2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 36th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Though they prevailed in a grueling and lengthy seven-game series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs for their first playoff series victory in three years, the Flyers lost in the second round to the Ottawa Senators in six games.

Off-season
On May 14, the Flyers hired Stanley Cup-winning head coach Ken Hitchcock to replace Bill Barber, who was fired on April 30. Hitchcock, who had served as an assistant coach for the Flyers for three seasons from 1990 to 1993, had been fired three months earlier by the Dallas Stars midway through his seventh season as the team's head coach.

The Flyers made three trades in the ten days leading up to the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. On June 12, goaltender Brian Boucher and a 2002 third-round pick was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for centerman Michal Handzus and goaltender Robert Esche, a move that cemented Roman Cechmanek as the Flyers starting goaltender. Made expendable by Handzus' acquisition, centerman Jiri Dopita was traded to the Edmonton Oilers six days later for a 2003 third-round pick and a conditional 2004 draft pick.

A day before the draft the Flyers made a surprising trade that saw them acquire the fourth overall pick, which they used to select highly-touted Finnish defenseman Joni Pitkanen, from the Tampa Bay Lightning for third-line winger Ruslan Fedotenko and two 2002 second-round picks. Though Tampa Bay received some criticism for what was seen as a light return for a high draft pick, the trade ultimately came back to haunt the Flyers two years later in the Eastern Conference Finals when Fedotenko scored six goals against Philadelphia as the Lightning advanced to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.

Philadelphia stood pat when free agency opened on July 1 and opted not to re-sign trade deadline acquisition Adam Oates as well as veteran defenseman Luke Richardson, both Group III unrestricted free agents. The Flyers received compensatory draft picks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft from the league for both players after they signed with Anaheim and Columbus respectively, garnering a third-round pick for Oates and a fourth-round pick for Richardson.

Regular season
The Flyers started the season strong amid a league-wide crackdown on obstruction, averaging four goals per game during October (including four six-goal games) and posting a 9–1–2–0 record in their first twelve games. The stricter rules enforcement was short-lived, however, and Philadelphia in particular averaged only 2.4 goals per game from November through the end of the regular season.

The team struggled throughout much of November, a 3–2 victory over Tampa Bay on November 19 being their only win in a ten-game stretch. Veteran winger John LeClair, off to a strong start with 11 goals in his first 21 games, suffered a dislocated shoulder on November 27 against Pittsburgh that kept him out of the lineup until March.

Early December saw the team swap defensemen with the San Jose Sharks, trading Dan McGillis for Marcus Ragnarsson. In his sixth season with the Flyers, McGillis' offensive production had dropped considerably since his career best 49-point season during the 2000–01 season while Ragnarsson was viewed as a more steady, stay-at-home defenseman better suited to pair with rookie Dennis Seidenberg and later with the more offensively-inclined Kim Johnsson. Ragnarsson signed a two-year contract extension with the club in February.

Approaching the season's midway point, the Flyers started January with six straight wins as well as ten wins in their first eleven games of 2003 before losing four straight heading into the All-Star break. Key injuries to young wingers Simon Gagne (groin strain) and Justin Williams (torn ligaments in his left knee) in January that caused both to miss significant time led to the team acquiring winger Sami Kapanen from the Carolina Hurricanes on February 7.

Three more trades followed in the days leading up to March 11 trading deadline. On March 1, veteran defenseman and former Flyer Dmitri Yushkevich was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings for two draft picks. A week later, a fifth-round draft pick was sent to the New York Islanders for fourth-line centerman Claude Lapointe. The Flyers made their biggest move on the eve of the deadline, acquiring former 40-goal scorer Tony Amonte from Phoenix for prospect Guillaume Lefebvre, a 2003 third-round pick, and a 2004 second-round pick. These moves plus LeClair's return to the lineup spurred a 10–2–2–0 run that saw Philadelphia finish one point behind the New Jersey Devils for the division title.

The Flyers goaltending tandem of starter Roman Cechmanek and backup Robert Esche proved reliable during the regular season, combining for eight shutouts. Cechmanek, who had a club single season record 1.83 goals against average, was voted the team's most valuable player. The team tied New Jersey for the fewest goals allowed with just 166, earning Cechmanek and Esche a share of the William M. Jennings Trophy with Martin Brodeur. Philadelphia also boasted the league's best road record (24–10–5–2).

Jeremy Roenick led the team in scoring for the second consecutive season and reached two major career milestones, recording his 600th assist and becoming the first of three Flyers players to play in their 1,000th NHL game during the season. The others were defensemen Eric Desjardins and Eric Weinrich. In what was regarded as a return to form after a disappointing 2001–02 season, Desjardins was the team's plus-minus leader and voted best defenseman for the seventh time.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Despite recording their most points (107) since the 1985–86 season, the Flyers finished second in their division and were seeded fourth in the playoffs, drawing a tough first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They would do so with home ice advantage and a healthy roster, Simon Gagne and Justin Williams having both returned to the lineup in the final week of the regular season.

