2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season

The 2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season was the Ducks' tenth season in franchise history. The club qualified for the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, falling to the New Jersey Devils.

2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Western Conference champions
Division	2nd Pacific
Conference	7th Western
2002–03 record	40–27–9–6
Home record	22–10–7–2
Road record	18–17–2–4
Goals for	203
Goals against	193
Team information
General manager	Bryan Murray
Coach	Mike Babcock
Captain	Paul Kariya
Alternate captains	Keith Carney Steve Rucchin
Arena	Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
Average attendance	13,988 (81.4%) Total: 573,506
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
Team leaders
Goals	Petr Sykora (34)
Assists	Paul Kariya (56)
Points	Paul Kariya (81)
Penalty minutes	Kevin Sawyer (115)
Plus/minus	Sandis Ozolinsh (+10) Samuel Pahlsson (+10)
Wins	Jean-Sebastien Giguere (34)
Goals against average	Martin Gerber (1.95)
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

Off season

After missing the play offs for the third time in a row, Anaheim made drastic changes in the summer, off the ice as well on the ice. GM Pierre Gauthier was fired after failing to acquire forwards to provide the necessary goal scoring. Brian Murray was promoted to the position of general manager and made a lot of changes. He hired their farm team's head coach Mike Babcock who stated in his first ever press conference that his team would work very hard and relentlessly. Murray's first big move at the 2002 draft was a trade with the New Jersey Devils : he traded defenceman Oleg Tverdovsky and forward Jeff Friesen in exchange for Petr Sykora, rookies Mike Commodore and Jean-Francois Damphousse, who saw some brief action last season as back-up goalie to Martin Brodeur. Additional free agent signings were veterans Adam Oates, Frederik Olausson and Jason Krog. Three rookies got regular roster spots : Kurt Sauer, Stanislav Chistov and Alexei Smirnov. Martin Gerber became the Mighty Ducks new back up goalie, having had a lot of experience as a starter in the Swedish league.

Regular season

On February 12, 2003, Mike Leclerc scored just ten seconds into the overtime period to give the Mighty Ducks a 4–3 home win over the Calgary Flames.^[1] It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 2002–03 regular season.^[2]

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

^[3]

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

Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals

In what was a very large upset, the seventh-seed Mighty Ducks took a first-round series from the number-two seed and defending Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings. The Mighty Ducks swept the Red Wings in four games to get revenge from 1997 and 1999, where the Mighty Ducks were swept by the Red Wings. In Game 1 of the series, when the game went to overtime, the sellout crowd at Joe Louis Arena thought the Wings had won the game thanks to a Luc Robitaille shot at 9:21. Some of the Detroit players had even left for the dressing room. However, after going to the video review, it was concluded Robitaille's shot ricocheted off the crossbar and the post, and the players were brought back to resume the game. Later, at 3:18 into the third overtime period, Paul Kariya scored the goal that would clinch a 2–1 win for Anaheim and a one-game lead in the series. Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere faced 64 shots in game one. In Game 2, Anaheim came back from a 2–1 deficit by scoring two goals in the third period.

The Mighty Ducks won Game 3 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 2–1, to push the Red Wings to the brink of elimination. The Mighty Ducks then won Game 4, a 3–2 overtime victory, with Steve Rucchin delivering the decisive goal 6:53 into overtime. The Red Wings became only the second defending Stanley Cup champions to be swept the following year in a four-game opening series.

Conference semifinals

The series opened at American Airlines Center in Dallas, where the heavily favored Stars and underdog Ducks engaged in an epic battle that took over 140 minutes and four overtimes to decide before Anaheim's Petr Sykora scored the game-winner 47 seconds into the fifth overtime, winning the game for the Ducks, 4–3. Dallas goaltender Marty Turco saw 54 shots while Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere saw 63. Game 2 saw another game tied after 60 minutes, but this time, Anaheim needed only 1:44 to win the game in the first overtime, 3–2, on a goal by Mike Leclerc. Dallas, much like Detroit in its first-round series against the Ducks, faced a 2–0 deficit headed to Anaheim.

Game 3 at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim was a must-win for the Stars, and they came through, winning the game, 2–1, getting two clutch goals from Jere Lehtinen. But the Ducks refused to let the Stars back in the series, winning Game 4, 1–0, behind a 28-save shutout from Giguere. Not wanting to be eliminated in front of their home fans, a motivated Dallas team captured Game 5, 4–1. Unfortunately for the Stars, their bid to take the series to a Game 7 was denied when they were edged in Game 6, 4–3.

