Martin Havlát

Martin Havlát
Havlát with the New Jersey Devils in January 2015
Born	(1981-04-19) April 19, 1981 Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	New Jersey Devils HC Oceláři Třinec Ottawa Senators Chicago Blackhawks Minnesota Wild San Jose Sharks
National team	Czech Republic
NHL Draft	26th overall, 1999 Ottawa Senators
Playing career	1998–present

Martin Havlát (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarcɪn ˈɦavlaːt]; born April 19, 1981) is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Havlát was drafted out of the Czech Extraliga in the first round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 26th overall, by the Ottawa Senators. He remained in the Czech Republic for one more season following his draft before joining the Senators for his rookie NHL season in 2000–01. Havlát recorded 19 goals and 42 points in his first year and was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy for the league's top rookie. Playing for the Senators, he earned the nickname "Mach 9" for his speed and the jersey number he wore.

In Havlát's third year with the club, he notched his second consecutive 20-goal campaign with 24 goals and 59 points before helping the Senators on a 2003 playoff run to the Conference Finals. He was criticized in the second round by Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock for his stickwork against the Flyers during the series.^[1] The Senators went on to eliminate Philadelphia in six games, but could not get past the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the New Jersey Devils, in the third round. Havlát finished the playoffs with 11 points in 18 games.

The following season, in 2003–04, Ken Hitchcock made headlines once more with comments regarding a high-sticking incident with Havlát, saying that, "Somebody is going to make him eat his lunch."^[2] Over the course of the campaign, Havlát was suspended twice, once for kicking,^[3] and once for high-sticking.^[2] Despite missing time, however, he continued to improve offensively with 31 goals and 68 points in 68 games, his most productive season with the Senators.

Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Havlát spent the entirety of the next season back in the Czech Extraliga, as well as Russian Superleague (RSL), playing for several teams. As NHL play resumed in 2005–06, he was suspended once more early in the season on October 17, 2005, for five games following another kicking incident against Boston Bruins defenceman Hal Gill.^[3] After returning to the lineup, he suffered a shoulder injury against the Montreal Canadiens on November 29, which required surgery and kept him out for 59 games.^[4] He returned to the ice on April 15, 2006, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, almost exactly four months from the date of his surgery. Havlát has had a number of injuries in his career, most often in the form of groin strains,^[5][6] though he's had an assortment of shoulder,^[4] elbow,^[7] and hamstring^[8] issues as well. After missing the majority of the regular season, Havlát enjoyed his most prolific playoffs as a Senator in 2006, recording 13 points in 10 games as Ottawa was eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres in five games in the second round.

During the 2006 off-season, Havlát, a restricted free agent, told the Senators that he would only sign a one-year deal so he could then test the free agent market.^[9] As a result, on July 9, 2006, Havlát was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks with Bryan Smolinski in a three-way deal that also involved the San Jose Sharks acquiring Mark Bell for Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy.^[10] After the trade, Havlát signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Blackhawks. As his usual number 9 was retired by the Blackhawks for Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, he switched to 24.

On October 5, 2006, Havlát made his Blackhawks debut in outstanding fashion against the Nashville Predators by scoring two goals and two assists in an 8–6 win. Through the first seven games of the season, he was near or at the top of the league in scoring until he went down with an ankle sprain late in a game against the Dallas Stars on October 20, 2006.^[11] He returned to the Blackhawks lineup on December 9, 2006, against the Minnesota Wild, netting two goals and an assist in a losing effort. Havlát was also selected for the 2007 NHL All-Star Game that season. In April 2007, Havlát suffered a shoulder injury, which required off-season surgery.^[12] Despite a first season in Chicago partially marred by injuries, he produced at a point-per-game pace with 57 points in 56 games.

In the 2007–08 season, Havlát was limited to 35 games while scoring 10 goals and 17 assists as he again struggled with injuries. The season marked a turning point for the team, however, as the Blackhawks' offence was immediately bolstered by the emergence of rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The next season, in 2008–09, Havlát led a rejuvenated Blackhawks team in scoring with a career-high 77 points in 81 games. Chicago qualified for the post-season for the first time since 2002 that season. Playing the Calgary Flames in the opening round, Havlát registered two goals in the first game of the series, including a game-tying goal late in the third period and the game-winner just 12 seconds into overtime.^[13] The Blackhawks would defeat the Flames in six games before doing the same to the Vancouver Canucks in the second round. Meeting the Detroit Red Wings in the semi-finals, Havlát was knocked out in Game 3 of the series from a hit delivered by defenceman Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall was given a five-minute major and was ejected for the hit, while Havlát left the game after lying on the ice for several minutes.

Despite being named team MVP for the 2008–09 season, Havlát was not re-signed by the club. After three months of attempting to negotiate a long-term contract to remain with the team, Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon annulled previous discussions and refused to offer anything more than a one-year extension come July 1.^[14] The negotiations were well documented on both Havlát and his agent's Twitter pages, with Havlát ominously stating, "There's something to be said for loyalty and honor."^[15] He followed this up by stating that he did not leave the team, but rather they left him.^[16]

On July 1, 2009, Havlát signed a six-year deal with the Minnesota Wild worth $30 million.^[17] Havlát wore number 14 in his first season with the Wild, but changed his number to 24 prior to the start of the 2010–11 season due to the off-season departure of forward Derek Boogaard, who wore the number previously.

On July 3, 2011, Havlát was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Dany Heatley.^[18] In the following 2011–12 season, on December 17, 2011, Havlát caught his skate on the bench and fell over the boards onto the ice, tearing his hamstring. He returned on March 17, 2012. On March 18, one day after returning, Havlát scored the game winning goal in overtime for the Sharks in defeating the Detroit Red Wings.

On May 1, 2013, against the Vancouver Canucks, Havlát suffered an injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the playoff quarter-finals. He returned in Game 3 of the semi-final on May 18 against the Los Angeles Kings, but suffered a spear from Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa 52 seconds into the game.^[19] In early June 2013, Havlát had a bilateral pelvic floor reconstruction and played his first game of the season on October 31, 2013. On December 31, Havlát was placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury.^[20]

With his tenure with the Sharks largely affected by injury and a lack of productivity, Havlát became the first Sharks player in franchise history to be bought out from the remaining year of his contract on June 27, 2014.^[21] Three days later, on July 1, 2014, Havlát, with the ambition to redeem himself, signed as a free agent to a one-year deal with the New Jersey Devils.^[22]

International play

Medal record
Competitor for  Czech Republic
World Championships
Gold	2000 St.Petersburg
Bronze	2011 Bratislava
World Junior Hockey Championship
Gold	2000 Umea/Skelleftea

Havlát plays for the Czech Republic internationally, and while representing them at the 2002 Winter Olympics, he had three goals. He missed the 2006 Olympics due to a shoulder injury. As a junior he helped claim the gold medal at the 2000 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He also replicated his gold medal performance at the corresponding men's 2000 World Championships. In the 2011 World Championships he was apart of the Czech team that claimed a bronze medal.

Personal life

Havlát has two siblings: a sister named Lenka and a brother named Slava.^[23] He can speak both English and Czech^[23] and lives in Brno, Czech Republic, during the off-season. His nephew, Borek Sedlák, is a Czech ski jumper.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	HC Oceláři Třinec	CZE		24	2	3	5	4		8	0	0	0	2
1999–00	HC Oceláři Třinec	CZE		46	13	29	42	42		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Ottawa Senators	NHL		73	19	23	42	20		4	0	0	0	2
2001–02	Ottawa Senators	NHL		72	22	28	50	66		12	2	5	7	14
2002–03	Ottawa Senators	NHL		67	24	35	59	30		18	5	6	11	14
2003–04	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		5	1	3	4	8		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Ottawa Senators	NHL		68	31	37	68	46		7	0	3	3	2
2004–05	Znojemsti Excalibur Orli	CZE		12	10	4	14	16		10	7	6	13	4
2004–05	HC Dynamo Moscow	RSL		10	2	0	2	14		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		9	5	4	9	37		5	0	0	0	20
2005–06	Ottawa Senators	NHL		18	9	7	16	4		10	7	6	13	4
2006–07	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		56	25	32	57	28		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		35	10	17	27	22		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		81	29	48	77	30		16	5	10	15	8
2009–10	Minnesota Wild	NHL		73	18	36	54	34		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Minnesota Wild	NHL		78	22	40	62	52		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	San Jose Sharks	NHL		39	7	20	27	22		5	2	1	3	8
2012–13	San Jose Sharks	NHL		40	8	10	18	30		2	0	0	0	0
2013–14	San Jose Sharks	NHL		48	12	10	22	10		1	0	0	0	0
2014–15	New Jersey Devils	NHL		40	5	9	14	10		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				788	241	352	593	404		75	21	31	52	52

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999	Czech Republic	WJC18	5th		6	2	4	6	8
2000	Czech Republic	WJC	01 !		7	3	2	5	4
2000	Czech Republic	WC	01 !		9	2	1	3	2
2002	Czech Republic	Oly	7th		4	3	1	4	27
2004	Czech Republic	WCH	03 !		5	3	3	6	2
2004	Czech Republic	WC	5th		3	0	0	0	4
2010	Czech Republic	Oly	7th		5	0	2	2	0
2011	Czech Republic	WC	03 !		6	2	4	6	4
Junior totals					13	5	6	11	12
Senior totals					32	10	11	21	39

References

External links

• Martin Havlát's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Martin Havlát's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Martin Havlát's player profile at NHL.com

Preceded by Mathieu Chouinard	Ottawa Senators first round draft pick 1999	Succeeded by Anton Volchenkov