Team: | Montreal Canadiens |
League: | NHL |
Season: | 2002–03 |
Year: | 2002 |
Conferencerank: | 9th |
Divisionrank: | 4th |
Record: | 30–35–8–9 |
Homerecord: | 16–16–5–4 |
Roadrecord: | 14–19–3–5 |
Goalsfor: | 206 |
Goalsagainst: | 234 |
Coach: | Michel Therrien (Oct–Jan) Claude Julien (Jan–Apr) |
Altcaptain: | Patrice Brisebois Doug Gilmour (Oct–Mar) |
Attendance: | 20,672 |
Goalsleader: | Richard Zednik (31) |
Assistsleader: | Saku Koivu (50) |
Pointsleader: | Saku Koivu (71) |
Plusminusleader: | Andrei Markov (+13) |
Pimleader: | Richard Zednik (79) |
Winsleader: | Jose Theodore (20) |
Gaaleader: | Mathieu Garon (1.99) |
The 2002–03 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 94th season of play. Facing numerous challenges throughout the season including a coaching change, the team did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Before the start of the season, many predicted a strong showing from the Canadiens as a result of a healthy Saku Koivu and last season's Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Jose Theodore. The team was .500 for the first two months of the season and showed little improvement in December. Players such as Mariusz Czerkawski, added to the lineup during the summer, and Donald Audette were slow to produce offence for the team, and the two forwards were both sent down for brief stints in the minors. Moreover, Jose Theodore's performances were not up to par with his MVP-winning season of a year earlier. Despite strong seasons from Koivu, Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault, the Canadiens slid to 11th place in the Eastern Conference in mid-January. This losing streak prompted General Manager Andre Savard to fire head coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien, who filled the same role behind the bench of the Habs' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.[1] Despite Julien's arrival, the team was unable to improve its situation and saw their playoff hopes evaporate with a nine-game winless streak that ended in early March. Despite Saku Koivu's 71 points and Richard Zednik's 31 goals, the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. The Canadiens ended with a record of 30–35–9–8, and former MVP Theodore had a disappointing season with a record of 20–31–6.
The Canadiens finished the regular season tying the Nashville Predators for the fewest short-handed goals scored, with just two.[2]
|- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|1||W||October 11, 2002||4–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2002–03) ||1–0–0–0||2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|2||L||October 12, 2002||1–6 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||1–1–0–0||2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|3||L||October 15, 2002||2–6 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||1–2–0–0||2 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|4||W||October 17, 2002||3–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) ||2–2–0–0||4 || |- align="center"|5||T||October 19, 2002||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||2–2–1–0||5 || |- align="center"|6||T||October 22, 2002||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||2–2–2–0||6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|7||L||October 24, 2002||2–6 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||2–3–2–0||6 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|8||W||October 26, 2002||5–3 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||3–3–2–0||8 || |- align="center"|9||T||October 29, 2002||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) ||3–3–3–0||9 || |-|- align="center"|10||T||November 1, 2002||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||3–3–4–0||10 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|11||W||November 2, 2002||5–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||4–3–4–0||12 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|12||L||November 5, 2002||2–5 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (2002–03) ||4–4–4–0||12 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|13||W||November 7, 2002||3–0 || align="left"| New York Islanders (2002–03) ||5–4–4–0||14 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|14||W||November 9, 2002||3–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) ||6–4–4–0||16 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|15||L||November 12, 2002||2–4 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (2002–03) ||6–5–4–0||16 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|16||L||November 15, 2002||1–5 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||6–6–4–0||16 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|17||W||November 16, 2002||3–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||7–6–4–0||18 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|18||W||November 18, 2002||5–4 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||8–6–4–0||20 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|19||W||November 20, 2002||3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||9–6–4–0||22 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|20||L||November 21, 2002||2–3 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||9–7–4–0||22 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|21||L||November 23, 2002||3–7 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||9–8–4–0||22 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|22||W||November 26, 2002||3–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||10–8–4–0||24 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|23||L||November 29, 2002||2–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||10–9–4–0||24 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|24||OTL||November 30, 2002||1–2 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||10–9–4–1||25 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|25||L||December 4, 2002||1–5 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (2002–03) ||10–10–4–1||25 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|26||OTL||December 6, 2002||6–7 OT|| align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) ||10–10–4–2||26 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|27||W||December 7, 2002||4–2 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) ||11–10–4–2||28 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|28||W||December 10, 2002||4–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||12–10–4–2||30 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|29||L||December 12, 2002||2–3 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||12–11–4–2||30 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|30||W||December 14, 2002||4–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||13–11–4–2||32 