| Michal Neuvirth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Neuvirth with theNew York Islanders in 2015 | |||
| Born | (1988-03-23)23 March 1988 (age 37) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for | Washington Capitals HC Sparta Praha Buffalo Sabres New York Islanders Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| National team |  Czech Republic | ||
| NHL draft | 34th overall,2006 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 2008–2019 | ||
Michal Neuvirth (/ˈnɔɪvɪərt/NOY-veert,Czech:[ˈmɪxalˈnojvɪrt]; born 23 March 1988) is aCzech former professionalice hockeygoaltender. He played for theWashington Capitals,New York Islanders,Buffalo Sabres, andPhiladelphia Flyers in theNational Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 34th overall by theWashington Capitals in the second round of the2006 NHL entry draft.
After being drafted into the NHL by the Capitals, Neuvirth began a two-yearmajor junior career in theOntario Hockey League (OHL). He began with thePlymouth Whalers in2006–07 before being traded on 13 November 2007, to theWindsor Spitfires, along with defenceman Tom Kane and a fourth-round draft pick in 2009 in exchange for defencemanMichal Jordán, goaltenderMatt Hackett, a 2008 second-round draft pick and a third-round pick in 2009. After spending less than half a season with the Spitfires, he was traded yet again on 8 January 2008, to theOshawa Generals along with Ryan Baldwin for forwardJustin Shugg, goaltenderJakub Kovář and second-round picks in 2008 and 2011.
Neuvirth turned pro in2008–09 with theSouth Carolina Stingrays, the Capitals'ECHL affiliate. During his short stint with the Stingrays, he was named to the 2009ECHL All-Star Game for the American Conference.[1] He was called up to theHershey Bears of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) during the season and, before long, received his first NHL call-up to the Capitals when starting goaltenderSemyon Varlamov was sidelined due to injury. He made his NHL debut on 14 February 2009, against theTampa Bay Lightning. Making 31 saves, including a breakaway glove save onVincent Lecavalier, Neuvirth backstopped the Capitals to a 5–1 victory for his first NHL win.[2] He then played in his Capitals home debut on 26 February against theAtlanta Thrashers, recording another win with a 21-save effort. He finished the season appearing in five games total for the Capitals with a 2–1 record and 3.00goals against average (GAA).
After being returned to the Bears, Neuvirth helped his team to the2009 Calder Cup finals. He recorded ashutout in Game 3 for the Bears to take a 2–1 series lead against theManitoba Moose.[3] Neuvirth then went on with the Hershey Bears to win the 2009Calder Cup, earning MVP honors after his Game 6 win. Neuvirth went 16–6 in the playoffs and finished the post-season with a 1.92 GAA, toppingFrédéric Cassivi's previous AHL playoff best of 2.10 GAA.[4]
After helping the Bears to the back-to-back Calder Cups in 2010, Neuvirth was named the starting goaltender of the Capitals' season opener on 8 October against Atlanta, in which he made 27 saves in a 4–2 loss. Neuvirth went on to beat out Semyon Varlamov for the starting position for the entire season. Despite a solid season as Washington's starter and an adequate playoff performance, Washington demoted Neuvirth to backup goaltender status to make way forTomáš Vokoun, trading away incumbent backup Varlamov to theColorado Avalanche in the process. Vokoun's run as Washington's starter only lasted one season, however, and he was injured before the playoffs began. Neuvirth was himself also injured, allowing third goaltenderBraden Holtby to start Game 1 of the first round series against theBoston Bruins. Even though Neuvirth managed to return to health in time for Game 3, Holtby went on to start for the duration of Washington's playoff run in 2012. In the off-season, Vokoun left to take the backup goaltender job with thePittsburgh Penguins. Incoming Capitals head coachAdam Oates then confirmed Holtby as the new starting goaltender of the Washington Capitals during training camp, but failed to rule out Neuvirth reclaiming the starter's role if he were to outplay Holtby.
On 5 March 2014, Neuvirth was traded by the Capitals, along with defencemanRostislav Klesla, to theBuffalo Sabres in exchange for goaltenderJaroslav Halák and a third round pick.[5] Neuvirth closed out the season with an (0-2-0) record. The next season, Neuvirth posted a record of (6-17-3).
Almost one year later, on 2 March 2015, Neuvirth was traded by the Sabres to theNew York Islanders in exchange forChad Johnson and a2016 third-round draft pick.[6] Neuvirth recorded a (1-3-1) record with the Islanders.
