2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers season

2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers
Division	3rd Southeast
Conference	11th Eastern
2002–03 record	31–39–7–5
Home record	15–19–4–3
Road record	16–20–3–2
Goals for	226
Goals against	284
Team information
General manager	Don Waddell
Coach	Curt Fraser (Oct-Dec) Don Waddell (Dec-Jan) Bob Hartley (Jan-Apr)
Captain	Rotating (Oct-Jan) Shawn McEachern (Jan-Apr)
Alternate captains	Dany Heatley (Jan-Apr) Tony Hrkac (Jan-Apr) Vyacheslav Kozlov (Jan-Apr) Jeff Odgers (Jan-Apr)
Arena	Philips Arena
Average attendance	13,476
Minor league affiliate(s)	Chicago Wolves Greenville Grrrowl
Team leaders
Goals	Dany Heatley (41)
Assists	Vyacheslav Kozlov (49)
Points	Dany Heatley (89)
Penalty minutes	Jeff Odgers (171)
Plus/minus	Lubos Bartecko (+3)
Wins	Pasi Nurminen (21)
Goals against average	Pasi Nurminen (2.88)

The 2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers season was the Thrashers' fourth season. The Thrashers placed third in the Southeast, and eleventh in the East to miss the playoffs.

Offseason

The Thrashers initially rotated the team captaincy among four players — Vyacheslav Kozlov, Uwe Krupp, Shawn McEachern, and Jeff Odgers.[1]

Regular season

After a poor start to the season saw the Thrashers with the worst record in the league, head coach Curt Fraser was fired on December 26.[2] Recently fired Colorado Avalanche head coach Bob Hartley was named his replacement on January 15.[3] The rotating captaincy was discontinued two days later when McEachern was named permanent captain.[4]

The Thrashers struggled defensively, allowing the most goals (284) and the most short-handed goals (14) of any team in the league.[5]

Final standings

Southeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	3	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	36	25	16	5	219	210	93
2	6	Washington Capitals	82	39	29	8	6	224	220	92
3	11	Atlanta Thrashers	82	31	39	7	5	226	284	74
4	13	Florida Panthers	82	24	36	13	9	176	237	70
5	15	Carolina Hurricanes	82	22	43	11	6	171	240	61

[6]

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference[7]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	52	21	8	1	263	182	113
2	Y- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	46	20	10	6	216	166	108
3	Y- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	36	25	16	5	219	210	93
4	X- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	45	20	13	4	211	166	107
5	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	44	28	7	3	236	208	98
6	X- Washington Capitals	SE	82	39	29	8	6	224	220	92
7	X- Boston Bruins	NE	82	36	31	11	4	245	237	87
8	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	35	34	11	2	224	231	83
8.5
9	New York Rangers	AT	82	32	36	10	4	210	231	78
10	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	30	35	8	9	206	234	77
11	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	31	39	7	5	226	284	74
12	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	27	37	10	8	190	219	72
13	Florida Panthers	SE	82	24	36	13	9	176	237	70
14	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	27	44	6	5	189	255	65
15	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	22	43	11	6	171	240	61

