2002–03 Florida Panthers season

The 2002–03 Florida Panthers season was their tenth season in the National Hockey League. The Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season, but did host the 53rd All-Star Game.

2002–03 Florida Panthers
Division	4th Southeast
Conference	13th Eastern
2002–03 record	24–36–13–9
Home record	8–21–7–5
Road record	16–15–6–4
Goals for	176
Goals against	237
Team information
General manager	Rick Dudley
Coach	Mike Keenan
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Olli Jokinen Viktor Kozlov Marcus Nilson Sandis Ozolinsh (Oct.–Jan.) Dmitri Yushkevich (Oct.–Nov.)
Arena	Office Depot Center
Average attendance	15,428
Minor league affiliate(s)	San Antonio Rampage
Team leaders
Goals	Olli Jokinen (36)
Assists	Olli Jokinen (29)
Points	Olli Jokinen (65)
Penalty minutes	Peter Worrell (193)
Plus/minus	Andreas Lilja (+8)
Wins	Roberto Luongo (20)
Goals against average	Roberto Luongo (2.71)
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

Offseason

Rick Dudley was named the team’s new general manager.^[1]

Regular season

All-Star Game

The 53rd National Hockey League All-Star Game was held during the 2002–03 NHL season, and took place at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida, the home of the Florida Panthers, on February 2, 2003. It was the first All-Star Game since the 1997 All-Star Game to use the Eastern Conference – Western Conference format.

Final standings

Southeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	3	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	36	25	16	5	219	210	93
2	6	Washington Capitals	82	39	29	8	6	224	220	92
3	11	Atlanta Thrashers	82	31	39	7	5	226	284	74
4	13	Florida Panthers	82	24	36	13	9	176	237	70
5	15	Carolina Hurricanes	82	22	43	11	6	171	240	61

^[2]

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^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	52	21	8	1	263	182	113
2	Y- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	46	20	10	6	216	166	108
3	Y- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	36	25	16	5	219	210	93
4	X- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	45	20	13	4	211	166	107
5	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	44	28	7	3	236	208	98
6	X- Washington Capitals	SE	82	39	29	8	6	224	220	92
7	X- Boston Bruins	NE	82	36	31	11	4	245	237	87
8	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	35	34	11	2	224	231	83
8.5
9	New York Rangers	AT	82	32	36	10	4	210	231	78
10	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	30	35	8	9	206	234	77
11	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	31	39	7	5	226	284	74
12	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	27	37	10	8	190	219	72
13	Florida Panthers	SE	82	24	36	13	9	176	237	70
14	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	27	44	6	5	189	255	65
15	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	22	43	11	6	171	240	61

