2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the Blue Jackets' third season in the National Hockey League (NHL), as the team was coming off of a 22–47–8–5 record in the 2001–02 season, earning 57 points and finishing in last in the Western Conference.

Offseason
Ray Whitney was named team captain on October 9.

Regular season
The Blue Jackets got off to a good start, having a 7–5–1–1 record in their opening 14 games. Columbus, however, won only two of their next 12 games to fall out of the playoff picture. The club would play mediocre hockey for the rest of the season, finishing with a 29–42–8–3 record, earning 69 points for last place in the Western Conference for the second-straight season. Midway through the season, Columbus fired head coach Dave King after a 14–20–4–2 start. King was replaced by general manager Doug MacLean on an interim basis, as the Blue Jackets posted a record of 15–22–4–1 record under his guidance. The 69 points was a 12-point improvement over the previous season, but the club finished 23 points behind the Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff spot in the Conference. The previous season, the Blue Jackets scored a League-low 164 goals, however, the team would beat that total by 49 goals, finishing with a club record 213 goals. Columbus though led the NHL in goals against, allowing 263, also a club record.

Ray Whitney led the club in points for the second-straight season, earning a club record 76 points, as he scored 24 goals and 52 assists. Geoff Sanderson rebounded from an injury-plagued 2001–02 season to score a club record 34 goals, while Andrew Cassels earned 68 points in his first season in Columbus. David Vyborny had a breakout season, scoring 20 goals and 46 points. On the blueline, Jaroslav Spacek scored nine goals and earned 45 points in his first full season with the team. Jody Shelley led the team with 249 penalty minutes, setting a franchise record.

In goal, Marc Denis got the bulk of the action, winning a club-record 27 games, while posting a 3.09 goals against average (GAA) and earning five shutouts along the way.

Schedule and results

 * Legend:
 * Legend:

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 Blue Jackets only.
 * ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.

Records
Goaltender Marc Denis set the NHL record for most minutes played in a single season, surpassing Martin Brodeur’s mark set during the 1995–96 season. Brodeur would reclaim the record in 2003–04.

Transactions
The Blue Jackets 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.

Draft picks
Columbus' draft picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.