Žigmund Pálffy

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Born	May 5, 1972 (1972-05-05) (age 37), Skalica, TCH
Height Weight	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Left
Extraliga team F. teams	HK 36 Skalica Pittsburgh Penguins Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders
Ntl. team	Slovakia & Czechoslovakia
NHL Draft	26th overall, 1991 New York Islanders
Playing career	1991 – 2005 2007 – present

Žigmund "Ziggy" Pálffy (born May 5, 1972) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player currently playing for HK 36 Skalica of the Slovak Extraliga.

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.

1 Playing career
2 Awards
3 Career statistics
4 International play
- 4.1 International statistics
5 See also
6 External links

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 Championships, Pálffy was drafted by the New York Islanders in the second round of the 1991 NHL Draft, 26th overall. After two more years in Czechoslovakia, Pálffy came to North America for the 1993-94 season. He spent the majority of the 1993–94 season with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, while also making his NHL debut with the Islanders, appearing in five games, though he did not earn a single point. The following season, he split the year between the Islanders and the Denver Grizzlies.

The 1995–96 NHL season saw Pálffy break out as an offensive scorer. In his first game of 1995–96, his team went down one goal but Pálffy would score two 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 Pálffy, scoring 90 and 87 points, respectively. During the 1998–99 season, Pálffy 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 first round draft pick go to the Islanders. He was greatly missed by the team's fans, who at that time saw him as the shining star of their turmoiled organization.

With the Kings, Pálffy continued his strong play, often being paired with fellow Slovak Jozef Stümpel and Canadian superstar Luc Robitaille. Injuries, specifically his shoulder, began to limit Pálffy's playing time. During the 2003–04 season, Pálffy's nagging shoulder kept him out of action for the majority of the season. After the 2003–04 season, the Kings tried to resign Pálffy, but when Pálffy had a phone call with Penguins owner Mario Lemieux and gave him his word that he would sign with the Penguins, that ended all negotiations with the Kings. Shortly after the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for three years and $13.5 million (USD).

After playing 42 games with the Penguins during the 2005–06 season, Palffy abruptly retired from hockey. On January 18, 2006, then-Penguins general manager Craig Patrick told reporters that Pálffy told him he was retiring due to a lingering shoulder injury. 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 a gold medal with Slovakia in the 2002 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships after he had assisted on Peter Bondra's tournament-winning goal 100 seconds to go in the third period. 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 2007–08 season. He became the most productive player of the regular season 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.

Pálffy was named to Slovakia’s 2010 Olympic roster in Vancouver.

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

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1990–91	Nitra	TCH	50	34	16	50	18	—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Dukla Trenčín	TCH	32	23	24	47	—	13	18	8	26	—
1992–93	Dukla Trenčín	TCH	43	38	41	79	0	—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Salt Lake Golden Eagles	IHL	57	25	32	57	83	—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	New York Islanders	NHL	5	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Denver Grizzlies	IHL	33	20	23	43	40	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	New York Islanders	NHL	33	10	7	17	6	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	New York Islanders	NHL	81	43	44	87	56	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Dukla Trenčín	SVK	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	New York Islanders	NHL	80	48	42	90	43	—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	New York Islanders	NHL	82	45	42	87	34	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	HK 36 Skalica	SVK	9	11	8	19	9	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	New York Islanders	NHL	50	22	28	50	34	—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	64	27	39	66	32	4	2	0	2	0
2000–01	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	73	38	51	89	20	13	3	5	8	8
2001–02	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	63	32	27	59	26	7	4	5	9	0
2002–03	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	76	37	48	85	47	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	35	16	25	41	12	—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	HK 36 Skalica	SVK	8	10	3	13	6	—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	HC Slavia Praha	CZE	41	21	19	40	30	7	5	2	7	2
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	42	11	31	42	12	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	HK 36 Skalica	SVK	46	30	45	75	93	13	7	17	24	26
2008–09	HK 36 Skalica	SVK	53	52	47	99	46	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			684	329	384	713	322	24	9	10	19	8

International play

Medal record
Palffy at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Competitor for Czechoslovakia
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Bronze	1991 Saskatoon	Ice hockey
Competitor for Slovakia
World Championships
Gold	2002 Jönköping,	Ice hockey
Bronze	2003 Helsinki	Ice hockey

Played for Czechoslovakia in:

1991 World Junior Championships (Bronze medal)
1991 Canada Cup
1992 World Junior Championships

Played for Slovakia in:

1994 Winter Olympics
1996 World Championships
1996 World Cup
1999 World Championships
2002 Winter Olympics
2002 World Championships (Gold medal)
2003 World Championships (Bronze medal)
2005 World Championships
2010 Winter Olympics

