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 Semi-finals, where they were eliminated by the eventual Western Conference champion Calgary Flames in six games.

2003–04 Detroit Red Wings
Central Division champions
Division1st Central
Conference1st Western
2003–04 record48–21–11–2
Home record30–7–4–0
Road record18–14–7–2
Goals for255
Goals against189
Team information
General ManagerKen Holland
CoachDave Lewis
CaptainSteve Yzerman
Alternate captainsNicklas Lidstrom
Brendan Shanahan
ArenaJoe Louis Arena
Average attendance20,066 (100%)
Team leaders
GoalsPavel Datsyuk (30)
AssistsBrett Hull (43)
PointsPavel Datsyuk (68)
Penalty minutesBrendan Shanahan (108)
Plus/minusKirk Maltby (24)
WinsManny Legace (23)
Goals against averageMarc Lamothe (1.45)

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
Central Division[3]
No. CR GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts
11Detroit Red Wings824821112255189109
27St. Louis Blues82393011219119891
38Nashville Predators82382911421621791
414Columbus Blue Jackets8225458417723862
515Chicago Blackhawks82204311818825959

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.

Western Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts
1 P- Detroit Red WingsCE824821112255189109
2 Y- San Jose SharksPA824321126255183104
3 Y- Vancouver CanucksNW824324105235194101
4 X- Colorado AvalancheNW824022137236198100
5 X- Dallas StarsPA82412613219417597
6 X- Calgary FlamesNW8242307320017694
7 X- St. Louis BluesCE82393011219119891
8 X- Nashville PredatorsCE82382911421621791
8.5
9 Edmonton OilersNW82362912522120889
10 Minnesota WildNW82302920318818383
11 Los Angeles KingsPA82282916920521781
12 Mighty Ducks of AnaheimPA82293510818421376
13 Phoenix CoyotesPA82223618618824568
14 Columbus Blue JacketsCE8225458417723862
15 Chicago BlackhawksCE82204311818825959

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

Schedule and results

October

Record: 5–5–0–0; Home: 4–1–0–0; Road: 1–4–0–0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 9Los Angeles2 – 3DetroitHasek20,0661–0–02
2October 11Detroit3 – 2OttawaOTHasek18,5002–0–04
3October 16Vancouver2 – 3DetroitHasek20,0663–0–06
4October 18Detroit3 – 4PittsburghHasek13,4213–1–06
5October 20Detroit1 – 2MontrealHasek19,4073–2–06
6October 22Columbus1 – 4DetroitLegace20,0664–2–08
7October 24Dallas0 – 4DetroitHasek20,0665–2–010
8October 25Detroit1 – 3NY RangersHasek18,2005–3–010
9October 29St. Louis6 – 5DetroitLegace20,0665–4–010
10October 30Detroit3 – 5NashvilleJoseph12,3225–5–010

November

Record: 9–4–2–0; Home: 4–2–0–0; Road: 5–2–2–0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
11November 1Detroit4 – 4EdmontonOTLegace16,8395–5–1–011
12November 3Detroit1 – 5VancouverLegace18,6305–6–1–011
13November 4Detroit3 – 0CalgaryJoseph15,2596–6–1–013
14November 8Nashville4 – 3DetroitJoseph20,0666–7–1–013
15November 10Chicago0 – 3DetroitHasek20,0667–7–1–015
16November 12Detroit6 – 2DallasHasek18,5328–7–1–017
17November 14Detroit4 – 3ChicagoOTHasek21,8569–7–1–019
18November 15Detroit1 – 1MinnesotaOTHasek18,5689–7–2–020
19November 19Columbus1 – 5DetroitLegace20,06610–7–2–022
20November 20Detroit0 – 3ColumbusLegace18,13610–8–2–022
21November 22Detroit5 – 2MinnesotaJoseph18,56811–8–2–024
22November 24Washington4 – 1DetroitJoseph20,06611–9–2–024
23November 26Edmonton1 – 7DetroitLegace20,06612–9–2–026
24November 28NY Islanders0 – 6DetroitLegace20,06613–9–2–028
25November 29Detroit2 – 1St. LouisLegace20,00614–9–2–030

December

Record: 9–3–2–1; Home: 7–0–1–0; Road: 2–3–1–1

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
26December 3Anaheim2 – 7DetroitLegace20,06615–9–2–032
27December 4Detroit4 – 4St. LouisOTHasek18,50415–9–3–033
28December 6Detroit2 – 5TorontoLegace19,47015–10–3–033
29December 8Los Angeles2 – 3DetroitOTHasek20,06616–10–3–035
30December 10Detroit7 – 2BuffaloJoseph16,28317–10–3–037
31December 11Detroit3 – 4ChicagoOTJoseph18,48917–10–3–138
32December 13Detroit5 – 1WashingtonJoseph18,27718–10–3–140
33December 15Florida1 – 4DetroitJoseph20,06619–10–3–142
34December 17San Jose2 – 2DetroitOTJoseph20,06620–10–3–144
35December 19Chicago2 – 3DetroitLegace20,06621–10–3–146
36December 20Detroit0 – 1NashvilleJoseph17,11321–11–3–146
37December 22St. Louis1 – 2DetroitJoseph20,06622–11–3–148
38December 26Minnesota2 – 2DetroitOTJoseph20,06622–11–4–149
39December 28Detroit0 – 3ChicagoLegace21,12222–12–4–149
40December 31Atlanta5 – 6DetroitOTJoseph20,06623–12–4–151

January

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

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
41January 2Detroit4 – 1CarolinaJoseph17,05324–12–4–153
42January 3Anaheim1 – 3DetroitLegace20,06625–12–4–155
43January 5Nashville0 – 6DetroitJoseph20,06626–12–4–157
44January 7Boston3 – 0DetroitJoseph20,06626–13–4–157
45January 10Detroit1 – 2BostonOTJoseph17,56526–13–4–258
46January 14Chicago2 – 4DetroitLegace20,06627–13–4–260
47January 16Phoenix3 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,06627–13–5–261
48January 19Detroit1 – 2San JoseJoseph17,36127–14–5–261
49January 21Detroit2 – 2AnaheimOTLegace17,17427–14–6–262
50January 22Detroit5 – 4Los AngelesJoseph18,11828–14–6–264
51January 24Detroit2 – 5PhoenixJoseph19,01928–15–6–264
52January 26Detroit2 – 2DallasOTLegace18,53228–15–7–265
53January 29New Jersey2 – 5DetroitJoseph20,06629–15–7–267
54January 31Carolina4 – 4DetroitOTLegace20,06630–15–8–268

February

Record: 8–2–1–0; Home: 5–1–0–0; Road: 3–1–1–0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
55February 3Detroit4 – 1NashvilleLegace15,13430–15–8–270
56February 5Detroit3 – 2ColoradoOTJoseph18,00731–15–8–272
57February 11San Jose2 – 4DetroitLegace20,06632–15–8–274
58February 14Colorado5 – 2DetroitLegace20,06632–16–8–274
59February 16Edmonton1 – 2DetroitLegace20,06633–16–8–276
60February 18Phoenix2 – 5DetroitLegace20,06634–16–8–278
61February 20St. Louis1 – 5DetroitLegace20,06635–16–8–280
62February 23Detroit1 – 1EdmontonOTLamothe16,83935–16–9–281
63February 24Detroit2 – 4VancouverLegace18,63035–17–9–281
64February 26Detroit2 – 1CalgaryLegace17,86236–17–9–283
65February 29Philadelphia2 – 4DetroitLegace20,06637–17–9–285

March

Record: 10–3–2–0; Home: 6–1–1–0; Road: 4–2–1–0

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
66March 3Calgary1 – 2DetroitLegace20,06638–17–9–287
67March 5Vancouver1 – 3DetroitLegace20,06639–17–9–289
68March 8Tampa Bay1 – 1DetroitOTLegace20,06639–17–10–290
69March 11Detroit4 – 2ColumbusJoseph18,13640–17–10–292
70March 13Dallas0 – 3DetroitLegace20,06641–17–10–294
71March 14Nashville2 – 3DetroitOTJoseph20,06642–17–10–296
72March 16Calgary4 – 1DetroitLegace20,06642–18–10–296
73March 18Detroit1 – 1PhoenixOTJoseph18,70442–18–11–297
74March 20Detroit4 – 2Los AngelesJoseph18,11843–18–11–299
75March 21Detroit6 – 8AnaheimJoseph17,17443–19–11–299
76March 23Detroit2 – 5San JoseLegace17,49643–20–11–299
77March 25Detroit3 – 1ColoradoLegace18,00744–20–11–2101
78March 27Colorado0 – 2DetroitLegace20,06645–20–11–2103
79March 29Minnesota3 – 5DetroitLegace20,06646–20–11–2105
80March 31Detroit3 – 2ColumbusLegace18,13647–20–11–2107

April

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

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
81April 1Detroit3 – 2St. LouisLamothe20,01848–20–11–2109
82April 3Columbus4 – 1DetroitLegace20,06648–21–11–2109
  • 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 2003–04 regular season as the Western Conference's first seed and played Nashville in the first round. They defeated Nashville in six games and met Calgary 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.

