| 2002–03Ottawa Senators | |
|---|---|
Presidents' Trophy winners | |
Northeast Division champions | |
| Division | 1stNortheast |
| Conference | 1stEastern |
| 2002–03 record | 52–21–8–1 |
| Home record | 28–9–3–1 |
| Road record | 24–12–5–0 |
| Goals for | 263 |
| Goals against | 182 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | John Muckler |
| Coach | Jacques Martin |
| Captain | Daniel Alfredsson |
| Alternate captains | Zdeno Chara Curtis Leschyshyn Wade Redden |
| Arena | Corel Centre |
| Average attendance | 17,198 (93%) |
| Minor league affiliate | Binghamton Senators |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Marian Hossa (45) |
| Assists | Daniel Alfredsson (51) |
| Points | Marian Hossa (80) |
| Penalty minutes | Chris Neil (147) |
| Plus/minus | Zdeno Chara (+29) |
| Wins | Patrick Lalime (39) |
| Goals against average | Patrick Lalime (2.16) |
The2002–03 Ottawa Senators season was the11th season of theOttawa Senators of theNational Hockey League (NHL). This season saw the Senators reach the highest point in the playoffs until the 2006–07 season. They were eliminated in theEastern Conference final by theNew Jersey Devils, the eventualStanley Cup winning team. On top of their larger success, with their total 113 points they won thePresidents' Trophy, theNortheast Division title and the Eastern Conference title.
After their long history of debt problems, the Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003. They continued regular season play after receiving emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, they had a successful year, compared to their early day woes. The Presidents' Trophy awarded to the Senators made them the first Canadian team to win it since theCalgary Flames in their championship season of1989, and the first Eastern Conference team to win it since theNew York Rangers' title in the1994 Stanley Cup Finals. In the playoffs, they defeated their former teammateAlexei Yashin and hisNew York Islanders, then beat thePhiladelphia Flyers in the second round, before coming within one game of making it into the Finals, falling to the New Jersey Devils.
General managerMarshall Johnston resigned and was replaced byJohn Muckler on July 1, 2002.[1] Muckler had been a candidate for the positions of Ottawa head coach or GM back in 1992, but had chosen to sign on with theBuffalo Sabres instead.
Right wingerMarian Hossa led Ottawa in scoring, just eclipsing Yashin's previous record of 44 goals. Without the goaltending issues that had plagued Senators teams of the past, Patrick Lalime showed one of his best seasons, with career bests ingoals against average (GAA) and wins.
After a slow start to the season after an even .500 ratio, the Senators turned around their game with a ten-game unbeaten streak. Fans were concerned whether their start was due to off-ice problems. These worries, however, were soon irrelevant to fans when the Senators again clinched a playoff berth. Before the playoffs, the Senators addressed toughness concerns through separate trades to theBuffalo Sabres for grindersVaclav Varada andRob Ray respectively, plus two-way forwardBryan Smolinski from theLos Angeles Kings.
| No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 52 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 263 | 182 | 113 |
| 2 | 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 44 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 236 | 208 | 98 |
| 3 | 7 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 36 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 245 | 237 | 87 |
| 4 | 10 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 30 | 35 | 8 | 9 | 206 | 234 | 77 |
| 5 | 12 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 27 | 37 | 10 | 8 | 190 | 219 | 72 |
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.
| 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
In the first round of the playoffs, the team played theNew York Islanders, facing former team captainAlexei Yashin for the first time in the playoffs. Yashin played well in the first game and the Islanders won the first game at theCorel Centre 3–0. The loss by the Senators was attributed to paying too much attention to stopping Yashin and not enough on the rest of the Islanders. The Senators adjusted their play for the next game winning it and the next three games in a row to win the series 4–1.
In the second round, the team faced thePhiladelphia Flyers who had defeated theToronto Maple Leafs in the first round. The Senators won the series on the basis of their strong defence, holding the Flyers to only ten goals in the six games, advancing to the Eastern Conference final series against theNew Jersey Devils to decide thePrince of Wales Trophy.
The first two games of the series were in Ottawa and the wins were split between the Senators and Devils. In New Jersey, the Devils won both games to put the Senators at the brink of elimination. However, the Senators came back, winning the fifth game at home and the sixth game in New Jersey to force a seventh and deciding game at home.