Conference finals

In Game 1, Petr Sykora scored at 8:06 into double-overtime in a 1–0 Mighty Ducks victory. It was the Mighty Ducks' second shutout of the playoffs. Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned in a stellar performance in net for Anaheim, stopping all 39 shots he faced. For Game 2, the Wild played Dwayne Roloson instead of Manny Fernandez in net. As in Game 1, it was another shutout for Giguere as the Mighty Ducks won the game 2–0. Both goals were short-handed, and Giguere stopped all 24 shots he faced, making him 63-for-63 in the series. In Game 3, Giguere continued his goal-tending excellence, stopping all 35 shots he faced in a 4–0 Mighty Ducks victory that pushed the Wild to the brink of elimination. Giguere had now stopped the first 98 shots he saw in the series. In Game 4, The Mighty Ducks won the game, 2–1. Both goals came from Adam Oates, and the Mighty Ducks headed to their first Stanley Cup Finals. The only good news for the Wild was that they avoided a fourth consecutive shutout, as Andrew Brunette scored the first Minnesota goal of the series. Still, Giguere was 122-for-123 in the series, a robust .992 save percentage.

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 2003 Stanley Cup Finals

Schedule and results

Regular season

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

Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Detroit Red Wings – Mighty Ducks win 4–0 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 W April 10, 2003 2–1 3OT @ Detroit Red Wings Mighty Ducks lead 1–0 Recap 2 W April 12, 2003 3–2 @ Detroit Red Wings Mighty Ducks lead 2–0 Recap 3 W April 14, 2003 2–1 Detroit Red Wings Mighty Ducks lead 3–0 Recap 4 W April 16, 2003 3–2 OT Detroit Red Wings Mighty Ducks win 4–0 Recap
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (1) Dallas Stars – Mighty Ducks win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 W April 24, 2003 4–3 5OT @ Dallas Stars Mighty Ducks lead 1–0 Recap 2 W April 26, 2003 3–2 OT @ Dallas Stars Mighty Ducks lead 2–0 Recap 3 L April 28, 2003 1–2 Dallas Stars Mighty Ducks lead 2–1 Recap 4 W April 30, 2003 1–0 Dallas Stars Mighty Ducks lead 3–1 Recap 5 L May 3, 2003 1–4 @ Dallas Stars Mighty Ducks lead 3–2 Recap 6 W May 5, 2003 4–3 Dallas Stars Mighty Ducks win 4–2 Recap
Western Conference Finals vs. (6) Minnesota Wild – Mighty Ducks win 4–0 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 W May 10, 2003 1–0 2OT @ Minnesota Wild Mighty Ducks lead 1–0 Recap 2 W May 12, 2003 2–0 @ Minnesota Wild Mighty Ducks lead 2–0 Recap 3 W May 14, 2003 4–0 Minnesota Wild Mighty Ducks lead 3–0 Recap 4 W May 16, 2003 2–1 Minnesota Wild Mighty Ducks win 4–0 Recap
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (E2) New Jersey Devils – Devils win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 L May 27, 2003 0–3 @ New Jersey Devils Devils lead 1–0 Recap 2 L May 29, 2003 0–3 @ New Jersey Devils Devils lead 2–0 Recap 3 W May 31, 2003 3–2 OT New Jersey Devils Devils lead 2–1 Recap 4 W June 2, 2003 1–0 OT New Jersey Devils Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 L June 5, 2003 3–6 @ New Jersey Devils Devils lead 3–2 Recap 6 W June 7, 2003 5–2 New Jersey Devils Series tied 3–3 Recap 7 L June 9, 2003 0–3 @ New Jersey Devils Devils win 4–3 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

