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2003–04 Detroit Red Wings season

The 2003–04 Detroit Red Wings season was the 78th National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. Despite multiple injuries to key players, the Wings found themselves once again winning the Presidents' Trophy for having the best regular season record in the NHL, scoring 109 points. In the post-season, they advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they were eliminated by the eventual Western Conference champion Calgary Flames in six games.

Two Red Wings were named to the roster for the 2004 All-Star Game: defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and center Pavel Datsyuk. Lidstrom was voted into his eighth appearance at the All-Star game by fans, and Datsyuk was selected to the roster for his first appearance.[1]

The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2003–04 as 20,066 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit.

Goaltending controversy

Detroit's early exit from the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs left Curtis Joseph to be heavily scrutinized by the media as to whether or not he was up to task to start for Detroit. During the subsequent offseason, Dominik Hasek shocked the hockey world when he announced he was coming out of retirement and fulfilling his contractual obligation to the Red Wings. Given their previous success with Hasek, the Red Wings welcomed him back to the team.

With the Wings appearing to favor Hasek as their starting goaltender, Joseph opted to have surgery to repair his ankle prior to the start of the season, resulting with the Red Wings using Hasek and Manny Legace as their goaltending tandem. When Joseph returned from injury and subsequent conditioning assignment in the minors, anger quickly grew on and off the ice between Hasek and Joseph. General Manager Ken Holland attempted to move Joseph to alleviate the situation, but Holland was not able to find a trade partner nor give Joseph up via the waiver wire due to the hefty terms of his contract (the contract had two years remaining with an annual salary of US$8 million and a no-trade clause). Unable to continue holding three goaltenders on roster, Detroit elected to send Joseph to Detroit's minor league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on a permanent basis following a poor performance against the Washington Capitals.

While Hasek assumed the starting role, he did not do so with ease. Hasek was not conditioned properly to handle the competition at the NHL level and was wrought with inconsistent play and injuries. By December 2003, both Hasek and Legace went down with injuries and Joseph was recalled from the minors, along with Joey MacDonald. While MacDonald was returned to the minors when Legace returned from injury, Joseph remained with the Red Wings as Hasek opted to remain on the injured reserve and did not return for the remainder of the season.

Joseph and Legace would find themselves in a platoon situation until Joseph injured his ankle in a contest against the San Jose Sharks. The Red Wings recalled Marc Lamothe from the Griffins to support Legace. Lamothe would appear in two games during his time with Detroit, making him the fifth goaltender to dress for Detroit and the fourth to play for them that season (MacDonald did not play in any games while on roster). Lamothe was returned to the minors once Joseph returned from injury.

Despite being viewed by many as Detroit's "third" goaltender, Manny Legace ended up the de facto starting goaltender for the season, leading the other goaltenders on the team in games played, wins and shutouts. (At the time, those were also career records for Legace.) Legace also had a better save percentage and goals against average (GAA) than either Hasek or Joseph. Based on his regular season play, Legace was named the starting goaltender going into the playoffs. During the opening round against the Nashville Predators, Legace won the first two games, but was pulled after the fourth game following consecutive three-goal losses.

Joseph took over the starting duties and responded admirably, posting a .300 GAA, .977 save percentage and one shutout for the remainder of the series. While Joseph had a strong performance against Calgary (1.83 GAA and .928 SV%), Detroit suffered an offensive drought and, with the series tied at two games a piece, were shut-out the final two games of the series, eliminating Detroit from the playoffs.

Joseph never appeared for the Red Wings again, as the last year of his contract was nullified by the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Instead, Joseph signed with the Phoenix Coyotes once the lockout was resolved. Legace went on to assume the starting role for Detroit, but was released after the season following another disappointing playoff exit. Hasek appeared with the Ottawa Senators during the 2005–06 season, but later returned to Detroit for what would be his last two seasons as an NHL goaltender.

Regular season

The Red Wings tied the Tampa Bay Lightning for most short-handed goals scored in the NHL, with 15, and had the best penalty-kill percentage in the League (86.75%).[2]

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: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

For complete final standings, see 2003–04 NHL season

Playoffs

The Detroit Red Wings ended the 2003–04 regular season as the Western Conference's first seed and played the Nashville Predators in the first round. They defeated Nashville in six games and met the Calgary Flames in the second round. Calgary would go on to defeat Detroit and reach the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in Game 7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

The Red Wings 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.[12]

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.[47] The Red Wings were slated to pick 27th overall but traded their first pick to the Los Angeles Kings at the 2003 trade deadline.

Farm teams

Grand Rapids Griffins

The Griffins were Detroit's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2003–04.

