2003–04 Edmonton Oilers season

2003–04 Edmonton Oilers
Division	4th Northwest
Conference	9th Western
2003–04 record	36–29–12–5
Home record	22–12–4–3
Road record	14–17–8–2
Goals for	221 (9th)
Goals against	208 (16th)
Team information
General manager	Kevin Lowe
Coach	Craig MacTavish
Captain	Jason Smith
Alternate captains	Ethan Moreau Ryan Smyth
Arena	Rexall Place (renamed from Skyreach Centre in January)
Average attendance	17,678 (105.0%)
Team leaders
Goals	Ryan Smyth (23)
Assists	Ryan Smyth (36)
Points	Ryan Smyth (59)
Penalty minutes	Georges Laraque (99)
Plus/minus	Igor Ulanov (+19)
Wins	Ty Conklin (17) Tommy Salo (17)
Goals against average	Ty Conklin (2.42)

The 2003–04 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 25th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 36–26–11–9 record in 2002–03, earning 92 points, and returned to the playoffs after a 1 year absence. The Oilers were then defeated by the Dallas Stars in 6 games in the opening round.

During the off-season, the Oilers and Mike Comrie could not come to a contract agreement, and Comrie would not start the season with the team. Comrie would eventually be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in December for Jeff Woywitka and the Flyers 1st round draft pick in 2004.

The club would start off the season on the right foot, having a record of 10–7–2–0 in the first 19 games, however, Edmonton would go into a slump and have a 10–17–6–1 in their next 34 games, and sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference. The Oilers would come out of their slump, and finish the season with a 16–5–4–4 in their remaining 29 games, but it wouldn't be enough, as the Oilers would finish in 9th spot in the West, 2 points behind the 8th place Nashville Predators, and fail to qualify for the post-season for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.

Offensively, Ryan Smyth would lead the club with 23 goals, 36 assists and 59 points. Radek Dvorak would finish just behind Smyth with 50 points, while Ethan Moreau and Raffi Torres would each score 20 goals. Marc-Andre Bergeron would lead the defense with 9 goals and 26 points, while Eric Brewer would finish just behind him with 7 goals and 25 points. Georges Laraque would lead the club in penalty minutes with 99.

In goal, Tommy Salo would begin the season as the starter, however, he would lose his job and eventually be traded to the Colorado Avalanche before the season was over. He won 17 games and had a 2.58 GAA, along with 3 shutouts, with Edmonton. Ty Conklin took over the starting duties, and he would also win 17 games, have a 2.42 GAA and earn a shutout along the way.

Heritage Classic

The Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the second NHL outdoor game and the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the National Hockey League, and was modeled after the success of the "cold war" game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in 2001. The first NHL game to be played outdoors was in 1991 when the Los Angeles Kings played the New York Rangers in an exhibition game outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. [1] The event took place in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium in front of a crowd of 57,167, the largest number of people to ever watch a live NHL game, despite temperatures of close to -18 °C, -30 °C (-22 °F) with wind chill. It was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers joining the NHL in 1979. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television broadcast also set the record for most viewers of a single NHL game with 2.747 million nationwide. This was the first NHL game broadcast in HDTV on CBC.

Season standings

Northwest Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	3	Vancouver Canucks	82	43	24	10	5	235	194	101
2	4	Colorado Avalanche	82	40	22	13	7	235	198	100
3	6	Calgary Flames	82	42	30	7	3	200	176	94
4	9	Edmonton Oilers	82	36	29	12	5	221	208	89
5	10	Minnesota Wild	82	30	29	20	3	188	183	83

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.

