Radim Vrbata (born 13 June 1981) is a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
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 h ...
right winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. He had a 16-year career in the National Hockey League (NHL). Vrbata was originally drafted in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
by the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
, with whom he has also played, along with the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
,
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 ...
,
Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...
,
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
,
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
and
Florida Panthers during his NHL career. Radim Vrbata was also an NHL All-Star in 2015.
Playing career
Vrbata was drafted in the seventh round, 212th overall, by the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
in the
1999 NHL Entry Draft
The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in talen ...
. He won the
2001 World Junior Championship and the
2005 IIHF World Championship
The 2005 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship was held 30 April – 15 May 2005 in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria. It was the 69th annual event, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
Venues
Rosters
Preliminary round
...
with the Czech Republic. He played his first game in February 2002 against the New york Islanders, then scored his first NHL goal against the Rangers a night later. He finished his rookie season with 18 goals and 12 assists, mainly playing with Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic.
In March 2003, Vrbata was traded to the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
in exchange for
Bates Battaglia
Jonathan "Bates" Battaglia (born December 13, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals and the Toronto Mapl ...
, later being acquired by 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 30 December 2005, in exchange for future considerations. After two subpar seasons with Chicago, he was traded to the
Phoenix Coyotes on 11 August 2007, for
Kevyn Adams. During his first year in Phoenix, he set career highs in goals, assists and led the team in scoring.
On 1 July 2008, Vrbata, as a free agent, signed a three-year contract with the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
. After starting the
2008–09 season out of form and citing confidence issues, and the fact that his wife was having difficulty during pregnancy, Vrbata asked and was granted permission to return home to the Czech Republic on 8 December 2008. On 2 January 2009, he joined his hometown team,
BK Mladá Boleslav. Vrbata's stint with Boleslav, however, was cut short when he was sent on loan to
Bílí Tygři Liberec on 29 January 2009.
After finishing the season in the Czech Republic, Vrbata advised the Lightning he intended to return to the NHL for the second year of his contract for the
2009–10 season. Having already filled Vrbata's spot on the team's roster, however, Tampa Bay had no interests in retaining Vrbata and his agent, Rich Evans, was subsequently given permission to orchestrate a trade with another NHL organization. Thus, on 21 July 2009, Vrbata was traded back to the Coyotes in exchange for
David Hale and
Todd Fedoruk for a second stint with the team. He would total 43 goals in his next two seasons with the team, coupled with four
Stanley Cup playoff goals as Phoenix qualified for the playoffs in both
2010 and
2011, losing both times to the
Detroit Red Wings.
On 21 February 2012, Vrbata scored two goals in a 5–4 shootout victory over 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 ...
. His second goal gave him 30 on the season, a career high. He would finish the
2011–12 season with a career-high 35 goals in which he led the entire NHL in game-winners, with 12.
On 2 July 2014, Vrbata signed as an unrestricted free agent to a two-year, $10 million contract with the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
. Vrbata stated the opportunity to play with the
Sedin twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
was a large factor in his decision. In his first season in Vancouver,
2014–15, Vrbata enjoyed a career year, finishing the regular season with 63 points in 79 games, besting his previous 62-point career-high season in 2011–12. He also led the Canucks in goals with 31, his second-highest single-season total behind the 35 he scored in 2011–12, and was selected to play in the
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
, where for Team Foligno he scored the opening goal of the game and registered an assist in a 17–12 loss to Team Toews.
In the final year of his contract with the Canucks, Vrbata endured a disappointing
2015–16 season, producing just 27 points in his lowest offensive totals since 2009. As a free agent in the following off-season, Vrbata opted to return for a third stint with the Arizona Coyotes, agreeing to a one-year, $1 million bonus-laden contract on 16 August 2016.
During the
2016–17 season, on 25 November 2016, Vrbata became the NHL's all-time leader in shootout goals. In his return to Arizona, Vrbata led the club with 20 goals and 55 points in 81 games.
As a free agent from the rebuilding Coyotes, Vrbata signed a one-year, $2.5 million bonus-laden contract with the
Florida Panthers on 1 July 2017.
On 7 April 2018, Vrbata announced his retirement from professional hockey after 16 seasons.
Personal life
Vrbata is from the same city as former Chicago Blackhawks teammate
Martin Havlát
Martin Havlát (; born April 19, 1981) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career Ottawa Senators
Havlát was selected from the Czech Extraliga in the first round o ...
,
Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants.
Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive in ...
. Vrbata's brother
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
is also a professional hockey player.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrbata, Radim
1981 births
Arizona Coyotes players
Carolina Hurricanes players
Chicago Blackhawks players
Colorado Avalanche draft picks
Colorado Avalanche players
Czech ice hockey right wingers
Florida Panthers players
HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players
Hershey Bears players
Hull Olympiques players
Living people
National Hockey League All-Stars
Sportspeople from Mladá Boleslav
Phoenix Coyotes players
BK Mladá Boleslav players
Shawinigan Cataractes players
Tampa Bay Lightning players
Vancouver Canucks players