 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 9–June 9, 2003 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Detroit Red Wings |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New Jersey Devils |
| Runner-up | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) | Jamie Langenbrunner (Devils) (18 points) |
| MVP | Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks) |
The 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 9, 2003, following the 2002–03 regular season. The playoffs concluded on June 9, 2003, with the New Jersey Devils defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games.
The 16 qualifying teams played best-of-seven series in the conference quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Each conference champion proceeded to the Stanley Cup Finals. These playoffs marked the first time the Minnesota Wild qualified, in only their third season in the NHL. The Minnesota Wild, a sixth-seed, made an unlikely advance to the Western Conference Final as underdogs after being down three games to one in two consecutive rounds. This, along with the Canucks' comeback against the Blues, made for three 3–1 series comebacks in the playoffs, the second time this had happened in NHL playoff history.
Despite losing to the Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals, Mighty Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player during the playoffs, marking only the fifth time that the Trophy had ever been awarded to a player on the losing team.
