# 2003–04 Ottawa Senators season

The 2003–04 Ottawa Senators season was the 12th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season would see the Senators again finish with over 100 points, finishing with 102, but this was good for only third in the tightly-contested division, as the Boston Bruins would have 104 and the Toronto Maple Leafs 103. Ottawa would meet Toronto in the first-round of the playoffs for the fourth time, where the Maple Leafs would win the series 4–3 to end the Senators' playoff hopes. Ottawa would fire head coach Jacques Martin after the playoff round.

## Offseason

On June 21, 2003, assistant coach Roger Neilson died after four years of battling cancer. The Senators would wear a patch on their jerseys with an illustration of his signature and a necktie. Neilson would often wear distinctive neckties and the necktie became associated with him, and also became the symbol for "Roger's House", a residence for the use of families with a family member fighting cancer while in hospital, established by him and the Senators.
On August 26, 2003, Eugene Melnyk purchased the club to bring financial stability.

## Regular season

Marian Hossa lead the club in scoring with 82 points, good enough for sixth overall in the NHL.

### Highlights

On February 5, 2004, the Senators were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs and were leading 4–0 in the second period. The flu started affecting players on the Senators leading the team to be down to only 15 skaters by the end of the game. The Maple Leafs took full advantage and won the game 5–4 in overtime.
On March 5, 2004, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, a record was set for the most penalty minutes in a game by both teams, at 419 minutes. Five brawls broke out in the last two minutes of the game. It took the officials until 90 minutes after the game was over to sort out the penalties. By the end of the game, Philadelphia had 213 penalty minutes and seven men left on the bench, while Ottawa finished with 206 penalty minutes and six men left.
The Senators finished the regular season first overall in the NHL in scoring (262 goals for), power-play goals scored (80) and power-play percentage (21.62%).

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 41 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 209 | 188 | 104 |
| 2 | 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 242 | 204 | 103 |
| 3 | 5 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 262 | 189 | 102 |
| 4 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 208 | 192 | 93 |
| 5 | 9 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 37 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 220 | 221 | 85 |
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