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|31||W||December 16, 2002||3–2 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||14–11–4–2||34 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|32||L||December 17, 2002||1–3 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (2002–03) ||14–12–4–2||34 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|33||W||December 19, 2002||3–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2002–03) ||15–12–4–2||36 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|34||W||December 21, 2002||6–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||16–12–4–2||38 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|35||L||December 23, 2002||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (2002–03) ||16–13–4–2||38 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|36||OTL||December 27, 2002||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||16–13–4–3||39 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|37||L||December 28, 2002||2–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) ||16–14–4–3||39 || |- align="center"|38||T||December 31, 2002||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (2002–03) ||16–14–5–3||40 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|39||L||January 2, 2003||2–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) ||16–15–5–3||40 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|40||OTL||January 4, 2003||4–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) ||16–15–5–4||41 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|41||L||January 7, 2003||2–3 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||16–16–5–4||41 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|42||W||January 9, 2003||3–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (2002–03) ||17–16–5–4||43 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|43||L||January 11, 2003||2–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||17–17–5–4||43 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|44||W||January 13, 2003||4–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (2002–03) ||18–17–5–4||45 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|45||L||January 15, 2003||0–1 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||18–18–5–4||45 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|46||L||January 16, 2003||1–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) ||18–19–5–4||45 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|47||OTL||January 18, 2003||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||18–19–5–5||46 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|48||W||January 20, 2003||3–2 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) ||19–19–5–5||48 || |- align="center"|49||T||January 22, 2003||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||19–19–6–5||49 || |- align="center"|50||T||January 25, 2003||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||19–19–7–5||50 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|51||W||January 26, 2003||4–3 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) ||20–19–7–5||52 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|52||W||January 28, 2003||6–3 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (2002–03) ||21–19–7–5||54 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|53||L||January 30, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (2002–03) ||21–20–7–5||54 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|54||L||February 4, 2003||3–4 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||21–21–7–5||54 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|55||L||February 6, 2003||3–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||21–22–7–5||54 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|56||L||February 8, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||21–23–7–5||54 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|57||W||February 9, 2003||2–0 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||22–23–7–5||56 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|58||W||February 11, 2003||3–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (2002–03) ||23–23–7–5||58 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|59||OTL||February 13, 2003||1–2 OT|| align="left"| Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) ||23–23–7–6||59 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|60||W||February 15, 2003||3–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) ||24–23–7–6||61 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|61||L||February 18, 2003||0–3 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (2002–03) ||24–24–7–6||61 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|62||OTL||February 19, 2003||1–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||24–24–7–7||62 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|63||L||February 22, 2003||3–5 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) ||24–25–7–7||62 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|64||L||February 24, 2003||1–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||24–26–7–7||62 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|65||L||February 27, 2003||3–6 || align="left"| Minnesota Wild (2002–03) ||24–27–7–7||62 || |-|- align="center"|66||T||March 1, 2003||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) ||24–27–8–7||63 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|67||L||March 5, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) ||24–28–8–7||63 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|68||OTL||March 6, 2003||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (2002–03) ||24–28–8–8||64 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|69||L||March 8, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) ||24–29–8–8||64 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|70||W||March 10, 2003||3–1 || align="left"| @ Nashville Predators (2002–03) ||25–29–8–8||66 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|71||W||March 12, 2003||4–0 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) ||26–29–8–8||68 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|72||W||March 13, 2003||4–2 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2002–03) ||27–29–8–8||70 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|73||L||March 15, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||27–30–8–8||70 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|74||L||March 18, 2003||0–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (2002–03) ||27–31–8–8||70 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|75||L||March 20, 2003||3–6 || align="left"| New York Islanders (2002–03) ||27–32–8–8||70 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|76||W||March 22, 2003||5–3 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||28–32–8–8||72 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FF6F6F"|77||OTL||March 25, 2003||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals (2002–03) ||28–32–8–9||73 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|78||L||March 28, 2003||1–4 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) ||28–33–8–9||73 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|79||L||March 29, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (2002–03) ||28–34–8–9||73 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|80||W||March 31, 2003||4–0 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) ||29–34–8–9||75 || |-|- align="center" bgcolor="#FFBBBB"|81||L||April 2, 2003||1–2 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) ||29–35–8–9||75 || |- align="center" bgcolor="#CCFFCC"|82||W||April 5, 2003||5–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (2002–03) ||30–35–8–9||77 || |-|-| Legend:
