2002–03 Vancouver Canucks season
NHL hockey team season
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The 2002–03 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' 33rd NHL season.
| 2002–03 Vancouver Canucks | |
|---|---|
| Division | 2nd Northwest |
| Conference | 4th Western |
| 2002–03 record | 45–23–13–1 |
| Home record | 22–13–6–0 |
| Road record | 23–10–7–1 |
| Goals for | 264 |
| Goals against | 208 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Brian Burke |
| Coach | Marc Crawford |
| Captain | Markus Naslund |
| Alternate captains | Murray Baron Ed Jovanovski Trent Klatt Trevor Linden |
| Arena | General Motors Place |
| Average attendance | 18,396[1] |
| Minor league affiliates | Manitoba Moose (AHL) Columbia Inferno (ECHL) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Markus Naslund (48) |
| Assists | Markus Naslund (56) |
| Points | Markus Naslund (104) |
| Penalty minutes | Todd Bertuzzi (144) |
| Plus/minus | Marek Malik (+23) |
| Wins | Dan Cloutier (33) |
| Goals against average | Alex Auld (1.57) |
As of 2023, the only remaining active member of the 2002–03 Vancouver Canucks is Jan Hlaváč. He is a member of HC Stadion Vrchlabí of the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League.
Regular season
The Canucks had much success in the regular season as the West Coast Express Line (Brendan Morrison, Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi) played their first full season intact and contributed 67% of the team's goals. The Canucks led all teams in power-play goals scored, with 87.[2] They also set a franchise record with a 10 game win streak in November 2002. As the season wound down, many expected the Canucks to win the Northwest Division title (due to the slow start by division rivals Colorado Avalanche). Despite the chances, the Canucks failed to clinch the Northwest division on the last day of the regular season with a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings coupled with a win by the Colorado Avalanche. Markus Naslund also lost the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy on the last day of the regular season and missed out on tying fellow Swede Hakan Loob as the only Swedish players who have scored 50 goals in a season. Worse, Peter Forsberg also narrowly beat Naslund for the Art Ross Trophy. Naslund publicly came out to apologize to Canuck fans for "choking".
Final standings
| No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 251 | 194 | 105 |
| 2 | 4 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 264 | 208 | 104 |
| 3 | 6 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 198 | 178 | 95 |
| 4 | 8 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 231 | 230 | 92 |
| 5 | 12 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 29 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 186 | 228 | 75 |
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 | Z- Dallas Stars | PA | 82 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 245 | 169 | 111 |
| 2 | Y- Detroit Red Wings | CE | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 269 | 203 | 110 |
| 3 | Y- Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 251 | 194 | 105 |
| 4 | X- Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 264 | 208 | 104 |
| 5 | X- St. Louis Blues | CE | 82 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 253 | 222 | 99 |
| 6 | X- Minnesota Wild | NW | 82 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 198 | 178 | 95 |
| 7 | X- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PA | 82 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 203 | 193 | 95 |
| 8 | X- Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 231 | 230 | 92 |
| 8.5 | ||||||||||
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CE | 82 | 30 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 207 | 226 | 79 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Kings | PA | 82 | 33 | 37 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 221 | 78 |
| 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | PA | 82 | 31 | 35 | 11 | 5 | 204 | 230 | 78 |
| 12 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 29 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 186 | 228 | 75 |
| 13 | Nashville Predators | CE | 82 | 27 | 35 | 13 | 7 | 183 | 206 | 74 |
| 14 | San Jose Sharks | PA | 82 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 8 | 214 | 239 | 73 |
| 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | CE | 82 | 29 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 213 | 263 | 69 |
Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
Z – Clinched conference; Y – Clinched division; X – Clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
Schedule and results
Regular season
| 2002–03 regular season[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 3–4–4–0 (home: 1–4–2–0; road: 2–0–2–0)
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November: 12–1–0–0 (home: 5–0–0–0; road: 7–1–0–0)
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December: 7–6–1–0 (home: 3–3–1–0; road: 4–3–0–0)
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January: 7–5–2–0 (home: 5–2–2–0; road: 2–3–0–0)
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February: 9–1–2–0 (home: 4–1–0–0; road: 5–0–2–0)
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March: 7–5–3–1 (home: 4–2–1–0; road: 3–3–2–1)
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April: 0–1–1–0 (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 0–0–1–0)
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Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point) OTL Overtime loss (1 point) |
Playoffs
| 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (5) St. Louis Blues: Canucks won 4–3
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Western Conference Semifinals vs. (6) Minnesota Wild: Wild won 4–3
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Legend: W Win L Loss |
Player statistics
Scoring
- Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; 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 Canucks only.
- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | |||
| 19 | Markus Naslund | LW | 82 | 48 | 56 | 104 | 6 | 52 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −6 | 18 |
| 44 | Todd Bertuzzi | RW | 82 | 46 | 51 | 97 | 2 | 144 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −3 | 60 |
| 7 | Brendan Morrison | C | 82 | 25 | 46 | 71 | 18 | 36 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 18 |
| 55 | Ed Jovanovski | D | 67 | 6 | 40 | 46 | 19 | 113 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 8 | −5 | 22 |
| 24 | Matt Cooke | LW | 82 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 21 | 82 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| 16 | Trevor Linden | C | 71 | 19 | 22 | 41 | −1 | 30 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 10 |
| 33 | Henrik Sedin | C | 78 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 9 | 38 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −2 | 8 |
| 3 | Brent Sopel | D | 81 | 7 | 30 | 37 | −15 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 |
| 22 | Daniel Sedin | LW | 79 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 8 | 34 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −2 | 8 |
| 6 | Sami Salo | D | 79 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −2 | 0 |
| 26 | Trent Klatt | RW | 82 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Mattias Ohlund | D | 59 | 2 | 27 | 29 | 1 | 42 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
| 10 | Trevor Letowski | RW | 78 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 8 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| 13 | Artem Chubarov | C | 62 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| 8 | Marek Malik† | D | 69 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 23 | 52 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −7 | 10 |
| 25 | Mats Lindgren† | C | 54 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −2 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Todd Warriner‡ | LW | 30 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Bryan Allen | D | 48 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 73 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 23 | Murray Baron | D | 78 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 62 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 | Brandon Reid | C | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Jarkko Ruutu | RW | 36 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −7 | 66 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
| 4 | Nolan Baumgartner | D | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Dan Cloutier | G | 57 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 9 | Harold Druken‡ | C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Jan Hlavac‡ | LW | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Jason King | C | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Pat Kavanagh | RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 81 | Fedor Fedorov | LW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Peter Skudra | G | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 20 | Darren Langdon† | LW | 45 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 143 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Mikko Jokela† | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Zenith Komarniski | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Tyler Moss | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 28 | Bryan Helmer | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Brad May† | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 15 |
| 35 | Alex Auld | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Goaltending
| No. | Player | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | ||
| 39 | Dan Cloutier | 57 | 57 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 1477 | 136 | 2.42 | .908 | 2 | 3376 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 341 | 45 | 3.24 | .868 | 0 | 833 |
| 1 | Peter Skudra | 23 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 522 | 54 | 2.72 | .897 | 1 | 1192 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Alex Auld | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 165 | 10 | 1.57 | .939 | 1 | 382 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3.00 | .800 | 0 | 20 |
| 30 | Tyler Moss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 2.67 | .929 | 0 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Awards and records
Awards
| Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| League (annual) |
Lester B. Pearson Award | Markus Naslund | [5] |
| NHL First All-Star Team | Todd Bertuzzi (Right wing) | [6] | |
| Markus Naslund (Left wing) | |||
| League (in-season) |
NHL All-Star Game selection | Todd Bertuzzi | [7] |
| Marc Crawford (coach) | |||
| Ed Jovanovski | |||
| Markus Naslund | |||
| NHL Player of the Month | Dan Cloutier (November) | [8] | |
| NHL Player of the Week | Dan Cloutier (February 17) | [9] | |
| Brendan Morrison (February 24) | [10] | ||
| Todd Bertuzzi (March 24) | [11] | ||
| Team | Babe Pratt Trophy | Ed Jovanovski | [12] |
| Cyclone Taylor Trophy | Markus Naslund | [12] | |
| Cyrus H. McLean Trophy | Markus Naslund | [12] | |
| Fred J. Hume Award | Matt Cooke | [12] | |
| Molson Cup | Markus Naslund | [12] | |
| Most Exciting Player Award | Todd Bertuzzi | [12] |
Milestones
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| First game | Fedor Fedorov | October 10, 2002 | [13] |
| Mikko Jokela | February 18, 2003 | ||
| Brandon Reid | March 1, 2003 | ||
| Jason King | March 17, 2003 |
Transactions
The Canucks 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.[14]
