2002–03 Ottawa Senators season

The 2002–03 Ottawa Senators season was the 11th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season saw the Senators reach the highest point in the playoffs until the 2006–07 season. They were eliminated in the Eastern Conference final by the New Jersey Devils, the eventual Stanley Cup winning team. On top of their larger success, with their total 113 points they won the Presidents' Trophy, the Northeast Division title and the Eastern Conference title.

2002–03 Ottawa Senators
Presidents' Trophy winners
Northeast Division champions
Division	1st Northeast
Conference	1st Eastern
2002–03 record	52–21–8–1
Home record	28–9–3–1
Road record	24–12–5–0
Goals for	263
Goals against	182
Team information
General manager	John Muckler
Coach	Jacques Martin
Captain	Daniel Alfredsson
Alternate captains	Zdeno Chara Curtis Leschyshyn Wade Redden
Arena	Corel Centre
Average attendance	17,198 (93%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Binghamton Senators
Team leaders
Goals	Marian Hossa (45)
Assists	Daniel Alfredsson (51)
Points	Marian Hossa (80)
Penalty minutes	Chris Neil (147)
Plus/minus	Zdeno Chara (+29)
Wins	Patrick Lalime (39)
Goals against average	Patrick Lalime (2.16)
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

Banner at Canadian Tire Centre

After their long history of debt problems, the Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003. They continued regular season play after receiving emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, they had a successful year, compared to their early day woes. The Presidents' Trophy awarded to the Senators made them the first Canadian team to win it since the Calgary Flames in their championship season of 1989, and the first Eastern Conference team to win it since the New York Rangers' title in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. In the playoffs, they defeated their former teammate Alexei Yashin and his New York Islanders, then beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, before coming within one game of making it into the Finals, falling to the New Jersey Devils.

Offseason

General manager Marshall Johnston resigned and was replaced by John Muckler on July 1, 2002.^[1] Muckler had been a candidate for the positions of Ottawa head coach or GM back in 1992, but had chosen to sign on with the Buffalo Sabres instead.

Regular season

Right winger Marian Hossa led Ottawa in scoring, just eclipsing Yashin's previous record of 44 goals. Without the goaltending issues that had plagued Senators teams of the past, Patrick Lalime showed one of his best seasons, with career bests in goals against average (GAA) and wins.

After a slow start to the season after an even .500 ratio, the Senators turned around their game with a ten-game unbeaten streak. Fans were concerned whether their start was due to off-ice problems. These worries, however, were soon irrelevant to fans when the Senators again clinched a playoff berth. Before the playoffs, the Senators addressed toughness concerns through separate trades to the Buffalo Sabres for grinders Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray respectively, plus two-way forward Bryan Smolinski from the Los Angeles Kings.

Division standings

Northeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Ottawa Senators	82	52	21	8	1	263	182	113
2	5	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	44	28	7	3	236	208	98
3	7	Boston Bruins	82	36	31	11	4	245	237	87
4	10	Montreal Canadiens	82	30	35	8	9	206	234	77
5	12	Buffalo Sabres	82	27	37	10	8	190	219	72

^[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

Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, the team played the New York Islanders, facing former team captain Alexei Yashin for the first time in the playoffs. Yashin played well in the first game and the Islanders won the first game at the Corel Centre 3–0. The loss by the Senators was attributed to paying too much attention to stopping Yashin and not enough on the rest of the Islanders. The Senators adjusted their play for the next game winning it and the next three games in a row to win the series 4–1.

In the second round, the team faced the Philadelphia Flyers who had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. The Senators won the series on the basis of their strong defence, holding the Flyers to only ten goals in the six games, advancing to the Eastern Conference final series against the New Jersey Devils to decide the Prince of Wales Trophy.

The first two games of the series were in Ottawa and the wins were split between the Senators and Devils. In New Jersey, the Devils won both games to put the Senators at the brink of elimination. However, the Senators came back, winning the fifth game at home and the sixth game in New Jersey to force a seventh and deciding game at home.

In the seventh game, Ottawa got out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Magnus Arvedson. The Devils would score the next two on goals in the second period by Jamie Langenbrunner. Going into the third down 2-1 the Sens tied it on a goal by Radek Bonk and dominated play in the third, when with two minutes remaining, Devils' forward Jeff Friesen deked out Patrick Lalime and shot over his leg pad, into the net, to score the series-winning goal.^[4]

Schedule and results

Regular season

2002–03 regular season[5]
October: 3–4–1–0 (home: 2–2–0–0; road: 1–2–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 1 L October 10, 2002 1–2 New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 0–1–0–0 16,865 Recap 2 W October 12, 2002 2–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 1–1–0–0 19,198 Recap 3 W October 15, 2002 2–1 Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) 2–1–0–0 13,816 Recap 4 W October 23, 2002 4–1 Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 3–1–0–0 14,847 Recap 5 T October 24, 2002 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 3–1–1–0 17,565 Recap 6 L October 26, 2002 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 3–2–1–0 20,812 Recap 7 L October 29, 2002 1–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 3–3–1–0 19,077 Recap 8 L October 30, 2002 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 3–4–1–0 17,987 Recap
November: 10–2–2–0 (home: 7–1–0–0; road: 3–1–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 9 W November 2, 2002 5–2 Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 4–4–1–0 18,210 Recap 10 W November 6, 2002 5–2 @ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 5–4–1–0 18,007 Recap 11 L November 8, 2002 2–3 Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 5–5–1–0 16,926 Recap 12 L November 9, 2002 1–7 @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 5–6–1–0 13,954 Recap 13 W November 12, 2002 5–3 @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 6–6–1–0 12,659 Recap 14 W November 14, 2002 3–2 OT Florida Panthers (2002–03) 7–6–1–0 13,323 Recap 15 W November 16, 2002 4–1 Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 8–6–1–0 15,298 Recap 16 T November 19, 2002 4–4 OT @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 8–6–2–0 11,044 Recap 17 W November 21, 2002 3–2 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 9–6–2–0 16,010 Recap 18 W November 23, 2002 5–2 Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) 10–6–2–0 15,684 Recap 19 W November 25, 2002 2–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 11–6–2–0 18,035 Recap 20 T November 27, 2002 2–2 OT @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 11–6–3–0 14,887 Recap 21 W November 29, 2002 6–2 @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 12–6–3–0 15,822 Recap 22 W November 30, 2002 4–2 New York Islanders (2002–03) 13–6–3–0 15,121 Recap
December: 10–3–2–0 (home: 4–1–1–0; road: 6–2–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 23 L December 4, 2002 0–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) 13–7–3–0 12,137 Recap 24 T December 5, 2002 2–2 OT @ St. Louis Blues (2002–03) 13–7–4–0 17,189 Recap 25 W December 7, 2002 5–2 Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 14–7–4–0 15,328 Recap 26 W December 10, 2002 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 15–7–4–0 9,966 Recap 27 W December 12, 2002 5–2 @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 16–7–4–0 11,893 Recap 28 W December 14, 2002 4–3 OT New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 17–7–4–0 17,284 Recap 29 L December 16, 2002 2–3 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 17–8–4–0 16,807 Recap 30 W December 18, 2002 3–0 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 18–8–4–0 11,876 Recap 31 W December 19, 2002 9–3 San Jose Sharks (2002–03) 19–8–4–0 14,848 Recap 32 W December 21, 2002 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 20–8–4–0 19,543 Recap 33 T December 23, 2002 2–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 20–8–5–0 17,787 Recap 34 W December 26, 2002 3–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 21–8–5–0 12,677 Recap 35 W December 27, 2002 3–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 22–8–5–0 18,500 Recap 36 L December 30, 2002 2–3 @ Nashville Predators (2002–03) 22–9–5–0 11,584 Recap 37 W December 31, 2002 6–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 23–9–5–0 14,452 Recap
