2002–03 New York Islanders season

The 2002–03 New York Islanders season was the 31st season in the franchise's history.

2002–03 New York Islanders
Division	3rd Atlantic
Conference	8th Eastern
2002–03 record	35–34–11–2
Home record	18–18–5–0
Road record	17–16–6–2
Goals for	224
Goals against	231
Team information
General manager	Mike Milbury
Coach	Peter Laviolette
Captain	Michael Peca
Alternate captains	Adrian Aucoin Kenny Jonsson Alexei Yashin
Arena	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Average attendance	14,930 (92.0%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Bridgeport Sound Tigers Trenton Titans
Team leaders
Goals	Dave Scatchard (27)
Assists	Alexei Yashin (39)
Points	Alexei Yashin (65)
Penalty minutes	Eric Cairns (124)
Plus/minus	Roman Hamrlik (+21)
Wins	Chris Osgood (17)
Goals against average	Garth Snow (2.31)
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

Off-season

Regular season

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	New Jersey Devils	82	46	20	10	6	216	166	108
2	4	Philadelphia Flyers	82	45	20	13	4	211	166	107
3	8	New York Islanders	82	35	34	11	2	224	231	83
4	9	New York Rangers	82	32	36	10	4	210	231	78
5	14	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	27	44	6	5	189	255	65

^[1]

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^[2]

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

The Islanders lost in the first round to the Ottawa Senators 4–1.

Schedule and results

Regular season

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

Playoffs

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) Ottawa Senators – Senators win 4–1 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 W April 9, 2003 3–0 @ Ottawa Senators Islanders lead 1–0 Recap 2 L April 12, 2003 0–3 @ Ottawa Senators Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 L April 14, 2003 2–3 2OT Ottawa Senators Senators lead 2–1 Recap 4 L April 16, 2003 1–3 Ottawa Senators Senators lead 3–1 Recap 5 L April 17, 2003 1–4 @ Ottawa Senators Senators win 4–1 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 Islanders only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
79	Alexei Yashin	C	81	26	39	65	−12	32	5	2	2	4	−1	2
55	Jason Blake	C	81	25	30	55	16	58	5	0	1	1	−2	2
37	Mark Parrish	RW	81	23	25	48	−11	28	5	1	0	1	−1	4
38	Dave Scatchard	C	81	27	18	45	9	108	5	1	0	1	−3	6
17	Shawn Bates	C	74	13	29	42	−9	52	5	1	0	1	−2	0
27	Michael Peca	C	66	13	29	42	−4	43	5	0	0	0	−1	4
4	Roman Hamrlik	D	73	9	32	41	21	87	5	0	2	2	−2	2
3	Adrian Aucoin	D	73	8	27	35	−5	70	5	1	2	3	−1	4
45	Arron Asham	RW	78	15	19	34	1	57	5	0	0	0	−1	16
28	Jason Wiemer	C	81	9	19	28	5	116	5	0	0	0	−3	23
12	Oleg Kvasha	LW	69	12	14	26	4	44	5	0	1	1	−1	2
29	Kenny Jonsson	D	71	8	18	26	−8	24	5	0	1	1	−2	0
15	Brad Isbister‡	LW	53	10	13	23	−9	34	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	Mattias Weinhandl	RW	47	6	17	23	−2	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Mattias Timander	D	80	3	13	16	−2	24	1	0	0	0	1	0
24	Radek Martinek	D	66	2	11	13	15	26	4	0	0	0	−1	4
13	Claude Lapointe‡	C	66	6	6	12	−3	20	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Janne Niinimaa†	D	13	1	5	6	−2	14	5	0	1	1	−4	12
33	Eric Cairns	D	60	1	4	5	−7	124	5	0	0	0	−1	13
16	Raffi Torres‡	LW	17	0	5	5	0	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
26	Justin Mapletoft	C	11	2	2	4	−1	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
44[a]	Sven Butenschon†	D	37	0	4	4	−6	26	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Trent Hunter	RW	8	0	4	4	5	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Eric Manlow	C	8	2	1	3	2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
16	Justin Papineau†	C	5	1	2	3	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	0
25	Randy Robitaille†	C	10	1	2	3	0	2	5	1	1	2	−1	0
20	Steve Webb	RW	49	1	0	1	−5	75	5	0	0	0	−2	10
39	Rick DiPietro	G	10	0	0	0		2	1	0	0	0		0
49	Eric Godard	RW	19	0	0	0	−3	48	2	0	1	1	1	4
32	Alan Letang	D	4	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
59	Alain Nasreddine	D	3	0	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Chris Osgood‡	G	37	0	0	0		12	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	Tomi Pettinen	D	2	0	0	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
36[b]	Ray Schultz	D	4	0	0	0	−1	28	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Brandon Smith	D	3	0	0	0	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Garth Snow	G	43	0	0	0		24	5	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

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

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	Chris Osgood‡	37	17	14	4	912	97	2.92	.894	2	1993	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Garth Snow	43	16	17	5	1120	92	2.31	.918	1	2390	5	1	4	134	12	2.36	.910	1	305
39	Rick DiPietro	10	2	5	2	273	29	2.97	.894	0	585	1	0	0	3	0	0.00	1.000	0	15

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Roman Hamrlik	[4]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Mattias Weinhandl	[5]
Team	Bob Nystrom Award	Jason Blake	[6]
		Garth Snow

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Tomi Pettinen	October 12, 2002	[7]
	Justin Mapletoft	October 15, 2002
	Eric Godard	October 17, 2002
	Mattias Weinhandl	November 4, 2002

Transactions

The Islanders 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.^[8]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)	To New York Islanders Arron Asham 5th-round pick in 2002	To Montreal Canadiens Mariusz Czerkawski	[9]
	To New York Islanders Eric Godard	To Florida Panthers Florida's 3rd-round pick in 2002	[10]
	To New York Islanders Mattias Timander	To Columbus Blue Jackets 4th-round pick in 2002	[11]
July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03)	To New York Islanders Jason Wiemer	To Florida Panthers Branislav Mezei	[12]
October 11, 2002 (2002-10-11)	To New York Islanders Sven Butenschon	To Florida Panthers Juraj Kolnik 9th-round pick in 2003	[13]
March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09)	To New York Islanders Randy Robitaille	To Pittsburgh Penguins 5th-round pick in 2003	[14]
	To New York Islanders 5th-round pick in 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers Claude Lapointe	[14]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	To New York Islanders Justin Papineau 2nd-round pick in 2003	To St. Louis Blues Chris Osgood 3rd-round pick in 2003	[15]
	To New York Islanders Janne Niinimaa 2nd-round pick in 2003	To Edmonton Oilers Brad Isbister Raffi Torres	[16]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18)	Alan Letang	Calgary Flames		Free agency	[17]
July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)	Eric Manlow	Boston Bruins		Free agency	[18]
July 22, 2002 (2002-07-22)	Blaine Down	Barrie Colts (OHL)	multi-year	Free agency	[19]
August 3, 2002 (2002-08-03)	Brandon Smith	San Jose Sharks		Free agency	[20]
August 6, 2002 (2002-08-06)	Jeff Hamilton	Karpat (Liiga)		Free agency	[21]
September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06)	Alain Nasreddine	Edmonton Oilers		Free agency	[22]
May 26, 2003 (2003-05-26)	Wade Dubielewicz	University of Denver (WCHA)	1-year	Free agency	[23][24]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[c]	Ref
June 14, 2002 (2002-06-14)	Chris Armstrong	EV Zug (NLA)	Free agency (VI)	[26]
July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01)	Jim Cummins[d]		Contract expiration (III)	[25]
July 9, 2002 (2002-07-09)	Kip Miller	Washington Capitals	Free agency (III)	[28]
July 12, 2002 (2002-07-12)	Raymond Giroux	New Jersey Devils	Free agency (VI)	[29]
July 17, 2002 (2002-07-17)	Jason Krog	Anaheim Mighty Ducks	Free agency (VI)	[30]
July 29, 2002 (2002-07-29)	Jason Podollan	Adler Mannheim (DEL)	Free agency (VI)	[31]
August 6, 2002 (2002-08-06)	Dick Tarnstrom	Pittsburgh Penguins	Waivers	[32]
August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26)	Dave Roche	New Jersey Devils	Free agency (UFA)	[33]
	Ken Sutton	New Jersey Devils	Free agency	[33]
October 14, 2002 (2002-10-14)	Evgeny Korolev	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL)	Free agency[e]	[35]
November 3, 2002 (2002-11-03)	Mats Lindgren	Vancouver Canucks	Free agency (UFA)	[36]
January 9, 2003 (2003-01-09)	Darren Van Impe	Syracuse Crunch (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[37]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03)	Mattias Weinhandl	multi-year	Entry-level	[38]
July 17, 2002 (2002-07-17)	Martin Chabada	multi-year	Entry-level	[39]
July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23)	Adrian Aucoin	2-year	Re-signing	[40]
July 26, 2002 (2002-07-26)	Eric Cairns	2-year	Re-signing	[41]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Jason Wiemer	1-year	Re-signing	[42]
August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02)	Mattias Timander	2-year	Re-signing	[43]
August 3, 2002 (2002-08-03)	Arron Asham	1-year	Re-signing	[20]
August 6, 2002 (2002-08-06)	Mark Parrish	2-year	Re-signing	[44]
August 7, 2002 (2002-08-07)	Shawn Bates	2-year	Extension	[45]
August 20, 2002 (2002-08-20)	Dave Scatchard	2-year	Arbitration award	[46]
September 12, 2002 (2002-09-12)	Steve Webb	1-year	Re-signing	[47]

Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.^[48]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	22	Sean Bergenheim	Finland	Jokerit (Finland)
3	87	Frans Nielsen	Denmark	Malmö IF (Sweden)
5	149	Marcus Paulsson	Sweden	Morrums GoIS IK (Sweden)
6	189	Alexei Stonkus	Russia	Yaroslavl Jrs. (Russia)
7	220	Brad Topping	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
8	252	Martin Chabada	Czech Republic	Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
9	283	Per Braxenholm	Sweden	Morrums GoIS IK (Sweden)

See also

• 2002–03 NHL season

Notes

1. Butenschon wore number 64 in his first two games.
2. Schultz wore number 39 in his first three games.
3. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[25]
4. Cummins was inactive during the 2002–03 season.^[27]
5. The Islanders retained Korolev's NHL rights through the 2006–07 season.^[34]