International statistics

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991	Czechoslovakia	WJC	7	7	6	13	2
1991	Czechoslovakia	CC	5	1	0	1	2
1992	Czechoslovakia	WJC	6	3	1	4	6
1994	Slovakia	OG	8	3	7	10	8
1996	Slovakia	WC	5	2	0	2	10
1996	Slovakia	WCH	3	1	2	3	2
1999	Slovakia	WC	6	5	5	10	6
2002	Slovakia	OG	1	0	0	0	0
2002	Slovakia	WC	3	1	6	7	2
2003	Slovakia	WC	9	7	8	15	18
2005	Slovakia	WC	7	5	4	9	10
Junior int'l totals			13	10	7	17	8
Senior CSFR int'l totals			5	1	0	1	2
Senior SVK int'l totals			42	24	32	56	56

External links

Žigmund Pálffy's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Žigmund Pálffy

Additional info - part 2

1993–94 NHL season

The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 84 games. The New York Rangers were the Stanley Cup champions. It was the Rangers' fourth championship. In addition, the final game started the 1994 Stanley Cup riots in Downtown Vancouver.

1994–95 NHL season

The 1994–95 NHL season was the 78th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 48 intra-conference games: a shortened season, due to a lockout of the players by the owners. In addition, the NHL All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to take place January 20-21, 1995 in San Jose, CA, was cancelled. San Jose would eventually be selected as the venue for the 1997 NHL All-Star Game.

1995–96 NHL season

The 1995–96 NHL season was the 79th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who, in their first year as the Avalanche, swept the Florida Panthers in four games.

1996–97 NHL season

The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years. The regular season saw a decline in scoring and rise in the number of shutouts, to an all-time record of 127. This trend continued into the playoffs, during which an all-time record of 18 shutouts were recorded. Only two players, Mario Lemieux and Teemu Selanne, reached the 100-point plateau during the regular season (compared with 12 who reached the plateau in 1995-96). Many factors, including fewer power-plays, more calls of the skate-in-the-crease rule, fewer shots on goal, and more injuries to star players than the season before contributed to the reduction in scoring and skyrocketing in shutouts. Paradoxically, teams actually averaged more even-strength goals scored (174) than in 1995-96 (172).

1996 World Cup of Hockey

The first World Cup of Hockey (WCH), or 1996 World Cup of Hockey, replaced the Canada Cup as one of the premier championships for professional ice hockey (along with the Winter Olympic tournament, which professionals have competed in since 1998).

1997–98 NHL season

The 1997–98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games. The all-time record for most shutouts in a season, set at 127 just a year earlier, was broken again as 160 shutouts were recorded, 13 of which were earned by Dominik Hasek, who set a league record with eleven teams blanked. He zeroed the New York Rangers three times, and Los Angeles, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Boston, Calgary, Washington, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Edmonton once each. Only two teams, the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings, averaged more than three goals scored per game. In addition, only one player, Jaromir Jagr, reached the 100-point plateau during the regular season.

1998–99 NHL season

The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-seven teams played 82 games each. The Dallas Stars finished first in regular season play, and won the Stanley Cup championship over the Buffalo Sabres in a controversial fashion on a disputed overtime goal by Brett Hull. Goaltenders continued to dominate the league, as only two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils, averaged more than three goals scored per game. In addition, no player reached the 50-goal plateau. A total of 160 shutouts were recorded for the second-straight regular season.

1999–00 NHL season

The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-eight teams each played 82 games. The New Jersey Devils defeated the defending champion Dallas Stars for their second Stanley Cup championship. During the regular season, no player reached the 100-point plateau - the first time this had happened in a non-lockout season since 1967-68.

2000–01 NHL season

The 2000–01 NHL season was the 84th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanche, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the New Jersey Devils. The focus of Colorado's Stanley Cup run was on star defenceman Raymond Bourque who was on a quest to win his first Stanley Cup championship in his illustrious 22-year career.

2004–05 NHL lockout

The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a lockout that resulted in the cancellation of what would have been the 88th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was the first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded since 1919, and the first time a major professional sports league in North America canceled a complete season because of a labour dispute. The lockout lasted 310 days starting September 16, 2004, the day after the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NHL and the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) that resolved the 1994–95 lockout expired. The negotiating teams reached an agreement on July 13, 2005, and the lockout officially ended nine days later on July 22, after both the NHL owners and players ratified the CBA.

2005–06 NHL season

The 2005–06 NHL season was the 88th season of the National Hockey League. This was the season after the non-existent 2004–05 season which was cancelled due to a labour dispute with the NHL Players Association over the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the league and its players. The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs began on April 21, 2006, and concluded on June 19, with the Carolina Hurricanes defeating the Edmonton Oilers to win their first Stanley Cup.

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