The
2003–04 NHL season was the
87th regular
season of the
National Hockey
League. The thirty teams played 82 games in a revamped format
that increased divisional games from 5 to 6 per team (24 total),
conference games from 3 to 4 (40 total), and decreased
inter-conference games to at least one per team, with three extra
games (18 in total). The
Stanley Cup winners were the
Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the
best of seven series 4–3 against the
Calgary Flames. This was the first season
since the
1969–70 season
that teams would wear their dark jerseys at home. For the fourth
time in eight years, the all-time record for total shutouts in a
season was shattered, as 192 shutouts were recorded. The 2003–04
regular season was also the first one (excluding the
lockout-shortened regular season of 1994–95) since 1967–68 in which
there was neither a 50-goal scorer, nor a 100-point scorer.
This was the final season that
ABC and
ESPN televised NHL games. It was also the final NHL
season before the
2004–05
NHL lockout, and the final season in which games could end in
ties.
Regular season
The 2003–04 season was one overhung by concern over the expiry of
the
NHL Collective
Bargaining Agreement. It would lead to a shuttering of the
league for the entirety of the next season. During the entire
season, Commissioner
Gary Bettman and
Players Association head
Bob Goodenow waged a war of words with
no agreement being signed.
On
September 26, just before the season was to begin, young Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari
in suburban
Atlanta. The passenger, Thrashers workhorse
Dan Snyder, was killed. Heatley himself was badly
injured and eventually charged with
vehicular homicide. The entire NHL thus
began the season in mourning.
Going into the season the two favorites were the
Ottawa Senators in the east, who had won the
Presidents' Trophy and come
within a win of the
Stanley Cup finals
the year before; and the
Colorado
Avalanche in the west, who despite losing legendary
goaltender Patrick Roy
to retirement, added both
Teemu
Selanne and
Paul Kariya to an
already star-studded lineup.
Neither of these teams was as successful as
expected, with Ottawa
finishing
fifth in the conference and Colorado
finishing
fourth, losing the Northwest
Division title for the first time in a decade when the
Nordiques were still around.
The greatest disappointments were the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who, despite making
it to game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals the year before and
adding
Sergei Fedorov and
Vaclav Prospal, failed to make the playoffs.
In the East the star-studded
New York
Rangers again failed to make the playoffs. The
Washington Capitals, who were regarded
as a contender, also stumbled early and never recovered. The end of
the season saw two of the most extensive housecleanings in league
history as the Rangers and Capitals traded away most of their stars
and entered rebuilding mode. The Capitals dumped
Jaromir Jagr,
Peter Bondra,
Sergei
Gonchar,
Robert Lang,
Steve Konowalchuk, and
Anson Carter. The Rangers moved
Petr Nedved,
Brian
Leetch,
Anson Carter, and
Alexei Kovalev.
The most surprising teams were the
Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern
Conference and
San Jose Sharks in
the Western Conference. The Lightning, who had a remarkable season
with only 20 man-games lost to injury, finished atop the Eastern
Conference. The Sharks, who were firmly in rebuilding mode after a
disastrous 28–37–9–8 campaign the last season, came second in the
Western Conference and won the Pacific Division.
Two other teams that did better than expected were carried by
surprising young goaltenders. The
Calgary
Flames ended a seven-year playoff drought backed by the solid
play of
Miikka Kiprusoff. The
Boston Bruins won the
Northeast Division by a whisker
over the
Toronto Maple Leafs
with the help of eventual
Calder
Memorial Trophy winner
Andrew
Raycroft.
Goaltending was also the story of the Presidents' Trophy-winning
Detroit Red Wings as the return
from retirement of legend
Dominik
Hasek bumped
Curtis Joseph to the
minor leagues. At the same time long time back up
Manny Legace put up better numbers than both
veterans and won the starting job in the playoffs.
Of note is the fact that the
Nashville Predators made the playoffs
for the first time in franchise history.
They put up a valiant
effort but were unable to overcome the Hockey Hall of
Fame
-bound roster of the Red Wings in the first
round.
Final standings
Detroit Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage
throughout the playoffs.
