Milan Michálek (; ; born 7 December 1984) 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 *Czech (surnam ...

former professional

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 ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who most recently played under contract to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

of 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). He was drafted sixth overall by the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. His older brother is Zbyněk Michálek, a

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 last played in the NHL within the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

organization.

Playing career

Michálek scored a goal in his first NHL game before suffering a serious knee injury the next game, on 11 October 2003, tearing his right ACL. After knee surgery, Michálek played in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) before injuring his knee again on 22 January. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Michálek did not play anywhere, spending the time rehabilitating his knee. Michálek played his first full season with the Sharks in 2005–06, scoring 17 goals and 35 points and earning the San Jose Sharks' ''PlayStation Rookie of the Year'' award. In the 2006–07 season, Michálek emerged as a speedy, multidimensional player and an offensive threat, scoring 26 goals and 66 points. During the following offseason, Michálek signed a six-year, $26 million contract extension through 2014 while still having one year left on his original rookie contract. It was the longest and most lucrative contract ever signed by a Sharks player. In 2007–08, Michálek played primarily on the Sharks' top line with

Joe Thornton Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre. He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

. Michálek's production dipped to 24 goals and 55 points, but due to the Sharks' overall offensive struggles, he was still second on the team to Thornton in goals and points. On 12 September 2009, Michálek was traded by the Sharks along with

Jonathan Cheechoo Jonathan Cheechoo (; Cree: ; born July 15, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). During the 2005–06 season, he led the NHL with 56 goals and won the Maurice "Rocket" Ri ...

and a second round pick in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward

Dany Heatley Daniel James Heatley (born January 21, 1981) is a German-born Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Calder Memorial ...

and a fifth round draft pick in 2010. With the Senators, Michálek scored his first career NHL

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

on 15 October 2009; two shorthanded and one on the powerplay. On 1 December, he scored two goals against his former team in a 5–2 loss in San Jose. Michálek suffered a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

after colliding with teammate

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at th ...

on 13 December 2011, causing him to miss five games. At the time of the injury, he was leading the NHL in goals with 19. He was later selected in fan balloting as a starter in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game and finished the season with a career high 35 goals. Whilst injured during the 2015–16 season, Michálek was dealt to the

on 9 February 2016, in a blockbuster nine-player trade focusing around

Dion Phaneuf Dion Phaneuf (born 10 April 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defence (ice hockey), defenseman who played for the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

heading to Ottawa.

International play

Michálek played on the 2010 Czech Republic Olympic hockey team along with his brother. He played in five games and scored two goals in those Olympics. The two brothers also played for the Czech team which finished sixth in the 2014 Olympics.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michalek, Milan 1984 births Living people Motor České Budějovice players Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey left wingers Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics NHL first-round draft picks National Hockey League All-Stars Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Ottawa Senators players Sportspeople from Jindřichův Hradec San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Ice hockey people from the South Bohemian Region 21st-century Czech sportsmen