In the seventh game, Ottawa got out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Magnus Arvedson. The Devils would score the next two on goals in the second period by Jamie Langenbrunner. Going into the third down 2-1 the Sens tied it on a goal by Radek Bonk and dominated play in the third, when with two minutes remaining, Devils' forwardJeff Friesen deked outPatrick Lalime and shot over his leg pad, into the net, to score the series-winning goal.[4]
| 2002–03 regular season[5] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 3–4–1–0 (home: 2–2–0–0; road: 1–2–1–0)
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November: 10–2–2–0 (home: 7–1–0–0; road: 3–1–2–0)
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December: 10–3–2–0 (home: 4–1–1–0; road: 6–2–1–0)
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January: 9–5–1–1 (home: 5–0–0–1; road: 4–5–1–0)
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February: 8–3–1–0 (home: 5–2–1–0; road: 3–1–0–0)
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March: 9–4–1–0 (home: 4–3–1–0; road: 5–1–0–0)
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April: 3–0–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 2–0–0–0)
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Legend:W Win (2 points)L Loss (0 points)T Tie (1 point)OTL Overtime loss (1 point) |
| 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Islanders – Senators win 4–1
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Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Philadelphia Flyers – Senators win 4–2
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Eastern Conference Finals vs. (2) New Jersey Devils – Devils win 4–3
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Legend:W WinL Loss |
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | |||
| 18 | Marian Hossa | RW | 80 | 45 | 35 | 80 | 8 | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −1 | 6 |
| 11 | Daniel Alfredsson | RW | 78 | 27 | 51 | 78 | 15 | 42 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −3 | 12 |
| 28 | Todd White | C | 80 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 19 | 28 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −1 | 6 |
| 9 | Martin Havlat | RW | 67 | 24 | 35 | 59 | 20 | 30 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 14 |
| 14 | Radek Bonk | C | 70 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 6 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 | Wade Redden | D | 76 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 23 | 70 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Zdeno Chara | D | 74 | 9 | 30 | 39 | 29 | 116 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 14 |
| 12 | Mike Fisher | C | 74 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 13 | 54 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 16 |
| 20 | Magnus Arvedson | LW | 80 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 13 | 48 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −4 | 16 |
| 22 | Shaun Van Allen | C | 78 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 17 | 66 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 12 |
| 23 | Karel Rachunek | D | 58 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 23 | 30 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −5 | 14 |
| 15 | Peter Schaefer | LW | 75 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 11 | 32 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 39 | Jason Spezza | C | 33 | 7 | 14 | 21 | −3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Petr Schastlivy | LW | 33 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Chris Phillips | D | 78 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 7 | 71 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 24 | Anton Volchenkov | D | 57 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −4 | 40 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | Jody Hull | RW | 70 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Chris Neil | RW | 68 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 147 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| 21 | Bryan Smolinski† | C | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
| 26 | Vaclav Varada† | RW | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 18 |
| 34 | Shane Hnidy | D | 67 | 0 | 8 | 8 | −1 | 130 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Curtis Leschyshyn | D | 54 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Brian Pothier | D | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Steve Martins‡ | C | 14 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Brad Smyth | RW | 12 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −2 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Joel Kwiatkowski‡ | D | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Toni Dahlman | RW | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | Patrick Lalime | G | 67 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 33 | Josh Langfeld | RW | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Dennis Bonvie | RW | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Ray Emery | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 31 | Martin Prusek | G | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 32 | Rob Ray† | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Joey Tetarenko† | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No. | Player | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | ||
| 40 | Patrick Lalime | 67 | 39 | 20 | 7 | 1591 | 142 | 2.16 | .911 | 8 | 3943 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 449 | 34 | 1.82 | .924 | 1 | 1122 |
| 31 | Martin Prusek | 18 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 415 | 37 | 2.37 | .911 | 0 | 935 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Ray Emery | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 1.41 | .923 | 0 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Zdeno Chara | [6] |
| Marian Hossa | |||
| Patrick Lalime[a] | |||
| Jacques Martin(coach) | |||
| NHL Player of the Month | Todd White(December) | [8] | |
| NHL YoungStars Game | Anton Volchenkov | [9] | |
| Team | Molson Cup | Daniel Alfredsson | [10] |