## Playoffs

In the first round of the 2004 playoffs, the Senators would lose again to the Maple Leafs for the fourth straight time. By now, Ottawa had developed a strong rivalry with their Ontario cousins and there was a great deal of pressure on the team to finally defeat the Leafs. Two days after the Senators' loss, head coach Jacques Martin was fired, and goaltender Patrick Lalime was later traded to the St. Louis Blues.
Martin had been coach of the Senators for eight-and-a-half years. He was well respected, earned a 341–255–96 regular season record with the Senators, had led the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances and was widely credited with changing the team into an elite NHL franchise. He also won the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year in 1999. However, after losing eight of 12 playoff series, including all four series in five years against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, Senators ownership felt that a new coach was required for playoff success.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2003–04 regular season :
October: 5–2–0–1 (home: 2–1–0–1; road: 3–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1WOctober 9, 20035–2Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)1–0–0–018,500Recap
2OTLOctober 11, 20032–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (2003–04)1–0–0–118,500Recap
3LOctober 15, 20033–4@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)1–1–0–118,180Recap
4WOctober 17, 20033–0@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)2–1–0–113,885Recap
5WOctober 18, 20034–1@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)3–1–0–114,807Recap
6WOctober 23, 20035–1Washington Capitals (2003–04)4–1–0–118,188Recap
7WOctober 25, 20036–2@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)5–1–0–121,273Recap
8LOctober 30, 20032–3Florida Panthers (2003–04)5–2–0–117,086Recap :
November: 4–6–2–2 (home: 2–4–2–1; road: 2–2–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
9TNovember 1, 20031–1 OTBuffalo Sabres (2003–04)5–2–1–115,445Recap
10LNovember 3, 20033–6@ New York Islanders (2003–04)5–3–1–110,957Recap
11TNovember 6, 20033–3 OTEdmonton Oilers (2003–04)5–3–2–115,216Recap
12LNovember 8, 20030–1New Jersey Devils (2003–04)5–4–2–118,359Recap
13WNovember 11, 20035–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)6–4–2–113,547Recap
14WNovember 13, 20035–2Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)7–4–2–115,297Recap
15LNovember 15, 20032–3Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)7–5–2–118,337Recap
16LNovember 17, 20031–2Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)7–6–2–115,744Recap
17WNovember 20, 20036–1Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)8–6–2–117,159Recap
18OTLNovember 22, 20031–2 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)8–6–2–211,233Recap
19LNovember 23, 20032–6@ New York Rangers (2003–04)8–7–2–218,200Recap
20WNovember 25, 20036–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)9–7–2–211,937Recap
21OTLNovember 27, 20032–3 OTVancouver Canucks (2003–04)9–7–2–318,500Recap
22LNovember 29, 20031–2Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)9–8–2–318,500Recap :
December: 9–2–3–0 (home: 6–2–1–0; road: 3–0–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
23WDecember 1, 20034–1Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)10–8–2–316,289Recap
24WDecember 3, 20034–0@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)11–8–2–311,520Recap
25WDecember 4, 20034–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)12–8–2–315,221Recap
26LDecember 6, 20031–2New Jersey Devils (2003–04)12–9–2–317,931Recap
27TDecember 8, 20032–2 OT@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)12–9–3–310,662Recap
28WDecember 11, 20033–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)13–9–3–317,256Recap
29LDecember 13, 20032–3Boston Bruins (2003–04)13–10–3–317,671Recap
30WDecember 18, 20036–1Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)14–10–3–316,420Recap
31WDecember 20, 20033–1New York Rangers (2003–04)15–10–3–318,037Recap
32WDecember 22, 20033–2 OTFlorida Panthers (2003–04)16–10–3–317,189Recap
33TDecember 23, 20032–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)16–10–4–315,317Recap
34TDecember 26, 20033–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)16–10–5–318,316Recap
35WDecember 28, 20035–2Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)17–10–5–318,500Recap
36WDecember 30, 20033–0@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)18–10–5–316,388Recap :
January: 10–4–2–0 (home: 6–0–1–0; road: 4–4–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
37WJanuary 1, 20041–0New York Islanders (2003–04)19–10–5–318,500Recap
38WJanuary 3, 20045–2Washington Capitals (2003–04)20–10–5–317,695Recap
39WJanuary 6, 20045–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)21–10–5–316,890Recap
40WJanuary 8, 20047–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)22–10–5–319,395Recap
41LJanuary 9, 20042–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)22–11–5–318,690Recap
42TJanuary 11, 20042–2 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)22–11–6–39,350Recap
43WJanuary 13, 20044–0@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)23–11–6–311,456Recap
44TJanuary 15, 20044–4 OTNew York Islanders (2003–04)23–11–7–317,197Recap
45WJanuary 17, 20044–0Boston Bruins (2003–04)24–11–7–318,500Recap
46LJanuary 19, 20042–5@ New York Islanders (2003–04)24–12–7–314,213Recap
47WJanuary 20, 20043–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)25–12–7–38,810Recap
48WJanuary 22, 20046–5Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)26–12–7–316,777Recap
49WJanuary 24, 20049–1New York Rangers (2003–04)27–12–7–318,500Recap
50LJanuary 28, 20043–5@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)27–13–7–318,006Recap
51WJanuary 29, 20044–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)28–13–7–313,387Recap
52LJanuary 31, 20041–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)28–14–7–319,419Recap :
February: 7–2–2–2 (home: 5–0–1–2; road: 2–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
53LFebruary 3, 20041–2@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)28–15–7–312,304Recap
54OTLFebruary 5, 20044–5 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)28–15–7–418,500Recap
55WFebruary 10, 20043–1St. Louis Blues (2003–04)29–15–7–418,238Recap
56WFebruary 12, 20043–2 OTBoston Bruins (2003–04)30–15–7–418,364Recap
57WFebruary 14, 20045–2Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)31–15–7–418,500Recap
58WFebruary 16, 20044–1@ New York Rangers (2003–04)32–15–7–418,200Recap
59TFebruary 17, 20041–1 OT@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)32–15–8–413,901Recap
60OTLFebruary 19, 20042–3 OTAtlanta Thrashers (2003–04)32–15–8–518,500Recap
61WFebruary 21, 20042–1Calgary Flames (2003–04)33–15–8–518,500Recap
62WFebruary 22, 20046–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)34–15–8–511,780Recap
63LFebruary 24, 20042–4@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)34–16–8–521,273Recap
64TFebruary 26, 20041–1 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2003–04)34–16–9–518,500Recap
65WFebruary 28, 20047–1Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)35–16–9–518,500Recap :
