2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 37th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Eastern Conference Finals but lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers
Atlantic Division champions
Division	1st Atlantic
Conference	3rd Eastern
2003–04 record	40–21–15–6
Home record	24–11–3–3
Road record	16–10–12–3
Goals for	229
Goals against	186
Team information
President	Ron Ryan
General Manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Ken Hitchcock
Captain	Keith Primeau
Alternate captains	John LeClair Mark Recchi
Arena	Wachovia Center
Average attendance	19,375[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Philadelphia Phantoms Trenton Titans
Team leaders
Goals	Mark Recchi (26)
Assists	Mark Recchi (49)
Points	Mark Recchi (75)
Penalty minutes	Donald Brashear (212)
Plus/minus	John LeClair (+20)
Wins	Robert Esche (21)
Goals against average	Robert Esche (2.04)

Regular season

Free-agent goaltender Jeff Hackett was signed from the Boston Bruins to replace Roman Cechmanek and challenge backup Robert Esche for the number one spot in 2003–04, but Hackett was forced to retire in February due to vertigo. During the course of the season, serious injuries suffered by both Jeremy Roenick (broken jaw) and Keith Primeau (concussion) in February forced the Flyers to trade for the Chicago Blackhawks' Alexei Zhamnov, who filled in well and kept the Flyers afloat. Esche entrenched himself as starter and remained in that position even after the Flyers re-acquired Sean Burke from the Phoenix Coyotes, as the Flyers clinched the Atlantic Division title over the New Jersey Devils on the last day of the season.

Season standings

Atlantic Division[2]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	3	Philadelphia Flyers	82	40	21	15	6	229	186	101
2	6	New Jersey Devils	82	43	25	12	2	213	164	100
3	8	New York Islanders	82	38	29	11	4	237	210	91
4	13	New York Rangers	82	27	40	7	8	206	250	69
5	15	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	23	47	8	4	190	303	58

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	Z- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	46	22	8	6	245	192	106
2	Y- Boston Bruins	NE	82	41	19	15	7	209	188	104
3	Y- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	40	21	15	6	209	188	101
4	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	24	10	3	242	204	103
5	X- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	43	23	10	6	262	189	102
6	X- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	43	25	12	2	213	164	100
7	X- Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	41	30	7	4	208	192	93
8	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	38	29	11	4	237	210	91
8.5
9	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	34	7	4	220	221	85
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	33	37	8	4	214	243	78
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	28	34	14	6	172	209	76
12	Florida Panthers	SE	82	28	35	15	4	188	221	75
13	New York Rangers	AT	82	27	40	7	8	206	250	69
14	Washington Capitals	SE	82	23	46	10	3	186	253	59
15	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	23	47	8	4	190	303	58

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Playoffs

Though solid in net, Esche's performance was over-shadowed by the play of captain Keith Primeau in the playoffs. Primeau led the Flyers past the defending Stanley Cup champion Devils in five, and the Toronto Maple Leafs in six on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals and a match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite winning Game 6 on the late-game heroics of Primeau and winger Simon Gagne, the Flyers would come up short once again losing Game 7 in Tampa, 2–1.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2003 pre-season
Pre-season: 3–4–1 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 1–3–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record 1 September 19 New Jersey Devils 6 – 1 1–0–0 2 September 20 @ Washington Capitals 4 – 2 2–0–0 3 September 23 @ New Jersey Devils^1 0 – 3 2–1–0 4 September 26 New Jersey Devils 5 – 4 OT 3–1–0 5 September 27 @ New Jersey Devils 2 – 4 3–2–0 6 September 30 New York Islanders 1 – 4 3–3–0 7 October 1 @ Washington Capitals 4 – 4 OT 3–3–1 8 October 2 @ New York Islanders^2 2 – 4 3–4–1 ^ Game played at Sovereign Bank Arena. ^ Game played at Giant Center.
Legend:   Win   Loss   Tie

