2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 37th season of play. For the third season in a row, the club placed last in the Atlantic Division and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third year in a row for the first time since the 1985–86 season and the 1987–88 season. In an 18-game losing streak, they went 0–17–1 (one overtime loss). In the first 62 games, they were 11–42–5–4 for 31 points. In their final 20 games, they were 12–5–3–0, ultimately finishing with a 23–47–8–4 record for a last place finish in the conference for the first time since the 1984–85 season and in the NHL for the first time since the 1983–84 season. Their record losing streak would not be matched until the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season by the Buffalo Sabres. By then, tie games would be out of the picture.

Division5th Atlantic

Conference15th Eastern

2003–04 record23–47–8–4

Home record13–22–6–0

Quick facts Pittsburgh Penguins, Division ...

2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	5th Atlantic
Conference	15th Eastern
2003–04 record	23–47–8–4
Home record	13–22–6–0
Road record	10–25–2–4
Goals for	190
Goals against	303
Team information
General manager	Craig Patrick
Coach	Eddie Olczyk
Captain	Mario Lemieux
Alternate captains	Marc Bergevin (Oct.–Mar.) Kelly Buchberger (Nov.–Apr.) Martin Straka (Oct.–Nov.)
Arena	Mellon Arena
Average attendance	11,877^[1]
Minor league affiliates	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Wheeling Nailers
Team leaders
Goals	Ryan Malone (22)
Assists	Dick Tarnstrom (36)
Points	Dick Tarnstrom (52)
Penalty minutes	Brooks Orpik (127)
Plus/minus	Rob Scuderi (2)
Wins	Sebastien Caron (9)
Goals against average	Jean-Sebastien Aubin (2.98)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Close

Offseason

Head coach Rick Kehoe was fired on April 15, 2003.^[2] Team broadcaster and former Penguins player Eddie Olczyk was hired as his replacement on June 11.^[3]

Regular season

The Penguins struggled defensively, finishing 30th overall in the NHL in goals allowed, with 303. They struggled in short-handed situations, allowing the most power-play goals in the League, with 84, and finishing 30th overall in penalty-kill percentage, at 77.24%. Furthermore, they allowed the most short-handed goals in the NHL, with 15.^[4]

Final standings

More information No., CR ...

Atlantic Division^[5]
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

Close

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.

More information R, Div ...

Eastern Conference^[6]
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

Close

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

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

Schedule and results

More information #, Oct ...

2003–04 regular season^[7]

October: 2–4–3–0 (home: 1–2–2–0; road: 1–2–1–0), 7 Points

#	Oct	Visitor	Score	Home	Location	Record	Points	Recap
1	10	Los Angeles Kings	3–0	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (16,986)	0–1–0–0	0	L
2	11	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–3 OT	Philadelphia Flyers	Wells Fargo Center (19,035)	0–1–1–0	1	T
3	16	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–4	Montreal Canadiens	Bell Centre (18,859)	0–2–1–0	1	L
4	18	Detroit Red Wings	3–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (13,421)	1–2–1–0	3	W
5	22	Carolina Hurricanes	1–1 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,425)	1–2–2–0	4	T
6	24	New Jersey Devils	2–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,281)	1–3–2–0	4	L
7	25	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–7	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum (11,746)	1–4–2–0	4	L
8	29	New York Islanders	4–4 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,377)	1–4–3–0	5	T
9	30	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–0	Chicago Blackhawks	United Center (15,121)	2–4–3–0	7	W

