2002–03 Nashville Predators season

The 2002–03 Nashville Predators season was the Nashville Predators' 5th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Predators missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

2002–03 Nashville Predators
Division	4th Central
Conference	13th Western
2002–03 record	27–35–13–7
Home record	18–17–5–1
Road record	9–18–8–6
Goals for	183
Goals against	206
Team information
General manager	David Poile
Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Greg Johnson Scott Walker (interim)
Alternate captains	Brent Gilchrist (road) Bill Houlder (road) Kimmo Timonen (home) Scott Walker (home)
Arena	Gaylord Entertainment Center
Average attendance	13,228
Minor league affiliate(s)	Milwaukee Admirals Toledo Storm
Team leaders
Goals	Andreas Johansson (20)
Assists	Kimmo Timonen (34)
Points	David Legwand (48)
Penalty minutes	Cale Hulse (121)
Plus/minus	Jason York (+13)
Wins	Tomas Vokoun (25)
Goals against average	Tomas Vokoun (2.20)
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

Off-season

Greg Johnson was named team captain on October 8.^[1] In addition to being an alternate captain for home games, Scott Walker was briefly interim captain during Johnson's absence due to injury during the season.^[2]

Regular season

The Predators tied the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins for most times shut out, with 10, and tied the Montreal Canadiens for fewest short-handed goals scored, with 2.^[3][4]

Final standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Detroit Red Wings	82	48	20	10	4	269	203	110
2	5	St. Louis Blues	82	41	24	11	6	253	222	99
3	9	Chicago Blackhawks	82	30	33	13	6	207	226	79
4	13	Nashville Predators	82	27	35	13	7	183	206	74
5	15	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	29	42	8	3	213	263	69

^[5]

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

Schedule and results

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

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
11	David Legwand	C	64	17	31	48	−2	34
44	Kimmo Timonen	D	72	6	34	40	−3	46
21	Andreas Johansson	C	56	20	17	37	−4	22
25	Denis Arkhipov	C	79	11	24	35	−18	32
5	Andy Delmore	D	71	18	16	34	−17	28
17	Scott Hartnell	LW	82	12	22	34	−3	101
24	Scott Walker	RW	60	15	18	33	2	58
33	Vladimir Orszagh	RW	78	16	16	32	−1	38
18	Adam Hall	RW	79	16	12	28	−8	31
43	Vitali Yachmenev	LW	62	5	15	20	7	12
15	Rem Murray†	LW	53	6	13	19	1	18
27	Jason York†	D	74	4	15	19	13	52
22	Greg Johnson	C	38	8	9	17	7	22
10	Clarke Wilm	C	82	5	11	16	−11	36
3	Karlis Skrastins	D	82	3	10	13	−18	44
16	Denis Pederson	RW	43	4	6	10	2	39
4	Mark Eaton	D	50	2	7	9	1	22
32	Cale Hulse	D	80	2	6	8	−11	121
19	Martin Erat	RW	27	1	7	8	−9	14
38	Vernon Fiddler	C	19	4	2	6	2	14
23	Bill Houlder	D	82	2	4	6	−2	46
14[lower-alpha 1]	Oleg Petrov†	RW	17	2	2	4	−4	2
41	Brent Gilchrist	LW	41	1	2	3	−11	14
14	Jon Sim†‡	LW	4	1	0	1	0	0
46	Wyatt Smith	C	11	1	0	1	−1	0
7	Scottie Upshall	LW	8	1	0	1	2	0
34	Wade Flaherty†	G	1	0	1	1		0
12	Reid Simpson†	LW	26	0	1	1	−4	56
29	Tomas Vokoun	G	69	0	1	1		28
20	Todd Warriner†	LW	6	0	1	1	−1	4
26	Andrew Berenzweig‡	D	4	0	0	0	0	0
51	Francis Bouillon‡	D	4	0	0	0	−1	2
9	Greg Classen	C	8	0	0	0	−3	4
1	Mike Dunham‡	G	15	0	0	0		0
31	Brian Finley	G	1	0	0	0		0
54	Darren Haydar	RW	2	0	0	0	−1	0
28	Tomas Kloucek†	D	3	0	0	0	1	2
35	Jan Lasak	G	3	0	0	0		0
28	Cameron Mann	RW	4	0	0	0	−2	0
20	Nathan Perrott‡	RW	1	0	0	0	0	5
39	Domenic Pittis	C	2	0	0	0	0	2
36	Robert Schnabel	D	1	0	0	0	0	0
27	Pascal Trepanier‡	D	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

