Marián Šťastný Explained

Marián Šťastný
Birth Date:8 January 1953
Birth Place:Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:194
Position:Right wing
Shoots:Left
Played For:Slovan ChZJD Bratislava
HC Dukla Jihlava
Quebec Nordiques
Toronto Maple Leafs
HC Sierre
Ntl Team:TCH
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:1974
Career End:1987

Marián Šťastný (born 8 January 1953) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger who played for five seasons in the National Hockey League from 1981 through 1986 for the Quebec Nordiques and Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to moving to the NHL Šťastný had played in Czechoslovakia for Slovan ChZJD Bratislava with his brothers, Peter and Anton. They defected in 1980, joining the Nordiques, though Marián waited until 1981 to join them.

Playing career

Šťastný played for Slovan ChZJD Bratislava of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League from 1974 to 1981. During this time, he represented Czechoslovakia in five World Championships (winning two gold medals), two Winter Olympics, and the 1976 Canada Cup. He also competed in the men's tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics.[1]

In 1981, Šťastný joined his two younger brothers, Peter and Anton, as free agents with Quebec Nordiques, playing with them for four seasons. They were the third trio of brothers to play on the same professional hockey team (the first being the Bentley brothers of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1940s and the second being the Plager brothers of the St. Louis Blues in the 1970s). He signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs before the beginning of the 1985–86 NHL season, playing one season in Toronto before ending his career in Switzerland with the HC Sierre.

Political activity

Šťastný was elected vice-chairman of the Slovak World Congress in July 1987. To protest the Communist regime's violations of religious freedom and human rights, he organized protests in front of Czechoslovakian embassies for the following March 25. He communicated these plans to dissident leader Ján Čarnogurský in a hidden letter on a chocolate wrapper. These plans led to the Candle demonstration in Bratislava.[2]

Personal life

Šťastný was born in Bratislava, the third son of Stanislav and Frantiska. His two older brothers, Vladimir (born 1945) and Bohumil (born 1947) were born when the family still lived in the village of Pružina, about 170 kilometres northeast of Bratislava. They moved to Bratislava before Marián's birth, which was followed by Peter (1956), Anton (1959), and Eva (1966). Stanislav worked for a state-run company that built hydro-electric dams until 1980 when he retired, and mainly dealt with managing inventory. Frantiska stayed at home and raised the children. Vladimir was the former assistant coach of the Slovakia national ice hockey team. Marián's nephews Yan and Paul Stastny, both sons of Peter, have also played in the NHL.

Šťastný retired to the Quebec City area and after a brief attempt at coaching with the Junior Tier II CNDF hockey team, is now the owner of a golf club and a hotel in Saint-Nicolas, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec City.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1970–71Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR
1971–72Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR17 11 28
1972–73Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR
1973–74Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR14 7 21
1974–75Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR44 36 27 63 57
1975–76Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR31 17 11 28 53
1976–77Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR43 28 20 48
1977–78Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR44 33 23 56 58
1978–79Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR40 39 35 74
1979–80HC Dukla JihlavaCSSR14 8 6 14 0
1979–80Slovan ChZJD BratislavaCSSR21 20 15 35 22
1981–82Quebec NordiquesNHL74 35 54 89 2716 3 14 17 5
1982–83Quebec NordiquesNHL60 36 43 79 322 0 0 0 0
1983–84Quebec NordiquesNHL68 20 32 52 269 2 3 5 2
1984–85Quebec NordiquesNHL50 7 14 21 42 0 0 0 0
1985–86Toronto Maple LeafsNHL70 23 30 53 213 0 0 0 0
1986–87HC SierreNDA27 23 19 42 24
CSSR totals237181137318212
NHL totals322 121 173 294 11032 5 17 22 7

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1971CzechoslovakiaEJC
1972CzechoslovakiaEJC55496
1975CzechoslovakiaWC5 3 1 4 0
1976CzechoslovakiaWC8 2 4 6 2
1976CzechoslovakiaCC7 1 4 5 2
1977CzechoslovakiaWC10 7 4 11 2
1978CzechoslovakiaWC9 4 5 9 4
1979CzechoslovakiaWC8 0 5 5 2
1980CzechoslovakiaOLY6 5 6 11 4
Senior totals53 22 29 51 16

See also

Notes and References

  1. Marián Šťastný Olympic Results . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418115745/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/st/marian-stastny-1.html . dead . 18 April 2020 . 21 May 2019.
  2. Web site: Candle Manifestation of 1988 . 9 Apr 2024.