January: 9–5–1–1 (home: 5–0–0–1; road: 4–5–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 38 W January 2, 2003 8–1 Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 24–9–5–0 18,026 Recap 39 OTL January 4, 2003 1–2 OT Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 24–9–5–1 16,406 Recap 40 W January 6, 2003 5–2 @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 25–9–5–1 18,200 Recap 41 L January 8, 2003 4–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) 25–10–5–1 18,422 Recap 42 W January 9, 2003 1–0 @ Calgary Flames (2002–03) 26–10–5–1 16,058 Recap 43 W January 11, 2003 2–0 @ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 27–10–5–1 16,839 Recap 44 W January 14, 2003 7–0 Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 28–10–5–1 18,500 Recap 45 W January 16, 2003 3–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 29–10–5–1 18,034 Recap 46 W January 18, 2003 5–2 Washington Capitals (2002–03) 30–10–5–1 18,500 Recap 47 L January 20, 2003 2–6 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 30–11–5–1 12,022 Recap 48 W January 22, 2003 2–1 @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 31–11–5–1 13,944 Recap 49 T January 23, 2003 3–3 OT @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 31–11–6–1 10,805 Recap 50 W January 25, 2003 4–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 32–11–6–1 18,241 Recap 51 L January 27, 2003 3–5 @ Dallas Stars (2002–03) 32–12–6–1 18,532 Recap 52 L January 29, 2003 2–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 32–13–6–1 13,230 Recap 53 L January 30, 2003 0–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 32–14–6–1 16,518 Recap
February: 8–3–1–0 (home: 5–2–1–0; road: 3–1–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 54 W February 5, 2003 5–3 @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 33–14–6–1 18,200 Recap 55 T February 6, 2003 2–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 33–14–7–1 16,599 Recap 56 W February 8, 2003 3–1 Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 34–14–7–1 18,371 Recap 57 W February 12, 2003 3–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 35–14–7–1 14,197 Recap 58 W February 13, 2003 2–0 Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 36–14–7–1 18,115 Recap 59 L February 15, 2003 1–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 36–15–7–1 19,415 Recap 60 W February 17, 2003 3–2 New York Rangers (2002–03) 37–15–7–1 18,094 Recap 61 W February 19, 2003 5–3 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 38–15–7–1 12,298 Recap 62 L February 20, 2003 3–4 Florida Panthers (2002–03) 38–16–7–1 15,250 Recap 63 W February 22, 2003 4–0 Nashville Predators (2002–03) 39–16–7–1 17,971 Recap 64 L February 25, 2003 0–3 Minnesota Wild (2002–03) 39–17–7–1 17,371 Recap 65 W February 27, 2003 3–2 OT Dallas Stars (2002–03) 40–17–7–1 18,500 Recap
March: 9–4–1–0 (home: 4–3–1–0; road: 5–1–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 66 L March 1, 2003 1–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 40–18–7–1 18,033 Recap 67 W March 4, 2003 4–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 41–18–7–1 18,500 Recap 68 W March 8, 2003 5–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 42–18–7–1 14,354 Recap 69 W March 9, 2003 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 43–18–7–1 18,500 Recap 70 W March 11, 2003 4–3 OT Boston Bruins (2002–03) 44–18–7–1 18,230 Recap 71 W March 13, 2003 3–2 OT New York Rangers (2002–03) 45–18–7–1 18,011 Recap 72 L March 15, 2003 2–5 New York Islanders (2002–03) 45–19–7–1 18,349 Recap 73 L March 16, 2003 2–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 45–20–7–1 20,058 Recap 74 W March 18, 2003 6–5 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 46–20–7–1 16,531 Recap 75 W March 21, 2003 5–1 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) 47–20–7–1 16,114 Recap 76 W March 22, 2003 3–1 @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 48–20–7–1 18,613 Recap 77 T March 25, 2003 2–2 OT Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 48–20–8–1 18,036 Recap 78 L March 28, 2003 2–3 Washington Capitals (2002–03) 48–21–8–1 18,311 Recap 79 W March 29, 2003 3–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 49–21–8–1 21,273 Recap