For rankings in conference, division leaders are automatically
ranked 1–3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference
standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A =
Assists, Pts = Points
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L =
Losses: OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals allowed; SO = Shutouts;
GAA = Goals against average
Player |
Team |
GP |
Mins |
W |
L |
T |
GA |
SO |
SV |
GAA |
Martin Brodeur |
New Jersey |
75 |
4554 |
38 |
26 |
11 |
154 |
11 |
.917 |
2.03 |
Marty Turco |
Dallas |
73 |
4359 |
37 |
21 |
13 |
144 |
9 |
.913 |
1.98 |
Ed Belfour |
Toronto |
59 |
3444 |
34 |
19 |
6 |
122 |
10 |
.918 |
2.13 |
Tomas Vokoun |
Nashville |
73 |
4221 |
34 |
29 |
10 |
178 |
3 |
.909 |
2.53 |
Dan Cloutier |
Vancouver |
60 |
3539 |
33 |
21 |
6 |
134 |
5 |
.914 |
2.27 |
Playoffs
Note: All dates in 2004.
The
2004 playoffs were considered to be wide open
with no clear favorite. All of the top teams had weaknesses. Tampa
Bay and Boston were both young teams with no history of recent
postseason success. Detroit, Ottawa, Colorado, and Philadelphia all
had major questions in goal. New Jersey was marred by injuries to
Scott Stevens and
Brian Rafalski, while Vancouver was missing
the suspended
Todd Bertuzzi.
The first-round Eastern Conference matchups were notable for the
number of heated rivalries. The Ottawa Senators met the Toronto
Maple Leafs for the fourth time in five years in the always
passion-filled
Battle of
Ontario. The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens met in a
resumption of the
most common of all NHL
playoff series, and one which the Canadiens have thoroughly
dominated, including an upset win two years prior. The Philadelphia
Flyers also played a hated division rival in the New Jersey Devils.
The only non-rivalry was the Tampa Bay-
New York Islanders series.
The West saw the resumption of the Vancouver-Calgary rivalry, which
had been somewhat dormant as the Flames made the playoffs for the
first time since
1996. In
a less passionate but still interesting matchup, Detroit played
division rival Nashville (whom they had struggled against during
the regular season) in Nashville's first ever franchise visit to
the playoffs. San Jose met the St. Louis Blues, while the always
difficult four-five matchup saw Colorado and Dallas meet.
The
Calgary Flames, a sixth seed,
defeated the
Canucks, the
Red Wings and the
Sharks to become the first Canadian team to
reach the Stanley Cup Finals in ten years, since the Canucks lost
to the
Rangers in the Finals in
1994. They faced the
Tampa Bay Lightning, who
defeated the
Islanders in five,
swept the
Canadiens and defeated
the
Flyers in seven games.
The Flames and the Lightning battled hard in the Stanley Cup
Finals. The Flames took a 3-2 series lead back to Calgary for Game
6, with the Stanley Cup in the building. With the game tied 2-2 in
the third,
Martin Gelinas of the
Flames (who scored the series winning goals in the Flames three
previous series) appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal. Gelinas
tipped a pass towards the Tampa net that was kicked out by
Lightning goalie
Nikolai
Khabibulin. It appeared that before Khabibulin kicked the puck
out, it had already crossed the goal line. The play was reviewed
and found inconclusive. To this day, many flames fans argue that
the puck was in. The game eventually went into double overtime
where Lightning winger and former Flame
Martin St. Louis scored the overtime winner
and broke the hearts of Flames fans everywhere. The series went
back to Tampa for Game 7 where
Ruslan
Fedotenko scored the series winning goal as the Lightning beat
the Flames 2-1 to win the
Stanley Cup.
Brad Richards with 12 goals and 26
points won the
Conn Smythe Trophy
as playoff MVP.