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

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

Schedule and results

2002–03 regular season[4]
October: 4–5–1–1 (home: 1–1–1–1; road: 3–4–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 OTL October 10, 2002 3–4 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 0–0–0–1 Recap 2 W October 12, 2002 5–4 OT @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 1–0–0–1 Recap 3 L October 15, 2002 1–4 @ Minnesota Wild (2002–03) 1–1–0–1 Recap 4 L October 17, 2002 1–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) 1–2–0–1 Recap 5 L October 19, 2002 1–4 @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) 1–3–0–1 Recap 6 W October 21, 2002 3–2 Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 2–3–0–1 Recap 7 W October 23, 2002 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 3–3–0–1 Recap 8 L October 24, 2002 3–5 @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 3–4–0–1 Recap 9 T October 26, 2002 1–1 OT Washington Capitals (2002–03) 3–4–1–1 Recap 10 L October 28, 2002 1–6 Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 3–5–1–1 Recap 11 W October 30, 2002 3–2 OT @ Dallas Stars (2002–03) 4–5–1–1 Recap
November: 3–3–5–3 (home: 2–3–2–0; road: 1–0–3–3) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 12 L November 2, 2002 1–3 Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 4–6–1–1 Recap 13 W November 6, 2002 4–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 5–6–1–1 Recap 14 OTL November 7, 2002 1–2 OT @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 5–6–1–2 Recap 15 W November 9, 2002 3–0 Calgary Flames (2002–03) 6–6–1–2 Recap 16 T November 11, 2002 2–2 OT Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) 6–6–2–2 Recap 17 T November 13, 2002 1–1 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 6–6–3–2 Recap 18 OTL November 14, 2002 2–3 OT @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 6–6–3–3 Recap 19 L November 16, 2002 3–7 San Jose Sharks (2002–03) 6–7–3–3 Recap 20 OTL November 19, 2002 3–4 OT @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 6–7–3–4 Recap 21 T November 20, 2002 3–3 OT New York Islanders (2002–03) 6–7–4–4 Recap 22 T November 22, 2002 3–3 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) 6–7–5–4 Recap 23 T November 24, 2002 4–4 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 6–7–6–4 Recap 24 W November 27, 2002 5–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 7–7–6–4 Recap 25 L November 30, 2002 2–5 Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) 7–8–6–4 Recap
December: 3–3–3–3 (home: 1–3–2–2; road: 2–0–1–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 26 W December 4, 2002 4–2 Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 8–8–6–4 Recap 27 W December 6, 2002 2–0 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 9–8–6–4 Recap 28 L December 7, 2002 0–4 Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 9–9–6–4 Recap 29 L December 10, 2002 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 9–10–6–4 Recap 30 T December 13, 2002 3–3 OT New York Islanders (2002–03) 9–10–7–4 Recap 31 T December 18, 2002 2–2 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 9–10–8–4 Recap 32 W December 20, 2002 3–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 10–10–8–4 Recap 33 T December 21, 2002 3–3 OT @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 10–10–9–4 Recap 34 OTL December 23, 2002 2–3 OT Nashville Predators (2002–03) 10–10–9–5 Recap 35 L December 27, 2002 0–4 Dallas Stars (2002–03) 10–11–9–5 Recap 36 OTL December 28, 2002 1–2 OT New York Rangers (2002–03) 10–11–9–6 Recap 37 OTL December 30, 2002 1–2 OT @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 10–11–9–7 Recap
January: 5–8–1–1 (home: 3–3–0–1; road: 2–5–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 38 W January 1, 2003 2–1 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 11–11–9–7 Recap 39 W January 2, 2003 4–1 @ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 12–11–9–7 Recap 40 L January 4, 2003 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) 12–12–9–7 Recap 41 OTL January 8, 2003 1–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 12–12–9–8 Recap 42 L January 10, 2003 1–2 New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 12–13–9–8 Recap 43 L January 11, 2003 2–12 @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 12–14–9–8 Recap 44 L January 13, 2003 2–6 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 12–15–9–8 Recap 45 W January 15, 2003 3–0 Boston Bruins (2002–03) 13–15–9–8 Recap 46 W January 18, 2003 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 14–15–9–8 Recap 47 L January 20, 2003 2–3 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 14–16–9–8 Recap 48 L January 22, 2003 1–2 Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 14–17–9–8 Recap 49 L January 24, 2003 1–3 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 14–18–9–8 Recap 50 W January 25, 2003 3–2 OT Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 15–18–9–8 Recap 51 L January 28, 2003 3–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 15–19–9–8 Recap 52 T January 30, 2003 2–2 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 15–19–10–8 Recap
