2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the Blue Jackets' fourth season in the NHL, as the team was coming off of a 29–42–8–3 record in the 2002–03 season, earning 69 points to finish in last place in the Western Conference for the second-straight year.

2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	4th Central
Conference	14th Western
2003–04 record	25–45–8–4
Home record	17–18–4–2
Road record	8–27–4–2
Goals for	177
Goals against	238
Team information
General manager	Doug MacLean
Coach	Doug MacLean (Oct-Jan) Gerard Gallant (Jan-Apr)
Captain	Luke Richardson
Alternate captains	Todd Marchant Geoff Sanderson (Oct-Mar)
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Average attendance	17,369
Minor league affiliate(s)	Syracuse Crunch (AHL) Dayton Bombers (ECHL) Elmira Jackals (UHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Nash (41)
Assists	David Vyborny (31)
Points	Rich Nash (57)
Penalty minutes	Jody Shelley (228)
Plus/minus	Aaron Johnson (-2)
Wins	Marc Denis (21)
Goals against average	Marc Denis (2.56)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Off-season

Columbus would undergo some changes during the off-season, as leading scorer and team captain Ray Whitney would leave to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. The Blue Jackets named veteran defenseman Luke Richardson the third captain in franchise history.^[1]

Regular season

The Blue Jackets would get off to a solid start in 2003–04, winning three of their first four games, though the club would eventually go on a seven-game losing streak to quickly fall out of playoff contention. Columbus would continue to struggle, and General Manager and Head Coach Doug MacLean announced on January 1, 2004, that he would step down from head coaching duties, naming Blue Jackets assistant coach and former NHL player Gerard Gallant as his replacement.^[2] Columbus posted a 9–21–4–3 record under MacLean. While the Blue Jackets would play better hockey with Gallant behind the bench, the team would fail once again to earn a playoff spot, as they finished the season with a 25–45–8–4 record for 62 points—seven fewer than the previous season—and finish 29 points the Nashville Predators for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Columbus, however, climbed out of the basement in the Central Division for the first time in franchise history after finishing ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Rick Nash had a memorable season, finishing in a three-way tie with Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers and Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the League's highest goal-scorer; he scored a club-record 41 goals and finished with a team-best 57 points. David Vyborny led the Blue Jackets with 31 assists and finished second to Nash with 53 points. Rookie Nikolai Zherdev also contributed a solid 34 points in 57 games. On defense, Anders Eriksson led the Jackets with 27 points, while Jaroslav Spacek contributed with 22 points in just 58 games. Jody Shelley provided the team toughness, earning a team-high 228 penalty minutes.

In goal, Marc Denis was the team's number one, playing a team-high 66 games, winning 21 of them, posting a team best 2.56 goals against average (GAA) and earning five shutouts.

The Blue Jackets would finish the season having tied the Dallas Stars for most times shut-out, with 11.^[3]

Season standings

Central Division^[4]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Detroit Red Wings	82	48	21	11	2	255	189	109
2	7	St. Louis Blues	82	39	30	11	2	191	198	91
3	8	Nashville Predators	82	38	29	11	4	216	217	91
4	14	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	25	45	8	4	177	238	62
5	15	Chicago Blackhawks	82	20	43	11	8	188	259	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.

Western Conference^[5]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P- Detroit Red Wings	CE	82	48	21	11	2	255	189	109
2	Y- San Jose Sharks	PA	82	43	21	12	6	255	183	104
3	Y- Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	43	24	10	5	235	194	101
4	X- Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	40	22	13	7	236	198	100
5	X- Dallas Stars	PA	82	41	26	13	2	194	175	97
6	X- Calgary Flames	NW	82	42	30	7	3	200	176	94
7	X- St. Louis Blues	CE	82	39	30	11	2	191	198	91
8	X- Nashville Predators	CE	82	38	29	11	4	216	217	91
8.5
9	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	36	29	12	5	221	208	89
10	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	30	29	20	3	188	183	83
11	Los Angeles Kings	PA	82	28	29	16	9	205	217	81
12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PA	82	29	35	10	8	184	213	76
13	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	82	22	36	18	6	188	245	68
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	82	25	45	8	4	177	238	62
15	Chicago Blackhawks	CE	82	20	43	11	8	188	259	59

Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

2003–04 regular season[6]
October: 3–6–0–1 (home: 3–2–0–0; road: 0–4–0–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts Recap 1 October 9 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–2 Atlanta Thrashers 0–1–0–0 0 Recap 2 October 11 New York Rangers 0–5 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–1–0–0 2 Recap 3 October 13 Vancouver Canucks 2–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–1–0–0 4 Recap 4 October 16 Chicago Blackhawks 1–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–1–0–0 6 Recap 5 October 18 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–3 Nashville Predators 3–2–0–0 6 Recap 6 October 22 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–4 Detroit Red Wings 3–3–0–0 6 Recap 7 October 23 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–0 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–4–0–0 6 Recap 8 October 25 Dallas Stars 3–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–5–0–0 6 Recap 9 October 28 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–6 Vancouver Canucks 3–6–0–0 6 Recap 10 October 30 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–4 Edmonton Oilers 3–6–0–1 7 Recap
November: 4–6–3–0 (home: 4–2–2–0; road: 0–4–1–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts Recap 11 November 1 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–3 Calgary Flames 3–7–0–1 7 Recap 12 November 7 Atlanta Thrashers 2–4 Columbus Blue Jackets 4–7–0–1 9 Recap 13 November 9 Calgary Flames 3–4 Columbus Blue Jackets 5–7–0–1 11 Recap 14 November 11 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–1 Montreal Canadiens 5–7–1–1 12 Recap 15 November 13 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–5 Ottawa Senators 5–8–1–1 12 Recap 16 November 14 Boston Bruins 4–0 Columbus Blue Jackets 5–9–1–1 12 Recap 17 November 16 Phoenix Coyotes 2–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 5–9–2–1 13 Recap 18 November 19 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–5 Detroit Red Wings 5–10–2–1 13 Recap 19 November 20 Detroit Red Wings 0–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 6–10–2–1 15 Recap 20 November 22 New York Islanders 1–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 7–10–2–1 17 Recap 21 November 25 Edmonton Oilers 3–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 7–10–3–1 18 Recap 22 November 26 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–4 Nashville Predators 7–11–3–1 18 Recap 23 November 29 Washington Capitals 5–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 7–12–3–1 18 Recap
December: 2–9–1–2 (home: 1–6–1–1; road: 1–3–0–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts Recap 24 December 2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 8–12–3–1 20 Recap 25 December 4 Nashville Predators 4–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 8–13–3–1 20 Recap 26 December 6 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–5 Colorado Avalanche 8–14–3–1 20 Recap 27 December 10 Philadelphia Flyers 1–1 Columbus Blue Jackets 8–14–4–1 21 Recap 28 December 12 St. Louis Blues 3–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 8–14–4–2 22 Recap 29 December 13 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–15–4–2 22 Recap 30 December 16 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–2 St. Louis Blues 8–15–4–3 23 Recap 31 December 19 Calgary Flames 2–1 Columbus Blue Jackets 8–16–4–3 23 Recap 32 December 20 