April: 3–0–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 2–0–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 80 W April 1, 2003 3–2 Boston Bruins (2002–03) 50–21–8–1 18,500 Recap 81 W April 3, 2003 5–1 @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 51–21–8–1 15,784 Recap 82 W April 5, 2003 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 52–21–8–1 19,445 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)   Overtime loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs[5]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Islanders – Senators win 4–1 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Attendance Recap 1 L April 9, 2003 0–3 New York Islanders Islanders lead 1–0 18,273 Recap 2 W April 12, 2003 3–0 New York Islanders Series tied 1–1 18,500 Recap 3 W April 14, 2003 3–2 2OT @ New York Islanders Senators lead 2–1 16,234 Recap 4 W April 16, 2003 3–1 @ New York Islanders Senators lead 3–1 16,234 Recap 5 W April 17, 2003 4–1 New York Islanders Senators win 4–1 18,500 Recap
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Philadelphia Flyers – Senators win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Attendance Recap 1 W April 25, 2003 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers Senators lead 1–0 18,197 Recap 2 L April 27, 2003 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers Series tied 1–1 18,500 Recap 3 W April 29, 2003 3–2 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers Senators lead 2–1 19,680 Recap 4 L May 1, 2003 0–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers Series tied 2–2 19,842 Recap 5 W May 3, 2003 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers Senators lead 3–2 18,500 Recap 6 W May 5, 2003 5–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers Senators win 4–2 19,454 Recap
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (2) New Jersey Devils – Devils win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Attendance Recap 1 W May 10, 2003 3–2 OT New Jersey Devils Senators lead 1–0 18,500 Recap 2 L May 13, 2003 1–4 New Jersey Devils Series tied 1–1 18,500 Recap 3 L May 15, 2003 0–1 @ New Jersey Devils Devils lead 2–1 19,040 Recap 4 L May 17, 2003 2–5 @ New Jersey Devils Devils lead 3–1 19,040 Recap 5 W May 19, 2003 3–1 New Jersey Devils Devils lead 3–2 18,500 Recap 6 W May 21, 2003 2–1 OT @ New Jersey Devils Series tied 3–3 19,040 Recap 7 L May 23, 2003 2–3 New Jersey Devils Devils win 4–3 18,500 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Senators only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
18	Marian Hossa	RW	80	45	35	80	8	34	18	5	11	16	−1	6
11	Daniel Alfredsson	RW	78	27	51	78	15	42	18	4	4	8	−3	12
28	Todd White	C	80	25	35	60	19	28	18	5	1	6	−1	6
9	Martin Havlat	RW	67	24	35	59	20	30	18	5	6	11	4	14
14	Radek Bonk	C	70	22	32	54	6	36	18	6	5	11	2	10
6	Wade Redden	D	76	10	35	45	23	70	18	1	8	9	1	10
3	Zdeno Chara	D	74	9	30	39	29	116	18	1	6	7	3	14
12	Mike Fisher	C	74	18	20	38	13	54	18	2	2	4	−1	16
20	Magnus Arvedson	LW	80	16	21	37	13	48	18	1	5	6	−4	16
22	Shaun Van Allen	C	78	12	20	32	17	66	18	1	1	2	−1	12
23	Karel Rachunek	D	58	4	25	29	23	30	17	1	3	4	−5	14
15	Peter Schaefer	LW	75	6	17	23	11	32	16	2	3	5	3	6
39	Jason Spezza	C	33	7	14	21	−3	8	3	1	1	2	1	0
19	Petr Schastlivy	LW	33	9	10	19	3	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Chris Phillips	D	78	3	16	19	7	71	18	2	4	6	3	12
24	Anton Volchenkov	D	57	3	13	16	−4	40	17	1	1	2	3	4
16	Jody Hull	RW	70	3	8	11	−3	14	2	0	0	0	0	0
25	Chris Neil	RW	68	6	4	10	8	147	15	1	0	1	1	24
21	Bryan Smolinski†	C	10	3	5	8	1	2	18	2	7	9	4	6
26	Vaclav Varada†	RW	11	2	6	8	3	8	18	2	4	6	4	18
34	Shane Hnidy	D	67	0	8	8	−1	130	1	0	0	0	0	0
7	Curtis Leschyshyn	D	54	1	6	7	11	18	18	0	1	1	0	10
2	Brian Pothier	D	14	2	4	6	11	6	1	0	0	0	0	2
21	Steve Martins‡	C	14	2	3	5	3	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Brad Smyth	RW	12	3	1	4	−2	15	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Joel Kwiatkowski‡	D	20	0	2	2	2	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Toni Dahlman	RW	12	1	0	1	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
40	Patrick Lalime	G	67	0	1	1		6	18	0	0	0		0
33	Josh Langfeld	RW	12	0	1	1	2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Dennis Bonvie	RW	12	0	0	0	−1	29	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Ray Emery	G	3	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Martin Prusek	G	18	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
32	Rob Ray†	RW	5	0	0	0	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	Joey Tetarenko†	RW	2	0	0	0	0	5	—	—	—	—	—	—

