Playing career

The St. Louis Blues selected Hecht in the second round, 49th overall, of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft from Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Hecht played two full seasons for the Blues, compiling 32 goals and 46 assists before being dealt, along with Marty Reasoner and Jan Horáček, to the Edmonton Oilers for Doug Weight and Michel Riesen on July 1, 2001.

After appearing in a full season with the Oilers, Hecht was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 31st and 36th picks in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. As a Sabre, Hecht had his most successful NHL season, in terms of points scored, in 2006-07 with 56 points (19 goals, 37 assists).

Hecht was chosen as the captain for the month of October 2007 and later during February 2008. He is the second German-born player to captain an NHL team - Walt Tkaczuk was the first. The C was rotated monthly during the 2007-08 season. On October 16, 2007, Hecht agreed to a four-year, $14.1 million contract extension, which kept him in Buffalo until the 2011-12 season. Hecht scored his 300th career point on October 26, 2007, when he scored against Florida Panthers' goaltender Tomáš Vokoun.

Hecht returned to the city of Mannheim with the Sabres to play against Adler in an exhibition game on October 4, 2011. Hecht, who was recovering from an injury and did not play, received a standing ovation upon skating onto the ice in pre-game practice.

After being injured in January 2012 with a concussion, Hecht missed the remainder of the season and ended the year as a free agent. Several months into the 2012-13 NHL lockout, and after consulting with German doctors (who determined that some of his symptoms were neck-related), he rejoined Adler, joining Sabres linemate Jason Pominville, who joined Adler as a lockout player. After the lockout ended, he re-signed with the Sabres to a one-year, $1 million deal.

On April 26, 2013, Hecht announced his retirement from the NHL to reporters in the locker room following the Sabres' final regular season game against the New York Islanders. He planned to finish out his professional career in Mannheim.

In 2015, he won his third German championship with the Adler squad. The first two titles came before his NHL career, in 1997 and 1998.

International play

Hecht appeared in four games with Team Germany at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. He scored a goal and an assist as Germany finished eighth. He had been named to the team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He was injured, however, in his last NHL game before the Olympic break and was unable to play. He played in four World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for Team Germany between 1994 and 1997, and shares the record for most games played in World Junior Ice Hockey Championships together with Switzerland's Björn Christen.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994-95	Adler Mannheim	DEL		43	11	12	23	68		10	5	4	9	12
1995-96	Adler Mannheim	DEL		44	12	16	28	68		8	3	2	5	6
1996-97	Adler Mannheim	DEL		46	21	21	42	38		10	1	1	2	14
1997-98	Adler Mannheim	DEL		45	8	21	29	42		10	2	1	3	14
1998-99	Worcester IceCats	AHL		74	21	35	56	48		4	1	1	2	2
1998-99	St. Louis Blues	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		5	2	0	2	0
1999-00	St. Louis Blues	NHL		63	13	21	34	28		7	4	6	10	0
2000-01	St. Louis Blues	NHL		72	19	25	44	48		15	2	4	6	4
2001-02	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		82	16	24	40	60		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		49	10	16	26	30		—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		64	15	37	52	49		—	—	—	—	—
2004-05	Adler Mannheim	DEL		48	16	34	50	151		14	10	10	20	14
2005-06	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		64	18	24	42	34		15	2	6	8	8
2006-07	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		76	19	37	56	39		16	4	1	5	10
2007-08	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		75	22	27	49	38		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		70	12	15	27	33		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	21	21	42	35		—	—	—	—	—
2010-11	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		67	12	17	29	40		1	0	1	1	0
2011-12	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		22	4	4	8	6		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	Adler Mannheim	DEL		6	5	8	13	8		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		47	5	9	14	18		—	—	—	—	—
2013-14	Adler Mannheim	DEL		49	15	21	36	62		5	0	1	1	4
2014-15	Adler Mannheim	DEL		35	11	9	20	44		15	3	12	15	14
NHL totals				833	186	277	463	458		59	14	18	32	24

[ Source: Wikipedia ]