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–5 Minnesota Wild 8–17–4–3 23 Recap 33 December 23 Phoenix Coyotes 2–1 Columbus Blue Jackets 8–18–4–3 23 Recap 34 December 26 Columbus Blue Jackets 4–1 Chicago Blackhawks 9–18–4–3 25 Recap 35 December 27 Dallas Stars 4–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 9–19–4–3 25 Recap 36 December 29 St. Louis Blues 3–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 9–20–4–3 25 Recap 37 December 31 San Jose Sharks 1–0 Columbus Blue Jackets 9–21–4–3 25 Recap
January: 6–6–3–0 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 2–4–2–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts Recap 38 January 2 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–0 Tampa Bay Lightning 10–21–4–3 27 Recap 39 January 3 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–1 Florida Panthers 10–22–4–3 27 Recap 40 January 6 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–6 Colorado Avalanche 10–23–4–3 27 Recap 41 January 8 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–2 San Jose Sharks 11–23–4–3 29 Recap 42 January 10 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–2 Los Angeles Kings 11–23–5–3 30 Recap 43 January 11 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 11–23–6–3 31 Recap 44 January 15 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–5 St. Louis Blues 11–24–6–3 31 Recap 45 January 16 Los Angeles Kings 2–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 12–24–6–3 33 Recap 46 January 18 Edmonton Oilers 4–4 Columbus Blue Jackets 12–24–7–3 34 Recap 47 January 21 St. Louis Blues 1–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 13–24–7–3 36 Recap 48 January 22 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–7 Chicago Blackhawks 13–25–7–3 36 Recap 49 January 24 Chicago Blackhawks 3–4 Columbus Blue Jackets 14–25–7–3 38 Recap 50 January 27 New Jersey Devils 4–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 14–26–7–3 38 Recap 51 January 29 Nashville Predators 6–4 Columbus Blue Jackets 14–27–7–3 38 Recap 52 January 31 Minnesota Wild 1–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 15–27–7–3 40 Recap
February: 4–7–1–1 (home: 3–1–0–1; road: 1–6–1–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts Recap 53 February 2 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–3 Phoenix Coyotes 15–27–8–3 41 Recap 54 February 4 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–1 Dallas Stars 15–28–8–3 41 Recap 55 February 11 Los Angeles Kings 2–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 16–28–8–3 43 Recap 56 February 12 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 16–29–8–3 43 Recap 57 February 14 San Jose Sharks 2–1 Columbus Blue Jackets 16–29–8–4 44 Recap 58 February 16 Nashville Predators 2–4 Columbus Blue Jackets 17–29–8–4 46 Recap 59 February 18 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 17–30–8–4 46 Recap 60 February 20 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–3 Phoenix Coyotes 17–31–8–4 46 Recap 61 February 21 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–4 Los Angeles Kings 17–32–8–4 46 Recap 62 February 23 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–4 San Jose Sharks 17–33–8–4 46 Recap 63 February 25 Chicago Blackhawks 4–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 17–34–8–4 46 Recap 64 February 27 Columbus Blue Jackets 4–3 Chicago Blackhawks 18–34–8–4 48 Recap 65 February 28 Colorado Avalanche 4–5 Columbus Blue Jackets 19–34–8–4 50 Recap