Playoff bracket
Conference Quarter-finals
Eastern Conference Quarter-finals
Tampa Bay vs. NY Islanders |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 8 |
NY Islanders |
Tampa Bay |
|
3 – 0 |
April 10 |
NY Islanders |
Tampa Bay |
|
3 – 0 |
April 12 |
Tampa Bay |
NY Islanders |
|
3 – 0 |
April 14 |
Tampa Bay |
NY Islanders |
|
3 – 0 |
April 16 |
NY Islanders |
Tampa Bay |
OT |
3 – 2 |
Tampa Bay wins series
4–1 |
|
Philadelphia vs. New Jersey |
Date |
Away |
Home |
Score |
April 8 |
New Jersey |
Philadelphia |
3 – 2 |
April 10 |
New Jersey |
Philadelphia |
3 – 2 |
April 12 |
Philadelphia |
New Jersey |
4 – 2 |
April 14 |
Philadelphia |
New Jersey |
3 – 0 |
April 17 |
New Jersey |
Philadelphia |
3 – 1 |
Philadelphia wins series
4–1 |
|
Boston vs. Montreal |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 7 |
Montreal |
Boston |
|
3 – 0 |
April 9 |
Montreal |
Boston |
OT |
2 – 1 |
April 11 |
Boston |
Montreal |
|
3 – 2 |
April 13 |
Boston |
Montreal |
2OT |
4 – 3 |
April 15 |
Montreal |
Boston |
|
5 – 1 |
April 17 |
Boston |
Montreal |
|
5 – 2 |
April 19 |
Montreal |
Boston |
|
2 – 0 |
Montreal wins series
4–3 |
|
Toronto vs. Ottawa |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 8 |
Ottawa |
Toronto |
|
4 – 2 |
April 10 |
Ottawa |
Toronto |
|
2 – 0 |
April 12 |
Toronto |
Ottawa |
|
2 – 0 |
April 14 |
Toronto |
Ottawa |
|
4 – 1 |
April 16 |
Ottawa |
Toronto |
|
2 – 0 |
April 18 |
Toronto |
Ottawa |
2OT |
2 – 1 |
April 20 |
Ottawa |
Toronto |
|
4 – 1 |
Toronto wins series
4–3 |
|
Western Conference Quarter-finals
Colorado vs. Dallas |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 7 |
Dallas |
Colorado |
|
3 – 1 |
April 9 |
Dallas |
Colorado |
|
5 – 2 |
April 12 |
Colorado |
Dallas |
OT |
4 – 3 |
April 14 |
Colorado |
Dallas |
2OT |
3 – 2 |
April 17 |
Dallas |
Colorado |
|
5 – 1 |
Colorado wins series
4–1 |
|
San Jose vs. St. Louis |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 8 |
St. Louis |
San Jose |
OT |
1 – 0 |
April 10 |
St. Louis |
San Jose |
|
3 – 1 |
April 12 |
San Jose |
St. Louis |
|
4 – 1 |
April 13 |
San Jose |
St. Louis |
|
4 – 3 |
April 15 |
St. Louis |
San Jose |
|
3 – 1 |
San Jose wins series
4–1 |
|
Vancouver vs. Calgary |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 7 |
Calgary |
Vancouver |
|
3 – 5 |
April 9 |
Calgary |
Vancouver |
|
2 – 1 |
April 11 |
Vancouver |
Calgary |
|
2 – 1 |
April 13 |
Vancouver |
Calgary |
|
0 – 4 |
April 15 |
Calgary |
Vancouver |
|
2 – 1 |
April 17 |
Vancouver |
Calgary |
3OT |
5 – 4 |
April 19 |
Calgary |
Vancouver |
OT |
2 – 1 |
Calgary wins series
4–3 |
|
Detroit vs. Nashville |
Date |
Away |
Home |
Score |
April 7 |
Nashville |
Detroit |
3 – 1 |
April 10 |
Nashville |
Detroit |
2 – 1 |
April 11 |
Detroit |
Nashville |
3 – 1 |
April 13 |
Detroit |
Nashville |
3 – 0 |
April 15 |
Nashville |
Detroit |
4 – 1 |
April 17 |
Detroit |
Nashville |
2 – 0 |
Detroit wins series
4–2 |
|
Conference Semi-finals
Eastern Conference Semi-finals
Tampa Bay vs. Montreal |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 23 |
Montreal |
Tampa Bay |
|
4 – 0 |
April 25 |
Montreal |
Tampa Bay |
|
3 – 1 |
April 27 |
Tampa Bay |
Montreal |
OT |
4 – 3 |
April 29 |
Tampa Bay |
Montreal |
|
3 – 1 |
Tampa Bay wins series
4–0 |
|
Philadelphia vs. Toronto |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 22 |
Toronto |
Philadelphia |
|
3 – 1 |
April 25 |
Toronto |
Philadelphia |
|
2 – 1 |
April 28 |
Philadelphia |
Toronto |
|
4 – 1 |
April 30 |
Philadelphia |
Toronto |
|
3 – 1 |
May 2 |
Toronto |
Philadelphia |
|
7 – 2 |
May 4 |
Philadelphia |
Toronto |
OT |
3 – 2 |
Philadelphia wins series
4–2 |
|
Western Conference Semi-finals
Detroit vs. Calgary |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 22 |
Detroit |
Calgary |
OT |
1 – 2 |
April 24 |
Detroit |
Calgary |
|
5 – 2 |
April 27 |
Calgary |
Detroit |
|
3 – 2 |
April 29 |
Calgary |
Detroit |
|
2 – 4 |
May 1 |
Detroit |
Calgary |
|
0 - 1 |
May 3 |
Calgary |
Detroit |
OT |
1 - 0 |
Calgary wins series
4–2 |
|
San Jose vs. Colorado |
Date |
Away |
Home |
OT |
Score |
April 22 |
Colorado |
San Jose |
|
5 – 2 |
April 24 |
Colorado |
San Jose |
|
4 – 1 |
April 26 |
San Jose |
Colorado |
|
1 – 0 |
April 28 |
San Jose |
Colorado |
OT |
1 – 0 |
May 1 |
Colorado |
San Jose |
OT |
2 – 1 |
May 4 |
San Jose |
Colorado |
|
3 – 1 |
San Jose wins series
4–2 |
|
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia
|
Date |
Away |
Home |
|
May 8 |
Philadelphia 1 |
3 Tampa Bay |
|
May 10 |
Philadelphia 6 |
2 Tampa Bay |
|
May 13 |
Tampa Bay 4 |
1 Philadelphia |
|
May 15 |
Tampa Bay 2 |
3 Philadelphia |
|
May 18 |
Philadelphia 2 |
4 Tampa Bay |
|
May 20 |
Tampa Bay 4 |
5 Philadelphia |
OT |
May 22 |
Philadelphia 1 |
2 Tampa Bay |
|
Tampa Bay wins series 4–3
and Prince of Wales
Trophy |
|
|
Stanley Cup Finals
Tampa Bay vs. Calgary |
Date |
Away |
Home |
|
May 25 |
Calgary 4 |
1 Tampa Bay |
|
May 27 |
Calgary 1 |
4 Tampa Bay |
|
May 29 |
Tampa Bay 0 |
3 Calgary |
|
May 31 |
Tampa Bay 1 |
0 Calgary |
|
June 3 |
Calgary 3 |
2 Tampa Bay |
OT |
June 5 |
Calgary 2 |
3 Tampa Bay |
2OT |
June 7 |
Calgary 1 |
2 Tampa Bay |
|
Tampa Bay wins series
4–3 and Stanley Cup |
|
|
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A =
Assists, Pts = Points
NHL awards
The
NHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto
.
Presidents' Trophy: |
Detroit Red Wings |
Prince of Wales
Trophy: |
Tampa Bay Lightning |
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: |
Calgary Flames |
Art Ross Trophy: |
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning |
Bill Masterton
Memorial Trophy: |
Bryan Berard, Chicago Blackhawks |
Calder Memorial
Trophy: |
Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins |
Conn Smythe Trophy: |
Brad Richards, Tampa Bay Lightning |
Frank J. Selke Trophy: |
Kris Draper, Detroit Red Wings |
Hart Memorial Trophy: |
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning |
Jack Adams Award: |
John Totorella, Tampa Bay Lightning |
James Norris Memorial
Trophy: |
Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils |
King Clancy Memorial
Trophy: |
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames |
Lady Byng Memorial
Trophy: |
Brad Richards, Tampa Bay Lightning |
Lester B. Pearson Award: |
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning |
Lester Patrick
Trophy: |
Mike Emrick, John Davidson, Ray Miron |
Maurice 'Rocket'
Richard Trophy: |
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames;
Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets;
Ilya Kovalchuck, Atlanta Thrashers
|
NHL Plus/Minus Award: |
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning;
Marek Malik, Vancouver Canucks
|
Roger Crozier
Saving Grace Award: |
Dwayne Roloson, Minnesota Wild |
Vezina Trophy: |
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils |
William M. Jennings Trophy: |
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils |
All-Star teams
First team |
Position |
Second team |
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils |
G |
Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers |
Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils |
D |
Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues |
Zdeno Chara, Ottawa Senators |
D |
Bryan McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche |
C |
Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning |
RW |
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames |
Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks |
LW |
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers |
|
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first
NHL game in 2003–04 (listed with their first team):
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last
game in the NHL in 2003–04 (listed with their last team):
- Vincent Damphousse, San Jose
Sharks
- Ron Francis, Toronto Maple
Leafs
- Kenny Jonsson, New York
Islanders
- Joé Juneau, Montreal
Canadiens
- Mike Keane, Vancouver Canucks
- Trent Klatt, Los Angeles Kings
- Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues
- Mark Messier, New York Rangers
- Adam Oates, Edmonton Oilers
- James Patrick,
Buffalo Sabres
- Scott Stevens, New Jersey
Devils
See also
References