2003–04 record 40–21–15–6 Road record 16–10–12–3 | Home record 24–11–3–3 Goals for 229 | |
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.
Contents
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
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
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.
Skaters
Goaltenders
Records
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.
Trades
Free agency
The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).
Re-signed
The following players were re-signed by the Flyers. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).
Entry level contracts
The following players — Flyers draft picks, undrafted free agents, and the unsigned draft picks of other teams — were signed by the Flyers to entry level contracts.
NHL Waiver Draft
The 2003 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 3, 2003. Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select. First-year professional players were exempt.
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.
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.
Waivers
The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.
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 (*).
Draft picks
Philadelphia's picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nasvhille, Tennessee, on June 21–22, 2003.
Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL.