2003–04 New York Rangers season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2003–04
Team=New York Rangers
Conference=Eastern
ConferenceRank=13th
Division=Atlantic
DivisionRank=4th
Record=27–40–7–8
HomeRecord=13–21–3–4
RoadRecord=14–19–4–4
GoalsFor=206
GoalsAgainst=250
GeneralManager=Glen Sather
Coach=Glen Sather
Tom Renney
Captain=Mark Messier
AltCaptain=Brian Leetch (Oct-Mar)
Jaromir Jagr (Mar-Apr)
Eric Lindros
Arena=Madison Square Garden
Attendance=18,073 (99.3%)
GoalsLeader=Bobby Holik (25)
AssistsLeader=Bobby Holik (31)
PointsLeader=Bobby Holik (56)
PIMLeader=Matthew Barnaby (120)
WinsLeader=Mike Dunham (16)
GAALeader=Jussi Markkanen (2.56)

The 2003–04 New York Rangers season was disappointing for the Rangers; despite having the highest payroll in the league at over $69 million, the team finished towards the bottom of the standings. In January 2004 the Rangers acquired superstar Jaromir Jagr from the Washington Capitals at a discounted salary, but little improvement was made, so the Rangers began a "rebuilding" process. Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky, Matthew Barnaby, Petr Nedved, and Jussi Markkanen were all eventually traded, in March they traded long-time defenseman Brian Leetch to the Toronto Maple Leafs for prospects, and Eric Lindros left as a free agent at season's end.

This would also be Mark Messier's final season of professional hockey.

Regular season

eason standings

Player stats

Forwards

"Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points"

Awards and records

*Lester Patrick Trophy: John Davidson

Transactions

Trades

Offseason

Draft picks

New York Rangers' draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

References

*cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/schedule?team=nyr&year=2004|title=New York Rangers game log|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=2007-12-02
*cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/standings?season=2004|title=2003-04 Team Standings|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=2007-12-02
*cite web|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000482004.html|title=2003-04 Player Statistics|publisher=hockeyDB|accessdate=2007-12-02
*cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2004|title=NHL attendance|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=2007-12-02