| Marek Malík | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1975-06-24)June 24, 1975 (age 50) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) | ||
| Weight | 240 lb (109 kg; 17 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | HC Vítkovice Hartford Whalers Malmö Redhawks Carolina Hurricanes Vancouver Canucks New York Rangers Tampa Bay Lightning Genève-Servette HC HC TWK Innsbruck | ||
| National team |  Czech Republic | ||
| NHL draft | 72nd overall,1993 Hartford Whalers | ||
| Playing career | 1993–2014 | ||
Marek Malík (born June 24, 1975) is a Czech former professionalice hockeydefenceman who played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) from 1994 to 2009.[1]
After playing with TJ Vitkovice Jr. in the Czechjunior league, Malík was drafted 72nd overall by theHartford Whalers in the1993 NHL Entry Draft. He played one season forHC Vítkovice of theCzech Extraliga before joining the Whalers'American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theSpringfield Falcons, in1994–95. He played the better part of two seasons with the Falcons before earning a roster spot with the Whalers. Marek scored his first career NHL goal on October 19, 1996, against Jeff Reese and the New Jersey Devils in a 6–2 Whalers victory.[2]
While the Whalers' franchise relocated toRaleigh, North Carolina in1997–98 to become theCarolina Hurricanes, Malík played in Sweden'sElitserien with theMalmö Redhawks. He returned to the NHL the following season with the Hurricanes. In2001–02, Malík recorded a career-high 23 points. The following season, his ninth with the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise, Malík was traded to theVancouver Canucks along withDarren Langdon in exchange forJan Hlaváč andHarold Druken. He completed his second season with the Canucks, in2003–04, as co-recipient of theNHL Plus/Minus Award (shared withMartin St. Louis of theTampa Bay Lightning) with a +35 rating.
During the2004–05 NHL lockout, Malík returned to the Czech Extraliga to play for HC Vítkovice. With NHL play set to resume the following season, he signed a three-year deal with theNew York Rangers.
On November 26, 2005, Malík scored onWashington Capitals netminderOlaf Kölzig to finish the then longestshootout in NHL history.[3][4] The goal was described as a "circus shot" as Malík drew the puck towards the center of the net, put his stick between his legs, and shot high on Kölzig's stick side. With goaltendersHenrik Lundqvist and Kölzig dominant in net, the shootout went to 15 rounds. The teams had selected so many players to shoot that they were being forced to send out their weaker defencemen.Bryan Muir of the Caps scored in round 14, andJason Strudwick answered for the Rangers to tie the score again. The next Caps shooter (Matt Bradley) was stopped by Lundqvist, which set the stage for Malík. He skated in on Kölzig, deked to his glove, pulled the puck back, put his stick through his legs, and flipped the puck in over Kölzig's blocker to score and win the game. He had not scored a goal during the season at the time. After the shot, he raised his arm and shrugged to the fans before being mobbed by his teammates. Former Rangers commentatorJohn Davidson said,"Now I've seen it all! First Strudwick scores, then Malík wins a shootout with a shot between the legs. Oh Baby!" The goal was ranked as the play of the year byTSN'sSportsCentre.[citation needed]
During his time with New York, Malík was criticized for his lack of physical play, despite his size, as well as his risky decision-making with the puck. These criticisms have been applied to Malík as early as his minor league days inSpringfield.[5]
On January 24, 2008, he was not at the game onBrian Leetch Night, even though it was team policy for players to be present at games. He also did not attend practice and his locker was empty for the game after he refused to shake hands with head coachTom Renney after a victory in the Rangers' previous game.[6]
On October 14, 2008, Malík signed a one-year contract with theTampa Bay Lightning.
On November 23, 2009, Malik signed a one-year contract with theGenève-Servette HC from the SwissNational League A.
On May 7, 2014, Malik announced his retirement.[7]
Malík has a wife and two sons.[8][9] Malik's teammates and coaches called him "Harry", a nickname he received during his rookie season in Hartford because (at that time) he reminded them of the title character fromHarry and the Hendersons.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1992–93 | TJ Vítkovice | TCH U20 | 29 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | HC Vítkovice | ELH | 39 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 65 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 58 | 11 | 30 | 41 | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 68 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 135 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 47 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | MIF Redhawks | SEL | 37 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | HC Vítkovice | ELH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | HC Vítkovice | ELH | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 52 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1998–99 | Beast of New Haven | AHL | 21 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 57 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 61 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2001–02 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 88 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 2002–03 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 69 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2003–04 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 2004–05 | HC Vítkovice | ELH | 42 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | ||
| 2005–06 | New York Rangers | NHL | 74 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 78 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | New York Rangers | NHL | 69 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 70 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | New York Rangers | NHL | 42 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 42 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | HC Vítkovice Steel | ELH | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Genève–Servette HC | NLA | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 14 | ||
| 2010–11 | HC Vítkovice Steel | ELH | 47 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 134 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | HC Vítkovice Steel | ELH | 48 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 155 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Vítkovice Steel | ELH | 49 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 91 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC TWK Innsbruck | AUT | 47 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| ELH totals | 235 | 13 | 71 | 84 | 505 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 99 | ||||
| NHL totals | 691 | 33 | 135 | 168 | 620 | 65 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 64 | ||||
| AHL totals | 150 | 21 | 55 | 76 | 258 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Czech Republic | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Winter Olympics | ||
 | 2006 Turin | |
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1994 | Czech Republic | WJC | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 | |
| 1995 | Czech Republic | WJC | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | |
| 2004 | Czech Republic | WCH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Czech Republic | OG | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Junior totals | 16 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 48 | |||
| Senior totals | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |||
| Preceded by | Co-winner of theNHL Plus/Minus Award 2004 With:Martin St. Louis | Succeeded by |