February: 4–5–2–1 (home: 0–4–2–1; road: 4–1–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 53 L February 5, 2003 0–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 15–20–10–8 Recap 54 W February 6, 2003 6–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 16–20–10–8 Recap 55 T February 8, 2003 4–4 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 16–20–11–8 Recap 56 L February 12, 2003 1–3 New York Rangers (2002–03) 16–21–11–8 Recap 57 OTL February 14, 2003 5–6 OT Boston Bruins (2002–03) 16–21–11–9 Recap 58 L February 15, 2003 1–2 Washington Capitals (2002–03) 16–22–11–9 Recap 59 W February 18, 2003 3–0 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 17–22–11–9 Recap 60 W February 20, 2003 4–3 @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 18–22–11–9 Recap 61 W February 22, 2003 4–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 19–22–11–9 Recap 62 T February 24, 2003 2–2 OT Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 19–22–12–9 Recap 63 L February 26, 2003 1–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 19–23–12–9 Recap 64 L February 27, 2003 1–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 19–24–12–9 Recap
March: 4–10–1–0 (home: 0–6–0–0; road: 4–4–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 65 L March 1, 2003 2–5 @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 19–25–12–9 Recap 66 W March 3, 2003 2–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 20–25–12–9 Recap 67 L March 5, 2003 1–3 Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 20–26–12–9 Recap 68 W March 7, 2003 2–1 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 21–26–12–9 Recap 69 L March 8, 2003 0–4 Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 21–27–12–9 Recap 70 W March 10, 2003 2–1 @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 22–27–12–9 Recap 71 L March 12, 2003 0–4 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 22–28–12–9 Recap 72 L March 15, 2003 1–4 @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 22–29–12–9 Recap 73 W March 16, 2003 4–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 23–29–12–9 Recap 74 L March 19, 2003 1–3 Minnesota Wild (2002–03) 23–30–12–9 Recap 75 L March 22, 2003 1–3 Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 23–31–12–9 Recap 76 L March 24, 2003 1–4 New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 23–32–12–9 Recap 77 L March 26, 2003 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 23–33–12–9 Recap 78 L March 27, 2003 1–2 @ St. Louis Blues (2002–03) 23–34–12–9 Recap 79 T March 29, 2003 1–1 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 23–34–13–9 Recap
April: 1–2–0–0 (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 0–1–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 80 L April 1, 2003 0–3 @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 23–35–13–9 Recap 81 W April 4, 2003 4–1 Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 24–35–13–9 Recap 82 L April 6, 2003 2–6 Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 24–36–13–9 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 Panthers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
12	Olli Jokinen	C	81	36	29	65	−17	79
25	Viktor Kozlov	C	74	22	34	56	−8	18
22	Kristian Huselius	LW	78	20	23	43	−6	20
18	Marcus Nilson	LW	82	15	19	34	2	31
39	Ivan Novoseltsev	RW	78	10	17	27	−16	30
44	Sandis Ozolinsh‡	D	51	7	19	26	−16	40
20	Valeri Bure‡	RW	46	5	21	26	−11	10
14	Niklas Hagman	LW	80	8	15	23	−8	20
9	Stephen Weiss	C	77	6	15	21	−13	17
27	Jaroslav Bednar†	RW	52	5	13	18	−2	14
4	Jay Bouwmeester	D	82	4	12	16	−29	14
16	Matt Cullen†	C	30	6	6	12	−4	22
6	Andreas Lilja†	D	56	4	8	12	8	56
56	Ivan Majesky	D	82	4	8	12	−18	92
34	Mathieu Biron	D	34	1	8	9	−18	14
32	Stephane Matteau	LW	52	4	4	8	−9	27
45	Brad Ference‡	D	60	2	6	8	2	118
17	Ryan Johnson‡	C	58	2	5	7	−13	26
36	Dmitri Yushkevich‡	D	23	1	6	7	−12	14
21	Denis Shvidki	RW	23	4	2	6	−7	12
8	Peter Worrell	LW	63	2	3	5	−14	193
49	Lance Ward‡	D	36	3	1	4	−4	78
29[lower-alpha 1]	Jeff Toms	C	8	2	2	4	2	4
19	Byron Ritchie	C	30	0	3	3	−4	19
7	Pavel Trnka†	D	22	0	3	3	−1	24
5	Branislav Mezei	D	11	2	0	2	−2	10
55	Igor Ulanov	D	56	1	1	2	7	39
38	Eric Beaudoin	LW	15	0	1	1	−7	25
23	Juraj Kolnik†	RW	10	0	1	1	1	0
29	Igor Kravchuk†	D	7	0	1	1	−3	4
15	Jim Campbell	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0
26	Pierre Dagenais	RW	9	0	0	0	−1	4
24	Darcy Hordichuk†	LW	3	0	0	0	−1	15
30	Jani Hurme	G	28	0	0	0		2
1	Roberto Luongo	G	65	0	0	0		4
28	Jamie Rivers†	D	1	0	0	0	−2	2
33	Kyle Rossiter	D	3	0	0	0	−2	0
36	Joey Tetarenko‡	RW	2	0	0	0	−1	4