Trades
| Date | Details | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 23, 2002 | To Vancouver Canucks: |
To Toronto Maple Leafs: |
[15] |
| June 25, 2002 | To Vancouver Canucks:
|
To Toronto Maple Leafs: |
[16] |
| September 4, 2002 | To Vancouver Canucks: |
To Toronto Maple Leafs: |
[17] |
| September 21, 2002 | To Vancouver Canucks: |
To Ottawa Senators: |
[18] |
| November 1, 2002 | To Vancouver Canucks: |
To Carolina Hurricanes: |
[19] |
| January 20, 2003 | To Vancouver Canucks: |
To Atlanta Thrashers:
|
[20] |
| January 24, 2003 | To Vancouver Canucks: |
To New Jersey Devils: |
[21] |
| February 5, 2003 | To Vancouver Canucks:
|
To Philadelphia Flyers: |
[22] |
| March 11, 2003 | To Vancouver Canucks: |
To Phoenix Coyotes: |
[23] |
Players acquired
| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 5, 2002 | Tyler Moss | Carolina Hurricanes | Free agency | [24] | |
| July 10, 2002 | Jaroslav Obsut | Colorado Avalanche | Free agency | [25] | |
| July 11, 2002 | Nolan Baumgartner | Chicago Blackhawks | Free agency | [26] | |
| October 24, 2002 | John Craighead | Revier Lions (DEL) | Free agency | [27] | |
| November 3, 2002 | Mats Lindgren | Manitoba Moose (AHL) | Free agency | [28] |
Players lost
| Date | Player | New team | Via[c] | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2002 | Alexei Tezikov | Retirement (UFA) | [30] | |
| July 4, 2002 | Scott Lachance | Columbus Blue Jackets | Free agency (V) | [31] |
| Andre Savage | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (VI) | [32] | |
| July 15, 2002 | Jason Strudwick | Chicago Blackhawks | Free agency (UFA) | [33] |
| August 15, 2002 | Andrew Cassels | Columbus Blue Jackets | Free agency (III) | [34] |
| October 11, 2002 | Mike Brown | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | Waivers | [35] |
| Alfie Michaud | Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) | Free agency (VI) | [36] | |
| October 21, 2002 | Martin Brochu | Verdun Dragons (QSPHL) | Free agency (VI) | [37] |
| May 31, 2003 | Peter Skudra | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | Free agency | [38] |
Signings
| Date | Player | Term | Contract type | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 14, 2002 | Tim Smith | Entry-level | [39] | |
| June 27, 2002 | Zenith Komarniski | 1-year | Option exercised | [40] |
| Trevor Letowski | 1-year | Option exercised | [40] | |
| Peter Skudra | 1-year | Option exercised | [40] | |
| July 31, 2002 | Artem Chubarov | 1-year | Re-signing | [41] |
| Harold Druken | 1-year | Re-signing | [42] | |
| August 3, 2002 | Brendan Morrison | 2-year | Arbitration award | [43] |
| September 4, 2002 | Steve Kariya | Re-signing | [44] | |
| September 9, 2002 | Herberts Vasiļjevs | Re-signing | [45] | |
| September 12, 2002 | Bryan Helmer | 1-year | Re-signing | [46] |
| Pat Kavanagh | Re-signing | [47] | ||
| September 16, 2002 | Jeff Farkas | Re-signing | [48] | |
| Ryan Ready | Re-signing | [49] | ||
| October 3, 2002 | Todd Warriner | Re-signing | [50] | |
| October 11, 2002 | Jason King | Entry-level | [51] | |
| January 27, 2003 | Ed Jovanovski | 3-year | Extension | [52] |
| Trevor Linden | 3-year | Extension | [53] |
Draft picks
Below are the Vancouver Canucks' selections at the 2002 NHL entry draft which was held on June 22–23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.[54]
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 49 | Kirill Koltsov | D | Avangard Omsk (RSL) | |
| 2 | 55[a] | Denis Grot | D | Elemach Elektrostal (Russia-2) | |
| 3 | 68[b] | Brett Skinner | D | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) | |
| 3 | 83[c] | Lukas Mensator | G | HC Karlovy Vary U20 (Czech U20) | |
| 4 | 114 | John Laliberte | LW | New Hampshire Junior Monarchs (EJHL) | |
| 5 | 151 | Rob McVicar | G | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) | |
| 7 | 214 | Marc-Andre Roy | LW | Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) | |
| 7 | 223[d] | Ilya Krikunov | LW | Elemach Elektrostal (Russia-2) | |
| 8 | 247 | Matt Violin | G | Lake Superior State Lakers (CCHA) | |
| 9 | 277 | Thomas Nussli | C | EV Zug (NLA) | |
| 9 | 278[e] | Matt Gens | RW | St. Cloud State Huskies (WCHA) |
- Draft notes[55]
- The Canucks' first-round pick was involved in the trade detailed in Note A.[a]
- a The New York Islanders' second-round pick (previously acquired by the Washington Capitals) went to the Canucks as the result of a trade on November 10, 2001 that sent the Canucks' 2002 first-round pick and 2003 third-round pick to Washington in exchange for Trevor Linden and this pick.
- b The Tampa Bay Lightning's third-round pick (previously acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers) went to the Canucks as the result of a trade on December 17, 2001 that sent Donald Brashear and the Canucks' 2002 sixth-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for Jan Hlavac and this pick.
- The Canucks' third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on May 31, 2001 that sent Alex Auld to Vancouver in exchange for the Canucks' 2001 second-round pick and this pick.
- c The Los Angeles Kings' third-round pick went to the Canucks as the result of a trade on February 15, 2001 that sent Felix Potvin to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick.
- The Canucks' sixth-round pick was involved in the trade detailed in Note B.[b]
- d The Canucks received a seventh-round pick from the National Hockey League as compensation for Group III free agent Bob Essensa.
- e The Canucks received a ninth-round pick from the National Hockey League as compensation for Group III free agent Greg Hawgood.