2002-03 Detroit Red Wings season

The 2002–03 Detroit Red Wings season was the 77th National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The Wings scored 110 points, winning the Central Division, but just one point behind the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference's first seed.

Coming off their latest Stanley Cup victory, the Red Wings started looking towards the future. Dominik Hasek and Scotty Bowman had retired over the summer and captain Steve Yzerman was out for the first 66 games of the regular season. The weight of the team fell on Sergei Fedorov and veteran Brett Hull, who helped the Red Wings score the most goals of any team in the regular season. As newly acquired goaltender Curtis Joseph held steady in net, two more pieces of the Stanley Cup team would be traded over the course of the year. Maxim Kuznetsov and Sean Avery left in a trade for Los Angeles's Mathieu Schneider right before the trade deadline in an effort to push the Wings towards the playoffs. However, the pieces didn't fit as the Wings met the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round and shocked everyone by being swept in four games.

Three Red Wings were named to the roster for the 2003 All Star Game: defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom, center Sergei Fedorov and head coach Dave Lewis. It was Lidstrom's seventh appearance at the all-star game, Fedorov's sixth, and Lewis's first appearance as a coach.

The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2002–03 as 20,058 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit.

Season standings
For complete final standings, see 2002–03 NHL season

October
Record: 6–3–1–0; Home: 3–1–1–0; Road: 3–2–0–0

November
Record: 6–4–2–1; Home: 4–1–1–1; Road: 2–3–1–0

December
Record: 10–1–4–0; Home: 7–1–1–0; Road: 3–0–3–0

January
Record: 5–7–1–1; Home: 1–2–1–0; Road: 4–5–0–1

February
Record: 7–2–1–1; Home: 5–1–1–1; Road: 2–1–0–0

March
Record: 13–3–0–0; Home: 7–0–0–0; Road: 6–3–0–0

April
Record: 1–0–1–1; Home: 1–0–0–0; Road: 0–0–1–1


 * Green background indicates win.
 * Red background indicates regulation loss.
 * Yellow background indicates tie.
 * White background indicates overtime loss.

Playoffs
The Detroit Red Wings ended the 2002–03 regular season as the Western Conference's second seed and played Anaheim in the first round. Anaheim upset Detroit in a four-game sweep. The Mighty Ducks would advance and reach the Stanley Cup Finals, losing in Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils.

Western Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Anaheim wins series 4–0


 * Green background indicates win.
 * Red background indicates loss.

Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

* Stats reflect games played with Detroit only.

Goaltending
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Trophies and awards

 * Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Steve Yzerman
 * James Norris Memorial Trophy: Nicklas Lidstrom
 * King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Brendan Shanahan

Milestones
Brett Hull scored his 700th career goal, February 10, 2003.

Transactions
The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions during the 2002–03 season.

Draft picks
Detroit's picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Red Wings were slated to pick 30th overall but traded their first pick to the Atlanta Thrashers.

Grand Rapids Griffins
The Griffins were Detroit's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2002–03.

Toledo Storm
The Storm were the Red Wings' ECHL affiliate for the 2002–03 season.