Petr Svoboda (born February 14, 1966) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was the first Czech to play over 1,000 games in the NHL.
| Petr Svoboda | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 14, 1966 Most, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
CHZ Litvínov Montreal Canadiens Buffalo Sabres Philadelphia Flyers Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| National team |
 Czech Republic | ||
| NHL draft |
5th overall, 1984 Montreal Canadiens | ||
| Playing career | 1982–2001 | ||
He is currently the director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC.
Playing career
editIn 1984, Svoboda had participated in the european Under-18 ice hockey championships in then-West Germany as a part of the Czechoslovak team, and after the completion of the tournament, he defected to the West in order to play hockey.[1] That spring, he was selected fifth overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. His career highlights include winning the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986, and participating with the Czech team in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where he scored the only goal in the gold medal game against Russia. He retired from professional hockey in 2001 and then worked as a player agent.[2][3] In May 2020, he became co-owner and director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC in Switzerland.[4]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | TJ CHZ Litvínov | TCH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | TJ CHZ Litvínov | TCH | 18 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 65 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 93 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | ||
| 1986–87 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 63 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1987–88 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 149 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 1988–89 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 147 | 21 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 16 | ||
| 1989–90 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 98 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1990–91 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 52 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1991–92 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 58 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 52 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1992–93 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 40 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 60 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 89 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | HC Litvínov, s.r.o. | ELH | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 26 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1995–96 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 1 | 28 | 29 | 105 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 22 | ||
| 1996–97 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 67 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 94 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 | ||
| 1997–98 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 56 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1998–99 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 25 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 34 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 70 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 170 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,028 | 58 | 341 | 399 | 1,605 | 127 | 4 | 45 | 49 | 135 | ||||
International
edit| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Ice hockey | ||
 |
1998 Nagano | Ice hockey |
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 1984 | Czechoslovakia | WJC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | |
| 1984 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | |
| 1998 | Czech Republic | OG | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 39 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 40 | |||
| Senior totals | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 39 | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "NHL Draft Stories: Petr Svoboda Takes the Stage". last word on sports. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "LIGHTNING DEFENSEMAN PETR SVOBODA RETIRES". Tampa Bay Lightning. May 1, 2002. Archived from the original on June 7, 2002. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Flyers A-Z: Svoboda, Petr". Philadelphia Flyers. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Une nouvelle ère pour le Lausanne HC". www.laliberte.ch (in French). Retrieved 2020-07-08.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database