The 2003–04 NHL season saw the Tampa Bay Lightning prove that hockey belonged in the Sun Belt. Led by scoring champion Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, Tampa Bay defeated the Calgary Flames in a physical seven-game Final. The season was characterized by extremely low scoring, as the "Dead Puck" era reached its zenith. Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk shared the goal-scoring lead with 41 goals. Sadly, this season ended with the announcement of a lockout that would eventually wipe out the entire following year of professional hockey.
| vs previous season | ||||||
| Rank | Player | NHL Salary ($US) | In today's $ | +/- ($) | +/- (%) | |
| 1 | Jaromir Jagr | $11,000,000 | $18,112,090 | -$483,333 | -4% | |
| 1 | Peter Forsberg | $11,000,000 | $18,112,090 | $1,500,000 | 16% | |
| 3 | Keith Tkachuk | $10,000,000 | $16,465,536 | -$1,000,000 | -9% | |
| 3 | Nicklas Lidstrom | $10,000,000 | $16,465,536 | -$500,000 | -5% | |
| 3 | Pavel Bure | $10,000,000 | $16,465,536 | |||
| 3 | Sergei Fedorov | $10,000,000 | $16,465,536 | $8,000,000 | 400% | |
| 7 | Joe Sakic | $9,880,939 | $16,269,496 | $24,921 | 0% | |
| 8 | Chris Pronger | $9,500,000 | $15,642,259 | |||
| 9 | Rob Blake | $9,326,519 | $15,356,613 | $21,361 | 0% | |
| 10 | John LeClair | $9,000,000 | $14,818,982 | |||
| 10 | Mats Sundin | $9,000,000 | $14,818,982 | |||
| 10 | Mike Modano | $9,000,000 | $14,818,982 | $500,000 | 6% | |
| 13 | Bill Guerin | $8,866,445 | $14,599,077 | $133,554 | 2% | |
| 14 | Bobby Holik | $8,850,000 | $14,571,999 | -$750,000 | -8% | |
| 15 | Doug Weight | $8,500,000 | $13,995,706 | |||
| 16 | Alexei Yashin | $8,400,000 | $13,831,050 | $1,000,000 | 14% | |
| 17 | Curtis Joseph | $8,000,000 | $13,172,429 | |||
| 17 | Jason Allison | $8,000,000 | $13,172,429 | $1,500,000 | 23% | |
| 19 | Jarome Iginla | $7,500,000 | $12,349,152 | $2,000,000 | 36% | |
| 19 | Jeremy Roenick | $7,500,000 | $12,349,152 | -$500,000 | -6% | |
| 19 | Pierre Turgeon | $7,500,000 | $12,349,152 | $1,500,000 | 25% | |
| 22 | Ed Belfour | $7,000,000 | $11,525,875 | $500,000 | 8% | |
| 22 | Zigmund Palffy | $7,000,000 | $11,525,875 | -$250,000 | -3% | |
| 24 | Scott Stevens | $6,916,747 | $11,388,795 | $25,644 | 0% | |
| 25 | Martin Brodeur | $6,891,103 | $11,346,570 | |||