November: 3–8–1–1 (home: 2–3–1–0; road: 1–5–0–1), 8 Points

#	Nov	Visitor	Score	Home	Location	Record	Points	Recap
10	1	Boston Bruins	2–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,226)	3–4–3–0	9	W
11	4	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	Air Canada Centre (19,237)	3–5–3–0	9	L
12	7	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–6	Florida Panthers	BB&T Center (18,161)	3–6–3–0	9	L
13	8	Pittsburgh Penguins	0–9	Tampa Bay Lightning	Amalie Arena (18,262)	3–7–3–0	9	L
14	12	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–6	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden (17,960)	3–8–3–0	9	L
15	14	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–1 OT	Buffalo Sabres	First Niagara Center (18,002)	4–8–3–0	11	W
16	15	Florida Panthers	3–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,004)	4–9–3–0	11	L
17	19	Minnesota Wild	6–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,957)	4–10–3–0	11	L
18	21	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–2 OT	New Jersey Devils	Izod Center (16,810)	4–10–3–1	12	OTL
19	22	Ottawa Senators	1–2 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,233)	5–10–3–1	14	W
20	26	Philadelphia Flyers	1–1 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,014)	5–10–4–1	15	T
21	28	New York Rangers	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (15,908)	5–11–4–1	15	L
22	29	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4	Carolina Hurricanes	PNC Arena (14,881)	5–12–4–1	15	L

December: 4–8–1–2 (home: 4–3–0–0; road: 0–5–1–2), 11 Points

#	Dec	Visitor	Score	Home	Location	Record	Points	Recap
23	1	Atlanta Thrashers	3–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (9,576)	6–12–4–1	17	W
24	3	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–5	Philadelphia Flyers	Wells Fargo Center (18,972)	6–13–4–1	17	L
25	6	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	Skyreach Centre (16,839)	6–14–4–1	17	L
26	7	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–6	Calgary Flames	Scotiabank Saddledome (15,009)	6–15–4–1	17	L
27	9	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4 OT	Vancouver Canucks	Rogers Arena (18,630)	6–15–4–2	18	OTL
28	12	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–6	Atlanta Thrashers	Philips Arena (15,039)	6–16–4–2	18	L
29	13	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–5	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,989)	7–16–4–2	20	W
30	16	Buffalo Sabres	1–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,554)	8–16–4–2	22	W
31	18	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–2 OT	Carolina Hurricanes	PNC Arena (11,028)	8–16–4–3	23	OTL
32	20	Atlanta Thrashers	7–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (13,683)	8–17–4–3	23	L
33	22	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–4	Montreal Canadiens	Bell Centre (21,273)	8–18–4–3	23	L
34	26	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–3 OT	Ottawa Senators	Canadian Tire Centre (18,316)	8–18–5–3	24	T
35	27	New Jersey Devils	2–0	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (12,139)	8–19–5–3	24	L
36	29	Chicago Blackhawks	0–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (16,120)	9–19–5–3	26	W
37	31	New York Islanders	6–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,939)	9–20–5–3	26	L

January: 2–14–0–0 (home: 0–8–0–0; road: 2–6–0–0), 4 Points

#	Jan	Visitor	Score	Home	Location	Record	Points	Recap
38	1	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–3	Nashville Predators	Bridgestone Arena (16,238)	9–21–5–3	26	L
39	3	New York Rangers	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,078)	9–22–5–3	26	L
40	5	Toronto Maple Leafs	5–0	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,216)	9–23–5–3	26	L
41	7	Pittsburgh Penguins	4–2	New Jersey Devils	Izod Center (11,948)	10–23–5–3	28	W
42	8	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–3	Boston Bruins	TD Garden (12,914)	10–24–5–3	28	L
43	10	Montreal Canadiens	8–0	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (15,286)	10–25–5–3	28	L
44	12	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–1	Philadelphia Flyers	Wells Fargo Center (19,542)	11–25–5–3	30	W
45	13	Tampa Bay Lightning	3–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,039)	11–26–5–3	30	L
46	16	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–4	Minnesota Wild	Xcel Energy Center (18,568)	11–27–5–3	30	L
47	18	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4	Washington Capitals	Verizon Center (16,168)	11–28–5–3	30	L
48	20	New Jersey Devils	3–0	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,146)	11–29–5–3	30	L
49	22	Pittsburgh Penguins	5–6	Ottawa Senators	Canadian Tire Centre (16,777)	11–30–5–3	30	L
50	24	Colorado Avalanche	5–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (16,704)	11–31–5–3	30	L
51	27	Tampa Bay Lightning	6–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (9,391)	11–32–5–3	30	L
52	29	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–5	Tampa Bay Lightning	Amalie Arena (15,847)	11–33–5–3	30	L
53	31	Philadelphia Flyers	5–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (12,965)	11–34–5–3	30	L

