- Martin Havlát
-
Martin Havlát 
Born April 19, 1981
Mladá Boleslav, CzechoslovakiaHeight 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb) Position Wing Shoots Left NHL team
Former teamsSan Jose Sharks
Minnesota Wild
Chicago Blackhawks
Ottawa Senators
Třinec Steelers (CzEx)National team 
Czech RepublicNHL Draft 26th overall, 1999
Ottawa SenatorsPlaying career 1998–present Martin Havlát (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarcɪn ˈɦavlaːt]; born April 19, 1981) is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Contents
Playing career
Havlát was drafted out of the Czech Extraliga in the first round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft (26th overall) by the Ottawa Senators. He remained in the Czech Republic for one more season following his draft before joining the Senators for his rookie NHL season in 2000–01. Havlát recorded 19 goals and 42 points in his first year and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy for top rookie. Playing for the Senators, he earned the nickname "Mach 9" for his speed and the jersey number he wore.
In his third year with the club, he notched his second consecutive 20-goal campaign with 24 goals and 59 points before helping the Senators on a 2003 playoff run to the Conference Finals. He was criticized in the second round by Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock for his stickwork against the Flyers during the series.[1] The Senators went on to eliminate Philadelphia in six games, but could not get past the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the New Jersey Devils in the third round. Havlát finished the playoffs with 11 points in 18 games.
The following season, in 2003–04, Hitchcock made headlines once more with comments regarding a high-sticking incident with Havlát, saying that "somebody is going to make him eat his lunch."[2] Over the course of the campaign, Havlát was suspended twice, once for kicking,[3] and once for high-sticking.[2] Despite missing time, however, he continued to improve offensively with 31 goals and 68 points in 68 games, his most productive season with the Senators.
Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Havlát spent the entirety of the next season back in the Czech Extraliga, as well as Russian Superleague, playing for several teams. As NHL play resumed in 2005–06, he was suspended once more early in the season on October 17, 2005, for five games following another kicking incident against Boston Bruins defenceman Hal Gill.[3] After returning to the lineup, he suffered a shoulder injury against the Montreal Canadiens on November 29 which required surgery and kept him out for 59 games.[4] He returned to the ice on April 15, 2006, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, almost exactly four months from the date of his surgery. Havlát has had a number of injuries in his career, most often in the form of groin strains,[5][6] though he's had an assortment of shoulder,[4] elbow,[7] and hamstring[8] issues as well. After missing the majority of the regular season, Havlát enjoyed his most prolific playoffs as a Senator in 2006, recording 13 points in 10 games as Ottawa was eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres in five games in the second round.
During the 2006 off-season, Havlát, a restricted free agent, told the Senators that he would only sign a one-year deal so he could then test the free agent market.[9] As a result, on July 9, 2006, Havlát was traded to the Blackhawks with Bryan Smolinski in a 3-way deal, which also involved the San Jose Sharks acquiring Mark Bell for Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy.[10] After the trade, Havlát signed a 3-year, $18 million contract with the Blackhawks. As his usual number 9 was retired by the Blackhawks for Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, he switched to 24.
On October 5, 2006, Havlát made his Blackhawks debut in outstanding fashion against the Nashville Predators by scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in an 8-6 win. Through the first seven games of the season, he was near or at the top of the league in scoring until he went down with a high ankle sprain late in a game against the Dallas Stars on October 20, 2006.[11] He returned to the Blackhawks lineup on December 9, 2006, against the Minnesota Wild netting 2 goals and an assist in a losing effort. Havlát was also selected for the 2007 NHL All-Star Game that season. In April 2007, Havlát suffered a shoulder injury, which required off-season surgery.[12] Despite a first season in Chicago partially marred by injuries, he produced at a point-per-game pace with 57 points in 56 games.
