2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 37th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Eastern Conference Finals but lost in seven games to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers
Atlantic Division champions
Division	1st Atlantic
Conference	3rd Eastern
2003–04 record	40–21–15–6
Home record	24–11–3–3
Road record	16–10–12–3
Goals for	229
Goals against	186
Team information
General manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Ken Hitchcock
Captain	Keith Primeau
Alternate captains	John LeClair Mark Recchi
Arena	Wachovia Center
Average attendance	19,375[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Philadelphia Phantoms Trenton Titans
Team leaders
Goals	Mark Recchi (26)
Assists	Mark Recchi (49)
Points	Mark Recchi (75)
Penalty minutes	Donald Brashear (212)
Plus/minus	John LeClair (+20)
Wins	Robert Esche (21)
Goals against average	Robert Esche (2.04)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Regular season

Free-agent goaltender Jeff Hackett was signed from the Boston Bruins to replace Roman Cechmanek and challenge backup Robert Esche for the number one spot in 2003–04, but Hackett was forced to retire in February due to vertigo. During the course of the season, serious injuries suffered by both Jeremy Roenick (broken jaw) and Keith Primeau (concussion) in February forced the Flyers to trade for the Chicago Blackhawks' Alexei Zhamnov, who filled in well and kept the Flyers afloat. Esche entrenched himself as starter and remained in that position even after the Flyers re-acquired Sean Burke from the Phoenix Coyotes, as the Flyers clinched the Atlantic Division title over the New Jersey Devils on the last day of the season.

Season standings

Atlantic Division^[2]

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	3	Philadelphia Flyers	82	40	21	15	6	229	186	101
2	6	New Jersey Devils	82	43	25	12	2	213	164	100
3	8	New York Islanders	82	38	29	11	4	237	210	91
4	13	New York Rangers	82	27	40	7	8	206	250	69
5	15	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	23	47	8	4	190	303	58

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.

Eastern Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Z- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	46	22	8	6	245	192	106
2	Y- Boston Bruins	NE	82	41	19	15	7	209	188	104
3	Y- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	40	21	15	6	209	188	101
4	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	24	10	3	242	204	103
5	X- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	43	23	10	6	262	189	102
6	X- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	43	25	12	2	213	164	100
7	X- Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	41	30	7	4	208	192	93
8	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	38	29	11	4	237	210	91
8.5
9	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	34	7	4	220	221	85
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	33	37	8	4	214	243	78
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	28	34	14	6	172	209	76
12	Florida Panthers	SE	82	28	35	15	4	188	221	75
13	New York Rangers	AT	82	27	40	7	8	206	250	69
14	Washington Capitals	SE	82	23	46	10	3	186	253	59
15	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	23	47	8	4	190	303	58

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z – Clinched conference; Y – Clinched division; X – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Though solid in net, Esche's performance was over-shadowed by the play of captain Keith Primeau in the playoffs. Primeau led the Flyers past the defending Stanley Cup champion Devils in five, and the Toronto Maple Leafs in six on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals and a match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite winning Game 6 on the late-game heroics of Primeau and winger Simon Gagne, the Flyers would come up short once again losing Game 7 in Tampa, 2–1.

Schedule and results

Preseason

2003 preseason
Preseason: 3–4–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–3–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 September 19 6–1 New Jersey Devils 1–0–0 W[4] 2 September 20 4–2 @ Washington Capitals 2–0–0 W[5] 3[a] September 23 0–3 @ New Jersey Devils 2–1–0 L[6] 4 September 26 5–4 OT New Jersey Devils 3–1–0 W[7] 5 September 27 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils 3–2–0 L[8] 6 September 30 1–4 New York Islanders 3–3–0 L[9] 7 October 1 4–4 OT @ Washington Capitals 3–3–1 T[10] 8[b] October 2 2–4 @ New York Islanders 3–4–1 L[11] Notes: a Game played at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey. b Game played at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point) OTL Overtime loss (1 point)

