The2003–04 NHL season was the87thregular season of theNational Hockey League. TheStanley Cup champions were theTampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series four games to three against theCalgary Flames.

For the fourth time in eight years, the all-time record for total shutouts in a season was shattered, as 192 shutouts were recorded.^[1] The 2003–04 regular season was also the first one (excluding the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season) since 1967–68 in which there was neither a 50-goal scorer, nor a 100-point scorer.^[1][2] It was also the final NHL season before the2004–05 NHL lockout with games resuming in the fall of 2005 as part of the2005–06 season, and the final season in which games could end in ties.

The existingNHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and the players was set to expire in September 2004. During the entire 2003–04 season,NHL CommissionerGary Bettman andNHL Players' Association (NHLPA) headBob Goodenow waged a war of words with no CBA being signed. The dispute eventually led to the2004–05 NHL lockout and the cancellation of the2004–05 season.

The schedule of 82 games was revamped. The new format increased divisional games from five to six per team (24 total), and decreased inter-conference games to at least one per team, with three extra games (18 in total).

The2003 NHL entry draft was held on June 21–22, 2003 at theGaylord Entertainment Center inNashville, Tennessee.Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by thePittsburgh Penguins.

As part of theNHL Challenge, theToronto Maple Leafs played a three-preseason-game series in Europe against Finnish teamJokerit Helsinki and the Swedish teamsDjurgården Stockholm andFärjestad Karlstad.

The alternating of jerseys was changed. For the first season since the1969–70 season, teams would now wear their colored jerseys at home and white jerseys away.

• TheEdmonton Oilers' home arena, Skyreach Centre, was renamedRexall Place as part of a new naming rights agreement withRexall that was signed on November 20, 2003.
• ThePhiladelphia Flyers's home arena, the First Union Center, was renamed theWachovia Center afterFirst Union merged withWachovia.
• ThePhoenix Coyotes moved fromAmerica West Arena inPhoenix, Arizona toGlendale Arena inGlendale, Arizona on December 27, 2003.

TheHeritage Classic, the first NHL regular season game to be played outdoors, was held on November 22, 2003, atCommonwealth Stadium inEdmonton,Alberta. TheMontreal Canadiens defeated theEdmonton Oilers, 4–3.

TheAll-Star Game was played on February 8, 2004, at theXcel Energy Center inSaint Paul, Minnesota, the home of theMinnesota Wild.

On September 26, just before the season was to begin, youngAtlanta Thrashers starDany Heatley crashed hisFerrari in suburbanAtlanta. The passenger, Thrashers teammateDan Snyder, was killed. Heatley himself was badly injured and eventually charged withvehicular homicide.

Entering the season, the two Stanley Cup favorites were theOttawa Senators in the Eastern Conference, who had won thePresidents' Trophy and come within a win of theStanley Cup Final the year before, and theColorado Avalanche in the Western Conference, who, despite losing legendarygoaltenderPatrick Roy to retirement, added bothTeemu Selanne andPaul Kariya to an already star-studded lineup. Neither of these teams, however, were as successful as expected, with Ottawa finishing fifth in their conference andColorado finishing fourth, losing theNorthwest Division title for the first time in a decade when the franchise was still known as theQuebec Nordiques.

The greatest disappointments were theMighty Ducks of Anaheim, who, despite making it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final the year prior and adding bothSergei Fedorov andVaclav Prospal, failed to make the playoffs. TheLos Angeles Kings failed to make the playoffs in large part due to a season-ending 11-game losing streak. In the East, the star-studdedNew York Rangers again failed to make the playoffs. TheWashington Capitals, who were regarded as a contender, also stumbled early in the season 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 many of their stars and entered "rebuilding mode." The Capitals traded awayJaromir Jagr,Peter Bondra,Sergei Gonchar,Robert Lang andAnson Carter, while the Rangers movedPetr Nedved,Brian Leetch, Anson Carter andAlexei Kovalev to other NHL teams.

The most surprising teams were theTampa Bay Lightning in the East and theSan Jose Sharks in the West. The Lightning, who had a remarkable season with only 20 man-games lost to injury, finished atop the Eastern Conference, while the Sharks, who were firmly in rebuilding mode after a disastrous 28–37–9–8 campaign the last season, came second in the West and won thePacific Division.

Two other teams that did better than expected were carried by surprising young goaltenders. TheCalgary Flames ended a seven-year playoff drought backed by the solid play ofMiikka Kiprusoff, and theBoston Bruins won theNortheast Division by a whisker over theToronto Maple Leafs with the help of eventualCalder Memorial Trophy-winning goaltenderAndrew Raycroft.

Goaltending was also the story of the Presidents' Trophy-winningDetroit Red Wings as the return from retirement of legendDominik Hasek bumpedCurtis Joseph to the minor leagues. At the same time, long-time back upManny Legace recorded better numbers than both veterans and won the starting job in the playoffs.

Of note is the fact that theNashville Predators made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, though they were dispatched by a star-studded Detroit Red Wings team in the first round.

The regular season ended controversially, when in March 2004, the Vancouver Canucks'Todd Bertuzziinfamously attacked and severely injured the Colorado Avalanche'sSteve Moore, forcing the latter eventually to retire.