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 Mighty Ducks only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Mighty Ducks only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
9	Paul Kariya	LW	82	25	56	81	−3	48	21	6	6	12	0	6
39	Petr Sykora	RW	82	34	25	59	−7	24	21	4	9	13	3	12
20	Steve Rucchin	C	82	20	38	58	−14	12	21	7	3	10	−2	2
77	Adam Oates	C	67	9	36	45	−1	16	21	4	9	13	2	6
28	Niclas Havelid	D	82	11	22	33	5	30	21	0	4	4	0	2
23	Stanislav Chistov	LW	79	12	18	30	4	54	21	4	2	6	4	8
12	Mike Leclerc	LW	57	9	19	28	−8	34	21	2	9	11	3	12
10	Jason Krog	C	67	10	15	25	1	12	21	3	1	4	3	4
3	Keith Carney	D	81	4	18	22	8	65	21	0	4	4	3	16
19	Andy McDonald	C	46	10	11	21	−1	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
17	Matt Cullen‡	C	50	7	14	21	−4	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Patric Kjellberg	LW	76	8	11	19	−9	16	10	0	0	0	−2	0
8	Sandis Ozolinsh†	D	31	5	13	18	10	16	21	2	6	8	8	10
26	Samuel Pahlsson	C	34	4	11	15	10	18	21	2	4	6	1	12
32	Steve Thomas†	RW	12	10	3	13	10	2	21	4	4	8	2	8
24	Ruslan Salei	D	61	4	8	12	2	78	21	2	3	5	3	26
7	Pavel Trnka‡	D	24	3	6	9	2	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Fredrik Olausson	D	44	2	6	8	0	22	1	0	0	0	0	0
5	Vitaly Vishnevski	D	80	2	6	8	−8	76	21	0	1	1	−3	6
11[lower-alpha 1]	Marc Chouinard	C	70	3	4	7	−9	40	15	1	0	1	1	0
22	Alexei Smirnov	LW	44	3	2	5	−1	18	4	0	0	0	0	2
21	Dan Bylsma	RW	39	1	4	5	−1	12	11	0	1	1	3	2
44	Rob Niedermayer†	LW	12	2	2	4	3	15	21	3	7	10	−5	18
25	Kevin Sawyer	LW	31	2	1	3	−2	115	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Kurt Sauer	D	80	1	2	3	−23	74	21	1	1	2	3	6
44	Mike Brown†	LW	16	1	1	2	0	44	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Rob Valicevic	RW	10	1	0	1	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Martin Gerber	G	22	0	1	1		0	2	0	0	0		0
37	Chris O'Sullivan	D	2	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Lance Ward†	D	29	0	1	1	−2	43	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Jean-Sebastien Giguere	G	65	0	0	0		8	21	0	1	1		0
51	Jonathan Hedstrom	RW	4	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Cam Severson	LW	2	0	0	0	0	8	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Jean-Sebastien Giguere	65	34	22	6	1820	145	2.30	.920	8	3775	21	15	6	697	38	1.62	.945	5	1407
29	Martin Gerber	22	6	11	3	548	39	1.95	.929	1	1203	2	0	0	6	1	3.00	.833	0	20

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Conn Smythe Trophy	Jean Sebastien Giguere	[5]
	NHL Second All-Star Team	Paul Kariya (Left wing)	[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Paul Kariya	[7]
	NHL Player of the Week	Jean-Sebastien Giguere (December 16)	[8]
		Paul Kariya (December 23)	[9]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Stanislav Chistov	[10]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Stanislav Chistov	October 10, 2002	[11]
	Kurt Sauer
	Alexei Smirnov
	Martin Gerber	October 11, 2002
	Jonathan Hedstrom	December 3, 2002
	Cam Severson	March 30, 2003
1,000th game played	Fredrik Olausson	December 11, 2002	[12]