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
1	Roberto Luongo	65	20	34	7	2011	164	2.71	.918	6	3627
30	Jani Hurme	28	4	11	6	707	66	2.88	.907	1	1376

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Jay Bouwmeester (Defense)	[5]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Olli Jokinen[lower-alpha 2]	[7]
		Sandis Ozolinsh[lower-alpha 3]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Jay Bouwmeester	[9]
		Niklas Hagman
		Stephen Weiss

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Jay Bouwmeester	October 10, 2002	[10]
	Ivan Majesky

Transactions

The Panthers 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.^[11]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)	To Florida Panthers 1st-round pick in 2002 Option to switch 1st-round picks in 2003	To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick in 2002	[12]
	To Florida Panthers Future considerations[lower-alpha 4]	To Atlanta Thrashers Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in 2002 NY Rangers’ 4th-round pick in 2003	[12]
	To Florida Panthers 1st-round pick in 2002	To Calgary Flames 1st-round pick in 2002 4th-round pick in 2002	[12]
	To Florida Panthers Florida’s 3rd-round pick in 2002	To New York Islanders Eric Godard	[12]
June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23)	To Florida Panthers 9th-round pick in 2003	To Columbus Blue Jackets 9th-round pick in 2002	[12]
July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03)	To Florida Panthers Branislav Mezei	To New York Islanders Jason Wiemer	[13]
July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16)	To Florida Panthers Hannes Hyvonen	To San Jose Sharks Future considerations[lower-alpha 5]	[14]
July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18)	To Florida Panthers Rights to Dmitri Yushkevich	To Toronto Maple Leafs Rights to Robert Svehla	[15]
October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01)	To Florida Panthers Jani Hurme	To Ottawa Senators Rights to Billy Thompson Rights to Greg Watson	[16]
October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)	To Florida Panthers Mathieu Biron	To Columbus Blue Jackets Rights to Petr Tenkrat	[17]
October 11, 2002 (2002-10-11)	To Florida Panthers Juraj Kolnik 9th-round pick in 2003	To New York Islanders Sven Butenschon	[18]
November 26, 2002 (2002-11-26)	To Florida Panthers Jaroslav Bednar Andreas Lilja	To Los Angeles Kings Dmitri Yushkevich 5th-round pick in 2003	[19]
January 30, 2003 (2003-01-30)	To Florida Panthers Matt Cullen Pavel Trnka 4th-round pick in 2003	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Sandis Ozolinsh Lance Ward	[20]
March 4, 2003 (2003-03-04)	To Florida Panthers Simon Lajeunesse	To Ottawa Senators Joey Tetarenko	[21]
March 8, 2003 (2003-03-08)	To Florida Panthers Darcy Hordichuk 2nd-round pick in 2003	To Phoenix Coyotes Brad Ference	[22]
March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09)	To Florida Panthers Pascal Trepanier	To Nashville Predators Wade Flaherty	[23]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	To Florida Panthers Mike Van Ryn	To St. Louis Blues Valeri Bure Conditional 5th-round pick in 2004	[24]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09)	Sven Butenschon	Edmonton Oilers		Free agency	[25]
July 10, 2002 (2002-07-10)	Jeff Toms	Pittsburgh Penguins	2-year	Free agency	[26]
July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16)	Andy Lundbohm	San Jose Sharks		Free agency	[14]
July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)	Jim Campbell	Chicago Blackhawks		Free agency	[27]
July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31)	Tyrone Garner	Greenville Grrrowl (ECHL)	1-year	Free agency	[28]
August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02)	Stephane Matteau	San Jose Sharks	1-year[lower-alpha 6]	Free agency	[29]
August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14)	Scott Kelman	Tri-City Americans (WHL)		Free agency	[30]
August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22)	Chris Mason	Nashville Predators		Free agency	[31]
October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)	Petr Tenkrat	Nashville Predators		Waiver draft	[17]
December 16, 2002 (2002-12-16)	Jamie Rivers	San Antonio Rampage (AHL)	1-year[lower-alpha 7]	Free agency	[32]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	Igor Kravchuk	Calgary Flames	1-year[lower-alpha 6]	Free agency	[33]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[lower-alpha 8]	Ref
N/A	David MacIsaac	Amur Khabarovsk (RSL)	Free agency (VI)	[35]
July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18)	Matt Herr	Boston Bruins	Free agency (VI)	[36]
August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22)	Nick Smith	Anaheim Mighty Ducks	Free agency (UFA)	[37]
August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26)	Trevor Kidd	Toronto Maple Leafs[lower-alpha 9]	Buyout	[39]
August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27)	Lance Pitlick	Colorado Avalanche	Free agency (III)	[40]
September 25, 2002 (2002-09-25)	Andrew Allen	Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[41]
October 5, 2002 (2002-10-05)	Hannes Hyvonen	Columbus Blue Jackets	Waivers	[42]
October 8, 2002 (2002-10-08)	Brad Norton	Los Angeles Kings	Free agency (VI)	[43]
October 12, 2002 (2002-10-12)	Paul Harvey	Arkansas RiverBlades (ECHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[44]
February 19, 2003 (2003-02-19)	Ryan Johnson	St. Louis Blues	Waivers	[45]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)	Olli Jokinen		Re-signing	[27]
	Ivan Majesky		Re-signing	[27]
July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24)	Dmitri Yushkevich	1-year	Re-signing	[46]
July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30)	Viktor Kozlov	1-year	Re-signing	[47]
July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31)	Serge Payer	1-year	Re-signing	[28]
August 15, 2002 (2002-08-15)	Brad Ference	multi-year	Re-signing	[48]
	Joey Tetarenko	1-year	Re-signing	[48]
August 16, 2002 (2002-08-16)	Ivan Novoseltsev	1-year	Re-signing	[49]
October 7, 2002 (2002-10-07)	Jay Bouwmeester	3-year	Entry-level	[50]
February 5, 2003 (2003-02-05)	Jani Hurme	3-year	Extension	[51]
March 16, 2003 (2003-03-16)	Grant McNeill		Entry-level	[52]
March 27, 2003 (2003-03-27)	Gregory Campbell		Entry-level	[53]