March: 5–10–0–0 (home: 2–4–0–0; road: 3–6–0–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts Recap 66 March 2 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–0 Carolina Hurricanes 20–34–8–4 52 Recap 67 March 3 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–4 Dallas Stars 20–35–8–4 52 Recap 68 March 6 Vancouver Canucks 4–0 Columbus Blue Jackets 20–36–8–4 52 Recap 69 March 8 Carolina Hurricanes 4–1 Columbus Blue Jackets 20–37–8–4 52 Recap 70 March 11 Detroit Red Wings 4–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 20–38–8–4 52 Recap 71 March 13 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–5 St. Louis Blues 20–39–8–4 52 Recap 72 March 14 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–3 Minnesota Wild 20–40–8–4 52 Recap 73 March 16 Columbus Blue Jackets 2–3 Edmonton Oilers 20–41–8–4 52 Recap 74 March 18 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–2 Calgary Flames 20–42–8–4 52 Recap 75 March 21 Columbus Blue Jackets 5–4 Vancouver Canucks 21–42–8–4 54 Recap 76 March 24 Minnesota Wild 0–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 22–42–8–4 56 Recap 77 March 26 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1–3 Columbus Blue Jackets 23–42–8–4 58 Recap 78 March 27 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–2 Nashville Predators 24–42–8–4 60 Recap 79 March 29 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–6 Buffalo Sabres 24–43–8–4 60 Recap 80 March 31 Detroit Red Wings 3–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 24–44–8–4 60 Recap
April: 1–1–0–0 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 1–0–0–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts Recap 81 April 2 Colorado Avalanche 4–2 Columbus Blue Jackets 24–45–8–4 60 Recap 82 April 3 Columbus Blue Jackets 4–1 Detroit Red Wings 25–45–8–4 62 Recap
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 Blue Jackets only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
61	Rick Nash	LW	80	41	16	57	−35	87
9	David Vyborny	RW	82	22	31	53	−26	40
13	Nikolai Zherdev	RW	57	13	21	34	−11	54
26	Todd Marchant	C	77	9	25	34	−17	34
10	Trevor Letowski	RW	73	15	17	32	−12	16
8	Geoff Sanderson‡	LW	67	13	16	29	−9	34
2	Anders Eriksson†	D	66	7	20	27	−6	18
25	Andrew Cassels	C	58	6	20	26	−24	26
27	Manny Malhotra†	C	56	12	13	25	−5	24
3	Jaroslav Spacek	D	58	5	17	22	−13	45
28	Tyler Wright	C	68	9	9	18	−19	63
5	Darryl Sydor‡	D	49	2	13	15	−19	26
44	Rostislav Klesla	D	47	2	11	13	−16	27
20	Lasse Pirjeta‡	C	57	2	8	10	−6	20
23	Derrick Walser	D	27	1	8	9	−6	22
47	Aaron Johnson	D	29	2	6	8	−2	32
16	Alexander Svitov†	C	29	2	6	8	−8	16
15	Duvie Westcott	D	34	0	7	7	−15	39
45	Jody Shelley	LW	76	3	3	6	−10	228
22	Luke Richardson	D	64	1	5	6	−11	48
42	Mark Hartigan	C	9	1	3	4	−2	6
21	Espen Knutsen‡	C	14	0	4	4	−5	2
7	Scott Lachance	D	77	0	4	4	−23	44
46	Tim Jackman	RW	19	1	2	3	−7	16
17	David Ling	RW	50	1	2	3	−3	98
32	Kent McDonell	RW	29	1	2	3	−7	36
38	Andrej Nedorost	LW	9	2	0	2	0	6
41	Brad Moran	C	2	1	1	2	−1	2
30	Marc Denis	G	66	0	2	2		10
24	Todd Rohloff‡	D	24	0	2	2	−12	8
49	Dan Fritsche	C	19	1	0	1	−5	12
19	Brian Holzinger†	C	13	1	0	1	−4	2
36	Don MacLean	C	4	1	0	1	−1	0
33	Jeremy Reich	LW	9	0	1	1	−3	20
37	Darrel Scoville	D	8	0	1	1	−4	6
40	Fred Brathwaite	G	21	0	0	0		2
34	Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre‡	D	16	0	0	0	−3	12
18	Zenith Komarniski†	D	2	0	0	0	0	0
31	Pascal Leclaire	G	2	0	0	0		0
14	Greg Mauldin	C	6	0	0	0	−2	4
19	Joe Motzko	RW	2	0	0	0	0	0
39	Mike Pandolfo	LW	3	0	0	0	−2	0
6	Jamie Pushor†‡	D	7	0	0	0	−2	2