Regular season

2003–04 regular season[4]
October: 4–2–3–1, 12 Points (Home: 3–0–2–0; Road: 1–2–1–1) Game October Opponent Score Record Points 1 9 Buffalo Sabres 2–0 1–0–0–0 2 2 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 OT 1–0–1–0 3 3 16 @ San Jose Sharks 0–0 OT 1–0–2–0 4 4 18 @ Phoenix Coyotes 5–4 2–0–2–0 6 5 21 @ Los Angeles Kings 0–4 2–1–2–0 6 6 22 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3–4 OT 2–1–2–1 7 7 25 Carolina Hurricanes 4–4 OT 2–1–3–1 8 8 27 Montreal Canadiens 5–0 3–1–3–1 10 9 29 Florida Panthers 5–1 4–1–3–1 12 10 30 @ New Jersey Devils 2–3 4–2–3–1 12
November: 10–0–2–0, 22 Points (Home: 7–0–0–0; Road: 3–0–2–0) Game November Opponent Score Record Points 11 1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7–1 5–2–3–1 14 12 6 Washington Capitals 4–2 6–2–3–1 16 13 8 @ New York Rangers 2–1 OT 7–2–3–1 18 14 11 New York Islanders 2–1 8–2–3–1 20 15 13 Vancouver Canucks 4–3 OT 9–2–3–1 22 16 15 Atlanta Thrashers 4–0 10–2–3–1 24 17 18 @ Carolina Hurricanes 2–2 OT 10–2–4–1 25 18 20 Minnesota Wild 3–1 11–2–4–1 27 19 22 Boston Bruins 3–2 12–2–4–1 29 20 26 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 OT 12–2–5–1 30 21 28 Carolina Hurricanes 4–2 13–2–5–1 32 22 29 @ New York Islanders 5–1 14–2–5–1 34
December: 5–4–4–3, 17 Points (Home: 3–1–0–2; Road: 2–3–4–1) Game December Opponent Score Record Points 23 1 @ Ottawa Senators 1–4 14–3–5–1 34 24 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–2 15–3–5–1 36 25 5 Phoenix Coyotes 3–2 16–3–5–1 38 26 6 @ Boston Bruins 1–1 OT 16–3–6–1 39 27 8 @ Montreal Canadiens 3–2 17–3–6–1 41 28 10 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 1–1 OT 17–3–7–1 42 29 12 @ New Jersey Devils 3–3 OT 17–3–8–1 43 30 13 New Jersey Devils 0–2 17–4–8–1 43 31 16 Calgary Flames 2–3 OT 17–4–8–2 44 32 18 Tampa Bay Lightning 4–5 OT 17–4–8–3 45 33 20 New York Islanders 3–1 18–4–8–3 47 34 21 @ Atlanta Thrashers 1–4 18–5–8–3 47 35 23 @ New York Islanders 2–4 18–6–8–3 47 36 27 @ Colorado Avalanche 2–3 OT 18–6–8–4 48 37 29 @ Dallas Stars 2–2 OT 18–6–9–4 49 38 30 @ St. Louis Blues 7–2 19–6–9–4 51
January: 7–5–2–1, 17 Points (Home: 2–3–0–1; Road: 5–2–2–0) Game January Opponent Score Record Points 39 2 @ Florida Panthers 2–1 20–6–9–4 53 40 3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 1–6 20–7–9–4 53 41 7 @ Buffalo Sabres 1–1 OT 20–7–10–4 54 42 8 Florida Panthers 3–4 OT 20–7–10–5 55 43 10 Edmonton Oilers 0–3 20–8–10–5 55 44 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 20–9–10–5 55 45 13 @ Buffalo Sabres 2–6 20–10–10–5 55 46 16 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 21–10–10–5 57 47 17 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 22–10–10–5 59 48 20 Montreal Canadiens 1–4 22–11–10–5 59 49 22 @ New York Rangers 4–2 23–11–10–5 61 50 24 Buffalo Sabres 2–1 24–11–10–5 63 51 25 @ Washington Capitals 4–1 25–11–10–5 65 52 28 @ Florida Panthers 3–3 OT 25–11–11–5 66 53 31 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 26–11–11–5 68
