| Peter Šťastný | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1998 | |||
.jpg) Šťastný in 2011 | |||
| Born | (1956-09-18)18 September 1956 (age 68) Bratislava,Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Slovan Bratislava Quebec Nordiques New Jersey Devils St. Louis Blues | ||
| National team |  Czechoslovakia, Canada and Slovakia | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1975–1995 | ||
| Member of theEuropean Parliament forSlovakia | |||
| In office 20 July 2004 – 1 July 2014 | |||
| Personal details | |||
| Political party | Slovak Democratic and Christian Union - Democratic Party, (EPP-ED) | ||
| Spouse | Darina Šťastná | ||
| Children | |||
Peter Šťastný (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈpeterˈʂcastniː]; born 18 September 1956), also known colloquially as "Peter the Great" and "Stosh", is a Slovak-Canadian former professionalice hockey player and politician who played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1995. Šťastný is the second-highest scorer of the 1980s, afterWayne Gretzky. During his time with theQuebec Nordiques, Šťastný became a Canadian citizen. From 2004 to 2014, he served as aMember of the European Parliament forSlovakia. During his NHL career, he played with theQuebec Nordiques,New Jersey Devils, andSt. Louis Blues.
He was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in 1998 andranks 34th all time in NHL points (andsecond overall for players born in Slovakia). He was inducted into theIIHF Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2017, Šťastný was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[1] He is also the father of former NHL forwardPaul Stastny.
Šťastný was a prolific scorer in the NHL in the 1980s. He started his career in the NHL with theQuebec Nordiques in 1980 and was traded in 1990 to theNew Jersey Devils. As a star member of a team playing in a francophone city, Šťastný endeared himself to the Quebec fans by learning to speak French, and later learned to speak English. He retired as a member of theSt. Louis Blues in 1995.[1]
When the startling news broke in 1980 thatCzechoslovakia player of the year, Šťastný, and his brother,Anton, had defected to Canada to play with the Quebec Nordiques, it represented a watershed moment in professional ice hockey as one of the first major stars of Eastern bloc hockey to join the NHL. The following year, his brother,Marián, joined them and they became the third trio of brothers to play on the same professional ice hockey team (the first being the Bentley brothers of theChicago Blackhawks in the 1940s and the second being the Plager brothers of theSt. Louis Blues in the 1970s).[1] Peter and Anton share the rookie record for points in a game, with 8, which they accomplished in the same game against the Washington Capitals on February 22, 1981. Two days earlier, they each recorded six points against the Vancouver Canucks. These two games, played two days apart, are four out of the nine total instances in which rookies have recorded at least 6 points in a game.[2]
The trickle of Czechoslovak and Soviet hockey players rapidly became a flood following his footsteps. According to Peter, his defection "was the best decision I ever made. It has given my family the choices and options that people behind theIron Curtain could only dream of. Then, to play pro hockey with my two brothers was like icing on the cake."
On the ice, Peter proved to be both consistent and productive. He scored 450 goals and added 789 assists for a total of 1239 points in the regular season. After retiring as a player, he captained the Slovak national team in various international tournaments and still enjoys huge popularity among Slovaks.[1]
Šťastný was born in Bratislava, the fourth son of Stanislav and Frantiska Šťastný. His two older brothers, Vladimir (born 1945) and Bohumil (born 1947), were born when the family still lived in the village ofPružina, about 170 kilometres northeast of Bratislava. They moved to Bratislava before the birth ofMarián (1953), Peter (1956),Anton (1959), and Eva (1966). Stanislav worked for a state-run company that builthydro-electric dams until 1980 when he retired, and mainly dealt with managing inventory.[5] Frantiska stayed at home and raised the children.[6] Vladimir served as an assistant coach of theSlovak national ice hockey team. He is the only coach with all three medals in Slovak ice hockey history.[1]
Peter is the father ofYan Stastny, andPaul Stastny. Paul began his career with theColorado Avalanche (the same franchise as the Quebec Nordiques, Peter's first NHL team) in2006–07, followed by theSt. Louis Blues, for whom Peter also played. Paul also played for theVegas Golden Knights,Winnipeg Jets andCarolina Hurricanes, before retiring in 2023. Yan made his NHL debut in2005–06 with theEdmonton Oilers and last played professionally for theEHC Lustenau in 2018.[7] Born inQuebec City but raised inSt. Louis, Yan played for Team USA in the 2005 and 2006 World Championships. Paul would represent Team USA in the2010 Winter Olympics and2014 Winter Olympics. The family is the first ice hockey family known to have represented four countries in international play (Czechoslovakia, Canada, Slovakia, United States). Paul broke the record for a scoring streak in a rookie season in the NHL and was a finalist for the 2006–07Calder Memorial Trophy, which was won by his father in 1980–81.[1]
Šťastný has always been known for his resentment of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. He joined the partySDKÚ-DS of the former Prime-ministerMikuláš Dzurinda to pursue a career in theEuropean Parliament since he is fluent in both English and French. He was elected as leader of the 2004 European Parliament candidate list for the SDKU.[7]
