2002-03 NHL season

The 2002-03 NHL season was the 86th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the New Jersey Devils, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. This was the last season that teams wear their white or yellow uniform at home.
==Regular season==
See also: 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs
As always the regular season saw several surprises. The San Jose Sharks, who many felt would be one of the elite teams in the West, stumbled early and badly and disassembled much of the team. The two-year-old Minnesota Wild, on the other hand, got out to an early start and held onto their first ever playoff berth throughout the season, winning coach Jacques Lemaire the Jack Adams Award.
The elite teams of previous years such as the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils, were joined by two younger Canadian teams, the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks. The Dallas Stars, which had missed the playoffs the year before, returned as a major power, backed by the record-setting goaltending of Marty Turco. 
The most surprising team was perhaps the Tampa Bay Lightning, which many had predicted to finish last, contesting for the Southeast Division title and making the playoffs for the first time in seven years. The most disappointing teams, other than the Sharks, were the New York Rangers, who finished out of the playoffs again despite bearing the league's leading payroll, and the Carolina Hurricanes, who finished last overall after a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Finals the year before. 
At the midpoint of the season the Canucks lead the Western Conference, and Ottawa lead the East. Vancouver stumbled somewhat over the stretch and lost the Northwest Division title to Colorado and the Western Conference one to Dallas. Ottawa continued to dominate, having the best season in franchise history and winning both the Eastern Conference and the Presidents' Trophy.
The season was also marred by financial difficulties. Despite their success the Ottawa Senators were in bankruptcy protection for almost all of 2003, and at one point could not pay the players. Owner Rod Bryden tried a variety of innovative financing strategies, but these all failed and the team was purchased by billionaire Eugene Melnyk. The Buffalo Sabres also entered bankruptcy protection before being saved by New York businessman Tom Golisano. The financial struggles of the Pittsburgh Penguins continued as the team continued to unload its most expensive players.
The season was marked by a great number of coaches being fired, from Bob Hartley in Colorado to Darryl Sutter in San Jose and Bryan Trottier of the New York Rangers. 
Worries over the decline in scoring and the neutral zone trap continued. The season began with an attempted crack down on obstruction and interference, but by the midpoint of the season this effort had petered out. The expansion teams in the southern United States began to suffer financially, with many empty seats to be found in each arena. Most teams lost money on the season. The one bright spot was the increasing value of the Canadian dollar, which made the six Canadian teams more competitive than they had been in years.
===Final standings===
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
====Eastern Conference====
Atlantic Division 	W 	L 	T 	OTL	GF 	GA 	PTS
New Jersey Devils 	46	20	10	6 	216	166	108
Philadelphia Flyers	45	20	13	4 	211	166	107
New York Islanders 	35	34	11	2 	224	231	83
New York Rangers 	32	36	10	4 	210	231	78
Pittsburgh Penguins	27	44	6 	5 	189	255	65
Northeast Division 	W 	L 	T 	OTL	GF 	GA 	PTS
Ottawa Senators 	52	21	8 	1 	263	182	113
Toronto Maple Leafs	44	28	7 	3 	236	208	98
Boston Bruins 	36	31	11	4 	245	237	87
Montreal Canadiens 	30	35	8 	9 	206	234	77
Buffalo Sabres 	27	37	10	8 	190	219	72
Southeast Division 	W 	L 	T 	OTL	GF 	GA 	PTS
Tampa Bay Lightning	36	25	16	5 	219	210	93
Washington Capitals	39	29	8 	6 	224	220	92
Atlanta Thrashers 	31	39	7 	5 	226	284	74
Florida Panthers 	24	36	13	9 	176	237	70
Carolina Hurricanes	22	43	11	6 	171	240	61
====Western Conference====
Central Division 	W 	L 	T 	OTL	GF 	GA 	PTS
Detroit Red Wings 	48	20	10	4 	269	203	110
St. Louis Blues 	41	24	11	6 	253	222	99
Chicago Blackhawks 	30	33	13	6 	207	226	79
Nashville Predators 	27	35	13	7 	183	206	74
Columbus Blue Jackets	29	42	8 	3 	213	263	69
Northwest Division	W 	L 	T 	OTL	GF 	GA 	PTS
Colorado Avalanche	42	19	13	8 	251	194	105
Vancouver Canucks 	45	23	13	1 	264	208	104
Minnesota Wild 	42	29	10	1 	198	178	95
Edmonton Oilers 	36	26	11	9 	231	230	92