Philadelphia outplayed the Maple Leafs in game one, limiting the opposition to 15 shots. But Toronto was opportunistic with their scoring chances and won 5–3, Alexander Mogilny sealing the game with an empty-net goal for his third of the game. The Flyers dominated again in game two, this time winning 4–1 to tie the series.

The series shifted to Toronto and the Flyers jumped out to a 2–0 lead early in game three, but the game wasn't settled until the second overtime period when Tomas Kaberle scored for the Maple Leafs to end it at 4–3. Philadelphia was once again dominant in game four, limiting Toronto to only 10 shots in regulation time, but the game wasn't decided until Mark Recchi scored the game-winner for the Flyers at 13:54 of the third overtime period to tie the series again.

Back at home for game five, Sami Kapanen scored two power play goals in a 4–1 win to give the Flyers a 3–2 series lead. Defenseman Eric Desjardins suffered a broken right foot in the third period that kept him out for 2-to-4 weeks. He was replaced in the lineup by rookie Jim Vandermeer, who made his playoff debut in game six.

For the third time in the series, game six in Toronto was decided in overtime, Travis Green scoring the game-winner for the Maple Leafs in the second overtime period to force a game seven. Less than 24 hours later in Philadelphia, the Flyers blew out the Maple Leafs 6–1 to take the marathon series and secure their first playoff series victory in three years.

Eastern Conference Semifinals
The Flyers opponent in the second round was the Presidents' Trophy-winning Ottawa Senators in a rematch of their 2002 five-game quarterfinal series loss. Though Philadelphia's offense scored more than the record low two goals they managed during that series, Ottawa held them to two goals or less in all six games of the rematch.

The Flyers matched their goal total from the 2002 series by scoring on their first two shots against Ottawa goaltender Patrick Lalime to go up 2–0 after one period, but Ottawa scored four unanswered goals to win game one. After being criticized by Hitchcock after his game one performance, Roman Cechmanek responded in game two with a 33-save shutout in a 2–0 win to tie the series.

The series shifted to Philadelphia for game three. Though the Flyers had a 2–1 lead after two periods, Ottawa scored the tying goal in the opening minute of the third period and won the game on Wade Redden's game-winning goal 6:43 into overtime. Cechmanek responded with another shutout in game four, stopping all 28 shots Ottawa fired his way, and Michal Handzus scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win to tie the series at two games apiece.

In a 5–2 game five loss in Ottawa, Cechmanek allowed four goals on 16 shots before being pulled midway through the second period in favor of backup Robert Esche. In game six in Philadelphia, Ottawa scored the game's first four goals en route to a 5–1 series clinching win.

A factor in the series loss was Cechmanek's inconsistency. Though he recorded shutouts in games two and four, his performance was considered poor in games one, five, and six. In the final two games, he allowed nine goals in two losses that ended the Flyers season. A week after game six, general manager Bob Clarke indicated the Flyers would move on from Cechmanek. He was traded to the Los Angeles Kings three weeks after the deciding game, ending a three-year run with the team that saw him rank second in the entire NHL in goals against average (1.96) and save percentage (.923), and third in shutouts (20).

Preseason

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Regular season

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Playoffs

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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.

Records
Among the team records set during the 2002–03 season was John LeClair scoring four goals against the Montreal Canadiens on October 15, tying the team record for most goals in a single game. On October 26, the Flyers set the team record for fastest two goals from the start of a game (31 seconds), also tying the same mark from the start of a period. Goaltender Roman Cechmanek's 1.83 goals against average on the season is a team record. During game four of their conference quarterfinal playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flyers set team records for most shots on goal (75) and most shots on goal during a single overtime period (15). Three games during the series were decided in overtime, setting a team record for a single playoff series that was later tied during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Transactions
The Flyers 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
Philadelphia's picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on June 22–23, 2002. The Flyers traded their original first, 26th overall, second, 59th overall, and third-round picks, 92nd overall, and Maxime Ouellet to the Washington Capitals for Adam Oates on March 19, 2002. They also traded the Canucks' sixth-round pick, 184th overall, and their seventh-round pick, 225th overall, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Blue Jackets' 2003 fifth-round pick on June 23, 2002, and their eighth-round pick, 256th overall, to the Carolina Hurricanes for Paul Ranheim on May 31, 2000.

Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL. The Phantoms missed the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time in their seven year existence. Trenton made the Kelly Cup playoffs but were swept in the first round by the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.