Žigmund "Ziggy" Pálffy (; born May 5, 1972) 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 ...

player. Along with his English nickname, he was nicknamed "Žigo" in Slovak. One of the most gifted wingers, Pálffy played in the

NHL 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 ...

for 12-years with the New York Islanders,

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 ...

, and

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

between 1993 and 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 boyhood club

HK 36 Skalica Hockey Club Skalica is a professional ice hockey team based in Skalica, Slovakia. It has been a member of the Slovak Extraliga since 1997–98 Slovak Extraliga, 1997–98 season, when the squad was promoted from the Slovak 1.Liga. Team is currentl ...

in the 2007–08 season and continued to do so until the end of his career. He also retracted his decision from 2005 never to play for the Slovak national team again by participating at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, where he was also the flagbearer. In July 2013, he announced his definite retirement. Pálffy was inducted into the

IIHF Hall of Fame The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame operated by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was founded in 1997, and has resided at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto since 1998. Prior to 1997, the IIHF housed exhibits at the Interna ...

in 2019.

Playing career

New York Islanders

After a solid season in his native

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and an impressive stint with the Czechoslovakia 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 Slovakia, Pálffy came to North America for the 1993–94 season. He spent the majority of the 1993–94 season in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

, while also making his NHL debut with the Islanders, appearing in five games, though he did not earn a single point. The following season, 1994–95, he split the year between the Islanders and the

Denver Grizzlies Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

of the IHL. 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 The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. 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.

Los Angeles Kings

After the season, the Islanders, facing financial woes, traded him and

Bryan Smolinski Bryan Anthony Smolinski (born December 27, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey center. The Boston Bruins drafted him 21st overall in 1990. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islander ...

to the

in a deal that saw

Olli Jokinen Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for th ...

, Josh Green,

Mathieu Biron Mathieu Biron (born April 29, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over 250 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). After retiring as a hockey player, he became a firefighter. Playing career As a youth, Biron p ...

and a first-round draft pick go to the Islanders. With the Kings, Pálffy continued his strong play, often being paired with fellow Slovak

Jozef Stümpel Jozef Stümpel (born 20 July 1972) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Florida Panthers between 1992 and 2008. Internationally Stümpel played ...

and Canadian superstar

Luc Robitaille Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille (born February 17, 1966) is a Canadian–American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He currently serves as president of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his 19-season N ...

. 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.

Pittsburgh Penguins and retirement

After the 2003–04 season, the Kings tried to resign Pálffy, but when Pálffy had a phone call with

owner

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...

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 Penguins for three years and US$13.5 million. After playing 42 games with the Penguins during the 2005–06 season, Pálffy abruptly retired from professional hockey. On January 18, 2006, then-Penguins

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Craig Patrick Craig Patrick (born May 20, 1946) is an American former hockey player, coach and general manager, the son of Lynn Patrick and the grandson of Lester Patrick. During the 1980 Winter Olympics, Patrick was the Assistant General Manager and Assist ...

told reporters 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.

HK 36 Skalica and second retirement

Pálffy announced his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007, and signed a contract to play for his hometown club of

for the entire 2007–08 season. He became the most productive player of the regular season in the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth st ...

, where he led four seasons in points. In July 2013, before the start of the 2013–14 season, Pálffy formally announced his retirement from professional hockey. He said he was old enough and did not feel like playing and traveling with the team after so many years, but also that he was going to miss the game of hockey since he lived for it for almost 40 years.

International play

Pálffy has represented

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in international competitions, winning a gold medal with Slovakia in the 2002 after he had assisted on

Peter Bondra Peter Bondra (; born 7 February 1968) is a Ukrainian-born Slovak former professional ice hockey player. He was the general manager of the Slovakia national team from 2007 to 2011. A two-time 50-goal scorer, Bondra became the 37th player in Nati ...

'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. Five years later, Pálffy would broke his retirement, as he is named to the Slovak national team for the

and recorded three assists with the team for a total of three points in seven games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International statistics

Awards and honours

Transactions

* June 9, 1991 – Drafted 26th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. * June 19, 1999 – Traded to the Los Angeles Kings with

, Marcel Cousineau & a 1999 4th round pick ( Daniel Johansson) for

, Josh Green,

& a 1999 1st round pick (

Taylor Pyatt Taylor William Pyatt (born August 19, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers and P ...

). * September 15, 2004 – Signed to a lockout contract by SK Slavia Prague. * October 7, 2004 – Signed to a lockout contract by

. * November 16, 2004 – Signed to a lockout contract by SK Slavia Praha. * August 6, 2005 – Signed by the

. * January 18, 2006 – Announced his retirement. * July 19, 2007 – Signed by HK 36 Skalica (comeback). * September 15, 2011 – Re-signed by HK 36 Skalica. * July 31, 2013 – Announced his retirement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palffy, Zigmund 1972 births Living people Czechoslovak ice hockey right wingers HK Dukla Trenčín players HC Slavia Praha players HK 36 Skalica players Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League All-Stars New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Olympic ice hockey players of Slovakia People from Skalica Pittsburgh Penguins players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players Slovak ice hockey right wingers Slovak people of Hungarian descent