On 1 July 2015, Neuvirth signed a two-year contract as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers, to serve as a backup toSteve Mason.[7]
On 1 April 2017, Neuvirth suddenly collapsed on the ice during a game against theNew Jersey Devils while there was a stoppage in play at 7:37 of the first period. He was rushed to a nearby hospital after being taken off the ice on a stretcher. Backup goaltenderAnthony Stolarz replaced Neuvirth for the rest of the game, which the Flyers won 3–0. The Flyers announced the next afternoon he had been released from the hospital and all tests were normal.[8][9]
After four seasons under contract with the Flyers, Neuvirth left as a free agent following an injury-plagued2018–19 season. Unable to secure an NHL contract, Neuvirth agreed to an invitation to attend theToronto Maple Leafs' training camp on aprofessional tryout (PTO) contract on 22 July 2019.[10]
On 24 September, Toronto released Neuvirth from his PTO contract.[11] As a free agent, Neuvirth sat out the majority of the season before signing a one-year contract in returning to the Czech Republic for the remainder of the year with hometown club, HC Sparta Praha of the ELH, on 23 January 2020.[12] Neuvirth was unable to make any appearances with the club despite being contracted with Sparta over the next two seasons due to lingering injury problems.[13]
Neuvirth married Monika Hybnerova in June 2014, but the couple divorced in July 2015.[14]
On 29 May 2018, Neuvirth married Czech musician Karolina Gudasová, the sister of former Philadelphia Flyers teammateRadko Gudas.[15][16] He and Gudasová have two children together.[17][18][19]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OT | Min | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | Min | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2006–07 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 41 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 2223 | 86 | 4 | 2.32 | .932 | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1080 | 44 | 0 | 2.45 | .932 | ||
| 2007–08 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 600 | 26 | 0 | 2.60 | .928 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 482 | 17 | 0 | 2.12 | .918 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 15 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 844 | 57 | 0 | 4.05 | .898 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 507 | 21 | 0 | 2.48 | .932 | ||
| 2008–09 | South Carolina Stingrays | ECHL | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 762 | 29 | 2 | 2.28 | .918 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 17 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1001 | 45 | 1 | 2.70 | .913 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 1346 | 43 | 4 | 1.92 | .932 | ||
| 2008–09 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 220 | 11 | 0 | 3.00 | .892 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 22 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 1231 | 46 | 1 | 2.24 | .919 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 1133 | 39 | 1 | 2.07 | .920 | ||
| 2009–10 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 17 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 872 | 40 | 0 | 2.75 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 48 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 2689 | 110 | 4 | 2.45 | .914 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 590 | 23 | 1 | 2.34 | .912 | ||
| 2011–12 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 38 | 13 | 13 | 5 | 2020 | 95 | 3 | 2.82 | .902 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Sparta Praha | ELH | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 1342 | 55 | 1 | 2.46 | .926 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 13 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 723 | 33 | 0 | 2.74 | .910 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 13 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 767 | 36 | 0 | 2.82 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 4.02 | .892 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 117 | 5 | 0 | 2.56 | .949 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 27 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 1544 | 77 | 0 | 2.99 | .918 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | New York Islanders | NHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 306 | 15 | 0 | 2.94 | .881 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | ||
| 2015–16 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 32 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 1826 | 69 | 3 | 2.27 | .924 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 178 | 2 | 1 | 0.67 | .981 | ||
| 2016–17 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 28 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1364 | 64 | 0 | 2.82 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 22 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1039 | 45 | 1 | 2.60 | .915 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 150 | 11 | 0 | 4.40 | .847 | ||
| 2018–19 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | .912 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 366 | 26 | 0 | 4.27 | .859 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 257 | 105 | 93 | 26 | 13,852 | 626 | 11 | 2.71 | .910 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 930 | 36 | 2 | 2.32 | .919 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| OHL | ||
| Dinty Moore Trophy (2.32) | 2007 | |
| Dave Pinkney Trophy | 2007 | |
| Second All-Rookie Team | 2007 | |
| Second All-Star Team | 2007 | |
| ECHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2009 | |
| AHL | ||
| Jack A. Butterfield Trophy | 2009 | |
| Calder Cup (Hershey Bears) | 2009,2010 | |
| NHL | ||
| Rookie of the Month (October) | 2010 | [20] |
Neuvirth had been away from the team since Thursday to be with his wife for the birth of the couple's second child. Injuries have limited him to two games this season.