Regular season | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | |||||||||
11 | C | 82 | 21 | 50 | 71 | 5 | 72 | ||
20 | RW | 80 | 31 | 19 | 50 | 4 | 79 | ||
94 | C | 73 | 24 | 22 | 46 | −11 | 30 | ||
38 | C | 82 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 9 | 30 | ||
79 | D | 79 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 13 | 34 | ||
93 | C | 61 | 11 | 19 | 30 | −6 | 36 | ||
43 | D | 73 | 4 | 25 | 29 | −14 | 32 | ||
24 | RW | 73 | 7 | 18 | 25 | −5 | 24 | ||
82 | RW | 54 | 11 | 12 | 23 | −7 | 19 | ||
14 | RW | 53 | 7 | 16 | 23 | −2 | 16 | ||
52 | D | 82 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 1 | 71 | ||
90 | C | 72 | 6 | 16 | 22 | −10 | 20 | ||
21 | RW | 75 | 6 | 13 | 19 | −14 | 72 | ||
71 | C | 52 | 5 | 12 | 17 | −3 | 6 | ||
25 | LW | 60 | 9 | 7 | 16 | −4 | 21 | ||
27 | RW | 43 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −7 | 16 | ||
37 | RW | 33 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 8 | ||
81 | LW | 34 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 14 | ||
54 | D | 65 | 0 | 13 | 13 | −9 | 24 | ||
5 | D | 67 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −4 | 70 | ||
17 | RW | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | ||
28 | D | 65 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −5 | 34 | ||
51 | D | 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −1 | 2 | ||
22 | RW | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 23 | ||
60 | G | 57 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||
8 | D | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 28 | ||
36 | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | ||
26 | LW | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 43 | ||
32 | LW | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 46 | ||
30 | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
31 | G | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
65 | D | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
Regular season | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | ||||||||||||
60 | 57 | 20 | 31 | 6 | 1797 | 165 | 2.90 | .908 | 2 | 3419 | ||
31 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 606 | 45 | 2.54 | .926 | 0 | 1063 | ||
30 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 267 | 16 | 1.99 | .940 | 2 | 482 |
Type | Award/honour | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Saku Koivu | [3] |
NHL YoungStars Game selection | Marcel Hossa | [4] | |
Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Jan Bulis | [5] |
Molson Cup | Jose Theodore | [6] |
The Canadiens 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.[7]
Date | Details | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
June 22, 2002 | To Montreal Canadiens 1st-round pick in 2002 | To Edmonton Oilers 1st-round pick in 2002 8th-round pick in 2002 | [8] | |
June 22, 2002 | To Montreal Canadiens Mariusz Czerkawski | To New York Islanders Arron Asham 5th-round pick in 2002 | ||
June 23, 2002 | To Montreal Canadiens Florida’s 4th-round pick in 2002 | To Calgary Flames 4th-round pick in 2002 Minnesota’s 5th-round pick in 2002 | [9] | |
June 30, 2002 | To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2004 | To Chicago Blackhawks Sergei Berezin | [10] | |
October 31, 2002 | To Montreal Canadiens Sylvain Blouin | To Minnesota Wild 7th-round pick in 2003 | [11] | |
January 17, 2003 | To Montreal Canadiens Claude Julien | To Edmonton Oilers 5th-round pick in 2003 | ||
January 23, 2003 | To Montreal Canadiens Niklas Sundstrom 3rd-round pick in 2004 | To San Jose Sharks Jeff Hackett | [12] | |
January 29, 2003 | To Montreal Canadiens 2nd-round pick in 2003 | To Philadelphia Flyers Eric Chouinard | [13] | |
March 3, 2003 | To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2003 | To Nashville Predators Oleg Petrov | [14] | |
March 11, 2003 | To Montreal Canadiens 6th-round pick in 2003 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Doug Gilmour | [15] |
Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2-year | Free agency | [16] | ||||
Quebec Citadelles (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency | [17] | |||
Krefeld Pinguine (DEL) | 1-year | Free agency | [18] | |||
Waivers | [19] | |||||
Waivers | [20] |
Date | Player | New team | Via | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | Amur Khabarovsk (RSL) | Free agency (UFA) | [21] | ||
Free agency | [22] | ||||
Free agency (III) | [23] | ||||
Free agency (UFA) | [24] | ||||
Metallurg Novokuznetsk (RSL) | Free agency (II) | [25] | |||
Retirement (III) | [26] | ||||
[27] | |||||
Waiver draft | |||||
Lausanne HC (NLA) | Free agency | [28] |
Date | Player | Term | Contract type | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1-year | Re-signing | [29] | ||
2-year | Re-signing | |||
2-year | Re-signing | [30] | ||
1-year | Re-signing | [31] | ||
1-year | Re-signing | |||
3-year | Entry-level | [32] | ||
1-year | Re-signing | [33] | ||
1-year | Re-signing | [34] | ||
1-year | Re-signing | |||
2-year | Re-signing | |||
1-year | Re-signing | [35] | ||
3-year | Re-signing | [36] | ||
2-year | Re-signing | [37] | ||
4-year | Extension | [38] | ||
Mathieu Garon | 2-year | Extension | [39] | |
Jason Ward | 2-year | Extension | [40] | |
2-year | Extension | [41] | ||
3-year | Entry-level | [42] | ||
3-year | Entry-level | [43] | ||
Francis Bouillon | 2-year | Extension | ||
3-year | Entry-level |
Montreal's draft picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.[44]
Round | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 14 | Chris Higgins | Yale University (ECAC) | ||
2 | 45 | Tomas Linhart | HC Pardubice Jr. (Czech Republic) | ||
4 | 99 | Michael Lambert | Montreal Rocket (QMJHL) | ||
6 | 182 | Andre Deveaux | Belleville Bulls (OHL) | ||
7 | 212 | Jonathan Ferland | Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) | ||
9 | 275 | Konstantin Korneyev | Krylya Sovetov (Russia) |