05-22) | Mike Ricci | 1-year | Option exercised |
| May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30) | Vincent Damphousse | 1-year | Option exercised |

## Draft picks

San Jose's draft picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 27 | Mike Morris | Right wing | United States | St. Sebastian's School (USHS-MA) |
| 2 | 52 | Dan Spang | Defense | United States | Winchester High School (USHS-MA) |
| 3 | 86 | Jonas Fiedler | Right wing | Czech Republic | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
| 5 | 139 | Kris Newbury | Center | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 5 | 163 | Tom Walsh | Center | United States | Deerfield Academy (USHS-MA) |
| 7 | 217 | Tim Conboy | Defense | United States | Topeka ScareCrows (USHL) |
| 9 | 288 | Michael Hutchins | Defense | United States | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) |