2002–03 Florida Panthers season

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

Offseason Rick Dudley was named the team’s new general manager.

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

Schedule and results

|1||October 10, 2002||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||0–0–0–1 ||

|2||October 12, 2002||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||1–0–0–1 ||

|3||October 15, 2002||1–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota Wild (2002–03) ||1–1–0–1 ||

|4||October 17, 2002||1–4 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) ||1–2–0–1 ||

|5||October 19, 2002||1–4 || align="left"| @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) ||1–3–0–1 ||

|6||October 21, 2002||3–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||2–3–0–1 ||

|7||October 23, 2002||4–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||3–3–0–1 ||

|8||October 24, 2002||3–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (2002–03) ||3–4–0–1 ||

|9||October 26, 2002||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||3–4–1–1 ||

|10||October 28, 2002||1–6 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||3–5–1–1 ||

|11||October 30, 2002||3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (2002–03) ||4–5–1–1 ||

|12||November 2, 2002||1–3 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||4–6–1–1 ||

|13||November 6, 2002||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||5–6–1–1 ||

|14||November 7, 2002||1–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||5–6–1–2 ||

|15||November 9, 2002||3–0 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (2002–03) ||6–6–1–2 ||

|16||November 11, 2002||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) ||6–6–2–2 ||

|17||November 13, 2002||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||6–6–3–2 ||

|18||November 14, 2002||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||6–6–3–3 ||

|19||November 16, 2002||3–7 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (2002–03) ||6–7–3–3 ||

|20||November 19, 2002||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||6–7–3–4 ||

|21||November 20, 2002||3–3 OT|| align="left"| New York Islanders (2002–03) ||6–7–4–4 ||

|22||November 22, 2002||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) ||6–7–5–4 ||

|23||November 24, 2002||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) ||6–7–6–4 ||

|24||November 27, 2002||5–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) ||7–7–6–4 ||

|25||November 30, 2002||2–5 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) ||7–8–6–4 ||

|26||December 4, 2002||4–2 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||8–8–6–4 ||

|27||December 6, 2002||2–0 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||9–8–6–4 ||

|28||December 7, 2002||0–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) ||9–9–6–4 ||

|29||December 10, 2002||2–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||9–10–6–4 ||

|30||December 13, 2002||3–3 OT|| align="left"| New York Islanders (2002–03) ||9–10–7–4 ||

|31||December 18, 2002||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||9–10–8–4 ||

|32||December 20, 2002||3–0 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||10–10–8–4 ||

|33||December 21, 2002||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||10–10–9–4 ||

|34||December 23, 2002||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Nashville Predators (2002–03) ||10–10–9–5 ||

|35||December 27, 2002||0–4 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (2002–03) ||10–11–9–5 ||

|36||December 28, 2002||1–2 OT|| align="left"| New York Rangers (2002–03) ||10–11–9–6 ||

|37||December 30, 2002||1–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Islanders (2002–03) ||10–11–9–7 ||

|38||January 1, 2003||2–1 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||11–11–9–7 ||

|39||January 2, 2003||4–1 || align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) ||12–11–9–7 ||

|40||January 4, 2003||2–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) ||12–12–9–7 ||

|41||January 8, 2003||1–2 OT|| align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) ||12–12–9–8 ||

|42||January 10, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||12–13–9–8 ||

|43||January 11, 2003||2–12 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||12–14–9–8 ||

|44||January 13, 2003||2–6 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||12–15–9–8 ||

|45||January 15, 2003||3–0 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||13–15–9–8 ||

|46||January 18, 2003||3–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||14–15–9–8 ||

|47||January 20, 2003||2–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) ||14–16–9–8 ||

|48||January 22, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||14–17–9–8 ||

|49||January 24, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||14–18–9–8 ||

|50||January 25, 2003||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||15–18–9–8 ||

|51||January 28, 2003||3–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) ||15–19–9–8 ||

|52||January 30, 2003||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) ||15–19–10–8 ||

|53||February 5, 2003||0–6 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||15–20–10–8 ||

|54||February 6, 2003||6–0 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||16–20–10–8 ||

|55||February 8, 2003||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||16–20–11–8 ||

|56||February 12, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (2002–03) ||16–21–11–8 ||

|57||February 14, 2003||5–6 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||16–21–11–9 ||

|58||February 15, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||16–22–11–9 ||

|59||February 18, 2003||3–0 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) ||17–22–11–9 ||

|60||February 20, 2003||4–3 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||18–22–11–9 ||

|61||February 22, 2003||4–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||19–22–11–9 ||

|62||February 24, 2003||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||19–22–12–9 ||

|63||February 26, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) ||19–23–12–9 ||

|64||February 27, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||19–24–12–9 ||

|65||March 1, 2003||2–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2002–03) ||19–25–12–9 ||

|66||March 3, 2003||2–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||20–25–12–9 ||

|67||March 5, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) ||20–26–12–9 ||

|68||March 7, 2003||2–1 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||21–26–12–9 ||

|69||March 8, 2003||0–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||21–27–12–9 ||

|70||March 10, 2003||2–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2002–03) ||22–27–12–9 ||