February: 7–5–0–2, 16 Points (Home: 5–3–0–0; Road: 2–2–0–2) Game February Opponent Score Record Points 54 2 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–2 26–12–11–5 68 55 4 Washington Capitals 5–1 27–12–11–5 70 56 5 @ Atlanta Thrashers 5–1 28–12–11–5 72 57 10 New Jersey Devils 4–1 29–12–11–5 74 58 12 @ New York Rangers 2–1 30–12–11–5 76 59 14 New York Rangers 6–2 31–12–11–5 78 60 16 San Jose Sharks 2–5 31–13–11–5 78 61 17 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2–5 31–14–11–5 78 62 19 Boston Bruins 3–4 31–15–11–5 78 63 21 Atlanta Thrashers 5–4 32–15–11–5 80 64 24 Chicago Blackhawks 3–1 33–15–11–5 82 65 26 @ Ottawa Senators 1–1 OT 33–15–12–5 83 66 28 @ Boston Bruins 2–3 OT 33–15–12–6 84 67 29 @ Detroit Red Wings 2–4 33–16–12–6 84
March: 6–4–2–0, 14 Points (Home: 4–3–1–0; Road: 2–1–1–0) Game March Opponent Score Record Points 68 3 Nashville Predators 5–2 34–16–12–6 86 69 5 Ottawa Senators 5–3 35–16–12–6 88 70 6 @ Washington Capitals 1–2 35–17–12–6 88 71 9 @ New Jersey Devils 3–1 36–17–12–6 90 72 11 Dallas Stars 2–2 OT 36–17–13–6 91 73 13 New Jersey Devils 2–1 37–17–13–6 93 74 14 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 OT 37–17–14–6 94 75 18 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 37–18–14–6 94 76 20 New York Rangers 3–0 38–18–14–6 96 77 23 @ Carolina Hurricanes 4–2 39–18–14–6 98 78 25 New York Islanders 2–4 39–19–14–6 98 79 27 New York Rangers 1–3 39–20–14–6 98
April: 1–1–1–0, 3 Points (Home: 0–1–0–0; Road: 1–0–1–0) Game April Opponent Score Record Points 80 1 @ Montreal Canadiens 2–0 40–20–14–6 100 81 2 Ottawa Senators 1–3 40–21–14–6 100 82 4 @ New York Islanders 3–3 OT 40–21–15–6 101
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie/overtime loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. New Jersey Devils – Flyers win 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score Attendance Series 1 April 8 New Jersey Devils 3–2 19,608 Flyers lead 1–0 2 April 10 New Jersey Devils 3–2 19,779 Flyers lead 2–0 3 April 12 @ New Jersey Devils 2–4 18,023 Flyers lead 2–1 4 April 14 @ New Jersey Devils 3–0 19,040 Flyers lead 3–1 5 April 17 New Jersey Devils 3–1 19,778 Flyers win 4–1
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – Flyers win 4–2 Game Date Opponent Score Attendance Series 1 April 22 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 19,447 Flyers lead 1–0 2 April 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1 19,792 Flyers lead 2–0 3 April 28 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 1–4 19,628 Flyers lead 2–1 4 April 30 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 19,614 Series tied 2–2 5 May 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 7–2 19,825 Flyers lead 3–2 6 May 4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 3–2 OT 19,625 Flyers win 4–2
Eastern Conference Finals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning – Lightning win 4–3 Game Date Opponent Score Attendance Series 1 May 8 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 1–3 21,425 Lightning lead 1–0 2 May 10 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 6–2 21,314 Series tied 1–1 3 May 13 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–4 19,897 Lightning lead 2–1 4 May 15 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–2 19,872 Series tied 2–2 5 May 18 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2–4 21,517 Lightning lead 3–2 6 May 20 Tampa Bay Lightning 5–4 OT 19,910 Series tied 3–3 7 May 22 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 1–2 22,117 Lightning win 4–3
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 Flyers only.
• = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

				Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
8	Mark Recchi	35	LW	82	26	49	75	18	47	18	4	2	6	−3	4
26	Michal Handzus	26	C	82	20	38	58	18	82	18	5	5	10	7	7
10	John LeClair	34	LW	75	23	32	55	20	51	18	2	2	4	2	8
11	Tony Amonte	33	RW	80	20	33	53	13	38	18	3	5	8	7	6
97	Jeremy Roenick	34	C	62	19	28	47	1	62	18	4	9	13	4	8
12	Simon Gagne	23	LW	80	24	21	45	12	29	18	5	4	9	10	12
5	Kim Johnsson	27	D	80	13	29	42	16	26	15	2	6	8	−3	8
24	Sami Kapanen	30	RW	74	12	18	30	9	14	18	3	7	10	0	6
44	Joni Pitkanen	20	D	71	8	19	27	15	44	15	0	3	3	−6	6
14	Justin Williams	22	RW	47	6	20	26	10	32	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	Keith Primeau	32	C	54	7	15	22	11	80	18	9	7	16	11	22
23	Alexei Zhamnov	33	C	20	5	13	18	7	14	18	4	10	14	−1	8
28	Marcus Ragnarsson	32	D	70	7	9	16	12	58	14	1	4	5	3	14
20	Radovan Somik	26	LW	53	4	10	14	−2	17	10	1	1	2	1	4
87	Donald Brashear	32	LW	64	6	7	13	−1	212	18	1	3	4	0	61
37	Eric Desjardins	34	D	48	1	11	12	11	28	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Chris Therien	32	D	56	1	9	10	2	50	—	—	—	—	—	—
89	Mike Comrie	23	C	21	4	5	9	2	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Eric Weinrich	37	D	54	2	7	9	11	32	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Branko Radivojevic	23	RW	24	1	8	9	0	36	18	1	1	2	−1	32
13	Claude Lapointe	35	C	42	5	3	8	2	32	1	0	0	0	0	0
9, 32	Patrick Sharp	22	C	41	5	2	7	−3	55	12	1	0	1	−2	2
23	Jim Vandermeer	23	D	23	3	2	5	−5	25	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Todd Fedoruk	24	LW	49	1	4	5	−4	136	1	0	0	0	−2	2
55	Danny Markov	27	D	34	2	3	5	0	58	18	1	2	3	17	25
3	Mattias Timander	29	D	34	1	4	5	13	19	18	2	4	6	2	6
19	Eric Chouinard	23	RW	17	3	0	3	−3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
45	John Slaney	31	D	4	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Vladimir Malakhov	35	D	6	0	1	1	−1	2	17	1	5	6	9	12
47	Kirby Law	26	RW	6	0	1	1	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Boyd Kane	25	LW	7	0	0	0	−4	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
33, 41	Sean Burke	37	G	15	0	0	0	N/A	0	1	0	0	0	N/A	0
48	Freddy Meyer	23	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
51	Randy Jones	22	D	5	0	0	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	Dennis Seidenberg	22	D	5	0	0	0	−4	2	3	0	0	0	1	0
30	Antero Niittymaki	23	G	3	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Neil Little	32	G	1	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
22	Mike Peluso	29	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Robert Esche	26	G	40	0	0	0	N/A	31	18	0	0	0	N/A	8
15	Peter White	34	C	3	0	0	0	−1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Jeff Hackett	35	G	27	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

