Jaroslav Spacek (; born February 11, 1974) is a Czech former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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 l ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) for over 13 seasons with the Florida Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

Playing career

Špaček was drafted in the fifth round, 117th overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. On January 26, 2006, the Chicago Blackhawks traded Špaček to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Tony Salmelainen. In 2005–06, Špaček was part of the Cinderella Edmonton Oilers team that made a run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Oilers lost in Game 7 of the finals to the

. Špaček had three goals and 11 assists in the 2006 Playoffs. He was only one victory away of joining the Triple Gold Club. On July 5, 2006, Špaček signed a three-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres. In the 2006–07 season, he helped the Sabres reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Špaček was named an alternate captain for the month of December 2007 and captain for the month of January under the Sabres 2007–08 rotating captain and alternate captains system. In the 2008–09 season, Špaček tied a career-high with 45 points in 80 games for the Sabres. On July 1, 2009, Špaček signed a three-year contract worth $11.5 million with the Montreal Canadiens. In the final year of his contract in the 2011–12 season, on December 9, 2011, Montreal traded Špaček to the

in exchange for defenceman Tomáš Kaberle. A free agent, and with the 2012–13 NHL lockout in effect well into the 2012–13 season, Špaček effectively announced his retirement on November 19, 2012. He became assistant coach for HC Škoda Plzeň and was also added to Plzeň's roster before the trade deadline. He was forced into playing again in the final series due to injuries to Plzeň's defencemen, and he helped Plzeň win its first-ever Czech Extraliga title. In 2014, Špaček was named assistant coach for the Czech team at the 2014 IIHF World Championship. Špaček was inducted into the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame on November 3, 2016.

Personal life

Špaček's son, David, is a professional ice hockey player who was drafted in the fifth round, 153rd overall, by the Minnesota Wild in the 2022 NHL entry draft.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spacek, Jaroslav 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Rokycany Beast of New Haven players Buffalo Sabres captains Buffalo Sabres players Carolina Hurricanes players Chicago Blackhawks players Columbus Blue Jackets players Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Czech ice hockey defencemen Edmonton Oilers players Färjestad BK players Florida Panthers draft picks Florida Panthers players HC Plzeň players HC Slavia Praha players Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Montreal Canadiens players Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic gold medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Olympic medalists in ice hockey Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey people from the Plzeň Region Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada 21st-century Czech sportsmen