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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)
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
Team leaders
Goals Ryan Smyth (23)
Assists Ryan Smyth (36)
Points Ryan Smyth (59)
Penalties in minutes Georges Laraque (99)
Plus/Minus Igor Ulanov (+19)
Wins Ty Conklin and 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.

Contents

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.[1] 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 GP W L T OTL GF GA PTS
Vancouver Canucks 82 43 24 10 5 235 194 101
Colorado Avalanche 82 40 22 13 7 236 198 100
Calgary Flames 82 42 30 7 3 200 176 94
Edmonton Oilers 82 36 29 12 5 221 208 89
Minnesota Wild 82 30 29 20 3 188 183 83

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 Oceanic (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  Yugoslavia 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)
This sports related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References

  1. ^ Edmonton Oilers Heritage Website - Heritage Classic
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