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

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
29	Tomas Vokoun	69	25	31	11	1771	146	2.20	.918	3	3974
1	Mike Dunham‡	15	2	9	2	397	43	3.15	.892	0	819
35	Jan Lasak	3	0	1	0	39	5	3.33	.872	0	90
31	Brian Finley	1	0	0	0	13	3	3.83	.769	0	47
34	Wade Flaherty†	1	0	1	0	27	4	4.71	.852	0	51

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Adam Hall	[7]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Scottie Upshall	October 15, 2002	[8]
	Vernon Fiddler	November 2, 2002
	Darren Haydar	November 17, 2002
	Brian Finley	January 1, 2003

Transactions

The Predators 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.^[9]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)	To Nashville Predators Boston's 3rd-round pick in 2002	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Future considerations[lower-alpha 2]	[10]
	To Nashville Predators 3rd-round pick in 2002 2nd-round pick in 2003	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2002	[10]
	To Nashville Predators Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2003	To Toronto Maple Leafs Buffalo's 3rd-round pick in 2002	[10]
	To Nashville Predators 3rd-round pick in 2003	To Detroit Red Wings Boston's 3rd-round pick in 2002	[10]
	To Nashville Predators Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2003	To Washington Capitals Rights to Petr Sykora	[10]
June 29, 2002 (2002-06-29)	To Nashville Predators Rights to Ed Belfour Rights to Cameron Mann	To Dallas Stars David Gosselin 5th-round pick in 2003	[11]
June 30, 2002 (2002-06-30)	To Nashville Predators Rights to Tie Domi	To Toronto Maple Leafs 8th-round pick in 2003	[12]
October 23, 2002 (2002-10-23)	To Nashville Predators Jason York	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Future considerations	[13]
December 12, 2002 (2002-12-12)	To Nashville Predators Tomas Kloucek Rem Murray Rights to Marek Zidlicky	To New York Rangers Mike Dunham	[14]
December 31, 2002 (2002-12-31)	To Nashville Predators Bob Wren	To Toronto Maple Leafs Nathan Perrott	[15]
February 4, 2003 (2003-02-04)	To Nashville Predators Future considerations	To Los Angeles Kings Greg Koehler	[16]
February 17, 2003 (2003-02-17)	To Nashville Predators Jon Sim	To Dallas Stars Andrew Berenzweig Conditional draft pick in 2004	[17]
March 3, 2003 (2003-03-03)	To Nashville Predators Oleg Petrov	To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2003	[18]
March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09)	To Nashville Predators Wade Flaherty	To Florida Panthers Pascal Trepanier	[19]
March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10)	To Nashville Predators Future considerations	To Ottawa Senators Bob Wren	[20]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	To Nashville Predators Alexander Riazantsev	To Colorado Avalanche 7th-round pick in 2003	[21]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 11, 2002 (2002-07-11)	Brent Gilchrist	Dallas Stars		Free agency	[22]
	Clarke Wilm	Calgary Flames		Free agency	[23]
July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15)	Greg Koehler	Philadelphia Flyers		Free agency	[24]
	Wyatt Smith	Phoenix Coyotes		Free agency	[24]
July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16)	Pascal Trepanier	Colorado Avalanche		Free agency	[25]
July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24)	Denis Pederson	Phoenix Coyotes		Free agency	[26]
	Domenic Pittis	Edmonton Oilers	2-year	Free agency	[26]
September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06)	Andreas Johansson	New York Rangers		Free agency	[27]
October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)	Francis Bouillon	Montreal Canadiens		Waiver draft	[28]
December 3, 2002 (2002-12-03)	Reid Simpson	Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)		Free agency	[29]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	Todd Warriner	Philadelphia Flyers		Waivers	[30]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[lower-alpha 3]	Ref
June 20, 2002 (2002-06-20)	Pavel Skrbek	Lulea HF (SHL)	Free agency (II)[lower-alpha 4]	[33]
July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01)	Jay Legault[lower-alpha 5]		Contract expiration (UFA)	[31]
July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02)	Ed Belfour	Toronto Maple Leafs	Free agency (III)	[35]
July 12, 2002 (2002-07-12)	Tie Domi	Toronto Maple Leafs	Free agency (III)	[36]
July 16, 2002 (2002-07-16)	Steve Dubinsky	St. Louis Blues	Free agency (III)	[37]
July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18)	Bill Bowler	Boston Bruins	Free agency (UFA)	[38]
July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)	Petr Sachl	Porin Assat (Liiga)	Free agency (UFA)	[39]
July 20, 2002 (2002-07-20)	Brett Hauer	Geneve-Servette HC (NLA)	Free agency	[40]
July 22, 2002 (2002-07-22)	Marian Cisar	HC Znojemsti Orli (ELH)	Free agency (II)[lower-alpha 6]	[41]
August 4, 2002 (2002-08-04)	Petr Hubacek	HC Zlin (ELH)	Free agency[lower-alpha 7]	[43]
August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05)	Mark Mowers	Detroit Red Wings	Free agency (UFA)	[44]
August 13, 2002 (2002-08-13)	Jukka Hentunen	Jokerit (Liiga)	Free agency (II)[lower-alpha 8]	[46]
August 22, 2002 (2002-08-22)	Chris Mason	Florida Panthers	Free agency (VI)	[47]
	Steve Parsons	Providence Bruins (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[48]
August 28, 2002 (2002-08-28)	Jeremy Stevenson	Houston Aeros (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[49]
October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)	Petr Tenkrat	Florida Panthers	Waiver draft	[28]
October 9, 2002 (2002-10-09)	Marty Wilford	Norfolk Admirals (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[50]
October 25, 2002 (2002-10-25)	Francis Bouillon	Montreal Canadiens	Waivers	[51]
November 15, 2002 (2002-11-15)	Reid Simpson	Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)	Free agency (III)	[29]
March 8, 2003 (2003-03-08)	Jon Sim	Los Angeles Kings	Waivers	[52]
March 18, 2003 (2003-03-18)	Cameron Mann	ERC Ingolstadt (DEL)	Free agency[lower-alpha 9]	[53]
March 27, 2003 (2003-03-27)	Jere Karalahti	HIFK (Liiga)	Free agency	[54]
June 1, 2003 (2003-06-01)	Stu Grimson		Retirement	[55]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 30, 2002 (2002-06-30)	Mike Dunham	1-year	Extension[lower-alpha 10]	[56]
	Vladimir Orszagh	1-year	Option exercised	[56]
	Robert Schnabel		Extension	[56]
	Kimmo Timonen	1-year	Option exercised	[56]
	Vitali Yachmenev	1-year	Option exercised	[56]
July 7, 2002 (2002-07-07)	Dan Hamhuis		Entry-level	[57]
July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15)	Cameron Mann		Re-signing	[24]
July 17, 2002 (2002-07-17)	Andy Delmore		Re-signing	[58]
July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18)	Cale Hulse		Re-signing	[59]
July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30)	Greg Classen		Re-signing	[60]
July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31)	David Legwand		Re-signing	[61]
	Bryan Lundbohm		Re-signing	[61]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Vladimir Orszagh		Extension	[62]
September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05)	Jan Lasak		Re-signing	[63]
	Peter Smrek		Re-signing	[63]
September 10, 2002 (2002-09-10)	Darren Haydar		Entry-level	[64]
October 7, 2002 (2002-10-07)	Scottie Upshall		Entry-level	[65]
May 29, 2003 (2003-05-29)	Jordin Tootoo		Entry-level	[66]
May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30)	Oleg Petrov	1-year	Option exercised	[67]