March: 7–6–1–1 (home: 2–0–0–1; road: 5–6–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
66LMarch 3, 20043–4@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)35–17–9–511,956Recap
67LMarch 5, 20043–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)35–18–9–519,539Recap
68WMarch 6, 20044–2Nashville Predators (2003–04)36–18–9–518,500Recap
69WMarch 8, 20044–1@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)37–18–9–517,776Recap
70LMarch 11, 20042–4@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)37–19–9–517,869Recap
71WMarch 13, 20042–1@ Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)38–19–9–518,630Recap
72LMarch 14, 20041–3@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)38–20–9–516,839Recap
73LMarch 16, 20042–5@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)38–21–9–518,568Recap
74WMarch 18, 20042–0Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)39–21–9–518,500Recap
75OTLMarch 20, 20042–3 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2003–04)39–21–9–618,500Recap
76LMarch 23, 20042–4@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)39–22–9–615,887Recap
77WMarch 25, 20044–0@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)40–22–9–621,273Recap
78TMarch 27, 20042–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)40–22–10–619,480Recap
79WMarch 29, 20045–4 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)41–22–10–619,844Recap
80WMarch 31, 20045–4@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)42–22–10–615,876Recap :
April: 1–1–0–0 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 1–0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
81WApril 2, 20043–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)43–22–10–619,776Recap
82LApril 3, 20040–6Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)43–23–10–618,500Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs – Maple Leafs win 4–3
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 8Ottawa4–2Toronto19,535Senators lead 1–0Recap
2April 10Ottawa0–2Toronto19,529Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 12Toronto2–0Ottawa18,500Maple Leafs lead 2–1Recap
4April 14Toronto1–4Ottawa18,500Series tied 2–2Recap
5April 16Ottawa0–2Toronto19,584Maple Leafs lead 3–2Recap
6April 18Toronto1–2Ottawa2OT18,500Series tied 3–3Recap
7April 20Ottawa1–4Toronto19,646Maple Leafs win 4–3Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Senators only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators 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 |
| 18 | Marian Hossa | RW | 81 | 36 | 46 | 82 | 4 | 46 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | Daniel Alfredsson | RW | 77 | 32 | 48 | 80 | 12 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Martin Havlat | RW | 68 | 31 | 37 | 68 | 12 | 46 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| 39 | Jason Spezza | C | 78 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 22 | 71 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 21 | Bryan Smolinski | C | 80 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 22 | 49 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| 14 | Radek Bonk | C | 66 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 2 | 66 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Wade Redden | D | 81 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 21 | 65 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −5 | 2 |
| 3 | Zdeno Chara | D | 79 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 33 | 147 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 15 | Peter Schaefer | LW | 81 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 22 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 28 | Todd White | C | 53 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
| 4 | Chris Phillips | D | 82 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 15 | 46 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| 33 | Josh Langfeld | RW | 38 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Karel Rachunek‡ | D | 60 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Chris Neil | RW | 82 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 194 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| 20 | Antoine Vermette | C | 57 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
| 10 | Peter Bondra† | RW | 23 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 6 |
| 22 | Shaun Van Allen | C | 73 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Vaclav Varada | RW | 30 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Mike Fisher | C | 24 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −3 | 39 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Brian Pothier | D | 55 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 |
| 19 | Petr Schastlivy‡ | LW | 43 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −1 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Curtis Leschyshyn | D | 56 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 34 | Shane Hnidy‡ | D | 37 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Anton Volchenkov | D | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 40 | Patrick Lalime | G | 57 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 32 | Rob Ray | RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Greg de Vries† | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 8 |
| 43 | Serge Payer | C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Martin Prusek | G | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 27 | Todd Simpson† | D | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Ray Emery | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 45 | Denis Hamel | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Jody Hull | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 49 | Chris Kelly | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Brooks Laich‡ | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Julien Vauclair | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 |
| 40 | Patrick Lalime | 57 | 25 | 23 | 7 | 1334 | 127 | 2.29 | .905 | 5 | 3324 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 139 | 13 | 1.96 | .906 | 0 | 398 |
| 31 | Martin Prusek | 29 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 651 | 54 | 2.12 | .917 | 3 | 1528 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 1.50 | .933 | 0 | 40 |
| 1 | Ray Emery | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 5 | 2.38 | .904 | 0 | 126 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Zdeno Chara (Defence) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Daniel Alfredsson |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Marian Hossa |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Wade Redden |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Month | Wade Redden (January) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Martin Havlat (January 19) |
| Team | Molson Cup | Daniel Alfredsson |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Antoine Vermette | October 9, 2003 |
| First game | Julien Vauclair | October 25, 2003 |
| First game | Brooks Laich | February 3, 2004 |
| First game | Chris Kelly | February 5, 2004 |