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Marc Denis	66	21	36	7	1970	162	2.56	.918	5	3796
40	Fred Brathwaite	21	4	11	1	574	59	3.37	.897	0	1050
31	Pascal Leclaire	2	0	2	0	69	7	3.53	.899	0	119

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy	Rick Nash[a]	[7]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Rick Nash	[8]
	NHL Offensive Player of the Week	David Vyborny (March 1)	[9]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Nikolay Zherdev	[10]
Team	Foundation Community Service Award	Luke Richardson	[11]
	Three Stars Award	Rick Nash	[11]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Dan Fritsche	October 9, 2003	[12]
	Aaron Johnson	December 2, 2003
	Nikolay Zherdev
	Tim Jackman	December 20, 2003
	Jeremy Reich	January 21, 2004
	Joe Motzko	February 2, 2004
	Pascal Leclaire	February 20, 2004
	Greg Mauldin	March 26, 2004
	Mike Pandolfo

Transactions

The Blue Jackets 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.^[13]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22)	To Carolina Hurricanes 4th-round pick in 2004	To Columbus Blue Jackets 5th-round pick in 2003 6th-round pick in 2003	[14]
	To Los Angeles Kings 9th-round pick in 2004	To Columbus Blue Jackets 9th-round pick in 2003	[14]
July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22)	To Dallas Stars Mike Sillinger 2nd-round pick in 2004	To Columbus Blue Jackets Darryl Sydor	[15]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	To Boston Bruins Travis Green	To Columbus Blue Jackets 6th-round pick in 2004	[16]
October 30, 2003 (2003-10-30)	To Vancouver Canucks Sean Pronger	To Columbus Blue Jackets Zenith Komarniski	[17]
December 31, 2003 (2003-12-31)	To Atlanta Thrashers Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre	To Columbus Blue Jackets Future considerations	[18]
January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23)	To New York Rangers Jamie Pushor	To Columbus Blue Jackets 8th-round pick in 2004	[19]
January 27, 2004 (2004-01-27)	To Tampa Bay Lightning Darryl Sydor 4th-round pick in 2004	To Columbus Blue Jackets Alexander Svitov 3rd-round pick in 2004	[20]
February 10, 2004 (2004-02-10)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Pauli Levokari	To Columbus Blue Jackets Brendan Buckley	[21]
March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Lasse Pirjeta	To Columbus Blue Jackets Brian Holzinger	[22]
	To Vancouver Canucks Geoff Sanderson	To Columbus Blue Jackets 3rd-round pick in 2004	[23]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 3, 2003 (2003-07-03)	Trevor Letowski	Vancouver Canucks	multi-year	Free agency	[24]
	Todd Marchant	Edmonton Oilers	multi-year	Free agency	[24]
July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15)	Mark Hartigan	Atlanta Thrashers	1-year	Free agency	[25]
September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05)	Todd Rohloff	Washington Capitals	1-year	Free agency	[26]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	Travis Green	Toronto Maple Leafs		Waiver draft	[16]
October 10, 2003 (2003-10-10)	Anders Eriksson	Toronto Maple Leafs	1-year	Free agency	[27]
November 21, 2003 (2003-11-21)	Manny Malhotra	Dallas Stars		Waivers	[28]
December 10, 2003 (2003-12-10)	Jamie Pushor	Syracuse Crunch (AHL)	1-year	Free agency	[29]
April 12, 2004 (2004-04-12)	Prestin Ryan	University of Maine (HE)	1-year	Free agency	[30]
April 19, 2004 (2004-04-19)	Brandon Sugden	Syracuse Crunch (AHL)	1-year[b]	Free agency	[31]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[c]	Ref
July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)	Radim Bicanek[d]		Contract expiration (UFA)	[32]
	Jean-Francois Labbe	HC Lada Togliatti (RSL)	Free agency (VI)	[34]
	Jonathan Schill[e]		Contract expiration (UFA)	[32]
July 7, 2003 (2003-07-07)	Darren Van Impe	Hamburg Freezers (DEL)	Free agency (UFA)	[36]
July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15)	Matt Davidson	Calgary Flames	Free agency (VI)	[37]
July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29)	Ray Whitney	Detroit Red Wings	Free agency (III)	[38]
August 9, 2003 (2003-08-09)	Paul Manning	Hamburg Freezers (DEL)	Free agency (II)[f]	[40]
September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10)	Jamie Allison	Nashville Predators	Free agency (UFA)	[41]
	Mathieu Darche	Nashville Predators	Free agency (VI)	[41]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	Petr Tenkrat	Toronto Maple Leafs	Waiver draft	[16]
October 9, 2003 (2003-10-09)	Dan Watson	Providence Bruins (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[42]
October 10, 2003 (2003-10-10)	Blake Bellefeuille	Providence Bruins (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[43]
December 16, 2003 (2003-12-16)	Espen Knutsen	Valerenga (Norway)[g]	Buyout	[45]
January 9, 2004 (2004-01-09)	Todd Rohloff	Washington Capitals	Waivers	[46]
May 12, 2004 (2004-05-12)	Derrick Walser	Eisbaren Berlin (DEL)	Free agency[h]	[48]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 12, 2003 (2003-06-12)	Pauli Levokari	1-year[b]	Re-signing	[49]
	Donald MacLean	1-year[b]	Re-signing	[49]
July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)	Andrew Cassels	multi-year	Re-signing	[50]
July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15)	Aleksandr Guskov	multi-year	Entry-level	[25]
July 18, 2003 (2003-07-18)	Darrel Scoville		Re-signing	[51]
	Derrick Walser		Re-signing	[51]
July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24)	David Ling		Re-signing	[52]
	Brad Moran		Re-signing	[52]
August 13, 2003 (2003-08-13)	Kent McDonell		Re-signing	[53]
	Jeremy Reich		Re-signing	[53]
August 15, 2003 (2003-08-15)	Nikolay Zherdev	multi-year	Entry-level	[54]
August 26, 2003 (2003-08-26)	Karl Goehring		Re-signing	[55]
October 6, 2003 (2003-10-06)	Dan Fritsche	multi-year	Entry-level	[56]
March 19, 2004 (2004-03-19)	Steven Goertzen	multi-year	Entry-level	[57]
April 19, 2004 (2004-04-19)	Greg Mauldin	multi-year	Entry-level	[31]
May 26, 2004 (2004-05-26)	Jody Shelley	2-year	Re-signing	[58]
June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01)	Tim Konsorada	multi-year	Entry-level	[59]
	Ole-Kristian Tollefsen	multi-year	Entry-level	[59]