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

			Regular season											Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
42	Robert Esche	26	40	40	21	11	7	932	79	2.04	.915	3	2,322:14	18	18	11	7	498	41	2.32	.918	1	1,060:34
33	Jeff Hackett	35	27	26	10	10	6	684	65	2.39	.905	3	1,630:07	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
33, 41	Sean Burke	37	15	13	6	5	2	389	35	2.55	.910	1	824:48	1	0	0	0	9	1	1.50	.889	0	40:00
30	Antero Niittymaki	23	3	3	3	0	0	77	3	1.00	.961	0	179:55	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Neil Little	32	1	0	0	1	0	8	2	3.61	.750	0	33:12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Joni Pitkanen (Defense)	[5]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Ken Hitchcock (Coach)	[6]
		Keith Primeau
		Jeremy Roenick
	NHL Defensive Player of the Week	Robert Esche (November 3)	[7]
		Robert Esche (March 15)	[8]
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Kim Johnsson	[9]
	Bobby Clarke Trophy	Mark Recchi	[9]
	Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy	Robert Esche	[9]
	Toyota Cup	Mark Recchi	[9]
	Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award	Sami Kapanen	[9]

Records

•    NHL record

Team

Franchise team records set during the 2003–04 season

Record	Type	Total	Date(s)	Opponent	Refs
Penalties in minutes	Period	209	3/5/2004	Ottawa Senators	[10]
Penalties in minutes	Game	213	3/5/2004	Ottawa Senators	[11]

Milestones

Individual career milestones[12]

Milestone	Player	Details	Date	Ref
25th shutout	Jeff Hackett	Stopped all 27 shots against the San Jose Sharks	October 16, 2003	[13]
500th game played	Jeff Hackett		January 13, 2004
1,000th game played	Tony Amonte		March 5, 2004

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2003, the day after the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 2004, the day of the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.[14]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004	To Carolina Hurricanes Marty Murray	[15]
June 22, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004	To San Jose Sharks 7th-round pick in 2003	[15]
June 22, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004	To Florida Panthers 7th-round pick in 2003	[15]
June 22, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 2004 9th-round pick in 2004	To Tampa Bay Lightning 8th-round pick in 2003 9th-round pick in 2003	[15]
June 30, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers conditional 7th-round pick in 2004[lower-alpha 1]	To Washington Capitals rights to Dmitri Yushkevich	[16]
December 16, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Comrie	To Edmonton Oilers Jeff Woywitka 1st-round pick in 2004 3rd-round pick in 2005	[17]
December 17, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2004	To Minnesota Wild Eric Chouinard	[18]
January 20, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers Danny Markov	To Carolina Hurricanes Justin Williams	[19]
January 22, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers Mattias Timander	To New York Islanders Tampa Bay's 7th-round pick in 2004	[20]
February 9, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2004	To St. Louis Blues Eric Weinrich	[21]
February 9, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers Sean Burke Branko Radivojevic rights to Ben Eager	To Phoenix Coyotes Mike Comrie	[21]
February 16, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Gainey	To Dallas Stars Mike Siklenka	[22]
February 19, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers Alexei Zhamnov Washington's 4th-round pick in 2004	To Chicago Blackhawks Jim Vandermeer rights to Colin Fraser Los Angeles' 2nd-round pick in 2004	[23]
March 8, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers Vladimir Malakhov	To New York Rangers rights to Rick Kozak 2nd-round pick in 2005	[24]
March 8, 2004	To Philadelphia Flyers Phoenix's 8th-round pick in 2004 3rd-round pick in 2005	To Dallas Stars Chris Therien	[24]

Signings

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Term	Ref
July 1, 2003	Jeff Hackett	Boston Bruins	2-year	[25]
July 14, 2003	Joey Hope (ELC)	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)	*	[26]
July 14, 2003	Boyd Kane	Tampa Bay Lightning	*	[26]
July 24, 2003	Randy Jones (ELC)	Clarkson Golden Knights (ECAC)	2-year*	[27]
July 24, 2003	Mark Murphy	Washington Capitals	1-year*	[27]
July 24, 2003	Mike Peluso	Chicago Blackhawks	1-year*	[27]
October 21, 2003	Steve Webb	New York Islanders	1-year*	[28]
March 20, 2004	Stephen Wood (ELC)	Providence College (Hockey East)	*	[29]

Internal

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Entry Draft, signed to entry level contracts. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date	Player	Term	Ref
June 10, 2003	Eric Chouinard	2-year	[30]
June 10, 2003	Sami Kapanen	2-year	[31]
June 30, 2003	Eric Desjardins	3-year[lower-alpha 2]	[16]
June 30, 2003	Claude Lapointe	2-year	[16]
July 14, 2003	Mathieu Brunelle (ELC)	*	[26]
July 14, 2003	Mike Siklenka	*	[26]
July 14, 2003	Peter Vandermeer	*	[26]
July 14, 2003	Peter White	*	[26]
July 15, 2003	Joni Pitkanen (ELC)	3-year*	[32]
July 30, 2003	Radovan Somik	2-year	[33]
July 30, 2003	Justin Williams	1-year	[33]
December 19, 2003	Mike Comrie	1-year	[34]
April 7, 2004	Ben Eager (ELC)	3-year*	[35]