Draft picks

Florida's draft picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.^[54]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	3	Jay Bouwmeester	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
1	9	Petr Taticek	Czech Republic	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
2	40	Rob Globke	United States	University of Notre Dame (Hockey East)
3	67	Gregory Campbell	Canada	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
5	134	Topi Jaakola	Finland	Karpat (Finland)
5	158	Vince Bellissimo	Canada	Topeka ScareCrows (USHL)
6	169	Jeremy Swanson	Canada	Barrie Colts (OHL)
6	196	Mikael Vuorio	Finland	Lukko (Finland)
7	200	Denis Yachmenev	Russia	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
8	232	Peter Hafner	United States	Taft High School (USHS-CT)

Notes

1. Toms wore number 28 in his first two games.
2. Jokinen was an injury replacement for Saku Koivu of the Montreal Canadiens.^[6]
3. Ozolinsh was voted to the starting lineup.^[8]
4. Atlanta promised not to pick defenseman Jay Bouwmeester with the second overall selection in the draft.
5. 7th-round pick in 2003
6. Option for a second year.
7. Club option for a second year.
8. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[34]
9. Kidd signed with Toronto later the same day.^[38]

References

• "Florida Panthers 2002-03 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
• "2002-03 Florida Panthers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

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2. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 163.
3. "2002–2003 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
4. "2002-03 Florida Panthers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
5. "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
6. "NHL - Belfour, Leetch, Koivu all pull out of All-Star Game". ESPN.com. January 27, 2003. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
7. "2003 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
8. "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
9. "NHL - 2003 YoungStars Rosters". ESPN.com. January 18, 2003. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
10. "2002-03 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
11. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". www.prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
12. "Florida Panthers--Press Box-Draft Recaps". Florida Panthers. June 23, 2002. Archived from the original on July 3, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
13. "PANTHERS ACQUIRE D BRANISLAV MEZEI FROM ISLANDERS". Florida Panthers. July 3, 2002. Archived from the original on August 8, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
14. "PANTHERS ADD DEPTH WITH TWO FORMER BARONS". Florida Panthers. July 16, 2002. Archived from the original on July 2, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
15. "PANTHERS ACQUIRE ALL-STAR D DMITRY YUSHKEVICH". Florida Panthers. July 18, 2002. Archived from the original on August 8, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
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22. "PANTHERS ACQUIRE LW DARCY HORDICHUK IN TRADE". Florida Panthers. March 8, 2003. Archived from the original on April 16, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
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25. "Florida Panthers Sign Unrestricted Free Agent D Sven Butenschon". Florida Panthers. July 9, 2002. Archived from the original on July 4, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
26. "FLORIDA PANTHERS SIGN C JEFF TOMS". Florida Panthers. July 10, 2002. Archived from the original on August 8, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
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28. "FLORIDA PANTHERS SIGN A PAIR". Florida Panthers. July 31, 2002. Archived from the original on July 4, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
29. "FLORIDA PANTHERS SIGN LW STEPHANE MATTEAU". Florida Panthers. August 2, 2002. Archived from the original on July 4, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
30. "SCOTT KELMAN". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on January 23, 2004. Retrieved December 2, 2022. 14-Aug-02: Signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers (tryout).
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42. "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. October 6, 2002. Retrieved December 2, 2022. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS--Claimed F Hannes Hyvonen off waivers from Florida.
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