Calgary Flames 	29	36	13	4 	186	228	75
Pacific Division 	W 	L 	T 	OTL	GF 	GA 	PTS
Dallas Stars 	46	17	15	4 	245	169	111
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	40	27	9 	6 	203	193	95
Los Angeles Kings 	33	37	6 	6 	203	221	78
Phoenix Coyotes 	31	35	11	5 	204	230	78
San Jose Sharks 	28	37	9 	8 	214	239	73
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts
Peter Forsberg	Colorado 	75	29	77	106
Markus Naslund	Vancouver 	82	48	56	104
Joe Thornton 	Boston 	77	36	65	101
Milan Hejduk 	Colorado 	82	50	48	98
Todd Bertuzzi 	Vancouver 	82	46	51	97
Pavol Demitra 	St. Louis 	78	36	57	93
Glen Murray 	Boston 	82	44	48	92
Mario Lemieux 	Pittsburgh 	67	28	63	91
Dany Heatley 	Atlanta 	77	41	48	89
Zigmund Palffy	Los Angeles	76	37	48	85
==Stanley Cup Playoffs==
Note: All dates in 2003.
The Stanley Cup playoffs was one of shocking upsets in the Western Conference and hard fought battles in the Eastern Conference.
The most closely watched series in the first round was that between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers. Two teams built around physical play with high salary and front-page trade deadline acquisitions. The series did not disappoint and the Flyers ousted the Leafs in seven games. The Senators easily dispatched the New York Islanders, who had traded away their starting goaltender (Chris Osgood) before the playoffs. Despite losing the first two games, Tampa Bay rallied and defeated their division rival the Washington Capitals. New Jersey easily defeated the Boston Bruins, effectively shutting down star player Joe Thornton.
In the west, the first round was one of unmitigated shock to all hockey watchers. The defending champions and perennial cup favourite Detroit Red Wings were swept by the underdog Mighty Ducks of Anaheim behind the goaltending of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. After losing three out of the first four games, the Minnesota Wild came back and defeated the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche in game seven. Vancouver also lost three of its first four games with the St. Louis Blues, but then rallied and won game seven. The only round that surprised no one was round seven of the Dallas Stars-Edmonton Oilers grudge match that saw the first place Stars oust the Oilers with only some difficulty.
The second round in the west brought more upsets. The Minnesota Wild again fell 3–1 behind while playing Vancouver, but rallied and defeated them in seven games. Giguere's stellar goaltending continued to triumph as the Ducks ousted the Stars in six games. The Western Conference final was a meeting of two dark horse teams, but the superb goaltending of Giguere and the Ducks triumphed over the tight checking of the Minnesota Wild.
The east was far more predictable as Tampa Bay's youth showed when playing the grizzled veterans of the New Jersey Devils and the Ottawa Senators dispatched a tired Flyers team for the second year in a row. The Eastern Conference finals were a contrast of styles between the offensively explosive Senators and the defense minded Devils. The Devils came out to an early lead in the series, Ottawa rallied, winning games five and six on the energizing play of rookie Jason Spezza, but then the Devils regained their form as goaltender Martin Brodeur helped them win game seven and advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the third time in four years.
The Stanley Cup finals were a duel between two elite goaltenders, but after seven games the Devils triumphed to win their third Cup in seven years. The series also saw Scott Stevens land one of his prototypical crushing hits on Anaheim captain Paul Kariya, similar to the one that had knocked out Eric Lindros, then of the Flyers in the 2000 Playoffs. Unlike Lindros, Kariya returned to the game only ten minutes later and scored.
===Playoff bracket===
===Conference Quarterfinals===
====Eastern Conference Quarterfinals====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Ottawa vs. NY Islanders 	Ottawa vs. NY Islanders 	Ottawa vs. NY Islanders 	Ottawa vs. NY Islanders
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 9 	NY Islanders 3 	0 Ottawa 	 	
April 12 	NY Islanders 0 	3 Ottawa 	 	
April 14 	Ottawa 3 	2 NY Islanders 	2OT 	
April 16 	Ottawa 3 	NY Islanders 1 	 	
April 17 	NY Islanders 1 	3 Ottawa 	 	
Ottawa wins series 4–1	Ottawa wins series 4–1	Ottawa wins series 4–1	Ottawa wins series 4–1	
1As of 2007, this playoff game is the 19th longest NHL overtime game ever. 53 minutes and 34 seconds of overtime were played before Mark Recchi scored the game-winning goal.
====Western Conference Quarterfinals====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Dallas vs. Edmonton 	Dallas vs. Edmonton 	Dallas vs. Edmonton 	Dallas vs. Edmonton
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 9 	Edmonton 2 	1 Dallas 	 	
April 12 	Edmonton 1 	6 Dallas 	 	
April 13 	Dallas 2 	3 Edmonton 	 	
April 15 	Dallas 3 	1 Edmonton 	 	
April 17 	Edmonton 2 	5 Dallas 	 	
April 19 	Dallas 3 	2 Edmonton 	 	
Dallas wins series 4–2	Dallas wins series 4–2	Dallas wins series 4–2	Dallas wins series 4–2	
===Conference Semifinals===
====Eastern Conference Semifinals====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Ottawa vs. Philadelphia 	Ottawa vs. Philadelphia 	Ottawa vs. Philadelphia 	Ottawa vs. Philadelphia
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 25 	Philadelphia 2 	4 Ottawa 	 	
April 27 	Philadelphia 2 	0 Ottawa 	 	
April 29 	Ottawa 3 	2 Philadelphia 	OT 	
May 1 	Ottawa 0 	1 Philadelphia 	 	
May 3 	Philadelphia 2 	5 Ottawa 	 	
May 5 	Ottawa 5 	1 Philadelphia 	 	
Ottawa wins series 4–2	Ottawa wins series 4–2	Ottawa wins series 4–2	Ottawa wins series 4–2	
====Western Conference Semifinals====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Dallas vs. Anaheim 	Dallas vs. Anaheim 	Dallas vs. Anaheim 	Dallas vs. Anaheim
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 24 	Anaheim 4 	3 Dallas 	5OT2 	
April 26 	Anaheim 3 	2 Dallas 	OT 	
April 28 	Dallas 2 	1 Anaheim 	 	
April 30 	Dallas 0 	1 Anaheim 	 	
May 3 	Anaheim 1 	4 Dallas 	 	
May 5 	Dallas 3 	4 Anaheim 	 	
Anaheim wins series 4–2	Anaheim wins series 4–2	Anaheim wins series 4–2	Anaheim wins series 4–2	
2As of 2006, this playoff game is the 4th longest NHL overtime game. 80 minutes and 48 seconds of overtime were played before Petr Sykora scored the game-winning goal.
===Conference Finals===
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	Eastern ConferenceOttawa vs. New Jersey 	Eastern ConferenceOttawa vs. New Jersey 	Eastern ConferenceOttawa vs. New Jersey 	Eastern ConferenceOttawa vs. New Jersey
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 10 	New Jersey 2 	3 Ottawa 	OT 	
May 13 	New Jersey 4 	1 Ottawa 	 	
May 15 	Ottawa 0 	1 New Jersey 	 	
May 17 	Ottawa 2 	5 New Jersey 	 	
May 19 	New Jersey 1 	3 Ottawa 	 	
May 21 	Ottawa 2 	1 New Jersey 	OT 	
May 23 	New Jersey 3 	2 Ottawa 	 	
New Jersey wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	New Jersey wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	New Jersey wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	New Jersey wins series 4–3and Prince of Wales Trophy	
===Finals===
Anaheim vs. New Jersey 	Anaheim vs. New Jersey 	Anaheim vs. New Jersey 	Anaheim vs. New Jersey
Date 	Away 	Home 	
May 27 	Anaheim 0 	3 New Jersey 	
May 29 	Anaheim 0 	3 New Jersey 	
May 31 	New Jersey 2 	3 Anaheim 	OT
June 2 	New Jersey 0 	1 Anaheim 	OT
June 5 	Anaheim 3 	6 New Jersey 	
June 7 	New Jersey 2 	5 Anaheim 	
June 9 	Anaheim 0 	3 New Jersey 	
New Jersey wins series4–3 and Stanley Cup	New Jersey wins series4–3 and Stanley Cup	New Jersey wins series4–3 and Stanley Cup	New Jersey wins series4–3 and Stanley Cup
J.S. Giguere (Anaheim)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	J.S. Giguere (Anaheim)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	J.S. Giguere (Anaheim)wins Conn Smythe Trophy 	J.S. Giguere (Anaheim)wins Conn Smythe Trophy
===Scoring leaders=== 
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts
Jamie Langenbrunner	New Jersey Devils	24	11	7 	18
Scott Niedermayer 	New Jersey Devils	24	2 	16	18
Marian Gaborik 	Minnesota Wild 	18	9 	8 	17
John Madden 	New Jersey Devils	24	6 	10	16
Marian Hossa 	Ottawa Senators 	18	5 	11	16
Mike Modano 	Dallas Stars 	12	5 	10	15
Jeff Friesen 	New Jersey Devils	24	10	4 	14
Markus Naslund 	Vancouver Canucks	14	5 	9 	14
Sergei Zubov 	Dallas Stars 	12	4 	10	14
Andrew Brunette 	Minnesota Wild 	18	7 	6 	13
Wes Walz 	Minnesota Wild 	18	7 	6 	13
==NHL awards==
The NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto.
