2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers season


The 2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 36th season in the National Hockey League. The Flyers lost in the second round of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs to the Ottawa Senators in six games.

Off-season

The Flyers hired former Dallas Stars and Stanley Cup-winning head coach Ken Hitchcock to replace the fired Bill Barber.

Regular season

In 2002–03, Roman Cechmanek had a club record 1.83 goals against average and the Flyers acquired Sami Kapanen and Tony Amonte prior to the trade deadline; however, they fell one point short of a second straight Atlantic Division title.
The Flyers had reliable goaltending. They tied the New Jersey Devils for the fewest goals allowed with just 166 and Roman Cechmanek and Robert Esche combined for eight shutouts.

Season standings

Playoffs

The Flyers endured a very long and brutal seven game first round match-up with the Toronto Maple Leafs that featured three multiple overtime games, all in Toronto. After winning Game 7, 6–1, the Flyers fought the Ottawa Senators in the second round with equal vigor as they split the first four games of the series, Cechmanek earning shutouts in both wins. Cechmanek's inconsistency showed through, however, as he allowed ten goals in the final two games and Ottawa advanced in six games. Cechmanek was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2004 second round draft pick during the off-season despite having the second-best GAA in the NHL over his three years in Philadelphia.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Individual

Team

Milestones

Transactions

The Flyers 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.

Trades

Signings

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk.
DatePlayerPrevious team TermRef
July 2, 2002Ian MacNeilCarolina Hurricanes*
July 14, 2002Andre SavageVancouver Canucks*
July 14, 2002Jeff Smith Red Deer Rebels 3-year*
January 15, 2003Joe SaccoWashington Capitals1-year
January 27, 2003Mike SiklenkaPhiladelphia Phantoms 1-year*
May 21, 2003Nick Deschenes Yale University *
May 21, 2003Freddy Meyer Boston University *

Internal

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Entry Draft, signed to entry level contracts. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk.
DatePlayerTermRef
June 25, 2002Jeff Woywitka 3-year*
July 12, 2002Donald Brashear4-year
July 12, 2002Todd Fedoruk3-year
August 8, 2002Neil Littlemulti-year*
August 8, 2002John Slaneymulti-year*
September 11, 2002Simon Gagne2-year
February 15, 2003Marcus Ragnarsson2-year extension

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions. They were not involved in any selections during the 2002 NHL Waiver Draft, which was held on October 4, 2002. The Flyers protected the following players: goaltenders Roman Cechmanek and Neil Little; defensemen Eric Desjardins, Kim Johnsson, Chris McAllister, Dan McGillis, Chris Therien and Eric Weinrich; and forwards Donald Brashear, Todd Fedoruk, Simon Gagne, Mark Greig, Michal Handzus, Kirby Law, John LeClair, Marty Murray, Keith Primeau, Paul Ranheim, Mark Recchi and Jeremy Roenick. The Flyers left the following players unprotected: defensemen David Harlock, John Slaney and Brad Tiley; and forwards Tomas Divisek, Ian MacNeil, Andre Savage and Pete Vandermeer.
DatePlayerTeamRef
January 1, 2003Tomi Kalliofrom Columbus Blue Jackets
March 11, 2003Todd Warrinerto Nashville Predators

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.
DatePlayerNew team ViaRef
July 1, 2002Adam OatesMighty Ducks of AnaheimFree agency
July 4, 2002Luke RichardsonColumbus Blue JacketsFree agency
July 15, 2002Greg KoehlerNashville PredatorsFree agency
July 23, 2002Tomas DivisekHC Pardubice Free agency
July 25, 2002Mark FreerHershey Bears Free agency
July 27, 2002Vaclav PletkaOceláři Třinec Free agency
August 9, 2002Mike WattCarolina HurricanesFree agency
N/AYves SaraultSpringfield Falcons Free agency
N/ARick Tocchet—Retirement
January 16, 2003Tomi Kallio*Frölunda HC Release
May 28, 2003Mark Greig*Hamburg Freezers Free agency

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on June 22–23, 2002. The Flyers traded their original first, 26th overall, second, 59th overall, and third-round picks, 92nd overall, and Maxime Ouellet to the Washington Capitals for Adam Oates on March 19, 2002. They also traded the Canucks' sixth-round pick, 184th overall, and their seventh-round pick, 225th overall, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Blue Jackets' 2003 fifth-round pick on June 23, 2002, and their eighth-round pick, 256th overall, to the Carolina Hurricanes for Paul Ranheim on May 31, 2000.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityTeam Notes
14Joni PitkanenDefenseFinlandOulun Kärpät
4105Rosario RuggeriDefenseCanadaChicoutimi Saguenéens
4126Konstantin BaranovForwardRussiaMechel Chelyabinsk
5161Dov Grumet-MorrisGoaltenderUnited StatesHarvard University
6192Nikita KorovkinDefenseRussiaKamloops Blazers
6193Joey MorminaDefenseCanadaColgate University
7201Mathieu BrunelleLeft WingCanadaVictoriaville Tigres

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL.