Ľubomír Višňovský (; born 11 August 1976) is a Slovak former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. He began and finished his career with his hometown club,

HC Slovan Bratislava Hockey Club Slovan Bratislava ( sk, Hokejový klub Slovan Bratislava) is a professional ice hockey club based in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2012, it left the Slovak Extraliga and joined the international Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In 2019, i ...

. He played 14 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

and the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

Playing career

Prior to joining the NHL, Višňovský played with

. He was drafted 118th overall in the

2000 NHL Entry Draft The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. This ...

by the

as their fourth choice. He made the team for the 2000–01 season and was named to the

NHL All-Rookie Team The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...

after a 39-point campaign, tops among rookie defencemen. Višňovský remained with the Kings for seven seasons, recording a career-high 67 points in 2005–06. He returned to play in his home country for the locked out 2004–05 season. Lubomir visnosky123

On 29 June 2008, Višňovský was traded to the

in exchange for forward

Jarret Stoll Jarret Lee Stoll (born June 24, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Stoll has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild. He is a two-time St ...

and defenceman

Matt Greene Matthew George Greene (born May 13, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenceman. Originally drafted in the second round, 44th overall, at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, he most notably served as an alternate ...

, on the day before his

no-trade clause In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...

would take effect. He was put on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on 5 February 2009, after dislocating his shoulder in a game against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

on 3 February. It was later revealed Višňovský required season-ending surgery to repair his labrum. On 3 March 2010, Višňovský was traded to the

for

Ryan Whitney Ryan Whitney (born February 19, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He is an analyst on NHL Network and a co-host of the Barstool Sports hockey podcast ''Spittin' Chiclets'' with former NHL enforcer Paul Bissonnette. ...

and a sixth-round pick in the

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

. On 4 March 2011, Višňovský scored the first hat trick by a defenseman in Anaheim Ducks history, the third goal coming with four seconds left in overtime. On 22 June 2012, Višňovský was traded to the

for a second round pick in the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Alek ...

. Shortly thereafter, Višňovský filed a grievance through the

National Hockey League Players' Association NHLPA (french: AJLNH) is the trade union, labour union for the group of professional List of NHL players, hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) located in the United Stat ...

(NHLPA) seeking to void the trade, claiming that the no-trade clause in his original contract with Los Angeles was still valid, since he never revoked it when Edmonton traded him to Anaheim. An arbitrator ruled against Višňovský in this case and the trade was upheld. The Islanders suspended Višňovský because he did not report to the team for the start of the NHL season. His agent,

Neil Sheehy Neil Kane Sheehy (born February 9, 1960) is a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey player with dual citizenship. He grew up in International Falls, Minnesota. A defenceman and Harvard University graduate, Sheehy signed as a free agen ...

, said on 26 January 2013, that Višňovský will report to the team by 11 February. Višňovský later signed a two-year extension with the Islanders worth $4.75 million per year. After parts of three seasons with the Islanders, Višňovský left as a free agent and was unsigned over the summer. On 16 September 2015, he was signed to a professional tryout (PTO) contract with the

. Upon his release at the conclusion of training camp by the Blackhawks, Višňovský returned to HC Slovan Bratislava midway into the 2015–16 season, signing a one-year deal on 27 October 2015. Višňovský announced his retirement in March 2016.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

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Višňovský profile
at NHLPA {{DEFAULTSORT:Visnovsky, Lubomir 1976 births Living people Anaheim Ducks players Edmonton Oilers players HC Slovan Bratislava players Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League All-Stars New York Islanders players Olympic ice hockey players of Slovakia People from Topoľčany Slovak ice hockey defencemen