Regular season

2003–04 regular season[12]
October: 4–2–3–1, 12 points (home: 3–0–2–0; road: 1–2–1–1) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 1 October 9 2–0 Buffalo Sabres Hackett 1–0–0–0 2 W 2 October 11 3–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins Esche 1–0–1–0 3 T 3 October 16 0–0 OT @ San Jose Sharks Hackett 1–0–2–0 4 T 4 October 18 5–4 @ Phoenix Coyotes Hackett 2–0–2–0 6 W 5 October 21 0–4 @ Los Angeles Kings Hackett 2–1–2–0 6 L 6 October 22 3–4 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Esche 2–1–2–1 7 OTL 7 October 25 4–4 OT Carolina Hurricanes Hackett 2–1–3–1 8 T 8 October 27 5–0 Montreal Canadiens Esche 3–1–3–1 10 W 9 October 29 5–1 Florida Panthers Esche 4–1–3–1 12 W 10 October 30 2–3 @ New Jersey Devils Hackett 4–2–3–1 12 L
November: 10–0–2–0, 22 points (home: 7–0–0–0; road: 3–0–2–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 11 November 1 7–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 5–2–3–1 14 W 12 November 6 4–2 Washington Capitals Esche 6–2–3–1 16 W 13 November 8 2–1 OT @ New York Rangers Hackett 7–2–3–1 18 W 14 November 11 2–1 New York Islanders Hackett 8–2–3–1 20 W 15 November 13 4–3 OT Vancouver Canucks Esche 9–2–3–1 22 W 16 November 15 4–0 Atlanta Thrashers Hackett 10–2–3–1 24 W 17 November 18 2–2 OT @ Carolina Hurricanes Hackett 10–2–4–1 25 T 18 November 20 3–1 Minnesota Wild Esche 11–2–4–1 27 W 19 November 22 3–2 Boston Bruins Hackett 12–2–4–1 29 W 20 November 26 1–1 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins Esche 12–2–5–1 30 T 21 November 28 4–2 Carolina Hurricanes Esche 13–2–5–1 32 W 22 November 29 5–1 @ New York Islanders Hackett 14–2–5–1 34 W
December: 5–4–4–3, 17 points (home: 3–1–0–2; road: 2–3–4–1) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 23 December 1 1–4 @ Ottawa Senators Esche 14–3–5–1 34 L 24 December 3 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Hackett 15–3–5–1 36 W 25 December 5 3–2 Phoenix Coyotes Esche 16–3–5–1 38 W 26 December 6 1–1 OT @ Boston Bruins Hackett 16–3–6–1 39 T 27 December 8 3–2 @ Montreal Canadiens Hackett 17–3–6–1 41 W 28 December 10 1–1 OT @ Columbus Blue Jackets Hackett 17–3–7–1 42 T 29 December 12 3–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils Hackett 17–3–8–1 43 T 30 December 13 0–2 New Jersey Devils Hackett 17–4–8–1 43 L 31 December 16 2–3 OT Calgary Flames Hackett 17–4–8–2 44 OTL 32 December 18 4–5 OT Tampa Bay Lightning Hackett 17–4–8–3 45 OTL 33 December 20 3–1 New York Islanders Esche 18–4–8–3 47 W 34 December 21 1–4 @ Atlanta Thrashers Hackett 18–5–8–3 47 L 35 December 23 2–4 @ New York Islanders Hackett 18–6–8–3 47 L 36 December 27 2–3 OT @ Colorado Avalanche Hackett 18–6–8–4 48 OTL 37 December 29 2–2 OT @ Dallas Stars Esche 18–6–9–4 49 T 38 December 30 7–2 @ St. Louis Blues Esche 19–6–9–4 51 W
January: 7–5–2–1, 17 points (home: 2–3–0–1; road: 5–2–2–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 39 January 2 2–1 @ Florida Panthers Hackett 20–6–9–4 53 W 40 January 3 1–6 @ Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 20–7–9–4 53 L 41 January 7 1–1 OT @ Buffalo Sabres Esche 20–7–10–4 54 T 42 January 8 3–4 OT Florida Panthers Hackett 20–7–10–5 55 OTL 43 January 10 0–3 Edmonton Oilers Esche 20–8–10–5 55 L 44 January 12 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Esche 20–9–10–5 55 L 45 January 13 2–6 @ Buffalo Sabres Hackett 20–10–10–5 55 L 46 January 16 4–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 21–10–10–5 57 W 47 January 17 4–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 22–10–10–5 59 W 48 January 20 1–4 Montreal Canadiens Esche 22–11–10–5 59 L 49 January 22 4–2 @ New York Rangers Esche 23–11–10–5 61 W 50 January 24 2–1 Buffalo Sabres Esche 24–11–10–5 63 W 51 January 25 4–1 @ Washington Capitals Esche 25–11–10–5 65 W 52 January 28 3–3 OT @ Florida Panthers Esche 25–11–11–5 66 T 53 January 31 5–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Esche 26–11–11–5 68 W
February: 7–5–1–1, 16 points (home: 5–3–0–0; road: 2–2–1–1) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 54 February 2 1–2 Tampa Bay Lightning Little 26–12–11–5 68 L 55 February 4 5–1 Washington Capitals Niittymaki 27–12–11–5 70 W 56 February 5 5–1 @ Atlanta Thrashers Niittymaki 28–12–11–5 72 W 57 February 10 4–1 New Jersey Devils Niittymaki 29–12–11–5 74 W 58 February 12 2–1 @ New York Rangers Burke 30–12–11–5 76 W 59 February 14 6–2 New York Rangers Burke 31–12–11–5 78 W 60 February 16 2–5 San Jose Sharks Burke 31–13–11–5 78 L 61 February 17 2–5 @ Tampa Bay Lightning Burke 31–14–11–5 78 L 62 February 19 3–4 Boston Bruins Burke 31–15–11–5 78 L 63 February 21 5–4 Atlanta Thrashers Burke 32–15–11–5 80 W 64 February 24 3–1 Chicago Blackhawks Burke 33–15–11–5 82 W 65 February 26 1–1 OT @ Ottawa Senators Burke 33–15–12–5 83 T 66 February 28 2–3 OT @ Boston Bruins Esche 33–15–12–6 84 OTL 67 February 29 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings Burke 33–16–12–6 84 L
March: 6–4–2–0, 14 points (home: 4–3–1–0; road: 2–1–1–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 68 March 3 5–2 Nashville Predators Esche 34–16–12–6 86 W 69 March 5 5–3 Ottawa Senators Esche 35–16–12–6 88 W 70 March 6 1–2 @ Washington Capitals Burke 35–17–12–6 88 L 71 March 9 3–1 @ New Jersey Devils Esche 36–17–12–6 90 W 72 March 11 2–2 OT Dallas Stars Esche 36–17–13–6 91 T 73 March 13 2–1 New Jersey Devils Esche 37–17–13–6 93 W 74 March 14 3–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins Burke 37–17–14–6 94 T 75 March 18 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 37–18–14–6 94 L 76 March 20 3–0 New York Rangers Esche 38–18–14–6 96 W 77 March 23 4–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes Burke 39–18–14–6 98 W 78 March 25 2–4 New York Islanders Esche 39–19–14–6 98 L 79 March 27 1–3 New York Rangers Esche 39–20–14–6 98 L
April: 1–1–1–0, 3 points (home: 0–1–0–0; road: 1–0–1–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 80 April 1 2–0 @ Montreal Canadiens Burke 40–20–14–6 100 W 81 April 2 1–3 Ottawa Senators Esche 40–21–14–6 100 L 82 April 4 3–3 OT @ New York Islanders Esche 40–21–15–6 101 T
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point) OTL Overtime loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs[12]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. New Jersey Devils – Flyers win 4–1 Game Date Score Opponent Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 8 3–2 New Jersey Devils Esche 19,608 Flyers lead 1–0 W 2 April 10 3–2 New Jersey Devils Esche 19,779 Flyers lead 2–0 W 3 April 12 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils Esche 18,023 Flyers lead 2–1 L 4 April 14 3–0 @ New Jersey Devils Esche 19,040 Flyers lead 3–1 W 5 April 17 3–1 New Jersey Devils Esche 19,778 Flyers win 4–1 W
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – Flyers win 4–2 Game Date Score Opponent Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 22 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 19,447 Flyers lead 1–0 W 2 April 25 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 19,792 Flyers lead 2–0 W 3 April 28 1–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 19,628 Flyers lead 2–1 L 4 April 30 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 19,614 Series tied 2–2 L 5 May 2 7–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 19,825 Flyers lead 3–2 W 6 May 4 3–2 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs Esche 19,625 Flyers win 4–2 W
Eastern Conference Finals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning – Lightning win 4–3 Game Date Score Opponent Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 May 8 1–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 21,425 Lightning lead 1–0 L 2 May 10 6–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 21,314 Series tied 1–1 W 3 May 13 1–4 Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 19,897 Lightning lead 2–1 L 4 May 15 3–2 Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 19,872 Series tied 2–2 W 5 May 18 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 21,517 Lightning lead 3–2 L 6 May 20 5–4 OT Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 19,910 Series tied 3–3 W 7 May 22 1–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning Esche 22,117 Lightning win 4–3 L
Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
8	Mark Recchi	LW	82	26	49	75	18	47	18	4	2	6	−3	4
26	Michal Handzus	C	82	20	38	58	18	82	18	5	5	10	7	7
10	John LeClair	LW	75	23	32	55	20	51	18	2	2	4	2	8
11	Tony Amonte	RW	80	20	33	53	13	38	18	3	5	8	7	6
97	Jeremy Roenick	C	62	19	28	47	1	62	18	4	9	13	4	8
12	Simon Gagne	LW	80	24	21	45	12	29	18	5	4	9	10	12
5	Kim Johnsson	D	80	13	29	42	16	26	15	2	6	8	−3	8
24	Sami Kapanen	RW	74	12	18	30	9	14	18	3	7	10	0	6
44	Joni Pitkanen	D	71	8	19	27	15	44	15	0	3	3	−6	6
14	Justin Williams‡	RW	47	6	20	26	10	32	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	Keith Primeau	C	54	7	15	22	11	80	18	9	7	16	11	22
23	Alexei Zhamnov†	C	20	5	13	18	7	14	18	4	10	14	−1	8
28	Marcus Ragnarsson	D	70	7	9	16	12	58	14	1	4	5	3	14
20	Radovan Somik	LW	53	4	10	14	−2	17	10	1	1	2	1	4
87	Donald Brashear	LW	64	6	7	13	−1	212	18	1	3	4	0	61
37	Eric Desjardins	D	48	1	11	12	11	28	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Chris Therien‡	D	56	1	9	10	2	50	—	—	—	—	—	—
89	Mike Comrie†‡	C	21	4	5	9	2	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Eric Weinrich‡	D	54	2	7	9	11	32	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Branko Radivojevic†	RW	24	1	8	9	0	36	18	1	1	2	−1	32
13	Claude Lapointe	C	42	5	3	8	2	32	1	0	0	0	0	0
9[a]	Patrick Sharp	C	41	5	2	7	−3	55	12	1	0	1	−2	2
23	Jim Vandermeer‡	D	23	3	2	5	−5	25	—	—	—	—	—	—
55	Danny Markov†	D	34	2	3	5	0	58	18	1	2	3	17	25
29	Todd Fedoruk	LW	49	1	4	5	−4	136	1	0	0	0	−2	2
3	Mattias Timander†	D	34	1	4	5	13	19	18	2	4	6	2	6
19	Eric Chouinard‡	RW	17	3	0	3	−3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
45	John Slaney	D	4	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
47	Kirby Law	RW	6	0	1	1	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Vladimir Malakhov†	D	6	0	1	1	−1	2	17	1	5	6	9	12
41[b]	Sean Burke†	G	15	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0		0
42	Robert Esche	G	40	0	0	0		31	18	0	0	0		8
33	Jeff Hackett‡	G	27	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
51	Randy Jones	D	5	0	0	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Boyd Kane	LW	7	0	0	0	−4	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Neil Little	G	1	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
48	Freddy Meyer	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Antero Niittymaki	G	3	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
22	Mike Peluso	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	Dennis Seidenberg	D	5	0	0	0	−4	2	3	0	0	0	1	0
15	Peter White	C	3	0	0	0	−1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

No.	Player	Regular season											Playoffs
		GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
42	Robert Esche	40	40	21	11	7	932	79	2.04	.915	3	2,322	18	18	11	7	498	41	2.32	.918	1	1,061
33	Jeff Hackett‡	27	26	10	10	6	684	65	2.39	.905	3	1,630	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
41[b]	Sean Burke†	15	13	6	5	2	389	35	2.55	.910	1	825	1	0	0	0	9	1	1.50	.889	0	40
30	Antero Niittymaki	3	3	3	0	0	77	3	1.00	.961	0	180	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Neil Little	1	0	0	1	0	8	2	3.61	.750	0	33	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Joni Pitkanen (Defense)	[13]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Ken Hitchcock (coach)	[14]
		Keith Primeau
		Jeremy Roenick
	NHL Defensive Player of the Week	Robert Esche (November 3)	[15]
		Robert Esche (March 15)	[16]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Joni Pitkanen	[17]
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Kim Johnsson	[18]
	Bobby Clarke Trophy	Mark Recchi	[18]
	Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy	Robert Esche	[18]
	Toyota Cup	Mark Recchi	[19]
	Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award	Sami Kapanen	[20]

Records

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers records

The March 5, 2004 game against the Ottawa Senators set four NHL records. The Flyers set the records for most penalty minutes in a game (213) and most penalty minutes in a period (209).^[21][22] Likewise, both teams penalty minute totals set the combined game (419) and period (409) records.^[23][24] The Flyers 32 penalties during the third period set a franchise record.^[25]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Joni Pitkanen	October 9, 2003	[26]
	Boyd Kane	October 16, 2003
	Antero Niittymaki	February 4, 2004
	Randy Jones	March 6, 2004
	Freddy Meyer
25th shutout	Jeff Hackett	October 16, 2003	[27]
500th game played	Jeff Hackett	January 13, 2004	[28]
1,000th game played	Tony Amonte	March 5, 2004	[29]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2003, the day after the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 2004, the day of the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.^[30]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22)	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004	To Carolina Hurricanes Marty Murray	[31]
	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004	To San Jose Sharks 7th-round pick in 2003	[32]
	To Philadelphia Flyers 6th-round pick in 2004	To Florida Panthers 7th-round pick in 2003	[32]
	To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 2004 9th-round pick in 2004	To Tampa Bay Lightning 8th-round pick in 2003 9th-round pick in 2003	[32]
June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30)	To Philadelphia Flyers Conditional 7th-round pick in 2004[c]	To Washington Capitals Rights to Dmitri Yushkevich	[33]
December 16, 2003 (2003-12-16)	To Philadelphia Flyers Rights to Mike Comrie	To Edmonton Oilers Jeff Woywitka 1st-round pick in 2004 3rd-round pick in 2005	[34]
December 17, 2003 (2003-12-17)	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2004	To Minnesota Wild Eric Chouinard	[35]
January 20, 2004 (2004-01-20)	To Philadelphia Flyers Danny Markov	To Carolina Hurricanes Justin Williams	[36]
January 22, 2004 (2004-01-22)	To Philadelphia Flyers Mattias Timander	To New York Islanders Tampa Bay's 7th-round pick in 2004	[37]
February 9, 2004 (2004-02-09)	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2004	To St. Louis Blues Eric Weinrich	[38]
	To Philadelphia Flyers Sean Burke Branko Radivojevic Rights to Ben Eager	To Phoenix Coyotes Mike Comrie	[39]
February 16, 2004 (2004-02-16)	To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Gainey	To Dallas Stars Mike Siklenka	[40]
February 19, 2004 (2004-02-19)	To Philadelphia Flyers Alexei Zhamnov Washington's 4th-round pick in 2004	To Chicago Blackhawks Jim Vandermeer Rights to Colin Fraser Los Angeles' 2nd-round pick in 2004	[41]
March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08)	To Philadelphia Flyers Vladimir Malakhov	To New York Rangers Rights to Rick Kozak 2nd-round pick in 2005	[42]
	To Philadelphia Flyers Phoenix's 8th-round pick in 2004 3rd-round pick in 2005	To Dallas Stars Chris Therien	[43]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)	Jeff Hackett	Boston Bruins	2-year	Free agency	[44]
July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14)	Joey Hope	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)		Free agency	[45]
	Boyd Kane	Tampa Bay Lightning		Free agency	[45]
July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24)	Randy Jones	Clarkson University (ECAC)	2-year	Free agency	[46]
	Mark Murphy	Washington Capitals	1-year	Free agency	[46]
	Mike Peluso	Chicago Blackhawks	1-year	Free agency	[46]
October 21, 2003 (2003-10-21)	Steve Webb	New York Islanders	1-year	Free agency	[47]
November 5, 2003 (2003-11-05)	Mike Siklenka	New York Rangers		Waivers	[48]
March 20, 2004 (2004-03-20)	Stephen Wood	Providence College (HE)		Free agency	[49]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[d]	Ref
July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)	David Harlock[e]		Contract expiration (UFA)	[50]
	Joe Sacco[f]		Contract expiration (III)	[50]
August 19, 2003 (2003-08-19)	Matt Zultek	Trenton Titans (ECHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[53]
September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02)	Jamie Wright	Edmonton Oilers	Free agency (UFA)	[54]
September 11, 2003 (2003-09-11)	Mike Lephart	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[55]
October 1, 2003 (2003-10-01)	Ian Forbes	Florida Everblades (ECHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[56]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	Ryan Bast	Alaska Aces (ECHL)	Free agency (VI)	[57]
	Mike Siklenka	New York Rangers	Waiver draft	[58]
October 22, 2003 (2003-10-22)	Brad Tiley	Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[59]
	Steve Webb	Pittsburgh Penguins	Waivers	[60]
December 26, 2003 (2003-12-26)	Dan Peters	Frankfurt Lions (DEL)	Free agency (VI)	[61]
February 9, 2004 (2004-02-09)	Jeff Hackett		Retirement	[62]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 10, 2003 (2003-06-10)	Eric Chouinard	2-year	Re-signing	[63]
	Sami Kapanen	2-year	Re-signing	[64]
June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30)	Eric Desjardins	2-year[g]	Re-signing	[66]
	Claude Lapointe	2-year	Re-signing	[66]
July 14, 2003 (2003-07-14)	Mathieu Brunelle		Entry-level	[45]
	Mike Siklenka		Re-signing	[45]
	Peter Vandermeer		Re-signing	[45]
	Peter White		Re-signing	[45]
July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15)	Joni Pitkanen	3-year	Entry-level	[67]
July 30, 2003 (2003-07-30)	Radovan Somik	2-year	Re-signing	[68]
	Justin Williams	1-year	Re-signing	[68]
December 20, 2003 (2003-12-20)	Mike Comrie	1-year	Re-signing	[69]
April 7, 2004 (2004-04-07)	Ben Eager	3-year	Entry-level	[70]

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 21–22, 2003.^[71] The Flyers traded their originally allotted second, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth-round draft picks in five different trades.^[72]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	11	Jeff Carter	Center	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)	[h]
	24	Mike Richards	Center	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3	69	Colin Fraser	Center	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)	[i]
	81	Stefan Ruzicka	Right wing	Slovakia	MHC Nitra (Slovakia)	[j]
	85	Alexandre Picard	Defense	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)	[k]
	87	Ryan Potulny	Center	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	[l]
	95	Rick Kozak	Right wing	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
4	108	Kevin Romy	Center	Switzerland	Geneve-Servette HC (NLA)	[m]
5	140	David Tremblay	Goaltender	Canada	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)	[n]
6	191	Rejean Beauchemin	Goaltender	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
	193	Ville Hostikka	Goaltender	Finland	SaiPa Jrs. (FIN)	[o]

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL^[73][74] and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL.^[75]

See also

• Flyers–Senators brawl

Notes

1. Sharp wore number 32 through January 28.
2. Burke wore number 33 in his first game played after being acquired.
3. Condition not met.
4. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[50]
5. Harlock retired.^[51]
6. Sacco retired.^[52]
7. Player option for a third year.^[65]
8. The Phoenix Coyotes' first-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a July 1, 2001 trade that sent Daymond Langkow to the Coyotes in exchange for a 2002 second-round pick and this pick.^[72]
9. The Carolina Hurricanes' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a June 22, 2002 trade that sent a 2002 third-round pick to the Hurricanes in exchange for a 2002 sixth-round pick and this pick.^[72]
10. The New York Rangers' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of an August 20, 2001 trade that sent Eric Lindros to the Rangers in exchange for Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl, Jan Hlavac and this pick.^[72]
11. Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for Group III free agent Adam Oates.^[72]
12. The Edmonton Oilers' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a June 18, 2002 trade that sent Jiri Dopita to the Oilers in exchange for this pick.^[72]
13. Compensatory pick received from NHL as compensation for Group III free agent Luke Richardson.^[72]
14. The Columbus Blue Jackets' fifth-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a June 23, 2002 trade that sent a 2002 sixth round pick and a 2002 seventh round pick to the Blue Jackets in exchange for this pick.^[72]
15. The Colorado Avalanche's sixth-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a February 5, 2003 trade that sent Chris McAllister to the Avalanche in exchange for this pick.^[72]