Western Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Nashville Predators

Detroit wins series 4–2

GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 7Nashville1 – 3DetroitLegace20,0661 – 0
2April 10Nashville1 – 2DetroitLegace20,0662 – 0
3April 11Detroit1 – 3NashvilleLegace17,1132 – 1
4April 13Detroit0 – 3NashvilleLegace17,1132 – 2
5April 15Nashville1 – 4DetroitJoseph20,0663 – 2
6April 17Detroit2 – 0NashvilleJoseph17,3294 – 2

Western Conference Semi-finals: vs. (6) Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames win series 4–2

GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 22Calgary2 – 1DetroitOTJoseph20,0660 – 1
2April 24Calgary2 – 5DetroitJoseph20,0661 – 1
3April 27Detroit2 – 3CalgaryJoseph19,2891 – 2
4April 29Detroit4 – 2CalgaryJoseph19,2892 – 2
5May 1Calgary1 – 0DetroitJoseph20,0662 – 3
6May 3Detroit0 – 1CalgaryOTJoseph19,2892 – 4
  • Green background indicates win.
  • Red background indicates loss.

Player stats

Skaters

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

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Pavel DatsyukC75303868-23512066+12
Brett HullRW81254368-4121232504
Brendan ShanahanLW82252853+1511712156+420
Steve YzermanC75183351+104611325-10
Mathieu SchneiderD78143246+225612123+28
Henrik ZetterbergLW61152843+15141222404
Ray WhitneyLW67142943+72212134-44
Kris DraperC67241640+223112134+16
Nicklas LidstromD81102838+191812257+44
Kirk MaltbyLW79141933+248012134+211
Tomas HolmstromLW67151530+83812224010
Steve ThomasRW44101222+8256011+12
Chris CheliosD6921921+12618011+14
Jiri FischerD814151907511101-216
Jason WoolleyD5541519+19286011-46
Boyd DevereauxC616915-1204000-10
Jason WilliamsC496713+115300002
Mathieu DandenaultD653912+94012112-16
Darren McCartyRW436511+2501201107
Mark MowersRW523811+34------------
Jamie RiversD50347+941200002
Niklas KronwallD20145+516------------
Robert Lang*C6145+2012459-16
Derian HatcherD15044+48------------
Jiri HudlerC12123-110------------
Kevin MillerC4022+20------------
Darryl BootlandRW22112-374------------
Anders MyrvoldD8011-12------------
Nathan RobinsonLW5000-12------------
Ryan BarnesLW200000------------

*Stats reflect games played with Detroit only.

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA GP Min W L GA SO SV% GAA
Manny Legace41232523105823.9202.1242202280.9052.18
Curtis Joseph31170816103682.9092.39951844121.9391.39
Dominik Hasek14817832302.9072.20----------------
Marc Lamothe212510130.9481.45----------------

Awards and records

Trophies and awards

Records

Milestones

Transactions

The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions during the 2003–04 season.[5]

Trades
February 27, 2004 To Detroit Red Wings
Robert Lang		 To Washington Capitals
Tomas Fleischmann
First-round pick in 2004 Draft
Fourth-round pick in 2006 Draft

Free agents
Player signedFormer team
G Dominik HasekReturn from Retirement
D Derian HatcherDallas Stars
D Jamie RiversFlorida Panthers
LW Ray WhitneyColumbus Blue Jackets
RW Kevin MillerPlaying in Switzerland
Player lostNew team
D Dmitry BykovPlaying in Europe
D Jesse WallinCalgary Flames
D Patrick BoileauPittsburgh Penguins
LW Luc RobitailleLos Angeles Kings
C Igor LarionovNew Jersey Devils
C Sergei FedorovMighty Ducks of Anaheim

Draft picks

Detroit's picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville. The Red Wings were slated to pick 27th overall but traded their first pick to the Los Angeles Kings.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2 64 Jimmy Howard (G)  United States University of Maine (Hockey East)
4 132 Kyle Quincey (D)  Canada London Knights (OHL)
5 164 Ryan Oulahen (C)  Canada Brampton Battalion (OHL)
6 170 Andreas Sundin (LW)  Sweden Linkopings HC (SWE)
6 194 Stefan Blom (D)  Sweden Hammarby IF (SWE)
7 226 Tomas Kollar  Sweden Hammarby IF (SWE)
8 258 Vladimir Kutny  Slovakia Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
9 289 Mikael Johansson (C)  Sweden Arvika (SWE)

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

References
  1. Perreault, Selanne among all-stars, tsn.ca, September 6, 2007
  2. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2004.html
  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. 2003 Who's In, Who's Out: NHL Roster Changes In The Summer of 2003, proicehockey.about.com, accessed September 4, 2007
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