February: 2–9–0–1 (home: 0–5–0–0; road: 2–4–0–1), 5 Points

#	Feb	Visitor	Score	Home	Location	Record	Points	Recap
54	1	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–4	Boston Bruins	TD Garden (15,692)	11–35–5–3	30	L
55	3	Montreal Canadiens	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,041)	11–36–5–3	30	L
56	10	Boston Bruins	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,741)	11–37–5–3	30	L
57	12	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–5	Florida Panthers	BB&T Center (15,863)	11–38–5–3	30	L
58	14	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–3 OT	St. Louis Blues	Scottrade Center (19,812)	11–38–5–4	31	OTL
59	16	Toronto Maple Leafs	8–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,527)	11–39–5–4	31	L
60	18	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum (13,570)	11–40–5–4	31	L
61	20	Florida Panthers	2–0	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,917)	11–41–5–4	31	L
62	22	Ottawa Senators	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (11,780)	11–42–5–4	31	L
63	25	Pittsburgh Penguins	4–3 OT	Phoenix Coyotes	America West Arena (14,712)	12–42–5–4	33	W
64	27	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–4	San Jose Sharks	SAP Center at San Jose (17,496)	12–43–5–4	33	L
65	29	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–2 OT	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum (15,218)	13–43–5–4	35	W

March: 8–4–3–0 (home: 5–1–3–0; road: 3–3–0–0), 19 Points

#	Mar	Visitor	Score	Home	Location	Record	Points	Recap
66	2	New York Islanders	3–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,821)	13–43–6–4	36	T
67	4	Nashville Predators	9–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (9,507)	13–44–6–4	36	L
68	6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	1–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (14,286)	14–44–6–4	38	W
69	7	Pittsburgh Penguins	7–4	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden (18,200)	15–44–6–4	40	W
70	9	Dallas Stars	0–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,302)	16–44–6–4	42	W
71	11	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs	Air Canada Centre (19,411)	17–44–6–4	44	W
72	14	Philadelphia Flyers	3–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,907)	17–44–7–4	45	T
73	16	Washington Capitals	1–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,982)	18–44–7–4	47	W
74	17	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–6	New Jersey Devils	Izod Center (13,239)	18–45–7–4	47	L
75	19	Carolina Hurricanes	3–4 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (10,098)	19–45–7–4	49	W
76	21	New York Rangers	3–4 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (12,307)	20–45–7–4	51	W
77	23	Pittsburgh Penguins	5–2	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden (17,902)	21–45–7–4	53	W
78	26	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–5	Buffalo Sabres	First Niagara Center (18,333)	21–46–7–4	53	L
79	27	Buffalo Sabres	2–2 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (12,964)	21–46–8–4	54	T
80	30	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–4	Washington Capitals	Verizon Center (13,417)	21–47–8–4	54	L

April: 2–0–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 1–0–0–0), 4 Points

#	Apr	Visitor	Score	Home	Location	Record	Points	Recap
81	2	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–2	Atlanta Thrashers	Philips Arena (18,854)	22–47–8–4	56	W
82	4	Washington Capitals	3–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena (16,124)	23–47–8–4	58	W

Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point) OTL Overtime loss (1 point)

Close

Player statistics

Skaters

More information Player, GP ...

