2003–04 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim season

Offseason

In the 2003 NHL entry draft, the Ducks selected Ryan Getzlaf with their first first-round pick, 19th overall, and Corey Perry with their second first-round pick, 28th overall.

Forward Steve Rucchin was named team captain following Paul Kariya's departure to the Colorado Avalanche via free agency.

Regular season

The departure of franchise player Paul Kariya marked another new era which had many fans angered as well as worried about the teams near future repeating the on-ice success. Signing Sergei Fedorov and Vaclav Prospal in the summer relieved most of the fans' fear. Both players delivered as expected but scoring decreased for several reasons: Mike Leclerc played only 10 games, Rob Niedermayer played only 55 games, though enjoying a good season and Andy McDonald stayed healthy but had trouble repeating his performance after missing half of last season due to a concussion; Chistov suffered from "sophomore jinx" collecting only 2 goals and Jason Krog could not repeat another season like the one he had before. Rookie Joffrey Lupul had a wonderful rookie campaign with a bright future ahead. Overall, while the team had more potential scoring depth, several players fell short to enjoy and repeat the scoring touch they showed last season.

The defense performed well enough but J. S. Giguere failed at times to play the way he did the year before allowing soft goals. Later that season backup goalie Martin Gerber saw more ice time challenging Giguere for the number one spot and nearly outperforming him.

Playing away from home did not do them well as the Mighty Ducks won 19 games at home but only 10 games on the road.

Final standings

Schedule and results

|- |1||October 8, 2003||1–4 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (2003–04) ||0–1–0–0 || |- |2||October 9, 2003||1–3 || align="left"| @ Nashville Predators (2003–04) ||0–2–0–0 || |- |3||October 12, 2003||0–2 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04) ||0–3–0–0 || |- |4||October 17, 2003||0–3 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (2003–04) ||0–4–0–0 || |- |5||October 19, 2003||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (2003–04) ||0–4–0–1 || |- |6||October 21, 2003||2–0 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (2003–04) ||1–4–0–1 || |- |7||October 22, 2003||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04) ||2–4–0–1 || |- |8||October 24, 2003||2–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2003–04) ||2–5–0–1 || |- |9||October 26, 2003||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04) ||2–5–1–1 || |- |10||October 28, 2003||3–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2003–04) ||3–5–1–1 || |- |11||October 29, 2003||4–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (2003–04) ||4–5–1–1 ||

| Legend:

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

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

The Mighty Ducks 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.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Anaheim's draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Farm teams

• Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

Notes

References

References

1. (September 8, 2003). "Rucchin named captain of Mighty Ducks".
2. "2003–04 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Games". Hockey-reference.com.
3. (January 24, 2004). "2004 YoungStars Game rosters".
4. "2003-04 NHL Debuts".
5. (February 15, 2004). "Memorable Night for Fedorov".
6. "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
7. (June 21, 2003). "Ducks Select Four Players On Draft Day".
8. (August 12, 2003). "Brigley Acquired by Avalanche".
9. (January 17, 2004). "Mighty Ducks Of Anaheim Trade Todd Reirden".
10. (February 4, 2004). "Ducks Acquire Petr Schastlivy From Ottawa In Exchange For Defenseman Todd Simpson".
11. (February 21, 2004). "Colorado trades Skoula for Sauer".
12. (June 26, 2003). "Ducks Sign Free Agent Chris Armstrong to One Year".
13. (July 17, 2003). "Ducks Sign Free Agent Center Vaclav Prospal".
14. (July 19, 2003). "Mighty Ducks Sign Sergei Federov".
15. (July 21, 2003). "Ducks Agree To Terms With Smith And Brookbank".
16. (July 23, 2003). "Ducks Sign Vishnevski and Pick Up Option On Gerber".
17. (July 25, 2003). "Ducks Sign Mottau, Hankinson and Burnett".
18. (August 29, 2003). "Aucoin Signs with Mighty Ducks".
19. (September 9, 2003). "Johnson stays close to home, joins Ducks".
20. (October 4, 2003). "Loss on Defense Followed by Gain".
21. (December 8, 2011). "Glencross' jersey to be retired in Brooks".
22. (May 12, 2004). "Ducks Sign Forward Dustin Penner".
23. (June 7, 2004). "Mighty Ducks Agree To Terms With Defenseman Aaron Rome".
24. (July 1, 2003). "2003 NHL free agent list".
25. {{eliteprospects. 83355. Jarrett Smith, retrieved May 8, 2022
26. (July 3, 2003). "Avalanche sign both Kariya, Selanne".
27. "PETER PODHRADSKY".
28. {{hockey-reference. o/olausfr01. Fredrik Olausson, retrieved May 8, 2022
29. (July 28, 2003). "Monday roundup: Bruins sign four free agents".
30. {{hockey-reference. s/sawyeke01. Kevin Sawyer, retrieved May 8, 2022
31. (August 28, 2003). "Valicevic signs one-year contract with Stars".
32. (August 18, 2005). "Mighty Ducks Sign Jonathan Hedstrom".
33. (September 1, 2003). "Jonathan Hedström klar för DIF".
34. "NHL.com - Players".
35. {{hockey-reference. o/osullch01. Chris O'Sullivan, retrieved May 8, 2022
36. (October 7, 2003). "Ben Guite Returns To Sound Tigers".
37. "LEAGUE TRANSACTIONS".
38. (November 5, 2003). "Red Wings come to terms with Thomas".
39. (November 8, 2003). "Checkers Beat Stingrays 3-2".
40. (November 17, 2003). "Oilers sign Oates to one-year deal".
41. (January 10, 2004). "Leafs Claim Johnson Off Waivers".
42. "CHRIS ARMSTRONG".
43. (July 1, 2008). "2008 NHL Free Agent List".
44. (May 17, 2004). "TONY MÅRTENSSON KLAR FÖR LHC".
45. (July 15, 2003). "Ducks Agree To Terms With Leclerc and Severson".
46. (July 22, 2003). "Ducks Agree To Terms With Ward And Pahlsson".
47. (August 6, 2003). "Ducks Sign Havelid to Three Year Contract".
48. (September 10, 2003). "Ducks Agree To Terms With J.S. Giguere".
49. (September 14, 2003). "Sykora signs with Ducks for $12 million".
50. "2003 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".