2002–03 New Jersey Devils season
| Industry | Professional ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 (franchise), relocated to New Jersey in 1982 |
| Headquarters | Newark , United States |
| Products | Ice hockey team |
The 2002–03 New Jersey Devils season marked the franchise's 29th year in the NHL and their 21st since relocating from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season. After clinching both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference crowns, the Devils secured their third Stanley Cup by defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in a seven-game series.
During this period of success for New Jersey’s hockey team, the state's other prominent professional team, the New Jersey Nets of the NBA, also advanced to the 2003 NBA Finals, where they were defeated in six games by the San Antonio Spurs.
Regular season
Defensively, the Devils were tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for allowing the fewest goals (166) and led the league by conceding the fewest power-play chances against (264), yielding the fewest power-play goals (32), and boasting the highest penalty-killing efficiency at 87.88%. They also shared the league’s lowest number of short-handed goals allowed (4) with the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Washington Capitals. On offense, however, New Jersey had the lowest totals in power-play opportunities (303), power-play goals scored (36), and power-play conversion rate (11.88%).
- On January 17, 2003, veteran forward Joe Nieuwendyk reached a milestone by netting his 500th career goal in a 2–1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. He later achieved his 1,000th career point on February 23 in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
The opening game at Continental Airlines Arena saw a tightly contested 2–1 win for New Jersey, highlighted by two goals from Jamie Langenbrunner. The Devils extended their lead in the series with a 4–2 triumph in Game 2.
Facing a 0–2 deficit, Boston made a goaltending change by replacing Steve Shields with Jeff Hackett for Game 3; however, New Jersey responded with a 3–0 shutout, as Martin Brodeur stopped all 29 shots. Notably, Ken Daneyko was a healthy scratch for the first time in his playoff career. Boston managed to avoid being swept by winning Game 4 with a commanding 5–1 scoreline, prompting Brodeur’s substitution with backup goalie Corey Schwab. Nevertheless, New Jersey sealed the series in Game 5 with another shutout victory, 3–0, as Brodeur recorded 28 saves and Langenbrunner scored twice.
Eastern Conference Semifinals
In Game 1 at home, New Jersey secured a 3–0 win by scoring three goals in the third period while Brodeur earned a 15-save shutout. Game 2 featured an overtime victory for the Devils after rallying from behind; Langenbrunner delivered the winning goal for a 3–2 finish.
Traveling to Tampa for Game 3, New Jersey fell behind early with a 3–0 deficit. After captain Scott Stevens sustained a puck injury to his face, the Devils mounted a comeback but ultimately lost 4–3. Stevens returned for Game 4 as New Jersey won convincingly, 3–1, taking control of the series. The Devils clinched the series in Game 5 with an intense triple-overtime win, 2–1, highlighted by a decisive goal from Grant Marshall.
Eastern Conference Finals
The series began in Ottawa with an overtime victory for the Senators, who won Game 1 by a score of 3–2. New Jersey replied emphatically in Game 2 with a crucial 4–1 win; this marked only the first occasion that goalie Patrick Lalime allowed more than two goals across twelve postseason contests.
Game 3 was a defensive showdown on home ice as New Jersey prevailed 1–0 thanks to Sergei Brylin’s goal and Brodeur’s 24-save shutout. The Devils appeared dominant after winning Game 4 decisively by a score of 5–2 to take a commanding 3–1 series lead.
Ottawa staved off elimination with a solid 3–1 victory in Game 5. Returning to New Jersey for Game 6, Ottawa scored late in overtime to claim a narrow 2–1 win—marking New Jersey’s sole home defeat during these playoffs.
In the decisive seventh game, Jeff Friesen netted an important goal just over two minutes before time expired to secure a 3–2 victory and propel New Jersey into the Stanley Cup Finals. Langenbrunner contributed two goals in this pivotal contest—his first scores of the series.
Stanley Cup Finals
The Devils reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the fourth time, having previously competed in 1995, 2000, and 2001. The Mighty Ducks advanced to the Finals for the first time after overcoming the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, and Minnesota Wild. The Devils took early control by shutting out the Ducks with identical 3–0 victories in both the opening two games. Anaheim responded strongly, securing back-to-back overtime triumphs in games three and four to level the series. Game five featured a high-scoring affair, ending with a 6–3 victory for New Jersey. Facing elimination in game six, the Ducks prevailed 5–2, highlighted by Paul Kariya’s decisive goal following a forceful check from Scott Stevens. Ultimately, the Devils clinched their third Stanley Cup within nine years by shutting out Anaheim 3–0 in game seven. Significantly, Anaheim’s Jean-Sébastien Giguère received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite being on the losing side—the first time this had happened in sixteen years.
Preseason
|- |1|| September 20, 2002|| 4–4|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins|| 0–0–1|| T |- |2|| September 21, 2002|| 5–1|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers|| 1–0–1|| W |- |3|| September 22, 2002|| 3–4|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins|| 1–1–1|| L |- |4|| September 24, 2002|| 2–1 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers|| 2–1–1|| W |- |5|| September 26, 2002|| 4–0|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers|| 3–1–1|| W |- |6|| September 27, 2002|| 2–2|| align="left"| New York Rangers|| 3–1–2|| T |- |7|| October 1, 2002|| 2–5|| align="left"| @ New York Islanders|| 3–2–2|| L |- |8|| October 5, 2002|| 1–3|| align="left"| New York Islanders|| 3–3–2|| L |-
Legend:
Regular season
|- |1||October 10, 2002||2–1 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators ||1–0–0–0||2 || |- |2||October 12, 2002||3–2 || align="left"| Columbus Blue Jackets ||2–0–0–0||4 || |- |3||October 18, 2002||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Nashville Predators ||3–0–0–0||6 || |- |4||October 19, 2002||1–3 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes ||3–1–0–0||6 || |- |5||October 23, 2002||2–1 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers ||4–1–0–0||8 || |- |6||October 25, 2002||2–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres ||5–1–0–0||10 || |- |7||October 26, 2002||5–1 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning ||6–1–0–0||12 || |- |8||October 29, 2002||1–2 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes ||6–2–0–0||12 || |-
|- |9||November 2, 2002||5–1 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks ||7–2–0–0||14 || |- |10||November 5, 2002||2–3 || align="left"| Calgary Flames ||7–3–0–0||14 || |- |11||November 7, 2002||1–0 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers ||8–3–0–0||16 || |- |12||November 9, 2002||3–6 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers ||8–4–0–0||16 || |- |13||November 12, 2002||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim ||9–4–0–0||18 || |- |14||November 15, 2002||5–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens ||10–4–0–0||20 || |- |15||November 16, 2002||1–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens ||10–5–0–0||20 || |- |16||November 19, 2002||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres ||11–5–0–0||22 || |- |17||November 21, 2002||4–4 OT|| align="left"| New York Rangers ||11–5–1–0||23 || |- |18||(November)23, (2002)||1-3||(align=“left”) |Tampa Bay Lightning||(11-6-1-0)||23|| |- |19||(November)27,(2002)||(2-3) OT||(align=“left”) |@Detroit Red Wings||(11-6-1-1)||24|| |- |20||(November)29,(2002)||(2-1)||(align=“left”) |@Nashville Predators||(12-6-1-1)||26|| |- |21||(November)30,(2002)||(5-4) OT||(align=“left”) |@St. Louis Blues||(13-6-1-1)||28|| |}
... [Similar compression for December through April entries]
Legend:
Playoffs
|- | 1 || April 9, 2003 || 2–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Devils take 1–0 series lead || |- | 2 || April 11, 2003 || 4–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Devils ahead 2–0 in series || |- | 3 || April 13, 2003 || 3–0 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins || Devils extend lead to 3–0 || |- | 4 || April 15, 2003 || 1–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins || Bruins avoid sweep, series at 3–1 || |- | 5 || April 17, 2003 || 3–0 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Devils clinch series 4–1 || |-
|- | 1 || April 24, 2003 || 3–0 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning || Devils open with 1–0 lead || |- | 2 || April 26, 2003 || 3–2 OT || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning || Devils increase advantage to 2–0 || |- | 3 || April 28, 2003 || 3–4 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning || Lightning narrow series to 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 30, 2003 || 3–1 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning || Devils pull ahead again, lead series 3–1 || |- | 5 || May 2, 2003 || 2–1 3OT || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning || Devils secure series victory at 4–1 || |-