Game log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 9	San Jose Sharks	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	1–0–0–0	2
2	October 11	Edmonton Oilers	0–3	Vancouver Canucks	1–1–0–0	2
3	October 14	Edmonton Oilers	0–1	Calgary Flames	1–2–0–0	2
4	October 16	Buffalo Sabres	1–4	Edmonton Oilers	2–2–0–0	4
5	October 18	Colorado Avalanche	3–6	Edmonton Oilers	3–2–0–0	6
6	October 21	St. Louis Blues	6–4	Edmonton Oilers	3–3–0–0	6
7	October 23	Edmonton Oilers	1–6	Colorado Avalanche	3–4–0–0	6
8	October 25	Calgary Flames	4–2	Edmonton Oilers	3–5–0–0	6
9	October 30	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	4–5–0–0	8
10	November 1	Detroit Red Wings	4–4	Edmonton Oilers	4–5–1–0	9
11	November 4	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	Montreal Canadiens	5–5–1–0	11
12	November 6	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Ottawa Senators	5–5–2–0	12
13	November 8	Edmonton Oilers	1–4	Boston Bruins	5–6–2–0	12
14	November 10	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	New York Rangers	6–6–2–0	14
15	November 11	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Boston Bruins	6–7–2–0	14
16	November 13	Edmonton Oilers	2–0	Minnesota Wild	7–7–2–0	16
17	November 15	Calgary Flames	1–2	Edmonton Oilers	8–7–2–0	18
18	November 18	Chicago Blackhawks	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	9–7–2–0	20
19	November 20	Toronto Maple Leafs	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	10–7–2–0	22
20	November 22	Montreal Canadiens	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	10–8–2–0	22
21	November 25	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	10–8–3–0	23
22	November 26	Edmonton Oilers	1–7	Detroit Red Wings	10–9–3–0	23
23	November 28	Colorado Avalanche	4–1	Edmonton Oilers	10–10–3–0	23
24	November 30	San Jose Sharks	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	10–11–3–0	23
25	December 3	Minnesota Wild	1–0	Edmonton Oilers	10–12–3–0	23
26	December 6	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	11–12–3–0	25
27	December 9	Carolina Hurricanes	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	11–13–3–0	25
28	December 11	Edmonton Oilers	2–2	San Jose Sharks	11–13–4–0	26
29	December 12	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Phoenix Coyotes	11–13–5–0	27
30	December 14	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	12–13–5–0	29
31	December 16	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Los Angeles Kings	12–14–5–0	29
32	December 18	Minnesota Wild	1–1	Edmonton Oilers	12–14–6–0	30
33	December 20	Vancouver Canucks	3–0	Edmonton Oilers	12–15–6–0	30
34	December 23	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Calgary Flames	12–16–6–0	30
35	December 27	Edmonton Oilers	6–2	Vancouver Canucks	13–16–6–0	32
36	December 28	Calgary Flames	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	13–17–6–0	32
37	December 30	Minnesota Wild	2–2	Edmonton Oilers	13–17–7–0	33
38	January 2	Edmonton Oilers	2–1	Minnesota Wild	14–17–7–0	35
39	January 4	Edmonton Oilers	4–3	Chicago Blackhawks	15–17–7–0	37
40	January 5	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	New Jersey Devils	15–17–7–1	38
41	January 8	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	New York Islanders	15–18–7–1	38
42	January 10	Edmonton Oilers	3–0	Philadelphia Flyers	16–18–7–1	40
43	January 11	Edmonton Oilers	0–1	Washington Capitals	16–19–7–1	40
44	January 13	Florida Panthers	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	17–19–7–1	42
45	January 15	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	0–1	Edmonton Oilers	18–19–7–1	44
46	January 17	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Nashville Predators	18–20–7–1	44
47	January 18	Edmonton Oilers	4–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	18–20–8–1	45
48	January 20	Dallas Stars	0–3	Edmonton Oilers	19–20–8–1	47
49	January 22	Tampa Bay Lightning	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	19–21–8–1	47
50	January 24	Nashville Predators	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	19–22–8–1	47
51	January 27	Edmonton Oilers	1–3	Colorado Avalanche	19–23–8–1	47
52	January 29	Chicago Blackhawks	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	20–23–8–1	49
53	January 31	Los Angeles Kings	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	20–24–8–1	49
54	February 2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	1–2	Edmonton Oilers	21–24–8–1	51
55	February 4	St. Louis Blues	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	22–24–8–1	53
56	February 11	Atlanta Thrashers	1–5	Edmonton Oilers	23–24–8–1	55
57	February 13	Edmonton Oilers	0–3	Minnesota Wild	23–25–8–1	55
58	February 15	Edmonton Oilers	2–2	Nashville Predators	23–25–9–1	56
59	February 16	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Detroit Red Wings	23–26–9–1	56
60	February 18	Edmonton Oilers	5–1	Colorado Avalanche	24–26–9–1	58
61	February 21	Vancouver Canucks	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	25–26–9–1	60
62	February 23	Detroit Red Wings	1–1	Edmonton Oilers	25–26–10–1	61
63	February 25	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	25–27–10–1	61
64	February 27	Edmonton Oilers	7–2	Phoenix Coyotes	26–27–10–1	63
65	February 29	Edmonton Oilers	4–5	Dallas Stars	26–27–10–2	64
66	March 2	Phoenix Coyotes	4–5	Edmonton Oilers	27–27–10–2	66
67	March 4	Edmonton Oilers	1–1	St. Louis Blues	27–27–11–2	67
68	March 7	Edmonton Oilers	4–3	Chicago Blackhawks	28–27–11–2	69
69	March 9	Edmonton Oilers	1–1	Calgary Flames	28–27–12–2	70
70	March 10	Colorado Avalanche	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	28–27–12–3	71
71	March 12	Vancouver Canucks	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	28–27–12–4	72
72	March 14	Ottawa Senators	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	29–27–12–4	74
73	March 16	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	30–27–12–4	76
74	March 19	Nashville Predators	4–5	Edmonton Oilers	31–27–12–4	78
75	March 21	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	San Jose Sharks	32–27–12–4	80
76	March 22	Edmonton Oilers	2–1	Los Angeles Kings	33–27–12–4	82
77	March 24	Dallas Stars	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	33–27–12–5	83
78	March 26	Los Angeles Kings	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	34–27–12–5	85
79	March 28	Phoenix Coyotes	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	35–27–12–5	87
80	March 30	Edmonton Oilers	0–1	St. Louis Blues	35–28–12–5	87
81	March 31	Edmonton Oilers	3–1	Dallas Stars	36–28–12–5	89
82	April 3	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Vancouver Canucks	36–29–12–5	89