Draft picks

Columbus' draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.^[60]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	4	Nikolai Zherdev	Russia	CSKA Moscow (Russia)
2	46	Dan Fritsche	United States	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
3	71	Dmitri Kosmachev	Russia	CSKA Moscow (Russia)
4	103	Kevin Jarman	Canada	Stouffville Spirit (OPJHL)
4	104	Philippe Dupuis	Canada	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)
5	138	Arsi Piispanen	Finland	Jokerit (Finland)
6	168	Marc Methot	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
7	200	Alexander Guskov	Russia	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russia)
8	233	Mathieu Gravel	Canada	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
9	283	Trevor Hendrikx	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)

Notes

1. Shared with Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers and Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames
2. Club option for a second year.
3. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[32]
4. Bicanek was inactive during the 2003–04 season.^[33]
5. Schill retired.^[35]
6. Columbus retained Manning’s NHL rights through the 2006–07 season.^[39]
7. Knutsen signed with Valerenga on December 17.^[44]
8. Columbus retained Walser’s NHL rights until trading them to the Carolina Hurricanes on July 30, 2005.^[47]

References

• "Columbus Blue Jackets 2003–04 roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
• "2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007

1. "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NAME DEFENSEMAN LUKE RICHARDSON TEAM CAPTAIN". Columbus Blue Jackets. September 11, 2003. Archived from the original on January 9, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
2. "BLUE JACKETS' DOUG MACLEAN RELINQUISHES COACHING DUTIES, NAMES ASSISTANT COACH GERARD GALLANT INTERIM HEAD COACH". Columbus Blue Jackets. January 1, 2004. Archived from the original on October 10, 2004. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
3. "2003-04 NHL Schedule and Results | Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
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