Transactions

The Mighty Ducks 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.^[13]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Future considerations[lower-alpha 2]	To Nashville Predators Boston's 3rd-round pick in 2002	[14]
June 25, 2002 (2002-06-25)	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3rd-round pick in 2003	To Boston Bruins Steve Shields	[15]
July 6, 2002 (2002-07-06)	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mike Commodore Jean-Francois Damphousse Petr Sykora Rights to Igor Pohanka	To New Jersey Devils Maxim Balmochnykh Jeff Friesen Oleg Tverdovsky	[16]
October 23, 2002 (2002-10-23)	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Future considerations	To Nashville Predators Jason York	[17]
January 30, 2003 (2003-01-30)	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Sandis Ozolinsh Lance Ward	To Florida Panthers Matt Cullen Pavel Trnka 4th-round pick in 2003	[18]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Steve Thomas	To Chicago Blackhawks 5th-round pick in 2003	[19]
	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Rob Niedermayer	To Calgary Flames Mike Commodore Jean-Francois Damphousse	[19]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01)	Adam Oates	Philadelphia Flyers	1-year[lower-alpha 3]	Free agency	[20]
July 8, 2002 (2002-07-08)	Cory Pecker	Erie Otters (OHL)	3-year	Free agency	[21]
July 12, 2002 (2002-07-12)	Fredrik Olausson	Detroit Red Wings	1-year[lower-alpha 3]	Free agency	[22]
July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18)	Jason Krog	New York Islanders	2-year	Free agency	[23]
	Todd Reirden	Atlanta Thrashers	2-year	Free agency	[23]
July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24)	Rob Valicevic	Los Angeles Kings	1-year	Free agency	[24]
August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22)	Francis Belanger	Montreal Canadiens	1-year	Free agency	[25]
	Josh DeWolf	Detroit Red Wings	1-year	Free agency	[25]
	Cam Severson	Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)	1-year	Free agency	[25]
	Nick Smith	Florida Panthers	1-year	Free agency	[25]
October 11, 2002 (2002-10-11)	Mike Brown	Vancouver Canucks		Waivers	[26]
April 1, 2003 (2003-04-01)	Chris Kunitz	Ferris State University (CCHA)	2-year	Free agency	[27]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[lower-alpha 4]	Ref
July 14, 2002 (2002-07-14)	Sergei Krivokrasov	Amur Khabarovsk (RSL)	Free agency (UFA)	[29]
August 9, 2002 (2002-08-09)	Aris Brimanis	St. Louis Blues	Free agency (UFA)	[30]
August 13, 2002 (2002-08-13)	Antti-Jussi Niemi	Jokerit (Liiga)	Free agency (II)[lower-alpha 5]	[32]
September 23, 2002 (2002-09-23)	Brian White	Providence Bruins (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[33]
N/A	Mark Moore	Augusta Lynx (ECHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[34]
October 11, 2002 (2002-10-11)	Drew Bannister	Karpat (Liiga)	Free agency (UFA)	[35]
October 17, 2002 (2002-10-17)	Denny Lambert	Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)[lower-alpha 6]	Buyout	[37]
	German Titov		Buyout	[38]
January 24, 2003 (2003-01-24)	Gregg Naumenko	Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)	Free agency (VI)	[39]
June 6, 2003 (2003-06-06)	Patric Kjellberg		Retirement	[40]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 19, 2002 (2002-06-19)	Alexei Smirnov	3-year	Entry-level	[41]
June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26)	Marc Chouinard	1-year	Option exercised	[42]
	Kevin Sawyer	1-year	Option exercised	[42]
July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02)	Vitali Vishnevski	1-year	Re-signing	[43]
July 14, 2002 (2002-07-14)	Martin Gerber	1-year[lower-alpha 3]	Entry-level	[44]
	Tony Martensson	2-year	Entry-level	[44]
	Jan Tabacek	2-year	Entry-level	[44]
July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15)	Stanislav Chistov	3-year	Entry-level	[45]
July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)	Pavel Trnka	2-year	Re-signing	[46]
July 22, 2002 (2002-07-22)	Chris O'Sullivan	1-year	Re-signing	[47]
	Samuel Pahlsson	1-year	Re-signing	[47]
July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24)	Jean-Francois Damphousse	1-year	Re-signing	[24]
July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31)	Paul Kariya	1-year	Re-signing	[48]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Andy McDonald	2-year	Re-signing	[49]
August 3, 2002 (2002-08-03)	Matt Cullen	2-year	Re-signing	[50]
August 6, 2002 (2002-08-06)	Ruslan Salei	2-year	Re-signing	[51]
August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22)	Brian Gornick	2-year	Entry-level	[25]
August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26)	Steve Rucchin	4-year	Re-signing	[52]
November 13, 2002 (2002-11-13)	Joffrey Lupul	3-year	Entry-level	[53]
December 26, 2002 (2002-12-26)	Joel Perrault	3-year	Entry-level	[54]
April 29, 2003 (2003-04-29)	Michael Holmqvist	1-year	Entry-level	[55]
May 6, 2003 (2003-05-06)	George Davis	3-year	Entry-level	[56]
May 22, 2003 (2003-05-22)	P. A. Parenteau	3-year	Entry-level	[57]
June 1, 2003 (2003-06-01)	Igor Pohanka	3-year	Entry-level	[58]
	Joel Stepp	3-year	Entry-level	[58]

Draft picks

Anaheim's picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft in Toronto, Ontario.^[59]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	7	Joffrey Lupul	Forward	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
2	37	Tim Brent	Forward	Canada	Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
3	71	Brian Lee	Defense	United States	Erie Otters (OHL)
4	103	Joonas Vihko	Forward	Finland	HIFK (Finland)
5	140	George Davis	Forward	Canada	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
6	173	Luke Fritshaw	Defense	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
9	261	Francois Caron	Defense	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
9	267	Chris Petrow	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Farm teams

• The Mighty Ducks farm team was the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League.^[60] The team finished third in the Central Division with a record of 26-35-13-6.

See also

• 2002–03 NHL season

Notes

1. Chouinard wore number 32 until Thomas was acquired.
2. Nashville promised not to select Joffrey Lupul with the sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft.
3. Club option for a second year.
4. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[28]
5. Anaheim retained Niemi's NHL rights through the 2006–07 season.^[31]
6. Lambert signed with Milwaukee on January 11, 2003.^[36]

References

• "Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2002-03 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
• "2002-03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

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