Presidents' Trophy: 	Ottawa Senators
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	New Jersey Devils
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: 	Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Barret Jackman, St. Louis Blues
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Jere Lehtinen, Dallas Stars
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche
Jack Adams Award: 	Jacques Lemaire, Minnesota Wild
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: 	Brendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wings
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Alexander Mogilny, Toronto Maple Leafs
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Willie O'Ree, Raymond Bourque, Ron DeGregorio
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy: 	Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Peter Forsberg & Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award:	Marty Turco, Dallas Stars
Vezina Trophy: 	Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils; Roman Cechmanek & Robert Esche, Philadelphia Flyers
===All-Star teams===
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils 	G 	Marty Turco, Dallas Stars
Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues 	D 	Sergei Gonchar, Washington Capitals
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings	D 	Derian Hatcher, Dallas Stars
Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche 	C 	Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins
Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver Canucks 	RW 	Milan Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche
Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks 	LW 	Paul Kariya, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2002-03 (listed with their first team):
*Martin Gerber, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
*Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
*Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
*Jordan Leopold, Calgary Flames
*Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
*Steve Ott, Dallas Stars
*Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
*Ales Hemsky, Edmonton Oilers
*Fernando Pisani, Edmonton Oilers
*Jarret Stoll, Edmonton Oilers
*Marc-Andre Bergeron, Edmonton Oilers
*Jay Bouwmeester, Florida Panthers
*Alexander Frolov, Los Angeles Kings
*Cristobal Huet, Los Angeles Kings
*Joe Corvo, Los Angeles Kings
*Mike Cammalleri, Los Angeles Kings
*Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Minnesota Wild
*Francois Beauchemin, Montreal Canadiens
*Vernon Fiddler, Nashville Predators
*Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa Senators
*Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators
*Ray Emery, Ottawa Senators
*Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose Sharks
*Christian Backman, St. Louis Blues
*Petr Cajanek, St. Louis Blues
==Last games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 2002-03 (listed with their last team):
*Uwe Krupp, Atlanta Thrashers
*Craig Berube, Calgary Flames
*Theoren Fleury, Chicago Blackhawks
*Todd Gill, Chicago Blackhawks
*Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche
*Kevin Dineen, Columbus Blue Jackets
*Kirk Muller, Dallas Stars
*Ulf Dahlen, Dallas Stars
*Claude Lemieux, Dallas Stars
*Fredrik Olausson, Detroit Red Wings
*Adam Deadmarsh, Los Angeles Kings
*Randy McKay, Montreal Canadiens
*Ken Daneyko, New Jersey Devils
*Mike Richter, New York Rangers
*Pavel Bure, New York Rangers
*Paul Ranheim, Phoenix Coyotes
*Adam Graves, San Jose Sharks
*Tom Barrasso, St. Louis Blues
*Jyrki Lumme, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Robert Svehla, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Phil Housley, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Craig Billington, Washington Capitals
*Sylvain Cote, Washington Capitals
== Hat tricks ==
== See also ==
* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs
* 2002 NHL Entry Draft
* 53rd National Hockey League All-Star Game
* NHL All-Star Game
* NHL All-Rookie Team
==References==
*Hockey Database
*NHL Official Website