2002–03 New York Rangers season
The 2002–03 New York Rangers season was the 77th season for the team in the National Hockey League. In the regular season, the Rangers posted a 32–36–10–4 record, finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers' ninth-place finish in the Eastern Conference left them out of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the sixth straight season.
The Rangers entered the season under the supervision of former Colorado Avalanche assistant coach and New York Islanders star Bryan Trottier in his first head coaching role. With the team on the outside of the playoff picture, he was fired after 54 games and replaced with general manager Glen Sather.
The Rangers saw a major milestone reached as goaltender Mike Richter won his 300th game with the team. Shortly thereafter, he suffered a concussion against the Edmonton Oilers when Todd Marchant accidentally struck his head with his knee. Combined with a skull fracture Richter suffered toward the end of the previous season when hit in the face with a slap shot, it was the second such injury he suffered in the previous eight months and caused him to miss the rest of the season. Richter retired before the start of the next season.
Regular season
Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
The Rangers failed to qualify for the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.Player statistics
;Skaters| Player | ||||||
| 78 | 27 | 31 | 58 | -4 | 64 | |
| 81 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 5 | 141 | |
| 80 | 11 | 37 | 48 | -6 | 60 | |
| 78 | 18 | 22 | 40 | -2 | 30 | |
| 79 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 9 | 142 | |
| 64 | 16 | 19 | 35 | -1 | 50 | |
| 39 | 19 | 11 | 30 | 4 | 16 | |
| 51 | 12 | 18 | 30 | -3 | 20 | |
| ‡ | 63 | 6 | 21 | 27 | -3 | 16 |
| ‡ | 58 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 0 | 32 |
| 55 | 8 | 11 | 19 | -3 | 16 | |
| 71 | 3 | 14 | 17 | -7 | 52 | |
| 82 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -4 | 81 | |
| 66 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -12 | 77 | |
| 80 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 85 | |
| † | 24 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 20 |
| ‡ | 32 | 6 | 6 | 12 | -3 | 4 |
| ‡ | 27 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 14 |
| † | 36 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 34 |
| 58 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -2 | 161 | |
| ‡ | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -1 | 6 |
| † | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| † | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| ‡ | 26 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 16 |
| 49 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 6 | |
| 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 14 | |
| 35 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -7 | 10 | |
| ‡ | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 0 |
| ‡ | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 50 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | |
| † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| †‡ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | |
| ‡ | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 51 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 12 |
;Goaltenders
| Player | ||||||||||
| † | 43 | 2467 | 19 | 17 | 5 | 94 | 2.29 | 1229 | .924 | 5 |
| 32 | 1762 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 93 | 3.17 | 842 | .890 | 1 | |
| 13 | 694 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 34 | 2.94 | 329 | .897 | 0 | |
| 1 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3.08 | 18 | .889 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
Draft picks
New York's picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft in Toronto, Ontario, at the Air Canada Centre.| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 2 | 33 | Lee Falardeau | C | Michigan State University | |
| 3 | 81 | Marcus Jonasen | LW | VIK Västerås IK Jr. | |
| 4 | 127 | Nate Guenin | D | Green Bay Gamblers | |
| 5 | 143 | Mike Walsh | LW | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | |
| 6 | 177 | Jake Taylor | D | Green Bay Gamblers | |
| 6 | 194 | Kim Hirschovits | C | HIFK | |
| 7 | 226 | Joey Crabb | RW | Green Bay Gamblers | |
| 8 | 240 | Petr Prucha | LW | HC Pardubice | |
| 9 | 270 | Rob Flynn | RW | Harvard University |