Petr Svoboda Explained

Petr Svoboda
Birth Date:February 14, 1966
Birth Place:Most, Czechoslovakia
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:190
Position:Defence
Shoots:Left
Played For:CHZ Litvínov
Montreal Canadiens
Buffalo Sabres
Philadelphia Flyers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ntl Team:CZE
Draft:5th overall
Draft Year:1984
Draft Team:Montreal Canadiens
Career Start:1982
Career End:2001

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.

He is currently the director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC.

Playing career

In 1984, Svoboda had participated in the world Under-18 ice hockey championships in then-West Germany as a part of the Czechoslovak team, and after playing one game, he defected to the West in order to play hockey at a higher professional level. 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.[1] [2] In May 2020, he became co-owner and director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC in Switzerland.[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
TJ CHZ LitvínovTCH40002
TJ CHZ LitvínovTCH1831420
Montreal CanadiensNHL734273165711212
Montreal CanadiensNHL731181993800021
Montreal CanadiensNHL7051722631405510
Montreal CanadiensNHL69722291491005512
Montreal CanadiensNHL7183745147211111216
Montreal CanadiensNHL605313698100552
Montreal CanadiensNHL60422265220112
Montreal CanadiensNHL585162194
1991–92Buffalo SabresNHL131675271456
Buffalo SabresNHL402242659
Buffalo SabresNHL60214168930004
1994–95HC Litvínov, s.r.o.ELH820250
Buffalo SabresNHL2605560
1994–95Philadelphia FlyersNHL1103310140448
Philadelphia FlyersNHL73128291051206622
Philadelphia FlyersNHL6721214941612316
Philadelphia FlyersNHL56315188330114
Philadelphia FlyersNHL2542628
1998–99Tampa Bay LightningNHL341161753
Tampa Bay LightningNHL7022325170
Tampa Bay LightningNHL1913441
NHL totals1,028583413991,60512744549135

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1983CzechoslovakiaEJC50008
1984CzechoslovakiaWJC704416
1984CzechoslovakiaEJC511216
1998Czech RepublicOG611239
Junior totals1715640
Senior totals611239

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: LIGHTNING DEFENSEMAN PETR SVOBODA RETIRES . Tampa Bay Lightning . March 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20020607032138/http://www.tampabaylightning.com/prdetail.cfm?pressreleaseID=463&category=3 . June 7, 2002 . May 1, 2002.
  2. Web site: Flyers A-Z: Svoboda, Petr . Philadelphia Flyers . March 11, 2023.
  3. Web site: Une nouvelle ère pour le Lausanne HC. 2020-07-08. www.laliberte.ch. fr.