Regular season^[8]
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Dick Tarnstrom	80	16	36	52	-37	38
Aleksey Morozov	75	16	34	50	-24	24
Ryan Malone	81	22	21	43	-23	64
Milan Kraft	66	19	21	40	-22	18
Rico Fata	73	16	18	34	-46	54
Konstantin Koltsov	82	9	20	29	-30	30
Ric Jackman^†	25	7	17	24	-5	14
Tomas Surovy	47	11	12	23	-8	16
Tom Kostopoulos	60	9	13	22	-14	67
Brian Holzinger^‡	61	6	15	21	-27	38
Drake Berehowsky^‡	47	5	16	21	-16	50
Mike Eastwood	82	4	15	19	-18	40
Matt Bradley	82	7	9	16	-27	65
Martin Strbak^†	44	3	11	14	-11	38
Lasse Pirjeta^†	13	6	6	12	3	0
Martin Straka^‡	22	4	8	12	-16	16
Eric Meloche	25	3	7	10	-6	20
Brooks Orpik	79	1	9	10	-36	127
Marc Bergevin^‡	52	1	8	9	-8	27
Mario Lemieux	10	1	8	9	-2	6
Josef Melichar	82	3	5	8	-17	62
Patrick Boileau	16	3	4	7	-16	8
Landon Wilson^†	19	5	1	6	0	31
Ramzi Abid	16	3	2	5	-5	27
Dan Focht	52	2	3	5	-23	105
Jon Sim^†	15	2	3	5	-4	6
Kelly Buchberger	71	1	3	4	-19	109
Matt Hussey	3	2	1	3	-1	0
Steve McKenna	49	1	2	3	-10	85
Rob Scuderi	13	1	2	3	2	4
Matt Murley	18	1	1	2	-6	14
Kris Beech	4	0	1	1	0	6
Reid Simpson	2	0	0	0	0	17
Nolan Baumgartner	5	0	0	0	-7	2
Steve Webb	5	0	0	0	-3	2
Total		190	332	522	—	1,230

Close

Goaltenders

More information Player, GP ...

Regular season^[9]
Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	PIM
Sebastien Caron	40	37	2212:35	9	24	5	138	3.74	1179	0.883	1	6
Jean-Sebastien Aubin	22	17	1067:03	7	9	0	53	2.98	574	0.908	1	2
Marc-Andre Fleury	21	20	1154:02	4	14	2	70	3.64	675	0.896	1	0
Andy Chiodo	8	8	485:37	3	4	1	28	3.46	260	0.892	0	0
Martin Brochu	1	0	32:40	0	0	0	1	1.84	19	0.947	0	0
Total		82	4951:57	23	51	8	290	3.51	2707	0.893	3	8

Close

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 1700 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 4–4 tie with the New York Islanders on October 29.

Awards

More information Type, Award/honor ...

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Ryan Malone (Forward)	^[10]
League (in-season)	NHL Rookie of the Month	Marc-Andre Fleury (October)	^[11]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Ryan Malone	^[12]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Brooks Orpik	^[12]
Team	A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Award	Ryan Malone	^[13]
	Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award	Brooks Orpik	^[13]
	Leading Scorer Award	Dick Tarnstrom	^[13]
	Michel Briere Memorial Rookie of the Year Trophy	Ryan Malone	^[13]
	Most Valuable Player Award	Dick Tarnstrom	^[13]
	Players' Player Award	Kelly Buchberger	^[13]
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Rico Fata	^[13]
	The Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award	Steve McKenna	^[13]

Close

Records

The team also set the NHL record for longest home losing streak, with 14 home losses.

Milestones

More information Milestone, Player ...

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Marc-Andre Fleury	October 10, 2003	^[14]
	Ryan Malone
	Matt Murley
	Rob Scuderi	February 12, 2004
	Andy Chiodo	February 18, 2004
	Matt Hussey	March 16, 2004

Close

Transactions

The Penguins 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.^[15]^[16]

Trades

More information Date, Details ...

Date	Details		Ref
June 21, 2003 (2003-06-21)	To Florida Panthers Mikael Samuelsson 1st-round pick in 2003 2nd-round pick in 2003	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1st-round pick in 2003 3rd-round pick in 2003	^[17]
August 25, 2003 (2003-08-25)	To Vancouver Canucks Johan Hedberg	To Pittsburgh Penguins 2nd-round pick in 2004	^[18]
November 30, 2003 (2003-11-30)	To Los Angeles Kings Martin Straka	To Pittsburgh Penguins Sergei Anshakov Martin Strbak	^[19]
February 10, 2004 (2004-02-10)	To Columbus Blue Jackets Brendan Buckley	To Pittsburgh Penguins Pauli Levokari	^[20]
February 11, 2004 (2004-02-11)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Drake Berehowsky	To Pittsburgh Penguins Ric Jackman	^[21]
February 22, 2004 (2004-02-22)	To Phoenix Coyotes Future considerations	To Pittsburgh Penguins Landon Wilson	^[22]
March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08)	To New York Islanders Steve Webb	To Pittsburgh Penguins Alain Nasreddine	^[23]
March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09)	To Columbus Blue Jackets Brian Holzinger	To Pittsburgh Penguins Lasse Pirjeta	^[24]
March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09)	To Vancouver Canucks Marc Bergevin	To Pittsburgh Penguins 7th-round pick in 2004	^[25]

Close

Players acquired

More information Date, Player ...