|71||March 12, 2003||0–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) ||22–28–12–9 ||

|72||March 15, 2003||1–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||22–29–12–9 ||

|73||March 16, 2003||4–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||23–29–12–9 ||

|74||March 19, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| Minnesota Wild (2002–03) ||23–30–12–9 ||

|75||March 22, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||23–31–12–9 ||

|76||March 24, 2003||1–4 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||23–32–12–9 ||

|77||March 26, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||23–33–12–9 ||

|78||March 27, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (2002–03) ||23–34–12–9 ||

|79||March 29, 2003||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||23–34–13–9 ||

|80||April 1, 2003||0–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||23–35–13–9 ||

|81||April 4, 2003||4–1 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||24–35–13–9 ||

|82||April 6, 2003||2–6 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||24–36–13–9 ||

Legend:

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. Player Regular season 12 C 81 36 29 65 −17 79 25 C 74 22 34 56 −8 18 22 LW 78 20 23 43 −6 20 18 LW 82 15 19 34 2 31 39 RW 78 10 17 27 −16 30 44 D 51 7 19 26 −16 40 20 RW 46 5 21 26 −11 10 14 LW 80 8 15 23 −8 20 9 C 77 6 15 21 −13 17 27 RW 52 5 13 18 −2 14 4 D 82 4 12 16 −29 14 16 C 30 6 6 12 −4 22 6 D 56 4 8 12 8 56 56 D 82 4 8 12 −18 92 34 D 34 1 8 9 −18 14 32 LW 52 4 4 8 −9 27 45 D 60 2 6 8 2 118 17 C 58 2 5 7 −13 26 36 D 23 1 6 7 −12 14 21 RW 23 4 2 6 −7 12 8 LW 63 2 3 5 −14 193 49 D 36 3 1 4 −4 78 29 C 8 2 2 4 2 4 19 C 30 0 3 3 −4 19 7 D 22 0 3 3 −1 24 5 D 11 2 0 2 −2 10 55 D 56 1 1 2 7 39 38 LW 15 0 1 1 −7 25 23 RW 10 0 1 1 1 0 29 D 7 0 1 1 −3 4 15 RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 26 RW 9 0 0 0 −1 4 24 LW 3 0 0 0 −1 15 30 G 28 0 0 0 2 1 G 65 0 0 0 4 28 D 1 0 0 0 −2 2 33 D 3 0 0 0 −2 0 36 RW 2 0 0 0 −1 4

Goaltending Player Regular season 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 TypeAward/honorRecipientRef League(annual) NHL All-Rookie Team Jay Bouwmeester (Defense) League(in-season) NHL All-Star Game selection Olli Jokinen Sandis Ozolinsh NHL YoungStars Game selection Jay Bouwmeester Niklas Hagman Stephen Weiss

Milestones MilestonePlayerDateRef First game Jay Bouwmeester October 10, 2002 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.

Trades Date Details Ref To Florida Panthers To Columbus Blue Jackets To Florida Panthers To Atlanta Thrashers To Florida Panthers To Calgary Flames To Florida Panthers To New York Islanders To Florida Panthers To Columbus Blue Jackets To Florida Panthers To New York Islanders To Florida Panthers To San Jose Sharks To Florida Panthers To Toronto Maple Leafs To Florida Panthers To Ottawa Senators To Florida Panthers To Columbus Blue Jackets To Florida Panthers To New York Islanders To Florida Panthers To Los Angeles Kings To Florida Panthers To Anaheim Mighty Ducks To Florida Panthers To Ottawa Senators To Florida Panthers To Phoenix Coyotes To Florida Panthers To Nashville Predators To Florida Panthers To St. Louis Blues

Players acquired Date Player Former team Term Via Ref Sven Butenschon Edmonton Oilers Free agency Jeff Toms Pittsburgh Penguins 2-year Free agency Andy Lundbohm San Jose Sharks Free agency Jim Campbell Chicago Blackhawks Free agency Tyrone Garner Greenville Grrrowl (ECHL) 1-year Free agency Stephane Matteau San Jose Sharks 1-year Free agency Scott Kelman Tri-City Americans (WHL) Free agency Chris Mason Nashville Predators Free agency Petr Tenkrat Nashville Predators Waiver draft Jamie Rivers San Antonio Rampage (AHL) 1-year Free agency Igor Kravchuk Calgary Flames 1-year Free agency

Players lost Date Player New team Via Ref N/A David MacIsaac Amur Khabarovsk (RSL) Free agency (VI) , retrieved December 2, 2022 Matt Herr Boston Bruins Free agency (VI) Nick Smith Anaheim Mighty Ducks Free agency (UFA) Trevor Kidd Toronto Maple Leafs Buyout Lance Pitlick Colorado Avalanche Free agency (III) Andrew Allen Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) Free agency (UFA) Hannes Hyvonen Columbus Blue Jackets Waivers Brad Norton Los Angeles Kings Free agency (VI) Paul Harvey Arkansas RiverBlades (ECHL) Free agency (UFA) Ryan Johnson St. Louis Blues Waivers

Signings