## Transactions

The Senators 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 Washington Capitals Washington’s 9th-round pick in 2003 | To Ottawa Senators Future considerations |
| June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26) | To Minnesota Wild Chris Bala | To Ottawa Senators Peter Smrek |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | To Florida Panthers 9th-round pick in 2004 | To Ottawa Senators Serge Payer |
| October 5, 2003 (2003-10-05) | To Washington Capitals Future considerations | To Ottawa Senators Denis Hamel |
| December 29, 2003 (2003-12-29) | To Florida Panthers Wade Brookbank | To Ottawa Senators Future considerations |
| January 6, 2004 (2004-01-06) | To Atlanta Thrashers Daniel Corso | To Ottawa Senators Brad Tapper |
| January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23) | To Colorado Avalanche Dennis Bonvie | To Ottawa Senators Charlie Stephens |
| February 4, 2004 (2004-02-04) | To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Petr Schastlivy | To Ottawa Senators Todd Simpson |
| February 18, 2004 (2004-02-18) | To Washington Capitals Brooks Laich2nd-round pick in 2005 | To Ottawa Senators Peter Bondra |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To Nashville Predators Shane Hnidy | To Ottawa Senators Colorado’s 3rd-round pick in 2004 |
| March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09) | To New York Rangers Alexandre GirouxKarel Rachunek | To Ottawa Senators Greg de Vries |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 5, 2003 (2003-07-05) | Denis Hamel | Buffalo Sabres | multi-year | Free agency |
| September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02) | Andrew Allen | Binghamton Senators (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02) | Daniel Corso | St. Louis Blues | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Glen Metropolit | Washington Capitals | | Waiver draft |
| December 18, 2003 (2003-12-18) | Andy Hedlund | Binghamton Senators (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| December 19, 2003 (2003-12-19) | Wade Brookbank | Vancouver Canucks | | Waivers |
| April 30, 2004 (2004-04-30) | Danny Bois | London Knights (OHL) | multi-year | Free agency |
| May 11, 2004 (2004-05-11) | Kelly Guard | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | multi-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 2, 2003 (2003-07-02) | Joey Tetarenko | Carolina Hurricanes | Free agency (VI) |
| July 7, 2003 (2003-07-07) | Mathieu Chouinard | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22) | Bob Wren | Augsburger Panther (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Joe Murphy | Lukko (Liiga) | Free agency (II) |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | Magnus Arvedson | Vancouver Canucks | Free agency (III) |
| September 15, 2003 (2003-09-15) | Toni Dahlman | Ilves (Liiga) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 1, 2003 (2003-10-01) | Brad Smyth | Oulun Karpat (Liiga) | Free agency (V) |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Wade Brookbank | Nashville Predators | Waiver draft |
| October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | Denis Hamel | Washington Capitals | Waiver draft |
| October 2003 (2003-10) | David Hymovitz | Binghamton Senators (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| October 10, 2003 (2003-10-10) | Jeff Ulmer | Cardiff Devils (EIHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| November 21, 2003 (2003-11-21) | Dean Melanson | Iserlohn Roosters (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| May 12, 2004 (2004-05-12) | Julien Vauclair | HC Lugano (NLA) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 11, 2003 (2003-06-11) | Shane Hnidy | 1-year | Re-signing |
| June 21, 2003 (2003-06-21) | Bryan Smolinski | 4-year | Re-signing |
| June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26) | Brian Pothier | 1-year | Option exercised |
| July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03) | Jody Hull | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | Martin Prusek | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 16, 2003 (2003-07-16) | Wade Redden | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Wade Brookbank | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24) | Josh Langfeld | multi-year | Re-signing |
| August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28) | Dennis Bonvie | 2-year | Re-signing |
| September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) | Serge Payer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| October 11, 2003 (2003-10-11) | Martin Havlat | 1-year | Re-signing |
| February 13, 2004 (2004-02-13) | Rob Ray | 1-year | Re-signing |
| April 1, 2004 (2004-04-01) | Neil Komadoski | multi-year | Entry-level |
| April 6, 2004 (2004-04-06) | Grant Potulny | 1-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks from the 2003 NHL entry draft held on June 21 and June 22, 2003 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (League) |
| 1 | 29 | Patrick Eaves | United States | Boston College (Hockey East) |
| 2 | 67 | Igor Mirnov | Russia | Dynamo Moscow (RSL) |
| 3 | 100 | Philippe Seydoux | Switzerland | Kloten Flyers (NLA) |
| 4 | 135 | Matt Karlsson | Sweden | Brynäs IF (Elitserien) |
| 5 | 142 | Tim Cook | United States | River City Lancers (USHL) |
| 5 | 166 | Sergei Gimayev | Russia | Severstal Cherepovets (RSL) |
| 7 | 228 | Will Colbert | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 8 | 269 | Ossi Louhivaara | Finland | KooKoo (Mestis) |
| 9 | 291 | Brian Elliott | Canada | University of Wisconsin–Madison (WCHA) |

## Farm teams

* Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League)