Date	Player	Former team	Via	Ref
July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31)	Kelly Buchberger	Phoenix Coyotes	Free agency	^[26]
July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31)	Mike Eastwood	Chicago Blackhawks	Free agency	^[26]
August 22, 2003 (2003-08-22)	Martin Brochu	Severstal Cherepovets (RSL)	Free agency	^[27]
August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28)	Patrick Boileau	Detroit Red Wings	Free agency	^[28]
August 29, 2003 (2003-08-29)	Drake Berehowsky	Phoenix Coyotes	Free agency	^[29]
August 29, 2003 (2003-08-29)	Reid Simpson	Nashville Predators	Free agency	^[29]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	Nolan Baumgartner	Vancouver Canucks	Waiver draft	^[30]
October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22)	Steve Webb	Philadelphia Flyers	Waivers	^[31]
March 4, 2004 (2004-03-04)	Jon Sim	Los Angeles Kings	Waivers	^[32]

Close

Players lost

More information Date, Player ...

Date	Player	New team	Via^[a]	Ref
June 23, 2003 (2003-06-23)	Vladimir Vujtek	HPK (Liiga)	Free agency (UFA)	^[34]
July 12, 2003 (2003-07-12)	Joel Bouchard	Buffalo Sabres	Free agency (UFA)	^[35]
July 26, 2003 (2003-07-26)	Rob Tallas	HPK (Liiga)	Free agency (UFA)	^[36]
July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29)	Ville Nieminen	Chicago Blackhawks	Free agency (UFA)	^[37]
August 4, 2003 (2003-08-04)	Micki DuPont	Eisbaren Berlin (DEL)	Free agency (II)^[b]	^[39]
August 7, 2003 (2003-08-07)	Mathias Johansson	Farjestad BK (SHL)	Free agency (UFA)	^[40]
August 20, 2003 (2003-08-20)	Richard Lintner	Djurgardens IF (SHL)	Free agency (II)^[c]	^[42]
September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10)	Shawn Heins	Atlanta Thrashers	Free agency (UFA)	^[43]
September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10)	Jason MacDonald	Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)	Free agency	^[44]
September 30, 2003 (2003-09-30)	Alexandre Daigle	Minnesota Wild	Free agency (UFA)	^[45]
October 8, 2003 (2003-10-08)	Hans Jonsson	Modo Hockey (SHL)	Free agency (UFA)	^[46]
November 1, 2003 (2003-11-01)	Nolan Baumgartner	Vancouver Canucks	Waivers	^[47]
November 18, 2003 (2003-11-18)	Jamie Pushor	Syracuse Crunch (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	^[48]
November 23, 2003 (2003-11-23)	Kent Manderville	Timra IK (SHL)	Free agency (III)	^[49]
May 13, 2004 (2004-05-13)	Patrick Boileau	Lausanne HC (NLA)	Free agency	^[50]
May 19, 2004 (2004-05-19)	Michal Sivek	HC Sparta Praha (ELH)	Free agency^[d]	^[52]

Close

Signings

More information Date, Player ...

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14)	Ryan Malone	2-year	Entry-level	^[53]
July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29)	Dick Tarnstrom	2-year	Re-signing	^[54]
July 31, 2003 (2003-07-31)	Rico Fata		Re-signing	^[55]
	Mario Lemieux	1-year	Re-signing	^[55]
	Toby Petersen		Re-signing	^[55]
	Rob Scuderi		Re-signing	^[55]
August 1, 2003 (2003-08-01)	Matt Bradley	1-year	Re-signing	^[56]
August 1, 2003 (2003-08-01)	Milan Kraft	1-year	Re-signing	^[56]
August 21, 2003 (2003-08-21)	Andy Chiodo		Entry-level	^[57]
August 22, 2003 (2003-08-22)	Sebastien Caron	4-year	Re-signing	^[58]
September 11, 2003 (2003-09-11)	Ramzi Abid	1-year	Re-signing	^[59]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	Cam Paddock		Entry-level	^[30]
October 6, 2003 (2003-10-06)	Marc-Andre Fleury	3-year	Entry-level	^[60]
April 7, 2004 (2004-04-07)	Ryan Whitney	3-year	Entry-level	^[61]
May 26, 2004 (2004-05-26)	Maxime Talbot	3-year	Entry-level	^[62]
June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01)	Erik Christensen		Entry-level	^[63]

Close

Other

More information Player, Date ...

