Sandis Ozoliņš

Ozoliņš was drafted 30th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft and had played for the Kansas City Blades, a minor league team in the International Hockey League. He and Latvian teammate Artūrs Irbe won a Turner Cup with the Blades in 1992.

Ozoliņš joined the Sharks in 1992–93, scoring 23 points in 37 games. He missed the majority of his rookie season recovering from a knee injury suffered in a game against Philadelphia on December 30, 1992. After recovering from his injury, Ozoliņš ended the 1993–94 season with an 81-game, 26-goal/64-point sophomore effort, leading the league in goals by a defenceman. Ozoliņš helped the Sharks to move beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, losing in the conference semifinals.

Ozoliņš began the 1995–96 season with one goal and three assists in seven games for the Sharks before being acquired by the Colorado Avalanche for Owen Nolan on October 26, 1995.[2] In 66 games during his first season, Ozoliņš scored 50 total points, with more than half on the power play. Ozoliņš won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996. The following season Colorado won the Presidents' Trophy. After losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the 1997 conference finals, Ozoliņš finished third in votes for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league's most outstanding defenceman. In the regular season, he scored a career-high 68 points, second in the league for defencemen after Brian Leetch. Ozoliņš scored his first career hat trick on December 6, 1999 against the Vancouver Canucks.[3] 1999 was his final year in Denver, in which Ozoliņš made $4 million as Colorado's third-highest paid player.[4]

During the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Ozoliņš was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Nolan Pratt and draft picks that became Václav Nedorost, Jared Aulin, and Agris Saviels. The agreement reunited Ozoliņš with fellow Latvian Artūrs Irbe. They had played together in Latvia and San Jose, shared an agent, and together funded a youth hockey organization that buys equipment for children in Latvia. After expiration of Ozoliņš' Avalanche deal, he signed a five-year contract with Carolina worth more than $25 million. "When you have a player like Sandis, you're willing to spend the money," general manager Jim Rutherford said.[4] Ozoliņš didn't help the Hurricanes to advance in the playoffs, playing just one and a half seasons with Carolina before being traded to the Florida Panthers.

Ozoliņš became a Panther after being acquired in 2001–02 mid-season from Carolina along with Byron Ritchie in exchange for Bret Hedican, Kevyn Adams, Tomáš Malec and a draft pick. Ozoliņš made his Panthers debut against Chicago on January 16, 2002. He wore #44 because #8 was already worn by Peter Worrell. Ozoliņš scored 10 goals and 19 assists in the remaining 37 games of the season. The Panthers did not make the playoffs during his time in Florida.

During the 2002–03 season, the Panthers sent Ozoliņš to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Matt Cullen, Pavel Trnka, and a draft pick. During the 2003 NHL All-Star weekend (several days after he had been traded), Ozoliņš skipped the NHL All-Star skills competition where he would have had to wear a Panthers uniform. "Participating in the All-Star Game is one thing, but the skills competition is another," said Ozoliņš, who was voted as an Eastern Conference starter. "It would look really unusual for a player to be representing his old team, so I thought this was the right thing to do." He was fined an undisclosed amount by the league.[5] Upon his arrival with the Ducks, Ozoliņš helped the club reach their first Stanley Cup Finals, losing a seven-game series to the New Jersey Devils. In 2003–04, Ozoliņš battled injuries and was limited to 36 games.[6]

Following the lockout in 2004–05, Ozoliņš was dealt to the New York Rangers at the trading deadline for a third-round draft pick (which the Rangers had obtained earlier in a trade with the San Jose Sharks). With 14 points in 19 games in the 2005–06 season, Ozoliņš helped his team to advance to the playoffs, for which the Rangers had not qualified since 1997. In the next season on December 18, 2006, on the heels of a 6–1 loss to New Jersey, the Rangers placed Ozoliņš on waivers. After clearing waivers, Ozoliņš was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), but a short while later was put on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury.

Ozoliņš later entered into the league's substance abuse program following a drunk driving arrest. After playing 2 games for the Worcester Sharks of the AHL and being cleared to play by doctors within the league's substance abuse program, he signed a one-year contract with San Jose on November 2, 2007. "That was a big turnaround this summer and I'm finally comfortable with what I am and what has happened, I actually feel pretty good and I do what I have to do and I do what I was advised to do. And I do it for myself and not for anybody else," said Ozoliņš.[7] In the 2007–08 NHL season he scored 3 goals and 13 assists in 39 games for the Sharks. He had a notable highlight reel save against the Anaheim Ducks, where as the puck slipped by goalie Evgeni Nabokov, and Ozoliņš slipped and fell as he made a stick save on the goal line.

After his season with the Sharks, Ozoliņš was offered a one-year contract by the Los Angeles Kings worth $800,000, but he declined it[8] and went on hiatus from hockey for a year.

On July 13, 2009, Ozoliņš unexpectedly signed a one-year deal with KHL home country team Dinamo Riga, with whom he started his senior career in 1990. Ozoliņš got back his #8 – the same number which he wore while playing for Dinamo Riga. Ozoliņš was named a captain for the first time in his career. In the 2009–10 KHL season he was the team's leader in points among defensemen, scoring 5 goals and 20 assists in 43 games. In January 2010, Ozoliņš was selected to play on the starting roster for the Jaromír Jágr team in the KHL All-Star game. He was also selected to play in the KHL All-Star skills competition,[9] but, due to a minor injury, only played in the first period and withdrew from the skills competition. On May 18, 2010, Ozoliņš extended his contract with Dinamo for another year, after he declined larger offers from four different KHL teams.[10]

In the first month of the 2010–11 KHL season Ozoliņš was honoured as the league's best defenseman after he registered 1 goal and 11 assists in 11 games, at the time being the league's leader in assists.[11] He was injured in the November 28 game against HC Sibir and missed all of the December due to broken ribs.[12] In January 2011, Ozoliņš was again selected to play on the starting roster in the KHL All-Star game.[13] Before the start of a 2011–12 KHL season Ozoliņš received an offer from KHL Gagarin Cup 2011 winners Salavat Yulaev Ufa to join the team, but he declined it.[10] During the 2011–12 KHL season, league officials confirmed Ozoliņš as captain of the Western Conference team in the All-Star Game 2012 (which took place on January 21, 2012) versus the Eastern Conference team captained by Sergei Fedorov.[14][15] On July 12, 2012, Dinamo Riga board member Guntis Ulmanis told Latvian radio station Baltkom that Ozoliņš left KHL team Dynamo Riga as a free agent and could receive lucrative offers from Russian clubs. Since joining Riga, Ozoliņš had 22 goals and 65 assists in 158 regular season KHL appearances, serving as the team captain for every game. During his time with Dinamo Riga, Ozoliņš set several franchise records as a defenseman.

On September 24, 2012, Ozoliņš signed a one-year deal with KHL team Atlant Moscow Oblast.[16] In his only season with Atlant in 2012–13, Ozoliņš was named team captain and immediately served as a fixture on the blueline, producing 2 goals and 20 points in 42 games.

In the off-season, Ozoliņš made another return as a free agent to Dinamo Riga, signing a one-year contract on May 8, 2013.[17]

• Most all-time playoff goals by an Avalanche defenseman – 18
• Most all-time playoff assists by an Avalanche defenseman – 49
• Most all-time playoff points by an Avalanche defenseman – 67