In the 2007–08 season, Havlát was limited to 35 games while scoring 10 goals and 17 assists as he again struggled with injuries. The season marked a turning point for the team, however, as the Blackhawks' offence was immediately bolstered by the emergence of rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The next season, in 2008–09, Havlát led a rejuvenated Blackhawks team in scoring with a career-high 77 points in 81 games. Chicago qualified for the post-season for the first time since 2002 that season. Playing the Calgary Flames in the opening round, Havlát registered 2 goals in the first game of the series, including a game-tying goal late in the third period and the game-winner just 12 seconds into overtime.[13] The Blackhawks would defeat the Flames in six games before doing the same to the Vancouver Canucks in the second round. Meeting the Detroit Red Wings in the semi-finals, Havlát was knocked out in Game 3 of the series from a hit delivered by defenceman Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall was given a five-minute major and was ejected for the hit, while Havlat left the game after lying on the ice for several minutes.
Despite being named team MVP for the 2008-09 season, Havlát was not re-signed by the club. After three months of attempting to negotiate a long term contract to remain with the team, Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon annulled previous discussions and refused to offer anything more than a one-year extension come July 1.[14] The negotiations were well documented on both Havlát and his agent's Twitter pages, with Havlát ominously stating, "There's something to be said for loyalty and honor."[15] He followed this up by stating that he did not leave the team, but rather they left him.[16]
On July 1, 2009, Havlát signed a 6-year deal with the Minnesota Wild worth $30 million.[17] Havlat wore number 14 in his first season with the Wild, but changed his number to 24 prior to the start of the 2010-2011 season due to the off-season departure of forward Derek Boogaard who wore the number previously.
On July 3rd, 2011, Martin Havlat was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Dany Heatley. [18]
International play
Medal record Competitor for Czech RepublicWorld Championships Gold 2000 St.Petersburgh Bronze 2011 Bratislava World Junior Hockey Championship Gold 2000 Umea/Skelleftea Havlát plays for the Czech Republic internationally, and while representing them at the 2002 Winter Olympics he had three goals. He missed the 2006 Olympics due to a shoulder injury.
Played for the Czech Republic in :
- 2000 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (Gold medal)
- 2000 World Championships (Gold medal)
- 2002 Winter Olympics
- 2004 World Championships
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2010 Czech Republic Olympic hockey team
- 2011 World Championships (Bronze medal)
Personal life
Havlát has two siblings: a sister named Lenka who is 16 years older and a half-brother named Slava who is 28 years older.[19] He can speak both English and Czech[20] and lives in Brno, Czech Republic during the off-season.[citation needed]
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 HC Oceláři Třinec CZE 24 2 3 5 4 8 0 0 0 2 1999–00 HC Oceláři Třinec CZE 46 13 29 42 42 — — — — — 2000–01 Ottawa Senators NHL 73 19 23 42 20 4 0 0 0 2 2001–02 Ottawa Senators NHL 72 22 28 50 66 12 2 5 7 14 2002–03 Ottawa Senators NHL 67 24 35 59 30 18 5 6 11 14 2003–04 Ottawa Senators NHL 68 31 37 68 46 7 0 3 3 2 2003–04 HC Sparta Praha CZE 5 1 3 4 8 — — — — — 2004–05 Znojemsti Excalibur Orli CZE 12 10 4 14 16 10 7 6 13 4 2004–05 HC Dynamo Moscow RSL 10 2 0 2 14 — — — — — 2004–05 HC Sparta Praha CZE 9 5 4 9 37 5 0 0 0 20 2005–06 Ottawa Senators NHL 18 9 7 16 4 10 7 6 13 4 2006–07 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 56 25 32 57 28 — — — — — 2007–08 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 35 10 17 27 22 — — — — — 2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 81 29 48 77 30 16 5 10 15 8 2009–10 Minnesota Wild NHL 73 18 36 54 34 — — — — — 2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 78 22 40 62 52 — — — — — NHL totals 621 209 303 512 332 67 19 30 49 44 Czech Extraliga totals 96 31 43 74 107 23 7 6 13 26 Transactions
- June 26, 1999 - Drafted in the first round, 26th overall, by the Ottawa Senators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
- July 9, 2006 - Traded from the Senators to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Bryan Smolinski; the San Jose Sharks acquired Mark Bell from Chicago; the Senators acquired Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy from San Jose (via Chicago), as well as Michal Barinka and a second-round draft pick in 2008 from the Blackhawks.