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
40	Patrick Lalime	67	39	20	7	1591	142	2.16	.911	8	3943	18	11	7	449	34	1.82	.924	1	1122
31	Martin Prusek	18	12	2	1	415	37	2.37	.911	0	935	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Ray Emery	3	1	0	0	26	2	1.41	.923	0	85	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honour	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Zdeno Chara	[6]
		Marian Hossa
		Patrick Lalime[a]
		Jacques Martin (coach)
	NHL Player of the Month	Todd White (December)	[8]
	NHL YoungStars Game	Anton Volchenkov	[9]
Team	Molson Cup	Daniel Alfredsson	[10]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Anton Volchenkov	October 10, 2002	[11]
	Jason Spezza	October 24, 2002
	Ray Emery	January 8, 2003
25th shutout	Patrick Lalime	January 14, 2003	[12]
750th game coached	Jacques Martin	February 20, 2003	[13]

Transactions

The Senators 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.^[14]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)	To New York Rangers 3rd-round pick in 2002 4th-round pick in 2002	To Ottawa Senators 3rd-round pick in 2002	[15]
June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23)	To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th-round pick in 2002	To Ottawa Senators Josef Boumedienne	[16]
June 29, 2002 (2002-06-29)	To Atlanta Thrashers Shawn McEachern 6th-round pick in 2004	To Ottawa Senators Brian Pothier	[17]
September 21, 2002 (2002-09-21)	To Vancouver Canucks Sami Salo	To Ottawa Senators Peter Schaefer	[18]
October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01)	To Florida Panthers Jani Hurme	To Ottawa Senators Rights to Billy Thompson Rights to Greg Watson	[19]
December 16, 2002 (2002-12-16)	To Washington Capitals Josef Boumedienne	To Ottawa Senators Dean Melanson	[20]
January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15)	To Washington Capitals Joel Kwiatkowski	To Ottawa Senators 9th-round pick in 2003	[21]
February 25, 2003 (2003-02-25)	To Buffalo Sabres Jakub Klepis	To Ottawa Senators Vaclav Varada 5th-round pick in 2003	[22]
March 4, 2003 (2003-03-04)	To Florida Panthers Simon Lajeunesse	To Ottawa Senators Joey Tetarenko	[23]
March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10)	To Buffalo Sabres Future considerations	To Ottawa Senators Rob Ray	[24]
	To Nashville Predators Future considerations	To Ottawa Senators Bob Wren	[25]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	To Los Angeles Kings Rights to Tim Gleason	To Ottawa Senators Bryan Smolinski	[26]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24)	Shaun Van Allen	Montreal Canadiens	multi-year	Free agency	[27]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Brad Smyth	New York Rangers	1-year	Free agency	[28]
August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26)	Dennis Bonvie	Boston Bruins	1-year	Free agency	[29]
June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02)	Brian McGrattan	Binghamton Senators (AHL)	1-year	Free agency	[30]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[b]	Ref
July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03)	Bill Muckalt	Minnesota Wild	Free agency (UFA)	[32]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Chris Herperger	Atlanta Thrashers	Free agency (UFA)	[33]
	Travis Richards	Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[34]
August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02)	Ricard Persson	Eisbaren Berlin (DEL)	Free agency (III)	[35]
September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13)	Jason Doig	Washington Capitals	Free agency (VI)	[36]
October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01)	Kevin Grimes	Jackson Bandits (ECHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[37]
October 25, 2002 (2002-10-25)	Benoit Brunet		Retirement (III)	[38]
January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15)	Steve Martins	St. Louis Blues	Waivers	[39]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27)	Joel Kwiatkowski	multi-year	Re-signing	[40]
July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15)	Daniel Alfredsson	2-year	Re-signing	[41]
	Christoph Schubert	3-year	Entry-level	[42]
	Anton Volchenkov	3-year	Entry-level	[43]
July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31)	Josh Langfeld	1-year	Re-signing	[44]
	Sami Salo	1-year	Re-signing	[45]
	Jeff Ulmer	1-year	Re-signing	[46]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Josef Boumedienne	1-year	Re-signing	[47]
	Steve Martins	multi-year	Re-signing	[48]
	Petr Schastlivy	multi-year	Re-signing	[49]
August 8, 2002 (2002-08-08)	Radek Bonk	2-year	Re-signing	[50]
	Chris Phillips	2-year	Re-signing	[51]
August 21, 2002 (2002-08-21)	Jody Hull	1-year	Re-signing	[52]
August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26)	Brian Pothier	multi-year	Re-signing	[29]
September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14)	Mike Fisher	multi-year	Re-signing	[53]
	Chris Neil	multi-year	Re-signing	[53]
September 21, 2002 (2002-09-21)	Peter Schaefer	multi-year	Re-signing	[18]
November 8, 2002 (2002-11-08)	Karel Rachunek	2-year	Re-signing	[54]
November 27, 2002 (2002-11-27)	Billy Thompson	multi-year	Entry-level	[55]
June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02)	Brooks Laich	multi-year	Entry-level	[56]
	Jan Platil	multi-year	Entry-level	[56]
	Greg Watson	multi-year	Entry-level	[56]
June 6, 2003 (2003-06-06)	Shaun Van Allen	1-year	Option exercised	[57]

Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks from the 2002 NHL entry draft held on June 22 and June 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.^[58]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	16	Jakub Klepis	Czech Republic	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
2	47	Alexei Kaigorodov	Russia	Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RSL)
3	75	Arttu Luttinen	Finland	HIFK (SM-liiga)
4	113	Scott Dobben	Canada	Erie Otters (OHL)
4	125	Johan Bjork	Sweden	Malmö IF (Elitserien)
5	150	Brock Hooton	Canada	Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)
8	246	Josef Vavra	Czech Republic	HC Vsetín (Czech Extraliga)
9	276	Vitaly Atyushov	Russia	Molot-Prikamye Perm (RSL)

Farm teams

• Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League)

See also

• 2002–03 NHL season

Notes

1. Lalime was an injury replacement for Ed Belfour of the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[7]
2. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[31]