Žigmund Pálffy

Infobox Ice Hockey Player

---

image_size = 250px
position = Right Wing
played_for = Pittsburgh Penguins
Los Angeles Kings
New York Islanders
HK 36 Skalica
shot = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 180
nationality = SVK
birth_date = Birth date and age|1972|5|5|mf=y
birth_place = Skalica, CS
draft = 26th overall
draft_year = 1991
draft_team = New York Islanders
career_start = 1991
career_end = present

Žigmund "Ziggy" Pálffy (b. May 5, 1972 in Skalica, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player.

He played right wing for the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1993–2006. He announced his retirement in January 2006, and his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007. Pálffy signed a contract to play for his hometown club of HK 36 Skalica for the entire 2007-08 season, and also retracted his decision from 2005 never to play for the Slovak national team again.

Playing career

After a solid season in his native Czechoslovakia and an impressive stint with the Czechoslovakian National Team in the 1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship Pálffy was drafted by New York Islanders in the second round of the 1991 NHL Draft, 26th overall. After 2 more years in Czechoslovakia Palffy came to North America for the 1993–1994 season. He spent the majority of the 1993–1994 season with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles while also making his NHL debut with the Islanders, appearing in 5 games though he did not earn a single point. The following season he split the year between the Islanders and the Denver Grizzlies.

The 1995–1996 season saw Palffy break out as an offensive scorer. In his first game of 1995–96 his team went down 1 goal, but Palffy would score 2 goals to lead New York to a 2–1 win over the Florida Panthers. He also scored 87 points in 81 games and quickly became the star of the Islanders franchise. The following two seasons were much the same for Palffy, scoring 90 and 87 points respectively. During the 1998–1999 season Palffy was limited to only 50 games but still played solidly, scoring 50 points. After the season the Islanders, facing financial woes, traded him and Bryan Smolinski to the Los Angeles Kings in a deal that saw Olli Jokinen, Josh Green, Mathieu Biron, and a 1st round draft pick go to the Islanders. He was greatly missed by the team fans, who saw him as the one shining star of their perpetually turmoiled organization.

With the Kings Palffy continued his strong play, often being paired with fellow Slovak Jozef Stumpel and Canadian superstar Luc Robitaille. Injuries, specifically his shoulder, began to limit Palffy's playing time. During the 2003–2004 season Palffy's nagging shoulder kept him out of action for the majority of the season. After the 2003–2004 season the Kings decided not to re-sign Palffy. Shortly after the 2004–05 NHL lockout he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for three years and $13,500,000 (USD).

After playing 42 games with the Penguins during the 2005–2006 season, Palffy abruptly retired from hockey. On January 18, 2006 then Penguins GM Craig Patrick told reporters that Pálffy told him he was retiring due to a lingering shoulder injury. Many feel that tension with superstar Sidney Crosby may have also contributed to his retirement. Pálffy completed his career with 329 goals and 384 assists for 713 points in 684 games over 12 NHL seasons.

Pálffy has represented Slovakia and Czechoslovakia in international competitions, winning the Gold Medal with Slovakia in the 2002 World Championships. Following the 2005 World Championships in Austria, Pálffy announced his retirement from the Slovak national team.

Pálffy announced his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007, and signed a contract to play for his hometown club of HK 36 Skalica for the entire 2007/2008 season. He became the most productive player of the regular season 2007/2008 in the Slovak Extraliga gathering 75 points in just 49 games. He also retracted his decision never to play for the Slovak national team again, opening up the possibility for him to represent Slovakia at the World Championships tournament to be held in Canada in May 2008.

Awards

*Played in the 1996 NHL All-Star game
*Played in the 1998 NHL All-Star game
*Played in the 2001 NHL All-Star game
*Played in the 2002 NHL All-Star Game

Records

*In 1996–97 finished eighth in league scoring with 90 points
*In 1997–98 finished sixth in league scoring with 87 points
*In 2000–01 finished ninth in league scoring with 89 points
*In 2002–03 finished tenth in league scoring with 85 points

Career statistics

International play

*Played for Team Slovakia in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer
*Played for Team Slovakia in the 1996 Ice Hockey World Championships
*Played for Team Slovakia in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey
*Played for Team Slovakia in the 1999 Ice Hockey World Championships
*Gold medal with Slovakia in 2002 Ice Hockey World Championships
*Bronze medal with Slovakia in 2003 Ice Hockey World Championships
*Played for Team Slovakia in the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championships
*Team Slovakia - 64 caps / 36 goals

ee also

*Slovaks in the NHL

References

*
* [http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/8043/ Fan website] - information and pictures
* [http://www.databasehockey.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=PALFFZIG01 Statistics] - from DatabaseHockey.com