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

2002–03 regular season[8]
October: 0–8–1–1 (home: 0–3–0–1; road: 0–5–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 L October 11, 2002 3–5 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 0–1–0–0 Recap 2 OTL October 12, 2002 4–5 OT Florida Panthers (2002–03) 0–1–0–1 Recap 3 L October 16, 2002 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 0–2–0–1 Recap 4 L October 18, 2002 5–8 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 0–3–0–1 Recap 5 L October 19, 2002 4–5 New York Islanders (2002–03) 0–4–0–1 Recap 6 L October 21, 2002 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 0–5–0–1 Recap 7 L October 23, 2002 1–2 New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 0–6–0–1 Recap 8 L October 26, 2002 3–4 @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 0–7–0–1 Recap 9 L October 29, 2002 0–4 Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 0–8–0–1 Recap 10 T October 31, 2002 3–3 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 0–8–1–1 Recap
November: 6–6–0–0 (home: 4–3–0–0; road: 2–3–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 11 W November 2, 2002 3–1 @ Florida Panthers (2002–03) 1–8–1–1 Recap 12 L November 7, 2002 0–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (2002–03) 1–9–1–1 Recap 13 W November 9, 2002 6–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 2–9–1–1 Recap 14 W November 11, 2002 2–1 Calgary Flames (2002–03) 3–9–1–1 Recap 15 W November 13, 2002 3–2 OT San Jose Sharks (2002–03) 4–9–1–1 Recap 16 L November 15, 2002 1–5 Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) 4–10–1–1 Recap 17 L November 17, 2002 1–5 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 4–11–1–1 Recap 18 W November 19, 2002 4–3 OT Florida Panthers (2002–03) 5–11–1–1 Recap 19 L November 22, 2002 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 5–12–1–1 Recap 20 L November 23, 2002 3–6 @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 5–13–1–1 Recap 21 L November 26, 2002 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 5–14–1–1 Recap 22 W November 28, 2002 7–4 New York Rangers (2002–03) 6–14–1–1 Recap
December: 4–7–0–3 (home: 2–3–0–1; road: 2–4–0–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 23 W December 1, 2002 5–4 Washington Capitals (2002–03) 7–14–1–1 Recap 24 OTL December 5, 2002 3–4 OT @ Boston Bruins (2002–03) 7–14–1–2 Recap 25 OTL December 6, 2002 6–7 OT @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 7–14–1–3 Recap 26 L December 8, 2002 0–3 Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 7–15–1–3 Recap 27 L December 11, 2002 2–4 @ Phoenix Coyotes (2002–03) 7–16–1–3 Recap 28 L December 13, 2002 1–3 @ Dallas Stars (2002–03) 7–17–1–3 Recap 29 L December 14, 2002 0–4 @ St. Louis Blues (2002–03) 7–18–1–3 Recap 30 W December 16, 2002 1–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 8–18–1–3 Recap 31 L December 18, 2002 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 8–19–1–3 Recap 32 OTL December 20, 2002 2–3 OT Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 8–19–1–4 Recap 33 L December 23, 2002 1–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 8–20–1–4 Recap 34 W December 27, 2002 5–3 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 9–20–1–4 Recap 35 L December 28, 2002 0–1 Boston Bruins (2002–03) 9–21–1–4 Recap 36 W December 30, 2002 3–2 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 10–21–1–4 Recap
January: 7–6–2–0 (home: 4–4–2–0; road: 3–2–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 37 L January 2, 2003 1–8 @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 10–22–1–4 Recap 38 L January 3, 2003 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (2002–03) 10–23–1–4 Recap 39 L January 5, 2003 4–5 Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 10–24–1–4 Recap 40 T January 7, 2003 3–3 OT Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 10–24–2–4 Recap 41 W January 9, 2003 3–2 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 11–24–2–4 Recap 42 L January 11, 2003 3–7 @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 11–25–2–4 Recap 43 W January 13, 2003 7–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 12–25–2–4 Recap 44 W January 15, 2003 1–0 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 13–25–2–4 Recap 45 W January 17, 2003 3–1 Boston Bruins (2002–03) 14–25–2–4 Recap 46 L January 19, 2003 1–4 New York Islanders (2002–03) 14–26–2–4 Recap 47 W January 21, 2003 8–4 St. Louis Blues (2002–03) 15–26–2–4 Recap 48 T January 23, 2003 3–3 OT Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 15–26–3–4 Recap 49 W January 25, 2003 4–1 @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 16–26–3–4 Recap 50 W January 28, 2003 5–2 New York Rangers (2002–03) 17–26–3–4 Recap 51 L January 30, 2003 2–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (2002–03) 17–27–3–4 Recap
February: 4–5–2–0 (home: 1–2–1–0; road: 3–3–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 52 W February 4, 2003 4–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 18–27–3–4 Recap 53 W February 7, 2003 4–2 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 19–27–3–4 Recap 54 L February 8, 2003 1–3 @ Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 19–28–3–4 Recap 55 L February 12, 2003 1–5 Washington Capitals (2002–03) 19–29–3–4 Recap 56 T February 14, 2003 2–2 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 19–29–4–4 Recap 57 L February 15, 2003 2–6 Detroit Red Wings (2002–03) 19–30–4–4 Recap 58 W February 17, 2003 4–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 20–30–4–4 Recap 59 L February 19, 2003 0–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 20–31–4–4 Recap 60 T February 23, 2003 3–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (2002–03) 20–31–5–4 Recap 61 L February 25, 2003 0–8 @ Vancouver Canucks (2002–03) 20–32–5–4 Recap 62 W February 27, 2003 4–3 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (2002–03) 21–32–5–4 Recap
March: 8–6–2–1 (home: 3–4–1–1; road: 5–2–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 63 L March 1, 2003 1–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (2002–03) 21–33–5–4 Recap 64 W March 2, 2003 4–1 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002–03) 22–33–5–4 Recap 65 T March 6, 2003 4–4 OT @ Washington Capitals (2002–03) 22–33–6–4 Recap 66 L March 7, 2003 1–2 Florida Panthers (2002–03) 22–34–6–4 Recap 67 L March 9, 2003 4–6 Minnesota Wild (2002–03) 22–35–6–4 Recap 68 W March 11, 2003 3–2 @ New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 23–35–6–4 Recap 69 L March 13, 2003 2–4 Montreal Canadiens (2002–03) 23–36–6–4 Recap 70 W March 15, 2003 5–3 Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 24–36–6–4 Recap 71 W March 17, 2003 3–2 Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) 25–36–6–4 Recap 72 OTL March 19, 2003 4–5 OT Dallas Stars (2002–03) 25–36–6–5 Recap 73 L March 21, 2003 1–5 Ottawa Senators (2002–03) 25–37–6–5 Recap 74 W March 22, 2003 3–2 @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2002–03) 26–37–6–5 Recap 75 L March 24, 2003 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2002–03) 26–38–6–5 Recap 76 W March 26, 2003 5–1 Carolina Hurricanes (2002–03) 27–38–6–5 Recap 77 T March 28, 2003 1–1 OT New Jersey Devils (2002–03) 27–38–7–5 Recap 78 W March 29, 2003 3–2 @ Nashville Predators (2002–03) 28–38–7–5 Recap 79 W March 31, 2003 4–3 OT @ New York Rangers (2002–03) 29–38–7–5 Recap
April: 2–1–0–0 (home: 1–0–0–0; road: 1–1–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 80 L April 2, 2003 3–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (2002–03) 29–39–7–5 Recap 81 W April 5, 2003 3–2 @ New York Islanders (2002–03) 30–39–7–5 Recap 82 W April 6, 2003 6–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (2002–03) 31–39–7–5 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)   Overtime loss (1 point)

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

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
15	Dany Heatley	LW	77	41	48	89	−8	58
13	Vyacheslav Kozlov	LW	79	21	49	70	−10	66
17	Ilya Kovalchuk	LW	81	38	29	67	−24	57
9	Marc Savard†	C	57	16	31	47	−11	77
27	Patrik Stefan	C	71	13	21	34	−10	12
38	Yannick Tremblay	D	75	8	22	30	−27	32
19	Shawn McEachern	RW	46	10	16	26	−27	28
12	Tony Hrkac	C	80	9	17	26	−16	14
8	Frantisek Kaberle	D	79	7	19	26	−19	32
25	Andy Sutton	D	53	3	18	21	−8	114
23	Lubos Bartecko	LW	37	7	9	16	3	8
36	Daniel Tjarnqvist	D	75	3	12	15	−20	26
37	Dan Snyder	C	36	10	4	14	−4	34
18	Brad Tapper	RW	35	10	4	14	2	23
26	Pascal Rheaume‡	C	56	4	9	13	−8	24
42	Richard Smehlik‡	D	43	2	9	11	−4	16
4	Chris Tamer	D	72	1	9	10	−10	118
16	Jeff Cowan	LW	66	3	5	8	−15	115
39	Per Svartvadet	C	62	1	7	8	−11	8
3	Mark Hartigan	C	23	5	2	7	−8	6
20	Jeff Odgers	RW	74	2	4	6	−13	171
7	Chris Herperger‡	C	27	4	1	5	−11	7
22	Kamil Piros	C	3	3	2	5	4	2
43	Mike Weaver	D	40	0	5	5	−5	20
29	Kirill Safronov	D	32	2	2	4	−10	14
31	Pasi Nurminen	G	52	0	3	3		4
10	Yuri Butsayev	LW	16	2	0	2	−5	8
50	Joe DiPenta	D	3	1	1	2	3	0
2	Garnet Exelby	D	15	0	2	2	0	41
14	Tomi Kallio‡	LW	5	0	2	2	−2	4
6	Francis Lessard	RW	18	0	2	2	1	61
45	Ben Simon	LW	10	0	1	1	0	9
49	Zdenek Blatny	LW	4	0	0	0	−1	0
35	Frederic Cassivi	G	2	0	0	0		0
34	Byron Dafoe†	G	17	0	0	0		0
28	Jeff Farkas†	RW	3	0	0	0	−1	0
47	Kurtis Foster	D	2	0	0	0	−2	0
41	Simon Gamache	C	2	0	0	0	−1	2
33	Milan Hnilicka	G	21	0	0	0		2
44	Uwe Krupp	D	4	0	0	0	−2	10
11	J. P. Vigier	RW	13	0	0	0	−13	4

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Thrashers only.

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
31	Pasi Nurminen	52	21	19	5	1452	137	2.88	.906	2	2856
34	Byron Dafoe†	17	5	11	1	472	65	4.36	.862	0	895
33	Milan Hnilicka	21	4	13	1	605	65	3.56	.893	0	1097
35	Frederic Cassivi	2	1	1	0	58	11	5.37	.810	0	123

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Dany Heatley[a]	[10]
	NHL Player of the Week	Dany Heatley (March 31)	[11]
Team	Community Service Award	Chris Tamer	[12]
	Players' Player Award	Jeff Odgers	[13]
	Team MVP	Dany Heatley	[13]
	Three Stars of the Game Award	Dany Heatley	[13]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Simon Gamache	March 7, 2003	[14]
	Garnet Exelby	March 11, 2003
	Zdenek Blatny	March 19, 2003
	Kurtis Foster	March 31, 2003
	Joe DiPenta	April 2, 2003

Transactions

The Thrashers 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.[15]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)	To Atlanta Thrashers Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in 2002 NY Rangers’ 4th-round pick in 2003	To Florida Panthers Future considerations[b]	[16]
	To Atlanta Thrashers Vyacheslav Kozlov 2nd-round pick in 2002	To Buffalo Sabres 2nd-round pick in 2002 Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in 2002	[16]
	To Atlanta Thrashers Detroit’s 1st-round pick in 2002	To Columbus Blue Jackets Buffalo’s 2nd-round pick in 2002 Detroit’s 3rd-round pick in 2002	[16]
June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23)	To Atlanta Thrashers 8th-round pick in 2002 7th-round pick in 2003	To San Jose Sharks New Jersey’s 7th-round pick in 2002	[16]
June 29, 2002 (2002-06-29)	To Atlanta Thrashers Shawn McEachern 6th-round pick in 2004	To Ottawa Senators Brian Pothier	[17]
October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)	To Atlanta Thrashers Future considerations[c]	To Dallas Stars Stephane Robidas	[18]
November 15, 2002 (2002-11-15)	To Atlanta Thrashers Marc Savard	To Calgary Flames Rights to Ruslan Zainullin	[19]
December 2, 2002 (2002-12-02)	To Atlanta Thrashers Chris Nielsen Petteri Nummelin	To Columbus Blue Jackets Tomi Kallio Pauli Levokari	[20]
January 20, 2003 (2003-01-20)	To Atlanta Thrashers Jeff Farkas	To Vancouver Canucks Chris Herperger Chris Nielsen	[21]
February 24, 2003 (2003-02-24)	To Atlanta Thrashers Conditional draft pick in 2004	To New Jersey Devils Pascal Rheaume	[22]
March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10)	To Atlanta Thrashers 4th-round pick in 2003	To New Jersey Devils Richard Smehlik Conditional draft pick in 2004	[23]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	To Atlanta Thrashers Rights to Anthony Aquino	To Dallas Stars Dallas’ 6th-round pick in 2003 Future considerations	[24]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 10, 2002 (2002-07-10)	Richard Smehlik	Buffalo Sabres		Free agency	[25]
July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)	Uwe Krupp	Detroit Red Wings		Free agency	[26]
July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23)	Dallas Eakins	Calgary Flames		Free agency	[27]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Chris Herperger	Ottawa Senators		Free agency	[28]
October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)	Stephane Robidas	Montreal Canadiens		Waiver draft	[29]
November 22, 2002 (2002-11-22)	Byron Dafoe	Boston Bruins		Free agency	[30]
March 28, 2003 (2003-03-28)	Brian Maloney	Michigan State University (CCHA)		Free agency	[31]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[d]	Ref
July 1, 2002 (2002-07-01)	Damian Rhodes		Buyout[e]	[36]
July 17, 2002 (2002-07-17)	Todd Reirden	Anaheim Mighty Ducks	Free agency (UFA)	[37]
August 5, 2002 (2002-08-05)	Bryan Adams	Detroit Red Wings	Free agency (VI)	[38]
August 21, 2002 (2002-08-21)	Scott Fankhouser	Reading Royals (ECHL)	Free agency (VI)	[39]
August 30, 2002 (2002-08-30)	Adam Burt		Retirement (III)	[40]
N/A	Jeff Dessner	Iserlohn Roosters (DEL)	Free agency (UFA)	[41]
April 27, 2003 (2003-04-27)	Uwe Krupp		Retirement	[42]
June 8, 2003 (2003-06-08)	Norm Maracle	Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RSL)	Free agency	[43]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27)	Jeff Cowan		Re-signing	[44]
	Andy Sutton		Re-signing	[44]
July 11, 2002 (2002-07-11)	Pauli Levokari		Entry-level	[45]
July 18, 2002 (2002-07-18)	Pascal Rheaume		Re-signing	[46]
	Brad Tapper		Re-signing	[46]
	Mike Weaver		Re-signing	[46]
July 23, 2002 (2002-07-23)	Paul Flache		Entry-level	[27]
	Michael Garnett		Entry-level	[27]
July 25, 2002 (2002-07-25)	Patrik Stefan	2-year	Re-signing	[47]
August 1, 2002 (2002-08-01)	Tomi Kallio		Re-signing	[28]
	Vyacheslav Kozlov	1-year	Re-signing	[28]
	Ben Simon		Re-signing	[28]
August 8, 2002 (2002-08-08)	Yannick Tremblay		Re-signing	[48]
August 9, 2002 (2002-08-09)	Mark Hartigan		Re-signing	[49]
August 19, 2002 (2002-08-19)	Francis Lessard		Re-signing	[50]
August 27, 2002 (2002-08-27)	Dan Snyder		Re-signing	[51]
	Daniel Tjarnqvist		Re-signing	[51]
September 10, 2002 (2002-09-10)	Yuri Butsayev		Re-signing	[52]
September 11, 2002 (2002-09-11)	Milan Hnilicka		Re-signing	[53]
March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)	Shawn McEachern	multi-year	Extension	[54]
June 4, 2003 (2003-06-04)	Kari Lehtonen		Entry-level	[55]

Draft picks

Atlanta's draft picks at the 2002 NHL entry draft held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.[56]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	2	Kari Lehtonen	Finland	Jokerit (Finland)
1	30	Jim Slater	United States	Michigan State University (CCHA)
4	116	Patrick Dwyer	United States	Western Michigan University (CCHA)
4	124	Lane Manson	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
5	144	Paul Flache	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
6	167	Brad Schell	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7	198	Nathan Oystrick	Canada	Northern Michigan University (CCHA)
8	230	Colton Fretter	Canada	Chatham Maroons (WOHL)
8	236	Tyler Boldt	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
8	257	Pauli Levokari	Finland	HIFK (Finland)

Notes

1. Heatley was voted the All-Star Game MVP.[9]
2. The Thrashers promised not to pick defenseman Jay Bouwmeester with the second overall selection in the draft.
3. 6th-round pick in 2003
4. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.[32]
5. The buyout was later cancelled with Atlanta being held liable for Rhodes’ full 2002–03 salary since Rhodes was unable to pass a physical with another NHL team.[33] Atlanta first loaned Rhodes to the AHL’s Lowell Lock Monsters and later in the season re-assigned him to the ECHL’s Greenville Grrrowl.[34][35]

References

• "Atlanta Thrashers 2002-03 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
• "2002-03 Atlanta Thrashers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

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3. "In Sports from United Press International". UPI. January 15, 2003. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
4. "Atlanta Thrashers Name Shawn McEachern Team Captain Jeff Odgers, Dany Heatley, Yyacheslav Kozlov and Tony Hrkac Named Assistant Captains". Atlanta Thrashers. January 17, 2003. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
5. "2002-03 NHL Summary".
6. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 163.
7. "2002–2003 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
8. "2002-03 Atlanta Thrashers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
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10. "2003 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
11. "Dany Heatley Named NHL Player Of The Week". Atlanta Thrashers. March 31, 2003. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
12. "Thrashers Present Gilner-Reeves Community Service Award to Defenseman Chris Tamer". Atlanta Thrashers. March 28, 2003. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
13. "Thrashers Forward Dany Heatley Wins Bud Light 3 Stars Award And Chevrolet MVP Award". Atlanta Thrashers. April 6, 2003. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
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