Detroit Red Wings won thePresidents' 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Z –Clinched conference;Y –Clinched division;X –Clinched playoff spot

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.

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.

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.

Divisions:CE – Central,PA – Pacific,NW – Northwest

P –Clinched Presidents Trophy;Y –Clinched division;X –Clinched playoff spot

In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team withhome ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the three division winnersseeded 1–3 based on regular season record, and the five remaining teams seeded 4–8.

The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.

TheNHL Awards presentation took place in Toronto.

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

^[5]

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

• Atlanta Thrashers:Bob Hartley
• Boston Bruins:Mike Sullivan
• Buffalo Sabres:Lindy Ruff
• Carolina Hurricanes:Peter Laviolette
• Florida Panthers:Rick Dudley andJohn Torchetti
• Montreal Canadiens:Claude Julien
• New Jersey Devils:Pat Burns
• New York Islanders:Steve Stirling
• New York Rangers:Glen Sather
• Ottawa Senators:Jacques Martin
• Philadelphia Flyers:Ken Hitchcock
• Pittsburgh Penguins:Ed Olczyk
• Tampa Bay Lightning:John Tortorella
• Toronto Maple Leafs:Pat Quinn
• Washington Capitals:Glen Hanlon

• Mighty Ducks of Anaheim:Mike Babcock
• Calgary Flames:Darryl Sutter
• Chicago Blackhawks:Brian Sutter
• Colorado Avalanche:Tony Granato
• Columbus Blue Jackets:Doug MacLean
• Dallas Stars:Dave Tippett
• Detroit Red Wings:Dave Lewis
• Edmonton Oilers:Craig MacTavish
• Los Angeles Kings:Andy Murray
• Minnesota Wild:Jacques Lemaire
• Nashville Predators:Barry Trotz
• Phoenix Coyotes:Bobby Francis andRick Bowness
• San Jose Sharks:Ron Wilson
• St. Louis Blues:Joel Quenneville
• Vancouver Canucks:Marc Crawford

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 2003–04 (listed with their first team):

• Chris Kunitz, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
• Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
• Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
• Derek Roy, Buffalo Sabres
• Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
• Travis Moen, Chicago Blackhawks
• Tuomo Ruutu, Chicago Blackhawks
• Nikolai Zherdev, Columbus Blue Jackets
• Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings
• Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
• Brent Burns, Minnesota Wild
• Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
• Jordin Tootoo, Nashville Predators
• Marek Zidlicky, Nashville Predators
• Dominic Moore, New York Rangers
• Fedor Tyutin, New York Rangers
• Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
• Alexander Semin, Washington Capitals

bold - active in the NHL, as of the2025-26 NHL season

The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2003–04, listed with their team:

• Valeri Bure, Dallas Stars
• Shayne Corson, Dallas Stars
• Vincent Damphousse, San Jose Sharks
• Ron Francis, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Kenny Jonsson, New York Islanders^[6]
• Joe Juneau, Montreal Canadiens
• Mike Keane, Vancouver Canucks
• Trent Klatt, Los Angeles Kings
• Igor Larionov, New Jersey Devils
• Curtis Leschyshyn, Ottawa Senators
• Dave Lowry, Calgary Flames
• Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues
• Mark Messier, New York Rangers (The last active player to have played in theWorld Hockey Association, also last player to have played in the 1970s.)
• Steve Moore, Colorado Avalanche
• Adam Oates, Edmonton Oilers
• James Patrick, Buffalo Sabres
• Felix Potvin, Boston Bruins
• Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils
• Steve Thomas, Detroit Red Wings
• Roman Turek, Calgary Flames

This was the second season of the league's Canadian national broadcast rights deals withCBC andTSN. CBC continued to air Saturday nightHockey Night in Canada regular season games, while TSN's coverage includedWednesday Night Hockey and other selected weeknights. During the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN televised all-U.S. games while CBC aired all games involving Canadian teams. CBC then had exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final.

This was the fifth and final year of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal withESPN andABC. ESPN andESPN2 aired weeknight games throughout the regular season. ABC's coverage included the All-Star Game and five weeks' worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons between January and March. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected games, while ABC had Saturday regional telecasts. Each U.S. team's regional broadcaster produced local coverage of first and second-round games (except for those games on ABC). ABC's weekend telecasts continued into the Conference Finals, while ESPN had the rest of the third-round games. ESPN then aired the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final before the rest of the series shifted to ABC.

In May 2004,NBC reached an agreement to broadcast a slate of regular season games and playoff games. ESPN was only willing to renew its contract for two additional years, without games on ABC, with an opt-out clause after the first year.^[7] This was the final season for ESPN and ABC, however, the network would regain NHL coverage starting in the2021–22 season.

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• NHL All-Star Game
• NHL All-Rookie Team
• 2003 in sports
• 2004 in sports
• Red Mile

• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011).The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates.ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.

Notes

• Hockey Database
• NHL Official Website

• 2003–04 NHL season
• 2003–04 in Canadian ice hockey by league
• 2003–04 in American ice hockey by league

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from March 2012
• Short description is different from Wikidata