2003–04 Edmonton Oilers season
The 2003–04 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 25th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 36–26–11–9 record in 2002–03, earning 92 points, and returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence. The Oilers were then defeated by the Dallas Stars in six games in the opening round.
During the off-season, the Oilers and Mike Comrie could not come to a contract agreement, and Comrie would not start the season with the team. Comrie would eventually be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in December for Jeff Woywitka and the Flyers' first-round draft pick in 2004.
The club would start off the season on the right foot, having a record of 10–7–2–0 in the first 19 games. However, Edmonton would go into a slump and have a 10–17–6–1 in their next 34 games, falling to 12th place in the Western Conference. The Oilers would later emerge from the slump and finish the season with a 16–5–4–4 in their remaining 29 games. Despite the season turnaround, the Oilers would finish in ninth in the West, two points behind the eighth-placed Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot, thereby failing to qualify for the post-season for the second time in three seasons.
Offensively, Ryan Smyth would lead the club with 23 goals, 36 assists and 59 points. Radek Dvorak would finish just behind Smyth with 50 points, while Ethan Moreau and Raffi Torres would each score 20 goals. Marc-Andre Bergeron would lead the defense with 9 goals and 26 points, while Eric Brewer would finish just behind him with seven goals and 25 points. Georges Laraque would lead the club in penalty minutes, with 99.
In goal, Tommy Salo would begin the season as the starter. However, he would lose his job and eventually be traded to the Colorado Avalanche before the season was over. He won 17 games and had a 2.58 goals against average, along with three shutouts, with Edmonton. Ty Conklin took over the starting duties, where he would win 17 games, attain a 2.42 GAA and earn a shutout along the way.
Heritage Classic
The Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003, in Edmonton between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the second NHL outdoor game and the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the NHL, and was modeled after the success of the "cold war" game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in 2001. The first NHL game to be played outdoors was in 1991 when the Los Angeles Kings played the New York Rangers in an exhibition game outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The event took place in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium in front of a crowd of 57,167, the largest number of people to ever watch a live NHL game, despite temperatures of close to -18 °C, -30 °C with wind chill. It was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers joining the NHL in 1979. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television broadcast also set the record for most viewers of a single NHL game with 2.747 million nationwide. This was the first NHL game broadcast in HDTV on CBC. Montreal won the game 4–3.Season standings
Schedule and results
Season stats
Scoring leaders
Goaltending
Awards and records
Awards
Milestones
Transactions
Trades
*Later traded to the Toronto Maple LeafsFree agents
Draft picks
Edmonton's draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 22 | Marc-Antoine Pouliot | Rimouski Oceanic | |
| 2 | 51 | Colin McDonald | New England Jr. Coyotes | |
| 2 | 68 | Jean-François Jacques | Baie-Comeau Drakkar | |
| 3 | 72 | Mikhail Zhukov | Arboga | |
| 3 | 94 | Zack Stortini | Sudbury Wolves | |
| 5 | 147 | Kalle Olsson | Frolunda HC | |
| 5 | 154 | David Rohlfs | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | |
| 6 | 184 | Dragan Umicevic | Sodertalje SK | |
| 7 | 214 | Kyle Brodziak | Moose Jaw Warriors | |
| 7 | 215 | Mathieu Roy | Val-d'Or Foreurs | |
| 8 | 248 | Josef Hrabal | HC Vsetin | |
| 9 | 278 | Troy Bodie | Kelowna Rockets |