In the June 2009election he was re-elected as the second of his party's MEPs.[8] His campaign slogan was "With Courage and Determination for a Strong Slovakia" (Slovak: S odvahou a nasadením pre silné Slovensko). He was MEP until 2014.[7]
He is a signatory of thePrague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.[9]
Šťastný has called forJuraj Široký to step-down as the President ofSlovak Ice Hockey Federation, stating poor performance, pursuing own financial interests over the welfare of Slovak Hockey as well as moral incredibility after it was revealed that Mr Široký was formerŠtB officer and he still has not sufficiently explained his friendship and involvement withViktor Kožený and his fraudulent financial manoeuvres regarding so-called Harvard Funds. These grievances were penned in a letter toRené Fasel in a letter describing Široký as a threat to democracy and integrity of the game in March 2008, as a result of Široký's actions in the 1980s (during which time Peter and two of his brothers had defected to Canada). Three months later, with Široký having not resigned fromHC Slovan Bratislava, for whom Šťastný had played prior to his defection to Canada, or the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation, Šťastný resigned from theSlovak Hockey Hall of Fame as a result, and had all references to him pulled fromSamsung Arena, the home arena of Slovan at the time.[10]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| RepresentingCzechoslovakia | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 1976 Poland | |
| 1977 Austria | |
 | 1978 Czechoslovakia | |
| 1979 Soviet Union | |
| Representing Canada | ||
| Canada Cup | ||
| 1984 Canada Cup | |
Šťastný was the first player in ice hockey history to represent three countries in three international tournaments.[11]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1974–75 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | TCH Jr | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | TCH | 32 | 19 | 9 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | TCH | 44 | 25 | 27 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | TCH | 42 | 29 | 24 | 53 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | TCH | 39 | 32 | 23 | 55 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | TCH | 41 | 26 | 26 | 52 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 77 | 39 | 70 | 109 | 37 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | ||
| 1981–82 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 80 | 46 | 93 | 139 | 91 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 10 | ||
| 1982–83 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 75 | 47 | 77 | 124 | 78 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1983–84 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 80 | 46 | 73 | 119 | 73 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 31 | ||
| 1984–85 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 75 | 32 | 68 | 100 | 95 | 18 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 24 | ||
| 1985–86 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 76 | 41 | 81 | 122 | 60 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 64 | 24 | 53 | 77 | 43 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 | ||
| 1987–88 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 76 | 46 | 65 | 111 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 72 | 35 | 50 | 85 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 62 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1990–91 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 77 | 18 | 42 | 60 | 53 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1991–92 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 66 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 42 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 19 | ||
| 1992–93 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 62 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 17 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | HC Slovan Bratislava | SVK | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| TCH totals | 198 | 131 | 109 | 240 | 107 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 977 | 450 | 789 | 1,239 | 824 | 93 | 33 | 72 | 105 | 125 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Czechoslovakia | WJC | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | — | |
| 1975 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| 1976 | Czechoslovakia | WJC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1976 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 9 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1976 | Czechoslovakia | CC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1977 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1978 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 7 | |
| 1979 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1980 | Czechoslovakia | OLY | 6 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | |
| 1984 | Canada | CC | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1994 | Slovakia | OLY | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 9 | |
| 1995 | Slovakia | WC B | 6 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 14 | 7 | 4 | 11 | — | |||
| Senior totals | 66 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 30 | |||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Golden Hockey Stick 1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theCalder Memorial Trophy 1981 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Quebec Nordiques captain 1985–1990 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |