2002–03 Detroit Red Wings season
The 2002–03 Detroit Red Wings season was the 77th National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The Red Wings scored 110 points, winning the Central Division, but just one point behind the Dallas Stars for the Western Conference's first seed.
| 2002–03 Detroit Red Wings | |
|---|---|
Central Division champions | |
| Division | 1st Central |
| Conference | 2nd Western |
| 2002–03 record | 48–20–10–4 |
| Home record | 28–6–5–2 |
| Road record | 20–14–5–2 |
| Goals for | 269 |
| Goals against | 203 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Ken Holland |
| Coach | Dave Lewis |
| Captain | Steve Yzerman |
| Alternate captains | Nicklas Lidstrom Brendan Shanahan |
| Arena | Joe Louis Arena |
| Average attendance | 20,058 (100%) |
| Minor league affiliate(s) | Grand Rapids Griffins Toledo Storm |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Brett Hull (37) |
| Assists | Sergei Fedorov (47) |
| Points | Sergei Fedorov (83) |
| Penalty minutes | Darren McCarty (138) |
| Plus/minus | Nicklas Lidstrom (40) |
| Wins | Curtis Joseph (34) |
| Goals against average | Manny Legace (2.18) |
Coming off their latest Stanley Cup victory, the Red Wings started looking towards the future. Dominik Hasek and Scotty Bowman had retired over the summer and captain Steve Yzerman was out for the first 66 games of the regular season. The weight of the team fell on Sergei Fedorov and veteran Brett Hull, who helped the Red Wings score the most goals of any team in the regular season. As newly acquired goaltender Curtis Joseph held steady in net, two more pieces of the Stanley Cup team would be traded over the course of the year. Maxim Kuznetsov and Sean Avery left in a trade for the Los Angeles Kings' Mathieu Schneider right before the trade deadline in an effort to push the Wings towards the playoffs. However, the moves did not come to complete fruition, as the Wings met the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round and lost.
Three Red Wings were named to the roster for the 2003 All-Star Game: defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom, center Sergei Fedorov and head coach Dave Lewis. It was Lidstrom's seventh appearance at the All-Star Game, Fedorov's sixth and Lewis's first appearance as a coach.
The Red Wings sold out all 41 home games in 2002–03 as 20,058 fans packed Joe Louis Arena for every regular season and playoff game played in Detroit.