Toledo Storm

The Storm were the Red Wings' ECHL affiliate for the 2003–04 season.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Mowers originally wore number 20 prior to Lang being acquired.
  2. ^ Lidstrom was voted to the starting lineup.[8]
  3. ^ Club option for a fourth year.
  4. ^ In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.[21]
  5. ^ Detroit retained Bykov’s NHL rights through the 2005–06 season.[22]
  6. ^ Club option for a second year.
  7. ^ Hasek announced he was coming out of retirement on July 8.[34]

References

  1. ^ Perreault, Selanne among all-stars, tsn.ca, September 6, 2007
  2. ^ "2003-04 NHL Summary".
  3. ^ "2003-2004 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  4. ^ "2003–2004 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Detroit Red Wings - Schedule". Detroit Red Wings. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "Frank J. Selke Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  7. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 2004". NHL.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  9. ^ Musselman, Ron (January 25, 2004). "From Russia, with talent". The Blade. Retrieved August 11, 2022. He was named the league's offensive player of the month in December after tallying 23 points in 15 games.
  10. ^ "Hockey players of the week named". UPI. December 15, 2003. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "Flyers vs. Red Wings - Game Recap - February 29, 2004". ESPN. March 1, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2022. Red Wings D Nicklas Lidstrom played in his 1,000th NHL game.
  12. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "Capitals trade Lang to Detroit". ESPN.com. February 27, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  14. ^ Freedenberg, Jeremy (July 3, 2003). "Red Wings Sign Defenseman Derian Hatcher". AP NEWS. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "Red Wings ink Rivers". UPI. July 29, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "Red Wings sign Ray Whitney". TSN.ca. July 29, 2003. Archived from the original on October 1, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  17. ^ "Kevin Miller Returns to Michigan". OurSports Central. August 27, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  18. ^ Anders Myrvold at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved May 18, 2022
  19. ^ "Red Wings come to terms with Thomas". UPI. November 5, 2003. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  20. ^ "Red Wings Sign Blake Sloan". OurSports Central. December 1, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  21. ^ "2003 NHL free agent list". ESPN.com. July 1, 2003. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "List of Available Free Agents". NHL.com. July 1, 2006. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  23. ^ Dmitri Bykov at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved May 18, 2022
  24. ^ "Feeling Ducky: Fedorov signs with Anaheim". ESPN.com. July 19, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  25. ^ "Luc Robitaille signs with Kings". UPI. July 24, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  26. ^ "Bruins Agree to Terms with Raycroft, Kutlak and Campbell". Boston Bruins. July 31, 2003. Archived from the original on January 9, 2004. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  27. ^ "FLAMES SIGN DEFENCEMAN JESSE WALLIN". Calgary Flames. July 31, 2003. Archived from the original on August 14, 2003. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  28. ^ Bryan Adams at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved May 18, 2022
  29. ^ "Penguins sign defenseman Patrick Boileau". ESPN.com. August 28, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  30. ^ "Devils ink Igor Larionov". UPI. September 11, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  31. ^ "Grizzlies Make Several Roster Moves". OurSports Central. November 11, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  32. ^ "Stars claim Blake Sloan off waivers from Detroit; assign Gainey to Utah". Dallas Stars. December 3, 2003. Archived from the original on December 17, 2003. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  33. ^ "Thursday roundup: Avs re-sign Morris, four others". ESPN.com. June 26, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  34. ^ "He's back: Hasek comes out of retirement". ESPN.com. July 8, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  35. ^ a b c "Wings pave Hasek's way back to NHL". ESPN.com. June 30, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  36. ^ "MARC LAMOTHE". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on October 1, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2022. 01-Jul-03: Re-signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Detroit Red Wings.
  37. ^ Kerr, Grant (July 8, 2003). "Veteran Klatt jumps to Kings". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  38. ^ "Red Wings re-sign Dandenault". UPI. July 15, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  39. ^ "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. July 16, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022. DETROIT RED WINGS--Signed D Niklas Kronwall to a two-year contract.
  40. ^ "Mowers' Signing Completes Trifecta". OurSports Central. July 16, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  41. ^ "Barnes, Van Drunen Back in Fold". OurSports Central. August 20, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  42. ^ "Yzerman agrees to return for 21st season with Red Wings". ESPN.com. August 25, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  43. ^ "JASON WILLIAMS". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on August 24, 2004. Retrieved August 21, 2023. 15-Sep-03: Re-signed by the Detroit Red Wings.
  44. ^ "Tomas Holmstrom stays with Red Wings". UPI. April 2, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  45. ^ "Lidstrom signs two-year extension". TSN.ca. April 3, 2004. Archived from the original on May 29, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  46. ^ a b c "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. June 3, 2004. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  47. ^ "2003 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.