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions. They were involved in one selection during the 2003 NHL Waiver Draft, which was held on October 3, 2003.[36][37] The Flyers protected the following players: goaltenders Robert Esche and Jeff Hackett; defensemen Eric Desjardins, Kim Johnsson, Marcus Ragnarsson, John Slaney and Eric Weinrich; and forwards Tony Amonte, Donald Brashear, Eric Chouinard, Todd Fedoruk, Simon Gagne, Michal Handzus, Sami Kapanen, Claude Lapointe, John LeClair, Keith Primeau, Mark Recchi, Jeremy Roenick and Justin Williams.[38] The Flyers left the following players unprotected: goaltender Neil Little; defenseman Chris Therien; and forwards Boyd Kane, Kirby Law, Ian MacNeil, Mark Murphy, Mike Peluso, Andre Savage, Mike Siklenka, Pete Vandermeer and Peter White.[38]

Date	Player	Team	Ref
October 3, 2003	Mike Siklenka	to New York Rangers	[36]
October 22, 2003	Steve Webb	to Pittsburgh Penguins	[39]
November 5, 2003	Mike Siklenka	from New York Rangers	[40]

Departures

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date	Player	New team (league)	Via	Ref
August 8, 2003	Jamie Wright	Edmonton Oilers	Free agency	[41]
October 3, 2003	Ryan Bast	Alaska Aces (ECHL)	Free agency	[42]
N/A	David Harlock	—	Retirement[lower-alpha 3]	[43]
N/A	Joe Sacco	—	Retirement[lower-alpha 4]	[44]
October 22, 2003	Brad Tiley	Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)	Free agency	[45]
February 9, 2004	Jeff Hackett*	—	Retirement	[21]

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 21–22, 2003.[46] The Flyers traded their originally allotted second, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth-round draft picks in five different trades.[47]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	11	Jeff Carter	Center	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)	[lower-alpha 5]
1	24	Mike Richards	Center	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3	69	Colin Fraser	Center	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)	[lower-alpha 6]
3	81	Stefan Ruzicka	Right Wing	Slovakia	MHC Nitra (Slovakia)	[lower-alpha 7]
3	85	Alexandre Picard	Defense	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)	[lower-alpha 8]
3	87	Ryan Potulny	Center	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	[lower-alpha 9]
3	95	Rick Kozak	Right Wing	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
4	108	Kevin Romy	Center	Switzerland	Geneve-Servette HC (NLA)	[lower-alpha 10]
5	140	David Tremblay	Goaltender	Canada	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)	[lower-alpha 11]
6	191	Rejean Beauchemin	Goaltender	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
6	193	Ville Hostikka	Goaltender	Finland	SaiPa Jrs. (FIN)	[lower-alpha 12]

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL[48][49] and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL.[50]

See also

• Flyers–Senators brawl

Notes

1. Condition not met.
2. Third year is player option
3. No official announcement
4. No official announcement
5. The Phoenix Coyotes' first-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a July 1, 2001 trade that sent Daymond Langkow to the Coyotes in exchange for a 2002 second-round pick and this pick.[47]
6. The Carolina Hurricanes' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a June 22, 2002 trade that sent a 2002 third-round pick to the Hurricanes in exchange for a 2002 sixth-round pick and this pick.[47]
7. The New York Rangers' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of an August 20, 2001 trade that sent Eric Lindros to the Rangers in exchange for Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl, Jan Hlavac and this pick.[47]
8. Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for Group III free agent Adam Oates.[47]
9. The Edmonton Oilers' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a June 18, 2002 trade that sent Jiri Dopita to the Oilers in exchange for this pick.[47]
10. Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for Group III free agent Luke Richardson.[47]
11. The Columbus Blue Jackets' fifth-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a June 23, 2002 trade that sent a 2002 sixth round pick and a 2002 seventh round pick to the Blue Jackets in exchange for this pick.[47]
12. The Colorado Avalanche's sixth-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a February 5, 2003 trade that sent Chris McAllister to the Avalanche in exchange for this pick.[47]

References

General

• hockeyDB.com: Roster and player statistics · Results and Schedule
• hockey-reference.com: Roster and Statistics · Schedule and Results
• Flyers History: Season Overview · Game Scores & Results · Playoff Results

Specific

1. "All Time Team Attendance". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
2. "2003-2004 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
3. "2003–2004 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
4. "2003-2004 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Philadelphia Flyers - Schedule". Philadelphia Flyers.
5. 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 233
6. "54th NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
7. Panaccio, Tim (November 4, 2003). "Kapanen happy to end drought". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
8. Panaccio, Tim (March 16, 2004). "Esche honored by league". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
9. "Flyers History – Team Awards". P.Anson. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
10. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 262
11. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 261
12. "Flyers History – All-Time Milestone Award Winners". P.Anson. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
13. "Hackett, Flyers duel Sharks, Nabokov to tie". CBS Sports. October 17, 2003. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
14. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
15. Panaccio, Tim (June 23, 2003). "Flyers close in on deal with prized prospect". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
16. Panaccio, Tim (July 1, 2003). "Flyers re-sign pair of players". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
17. Panaccio, Tim (December 17, 2003). "Flyers gain rights to Comrie, a passer with scoring touch". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
18. Panaccio, Tim (December 18, 2003). "Comrie putting Oilers in his past". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
19. Panaccio, Tim (January 21, 2004). "Flyers grudgingly deal Williams". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
20. Panaccio, Tim (January 23, 2004). "Defenseman added in deal with Isles". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
21. Narducci, Marc (February 10, 2004). "Burke returns in four-player deal as Hackett retires". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
22. Steve Gainey biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved November 23, 2014
23. Panaccio, Tim (February 20, 2004). "Hurting Flyers make a trade for Chicago center Zhamnov". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
24. Panaccio, Tim (March 9, 2004). "Flyers shore up defense in trades". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
25. "Flyers' hopes hinge on Hackett". The London Free Press. July 2, 2003. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
26. Parrillo, Ray (July 15, 2003). "Flyers sign players, but not Pitkanen". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
27. "Flyers sign three players". The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 25, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
28. Steve Webb biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved November 23, 2014
29. Panaccio, Tim (March 21, 2004). "Esche faces Jagr and doesn't blink". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
30. "FLYERS SIGN FORWARD ERIC CHOUINARD TO TWO-YEAR CONTRACT". Philadelphia Flyers. June 10, 2003. Archived from the original on June 16, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
31. "FLYERS SIGN FORWARD SAMI KAPANEN". Philadelphia Flyers. June 10, 2003. Archived from the original on June 13, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
32. Parrillo, Ray (July 16, 2003). "Flyers sign heralded defenseman". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
33. McKee, Don (July 31, 2003). "Flyers complete roster after re-signing forwards". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
34. Panaccio, Tim (December 21, 2003). "Comrie sighs with relief over signing contract". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
35. "Flyers sign LW Eager to three-year contract". ESPN.com. April 7, 2004. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
36. Parsons, Mark (December 1, 2013). "2003 NHL Waiver Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
37. Panaccio, Tim (October 4, 2003). "Flyers' young defenseman has old-school style". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
38. "2003 waiver draft protected list". ESPN.com. October 1, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
39. Panaccio, Tim (October 23, 2003). "Power plays, for and against, doom the Flyers". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
40. "Flyers Recall Peter White, Claim Mike Siklenka From Rangers". Philadelphia Flyers. November 5, 2003. Archived from the original on December 3, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
41. Jamie Wright biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved November 23, 2014
42. "Aces Sign Ryan Bast, Nolan Graham". OurSports Central. October 3, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
43. David Harlock biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved November 23, 2014
44. Joe Sacco biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved November 23, 2014
45. Brad Tiley biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved November 23, 2014
46. "2003 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
47. "2003 NHL Entry Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
48. "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
49. "AHL Season Overview: 2003–04". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
50. "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.