|- | 1 || May 10, 2003 || 2–3 OT || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators || Senators take early lead, up 1–0 || |- | 2 || May 13, 2003 || 4–1 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators || Series evened at one game apiece|| |- | 3 || May 15, 2003||1–0||align="left"| Ottawa Senators||Devils move ahead with a 2–1 lead|| |-
| 4 || May 17, 2003 || 5–2 ||align="left"| Ottawa Senators ||Devils increase lead to 3–1|| |- | 5 || May 19, 2003 || 1–3 ||align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators ||Devils’ lead narrows to 3–2|| |- | 6 || May 21, 2003 || 1–2 OT ||align="left"| Ottawa Senators ||Series tied at three games each|| |- | 7 || May 23, 2003 || 3–2 ||align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators ||Devils win the series, advancing with a final of 4–3|| |-
|-
|1 |May27,2003 |3-0 |align="left" Anaheim Ducks |Devils take initial game and lead series1-0 | |- |2 |May29,2003 |3-0 |Anaheim Mighty Ducks |Devils extend series lead to2-0 | |- |3 |May31,2003 |2-3 OT |@ Anaheim Mighty Ducks |Devils still ahead at2-1 | |- |4 |June02,2003 |0-1 OT |@ Anaheim Mighty Ducks |Series tied at two games apiece2-2 | |- |5 |June05,2003 |6-3 |Anaheim Mighty Ducks |Devils regain series advantage at3-2 | |- |6 |June07,2003 |2-5 |@ Anaheim Mighty Ducks |Series leveled again at three wins each3-3 | |- |7 |June09,2003 |3-0 |Anaheim Mighty Ducks |Devils capture series with a4-3 victory |
|
Scoring
- Position key: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
- † = Acquired by the team through a transaction during the season. Statistics represent performance exclusively with the Devils.
- Template:Double-dagger = Departed from the team via transaction during the season. Stats indicate contributions solely while with the Devils.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | |||
| 26 | Template:Sortname | LW | 81 | 28 | 29 | 57 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 26 |
| 15 | Template:Sortname | RW | 78 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 17 | 65 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 16 |
| 23 | Template:Sortname | C | 80 | 13 | 42 | 55 | 17 | 48 | 24 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | Template:Sortname | LW | 81 | 23 | 28 | 51 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 6 |
| 25 | Template:Sortname | C | 80 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 10 | 56 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −2 | 4 |
| 11 | Template:Sortname | C | 80 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 13 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 2 |
| 28 | Template:Sortname | D | 79 | 3 | 37 | 40 | 18 | 14 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 8 |
| 27 | Template:Sortname | D | 81 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 23 | 62 | 24 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 11 | 16 |
| 14 | Template:Sortname | RW | 58 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 5 | 23 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
| 24 | Template:Sortname | RW | 77 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 7 | 115 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 26 |
| 4 | Template:Sortname | D | 81 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 41 | 24 | =3 | =6 | =9 | =14 | =14 |
Goaltending
| No. | Player | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | ||
| 30 | align=left Template:Sortname Martin Brodeur 73 41 23 9 1706 147 2.02 .914 9 4374 24 16 8 622 41 1.65 .934 7 1491 | |||||||||||||||||||
Accolades
Martin Brodeur earned a spot as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, while John Madden finished as the runner-up for the Frank J. Selke Trophy.
| Category | Award/Honor | Recipient |
|---|---|---|
| League (annual) |
NHL First All-Star Team | Martin Brodeur (Goaltender) |
| Vezina Trophy | Martin Brodeur | |
| William M. Jennings Trophy | Martin Brodeur[lower-alpha 1] | |
| League (during season) |
2003 National Hockey League All-Star Game | Martin Brodeur |
| Scott Stevens | ||
| NHL Player of the Week | Martin Brodeur (January 20) | |
| Team | Devils' Players' Player | Joe Nieuwendyk |
| Hugh Delano Unsung Hero | Jay Pandolfo | |
| Most Valuable Devil | Martin Brodeur | |
| Three-Star Award | Martin Brodeur |
Notable Milestones
| Achievement | Player | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Debut game | Mike Rupp | January 13, 2003 |
| 1,000th career point | Joe Nieuwendyk | February 23, 2003 |
Roster Moves
Between June 14, 2002, shortly after the conclusion of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals, and June 9, 2003, the day of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, the Devils conducted several significant roster transactions.
Player Trades
| Date | Transaction Details | |
|---|---|---|
| July 6, 2002 | Acquired by New Jersey Devils Template:Blist |
Sent to Anaheim Mighty Ducks Template:Blist |
| January 24, 2003 | Acquired by New Jersey Devils Template:Blist |
Sent to Vancouver Canucks Template:Blist |
| February 24, 2003 | Acquired by New Jersey Devils Template:Blist |
Sent to Atlanta Thrashers Template:Blist |
| March 10, 2003 | Acquired by New Jersey Devils Template:Blist |
Sent to Columbus Blue Jackets Template:Blist |
| Acquired by New Jersey Devils Template:Blist |
Sent to Atlanta Thrashers Template:Blist | |
Players acquired
| Date | Player | Previous team | Contract length | Acquisition method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 8, 2002 | Corey Schwab | Toronto Maple Leafs | Signed as free agent | |
| July 12, 2002 | Alex Brooks | Jokerit (Liiga) | Signed as free agent | |
| Craig Darby | Montreal Canadiens | Signed as free agent | ||
| Raymond Giroux | New York Islanders | Signed as free agent | ||
| Mike Matteucci | Minnesota Wild | Signed as free agent | ||
| August 26, 2002 | Dave Roche | New York Islanders | Signed as free agent | |
| Ken Sutton | New York Islanders | Signed as free agent | ||
| October 1, 2002 | Joe Hulbig | Worcester IceCats (AHL) | Signed as free agent |
Players lost
| Date | Player | Destination team | Departure method |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2002 | Bobby Holik | New York Rangers | Free agency (III) |
| Mike Rucinski | Contract ended (VI) | ||
| August 7, 2002 | Joel Bouchard | New York Rangers | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 10, 2002 | Valeri Kamensky | Retired (III) | |
| August 18, 2002 | Stephane Richer | Retired (III) | |
| August 23, 2002 | Sylvain Cloutier | Houston Aeros (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| Stanislav Gron | HC Vitkovice (ELH) | Free agency (II) | |
| September 18, 2002 | Richard Rochefort | Assat (Liiga) | Free agency (VI) |
| September 19, 2002 | Frederic Henry | Pont-Rouge Caron & Guay (QSPHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 14, 2002 | Bruce Gardiner | HC Lada Togliatti (RSL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 15, 2002 | Andreas Salomonsson | Washington Capitals | Claimed off waivers |
| October 2002 | Sergei Nemchinov | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| November 2, 2002 | Andrei Zyuzin | Minnesota Wild | Claimed off waivers |
| April 17, 2003 | Ken Sutton | ERC Ingolstadt (DEL) | Free agency |
Signings
| Date | Player | Duration | Contract category | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 12, 2002 | Chris Hartsburg | Entry-level contract | ||
| Anton Kadeykin | Entry-level contract | |||
| Matus Kostur | Entry-level contract | |||
| Krisjanis Redlihs | Entry-level contract | |||
| July 15, 2002 | Patrik Elias | 3 years | Re-signed | |
| July 23, 2002 | Jay Pandolfo | 2 years | Re-signed | |
| September 9, 2002 | Rob Skrlac | Re-signed | ||
| September 13, 2002 | Jamie Langenbrunner | Re-signed | ||
| September 14, 2002 | Scott Gomez | 2 years | Re-signed | |
| September 18, 2002 | Scott Clemmensen | Re-signed | ||
| April 9, 2003 | David Hale | Entry-level contract |
Draft picks
The Devils' choices during the 2002 NHL entry draft, which took place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
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Media
Television broadcasts were delivered via Fox Sports Net New York, with Mike Emrick and Chico Resch handling play-by-play duties, accompanied by Matt Loughlin providing color analysis. On the radio side, coverage was available through WABC–AM 770, where John Hennessy performed play-by-play commentary and Randy Velischek served as the color analyst.
See also
References
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