 Not re-signed by the Leafs, Cote was signed to a two-way contract by the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL and entered the training camp for their NHL affiliate, the Columbus Blue Jackets, in fall 2003.Columbus released him and he returned to the Crunch.An eye injury caused during a pre-season scrimmage resulted in Cote being assigned to the Crunch's ECHL affiliate, the Dayton Bombers, for much of the 2003–04 season.