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| First game | Anton Volchenkov | October 10, 2002 | [11] |
| Jason Spezza | October 24, 2002 | ||
| Ray Emery | January 8, 2003 | ||
| 25th shutout | Patrick Lalime | January 14, 2003 | [12] |
| 750th game coached | Jacques Martin | February 20, 2003 | [13] |
The Senators were involved in the following transactions from June 14, 2002, the day after the deciding game of the2002 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 9, 2003, the day of the deciding game of the2003 Stanley Cup Finals.[14]
| Date | Details | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22) | ToNew York Rangers
| To Ottawa Senators
| [15] |
| June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | ToTampa Bay Lightning
| To Ottawa Senators | [16] |
| June 29, 2002 (2002-06-29) | ToAtlanta Thrashers
| To Ottawa Senators | [17] |
| September 21, 2002 (2002-09-21) | ToVancouver Canucks | To Ottawa Senators | [18] |
| October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01) | ToFlorida Panthers | To Ottawa Senators
| [19] |
| December 16, 2002 (2002-12-16) | ToWashington Capitals | To Ottawa Senators | [20] |
| January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15) | To Washington Capitals | To Ottawa Senators
| [21] |
| February 25, 2003 (2003-02-25) | ToBuffalo Sabres | To Ottawa Senators
| [22] |
| March 4, 2003 (2003-03-04) | To Florida Panthers | To Ottawa Senators | [23] |
| March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10) | To Buffalo Sabres
| To Ottawa Senators | [24] |
ToNashville Predators
| To Ottawa Senators | [25] | |
| March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11) | ToLos Angeles Kings
| To Ottawa Senators | [26] |
| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 24, 2002 (2002-07-24) | Shaun Van Allen | Montreal Canadiens | multi-year | Free agency | [27] |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Brad Smyth | New York Rangers | 1-year | Free agency | [28] |
| August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26) | Dennis Bonvie | Boston Bruins | 1-year | Free agency | [29] |
| June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02) | Brian McGrattan | Binghamton Senators (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency | [30] |
| Date | Player | New team | Via[b] | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03) | Bill Muckalt | Minnesota Wild | Free agency (UFA) | [32] |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Chris Herperger | Atlanta Thrashers | Free agency (UFA) | [33] |
| Travis Richards | Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) | Free agency (VI) | [34] | |
| August 2, 2002 (2002-08-02) | Ricard Persson | Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) | Free agency (III) | [35] |
| September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13) | Jason Doig | Washington Capitals | Free agency (VI) | [36] |
| October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01) | Kevin Grimes | Jackson Bandits (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) | [37] |
| October 25, 2002 (2002-10-25) | Benoit Brunet | Retirement (III) | [38] | |
| January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15) | Steve Martins | St. Louis Blues | Waivers | [39] |
| Date | Player | Term | Contract type | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) | Joel Kwiatkowski | multi-year | Re-signing | [40] |
| July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15) | Daniel Alfredsson | 2-year | Re-signing | [41] |
| Christoph Schubert | 3-year | Entry-level | [42] | |
| Anton Volchenkov | 3-year | Entry-level | [43] | |
| July 31, 2002 (2002-07-31) | Josh Langfeld | 1-year | Re-signing | [44] |
| Sami Salo | 1-year | Re-signing | [45] | |
| Jeff Ulmer | 1-year | Re-signing | [46] | |
| August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01) | Josef Boumedienne | 1-year | Re-signing | [47] |
| Steve Martins | multi-year | Re-signing | [48] | |
| Petr Schastlivy | multi-year | Re-signing | [49] | |
| August 8, 2002 (2002-08-08) | Radek Bonk | 2-year | Re-signing | [50] |
| Chris Phillips | 2-year | Re-signing | [51] | |
| August 21, 2002 (2002-08-21) | Jody Hull | 1-year | Re-signing | [52] |
| August 26, 2002 (2002-08-26) | Brian Pothier | multi-year | Re-signing | [29] |
| September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14) | Mike Fisher | multi-year | Re-signing | [53] |
| Chris Neil | multi-year | Re-signing | [53] | |
| September 21, 2002 (2002-09-21) | Peter Schaefer | multi-year | Re-signing | [18] |
| November 8, 2002 (2002-11-08) | Karel Rachunek | 2-year | Re-signing | [54] |
| November 27, 2002 (2002-11-27) | Billy Thompson | multi-year | Entry-level | [55] |
| June 2, 2003 (2003-06-02) | Brooks Laich | multi-year | Entry-level | [56] |
| Jan Platil | multi-year | Entry-level | [56] | |
| Greg Watson | multi-year | Entry-level | [56] | |
| June 6, 2003 (2003-06-06) | Shaun Van Allen | 1-year | Option exercised | [57] |
Ottawa's draft picks from the2002 NHL entry draft held on June 22 and June 23, 2002 at theAir Canada Centre inToronto,Ontario.[58]
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Jakub Klepis | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) | |
| 2 | 47 | Alexei Kaigorodov | Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RSL) | |
| 3 | 75 | Arttu Luttinen | HIFK (SM-liiga) | |
| 4 | 113 | Scott Dobben | Erie Otters (OHL) | |
| 4 | 125 | Johan Bjork | Malmö IF (Elitserien) | |
| 5 | 150 | Brock Hooton | Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL) | |
| 8 | 246 | Josef Vavra | HC Vsetín (Czech Extraliga) | |
| 9 | 276 | Vitaly Atyushov | Molot-Prikamye Perm (RSL) |
Lalime made 17 saves for his fifth shutout of the season -- the 25th of his career.
Martin received one in recognition of his 750th regular-season game as an NHL coach in the league.
The Rangers, who held the 75th overall pick in the Draft, swapped third rounders with the Ottawa Senators, who sent the Blueshirts their 81st and 127th picks.
Also signed was defenseman Jason Doig to a one-year deal.
I'm bringing in (defense-man) Kevin Grimes (after agreeing to terms on a one-year contract)