- July 1, 2009 - Signed as free agent by the Minnesota Wild to a 6-year deal for $30 million.
- July 3, 2011 - Traded from the Wild to the San Jose Sharks for Dany Heatley.
See also
References
- ^ "Sticky-y situation". 2003. http://canoe.ca/Slam030429/nhl_ottphi1-sun.html. Retrieved 2006-10-31.[dead link]
- ^ a b "Havlát hit Flyers' Recchi in face with stick". ESPN.com. 2004. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1746073. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
- ^ a b "Sens' Havlát suspended five games". ESPN.com. 2005. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2194026. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
- ^ a b "Senators RW Havlát to undergo shoulder surgery". 2005. http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=havlatsurgery&prov=st&type=lgns. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
- ^ Don Brennan. "Groin grounds Havlát". http://www.canoe.ca/Slam020330/nhl_ott1-sun.html. Retrieved 2006-09-19.[dead link]
- ^ Don Brennan. "Havlát injury opens door for Spezza's return". http://www.canoe.ca/Slam030221/nhl_ott-sun.html. Retrieved 2006-09-19.[dead link]
- ^ Bruce Garrioch. "Slash and burn". http://cgi.canoe.ca/Slam030125/nhl_ott1-sun.html. Retrieved 2006-09-19.[dead link]
- ^ Bruce Garrioch. "Sens hope to have Alfie vs. Rangers". http://cgi.canoe.ca/Slam031123/nhl_ott4-sun.html. Retrieved 2006-09-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Havlát only wants to sign a one-year deal". TSN.ca. 2006. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=169507&hubname=. Retrieved 2006-09-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Havlát dealt in three-way trade". 2006. http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=107427. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
- ^ "Winger Havlát to miss at least 2-3 weeks". 2006. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/106720,CST-SPT-hsep22.article. Retrieved 2006-10-31.[dead link]
- ^ "Blackhawks' Havlat faces surgery". ChicagoSports.com. 2007. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/cs-070404hawks,1,4856785.story?coll=cs-blackhawks-headlines. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ "Havlat sinks Flames in OT". CBC. 2009-04-17. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/stanleycup/W4vW5/story/2009/04/16/sp-flames-blackhawks-nhl.html. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ http://twitter.com/walsha/status/2433374836
- ^ http://twitter.com/martinhavlat/status/2431126454
- ^ http://twitter.com/martinhavlat/status/2465951988
- ^ Michael Russo. "Wild signs Havlat for $30M". http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/49613357.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "Sharks ship Heatley to Wild for Martin Havlat". http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=370854. Retrieved July 3 2011.
- ^ "Q&A with Martin Havlat". slam.canoe.ca. 2003. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam030420/col_brennan-sun.html. Retrieved 2007-08-25.[dead link]
- ^ "NHL Young Stars stories". nhl.com. 2004. http://www.nhl.com/kids/youngstar/havlat.html. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
External links
Preceded by
Mathieu ChouinardOttawa Senators first round draft pick
1999Succeeded by
Anton VolchenkovCategories:- 1981 births
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Czech ice hockey players
- Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- HC Dynamo Moscow players
- Living people
- Minnesota Wild players
- National Hockey League All-Stars
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Olympic ice hockey players of the Czech Republic
- Ottawa Senators draft picks
- Ottawa Senators players
- HC Oceláři Třinec players
- HC Sparta Praha players
- People from Mladá Boleslav
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