Draft picks

Nashville's draft picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.^[68]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	6	Scottie Upshall	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
4	102	Brandon Segal	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
5	138	Patrick Jarrett	Canada	Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
6	172	Mike McKenna	United States	St. Lawrence University (ECAC)
7	203	Josh Morrow	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
8	235	Kaleb Betts	Canada	Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)
9	264	Matthew Davis	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
9	266	Steven Spencer	Canada	Swift Current Broncos (WHL)

See also

• 2002–03 NHL season

Notes

1. Petrov wore number 20 in his first three games.
2. Nashville promised not to select Joffrey Lupul with the sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft.
3. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[31]
4. Nashville retained Skrbek’s NHL rights through the 2006–07 season.^[32]
5. Legault was inactive during the 2002–03 season.^[34]
6. Nashville retained Cisar’s NHL rights through the 2006–07 season.^[32]
7. Nashville retained Hubacek’s NHL rights through the 2007–08 season.^[42]
8. Nashville retained Hentunen’s NHL rights through the 2005–06 season.^[45]
9. Contract for the 2003–04 season. Mann remained with Milwaukee through the end of the 2003 Calder Cup playoffs.
10. Contract option for the 2004–05 season was exercised by Nashville.

References

• "Nashville Predators 2002-03 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
• "2002-03 Nashville Predators Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
• Podnieks, Andrew (2000). The NHL All-Star Game: 50 years of the great tradition. Toronto: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-200058-X.

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