Player	Date	Details
Eddie Olczyk	June 11, 2003	Hired as head coach
Tom Barrasso	June 18, 2003	Retired^[e]

Close

Draft picks

Pittsburgh had 11 picks in the 2003 NHL entry draft.^[65]

More information Round, # ...

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	1^[a]	Marc-Andre Fleury	Goaltender	Canada	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
2	32	Ryan Stone	Center	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
3	70	Jonathan Filewich	Right winger	Canada	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
3	73^[b]	Daniel Carcillo	Left winger	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
4	121^[c]	Paul Bissonnette	Defence	Canada	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
5	161^[d]	Evgeni Isakov	Left wing	Russia	Severstal Cherepovets (RSL)
6	169	Lukas Bolf	Defence	Czech Republic	Sparta Prague (Czech Extraliga Jr.)
7	199	Andy Chiodo	Goaltender	Canada	Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
7	229^[e]	Stephen Dixon	Center	Canada	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
8	232	Joe Jensen	Center	United States	St. Cloud State University (WCHA)
9	263	Matt Moulson	Left wings	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)

Close

Draft notes^[66]

^a The Florida Panthers' first-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 21, 2003 trade that sent a 2003 first-round pick and a 2003 second round pick to the Panthers in exchange for a 2003 third-round pick and this pick.
The Penguins' first-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a June 21, 2003 trade that sent a 2003 first-round pick and a 2003 third-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for Mikael Samuelsson, a 2003 first-round pick and this pick.
The Penguins' third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a June 21, 2003 trade that sent a 2003 first-round pick and a 2003 third-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for Mikael Samuelsson, a 2003 first-round pick and this pick.
^b The Florida Panthers' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 21, 2003 trade that sent Mikael Samuelsson, a 2003 first-round pick and a 2003 second round pick to the Panthers in exchange for a 2003 first-round pick and this pick.
The Penguins' fourth-round pick went to the Columbus Blue Jackets as the result of a March 15, 2002 trade that sent Jamie Pushor to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
^c The Boston Bruins' fourth-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a March 11, 2003 trade that sent Ian Moran the Bruins in exchange for this pick.
The Penguins' fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a February 9, 2003 trade that sent Shawn Heins to the Penguins in exchange for this conditional pick.
^d The New York Islanders' fifth-round pick (from Philadelphia Flyers) went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a March 9, 2003 trade that sent Randy Robitaille the Islanders in exchange for this pick.
^e The New Jersey Devils' seventh-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a March 19, 2002 trade that sent Stephane Richer to the Devils in exchange for this pick.

Farm teams

The AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finished third in the East Division with a 34–28–10–8 record. They defeated the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Philadelphia Phantoms and the Hartford Wolf Pack to win the Richard F. Canning Trophy as Eastern Conference Champions. They were swept by the Milwaukee Admirals in the Calder Cup Finals.

The ECHL's Wheeling Nailers won the Northern Division and the Eastern Conference with a record of 51–17–4. They lost to the Reading Royals in the first round of the playoffs. Pat Bingham won the John Brophy Award as the ECHL's coach of the year.

Notes

[a]
In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[33]
[b]
Pittsburgh retained DuPont’s NHL rights and re-signed him on June 15, 2006.^[38]
[c]
Pittsburgh retained Lintner’s NHL rights through the 2006–07 season.^[41]
[d]
Pittsburgh retained Sivek’s NHL rights through the 2007–08 season.^[51]
[e]
Barrasso signed a one-day contract in order to retire as a member of the Penguins.^[64]

2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins season

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Player statistics

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Other

Draft picks

Farm teams

See also

Notes

References

Related Articles