Richard Zedník

Richard Zedník (born 6 January 1976) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey winger. He had a 15-year career in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Florida Panthers.

Richard Zedník
Born (1976-01-06) 6 January 1976
Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Left
Played for Washington Capitals
Montreal Canadiens
HKM Zvolen
New York Islanders
Florida Panthers
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
HC '05 Banská Bystrica
AIK
National team  Slovakia
NHL Draft 249th overall, 1994
Washington Capitals
Playing career 1996–2011

In February 2008, Zedník sustained a life-threatening injury during an NHL game when the skate of his teammate Olli Jokinen accidentally sliced his common carotid artery.[1]

Playing career

Zedník was drafted in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, in the tenth round, 249th overall, after playing junior hockey for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Zedník scored 35 goals in his rookie year with the Winter Hawks during the 1994–95 season. In his second year with the major junior team, he scored 44 goals which earned him Second Team All-Star honours. Zedník made his professional debut at the end of the 1995–96 season, playing in a single game with the Capitals before joining their minor league affiliate, the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League (AHL), for their Calder Cup finals playoff run. Zedník made the Capitals' roster out of training camp in 1996 and scored his first career NHL goal in the season opener on October 5 against Ed Belfour of the Chicago Blackhawks.[2] After one goal in nine games, Zedník was sent down to Portland before being recalled briefly in March 1997.

Zedník played his first full NHL season in 1997–98, playing in 65 games with the Capitals and recording 17 goals. Zednik scored the first Capitals goal in Capital One Arena (then MCI Center) history.[3]

On October 31, 2000, a local Washington, D.C., radio station, DC101, had a promotion in which they offered fans a free ticket and Zedník jersey if they dyed their hair blond as Zedník had in the off-season. Two hundred fans with dyed hair attended the game, at which Zedník scored his first career hat-trick against the Detroit Red Wings, who had not lost in Washington in ten years.[4]

After spending six seasons with the Capitals, Zedník was traded during the 2000–01 season, along with Jan Bulis and a first-round draft pick (used to select Alexander Perezhogin), to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus and a second-round draft pick (later traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning) on March 13, 2001.

On April 26, 2002, during a playoff game in Montreal against the Boston Bruins, Zedník was elbowed in the face by Bruins defenceman Kyle McLaren. Zedník suffered a fractured cheekbone, broken nose and a concussion. Despite the Canadiens losing the game 5–2 and Zedník for the remainder of the playoffs, they would win the series 4–2.

After playing the next three years in Montreal, Zedník was traded back to the Capitals on July 12, 2006, in exchange for a third-round draft pick. Zedník's second stint back with the Capitals was short as he was dealt at the trade deadline to the New York Islanders for a second-round draft pick on February 26, 2007.

At the conclusion of the 2006–07 season, Zedník, a free agent, signed a two-year contract with the Florida Panthers on July 1, 2007.[5]

On April 30, 2009, Zedník was announced as a Masterton Trophy finalist for the 2008–09 season.[6][7] His nomination coincided with an official announcement that Zedník signed to play for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the 2009–10 season.[8] Zedník's contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslaval was terminated "by mutual agreement" in the summer of 2010.

Zedník then played two games with HC 05 Banská Bystrica of the Slovak Extraliga. On January 10, 2011, he signed a contract with AIK IF, which expired after the 2010–11 Elitserien season.

Neck injury

On February 10, 2008, in a game where the Florida Panthers were playing the Buffalo Sabres, Zedník suffered a severe and life-threatening injury. Teammate Olli Jokinen was tangled up with Sabre Clarke MacArthur and lost his balance in front of Zedník. Zedník was skating past as Jokinen fell, and his skate blade accidentally made contact with Zedník's neck, slicing his common carotid artery open and causing it to expel a trail of blood onto the ice as Zedník reacted quickly and skated to the Panthers' bench. He was immediately attended to by Florida trainer Dave Zenobi, who took him to the locker room for treatment. Paramedics, who are on standby at every NHL game, stabilized Zedník while the home team doctor Les Bisson controlled the bleeding. Bisson noted that Zedník appeared to be in shock but was not near death, as he was alert and responsive.[1] Zedník lost five pints of blood (2,3L).[9] He was transported to hospital on emergency run, his status being published as stable after leaving the arena.[10] The game was delayed for more than 20 minutes as the zamboni was needed to help remove the blood from the ice. The announcement over the public address speakers at HSBC Arena that Zedník was in stable condition and en route to a Buffalo, New York, hospital sparked a prolonged standing ovation from the Buffalo fans as the game went on as planned.

Emergency surgery was performed to repair the artery, but according to doctors at Buffalo General Hospital, Zedník's life was not in jeopardy. The artery was not severed; had it been, it would have recessed into the neck, requiring more extensive surgery to repair.[1][11][12] Zedník was stable in the Intensive Care Unit through February 12 and released from hospital on February 16, but missed the rest of the season recovering from the injury. He returned to play in the 2008–09 season.

Zedník watched the video replay of his injury and said "once is enough". He said the extent of the injury was immediately obvious to him, as it felt like being stabbed.[13]

Zedník's injury drew comparisons with a similar injury suffered in 1989 by Clint Malarchuk, who was a goalkeeper for the Buffalo Sabres. Both injuries prompted discussion about neck guards and player safety in the NHL. At present, team doctors (practitioners of sports medicine) are trained in trauma care and are required to be seated behind the home team bench at every game.

Personal life

Zedník married French-Canadian actress Jessica Welch in 2005. They divorced in 2009 and have one daughter.[14][15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1992–93 Iskra Smrečina Banská Bystrica SVK-2 ————— —————
1993–94 ŠK Iskra Banská Bystrica SVK-2 25369— —————
1994–95 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 6535518689 9551020
1995–96 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 61443781154 7841223
1995–96 Portland Pirates AHL 11120 2145926
1995–96 Washington Capitals NHL 10000 —————
1996–97 Portland Pirates AHL 5615203570 51016
1996–97 Washington Capitals NHL 112134 —————
1997–98 Washington Capitals NHL 651792628 17731016
1998–99 Washington Capitals NHL 49981750 —————
1999–00 ŠaHK Iskra Banská Bystrica SVK-2 10000 —————
1999–00 Washington Capitals NHL 6919163554 50000
2000–01 Washington Capitals NHL 6216193561 —————
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1236910 —————
2001–02 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8222224459 44486
2002–03 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8031195079 —————
2003–04 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8126245063 113362
2004–05 HKM Zvolen SVK 3615193456 179101912
2005–06 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6716143048 62024
2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 326121816 —————
2006–07 New York Islanders NHL 101232 50008
2007–08 Florida Panthers NHL 5415112643 —————
2008–09 Florida Panthers NHL 7017163346 —————
2009–10 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 376121856 1735822
2010–11 HC '05 Banská Bystrica SVK 20000 —————
2010–11 AIK SEL 1823512 31120
NHL totals 745200179379563 4816102641

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1993 Slovakia EJC C 4 8 2 10 6
1994 Slovakia EJC C 6 8 12 20 10
1996 Slovakia WJC 6 5 2 7 10
1996 Slovakia WCH 3 0 0 0 0
2001 Slovakia WC 7 2 2 4 14
2003 Slovakia WC 9 5 3 8 6
2004 Slovakia WCH 3 0 0 0 0
2005 Slovakia WC 7 1 1 2 10
2006 Slovakia OG 6 1 0 1 12
2010 Slovakia OG 7 2 4 6 6
2011 Slovakia WC 6 1 1 2 2
Senior totals 48 12 11 23 50

International play

Played for Slovakia in:

Awards
  • WHL West Second All-Star Team – 1996

See also

References
  1. Bisson, Sanders, Noor, Curl and McCormack. Common Carotid Artery Laceration in a Professional Hockey Player. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Chicago, 25 June 2009. Retrieved on 27 June 2017
  2. "Chicago Blackhawks at Washington Capitals Box Score — October 5, 1996".
  3. "This Date in Caps History - December 5".
  4. Red Wings vs. Capitals
  5. "Richard Zednik inks two-year deal with Panthers". panthers.nhl.com. 1 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  6. "Chelios, Sullivan, Zednik nominated for Bill Masterton Trophy". NHL.com. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  7. "Masterton finalists meet criteria". NHL.com. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  8. "Masterton finalist Zednik signs two-year deal with Russian club". cbssports.com. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  9. "Zednik out of Buffalo hospital". The Denver Post. Associated Press. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. "Panthers' Zednik takes skate cut to neck". TSN. 10 February 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  11. "Life-saving surgery needed". Rogers Sportsnet. 11 February 2008. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  12. "Zednik stable after carotid artery severed in Panthers-Sabres game". ESPN. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  13. YouTube – Richard Zednik Press Conference – 21 Feb 2008
  14. Cowan, Stu (3 May 2012). "Kings' Penner, former Hab Zednik share an ex-wife". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  15. http://www.litterboxcats.com/2009/9/4/1015836/former-panther-richard-zedniks
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