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Ryan Smyth	82	23	36	59	70
Radek Dvorak	78	15	35	50	26
Mike York	61	16	26	42	15
Shawn Horcoff	80	15	25	40	73
Raffi Torres	80	20	14	34	65

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Save %	GAA
Jussi Markkanen	7	393	2	2	2	12	0	.934	1.83
Ty Conklin	39	2085	17	14	4	84	1	.912	2.42
Tommy Salo	44	2486	17	18	6	107	3	.896	2.58
Steve Valiquette	1	13	0	0	0	2	0	.714	9.23

Transactions

Trades

June 21, 2003	To New Jersey Devils 1st round pick in 2003 - Zach Parise	To Edmonton Oilers 1st round pick in 2003 - Marc Pouliot 2nd round pick in 2003 - Jean-Francois Jacques
June 30, 2003	To New York Rangers Jussi Markkanen *4th round pick in 2004 - Roman Kukumberg	To Edmonton Oilers Brian Leetch
December 16, 2003	To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Comrie	To Edmonton Oilers Jeff Woywitka 1st round pick in 2004 - Rob Schremp 3rd round pick in 2005 - Danny Syvret
February 16, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks Peter Sarno	To Edmonton Oilers Tyler Moss
March 7, 2004	To New York Rangers Stephen Valiquette Dwight Helminen 2nd round pick in 2004 - Dane Byers	To Edmonton Oilers Petr Nedved Jussi Markkanen
March 9, 2004	To Colorado Avalanche Tommy Salo 6th round pick in 2005 - Justin Mercier	To Edmonton Oilers Tom Gilbert

*Later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs

Free agents

Player Former team Contract terms D Rocky Thompson Florida Panthers 2 years, G Stephen Valiquette New York Islanders 1 year, F Jamie Wright Philadelphia Flyers 2 years, F Adam Oates Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1 year, $1.95 million D Igor Ulanov Florida Panthers 1 year, $2 million

Player New team F Todd Marchant Columbus Blue Jackets F Daniel Cleary Phoenix Coyotes F Brian Swanson Atlanta Thrashers D Brian Leetch New York Rangers

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	22	Marc Pouliot	Canada	Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
2	51	Colin McDonald	United States	New England Jr. Coyotes (EJHL)
2	68	Jean-Francois Jacques	Canada	Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
3	72	Mikhail Zhukov	Russia	Arboga (Sweden)
3	94	Zack Stortini	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
5	147	Kalle Olsson	Sweden	Frolunda (Sweden)
5	154	David Rohlfs	United States	Compuware Ambassadors (NAHL)
6	184	Dragan Umicevic	Sweden	Sodertalje SK (SEL)
7	214	Kyle Brodziak	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
7	215	Mathieu Roy	Canada	Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
8	248	Josef Hrabal	Czech Republic	HC Vsetin (Czech.)
9	278	Troy Bodie	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007