Marek Malik

Marek Malik

Born: June 24, 1975
Age: 48
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Biography

Marek Malík (born June 24, 1975) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1994 to 2009.

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Playing career

After playing with TJ Vitkovice Jr. in the Czech junior league, Malík was drafted 72nd overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He played one season for HC Vítkovice of the Czech Extraliga before joining the Whalers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, in 1994-95. 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.

While the Whalers' franchise relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1997-98 to become the Carolina Hurricanes, Malík played in the Swedish Elitserien with the Malmö Redhawks. He returned to the NHL the following season with the Hurricanes. In 2001-02, Malík recorded a career-high 23 points. The following season, his ninth with the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise, Malík was traded to the Vancouver Canucks along with Darren Langdon in exchange for Jan Hlaváč and Harold Druken. He completed his second season with the Canucks, in 2003-04, as co-recipient of the NHL Plus/Minus Award (shared with Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning) with a +35 rating.

During the 2004-05 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 the New York Rangers.

On November 26, 2005, Malík scored on Washington Capitals netminder Olaf Kölzig to finish the then longest shootout in NHL history. 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. The record for the longest shootout has since been broken. The Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers played a 20 round shootout on December 16, 2014.

With goalies Henrik 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, and Jason Strudwick answered for the Rangers to tie the score again. The next Caps shooter was stopped, 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 commentator John 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 by TSN's SportsCentre.

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 in Springfield.

On January 24, 2008, he was not at the game on Brian 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 coach Tom Renney after a victory in the Rangers' previous game.

On October 14, 2008, Malík signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On November 23, 2009, Malik signed a one-year contract with the Genève-Servette HC from the Swiss National League A.

On May 7, 2014, Malik announced his retirement.

Awards

  • Awarded the Plus/Minus Award in 2004
  • Bronze medal with the Czech Republic at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Personal life

Malík has a wife and two sons. 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 from Harry and the Hendersons.

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993-94 HC Vítkovice Czech 41 3 4 7 0
1994-95 Hartford Whalers NHL 1 0 1 1 0
1994-95 Springfield Falcons AHL 58 11 30 41 91
1995-96 Springfield Falcons AHL 68 8 14 22 135 8 1 3 4 20
1995-96 Hartford Whalers NHL 7 0 0 0 4
1996-97 Springfield Falcons AHL 3 0 3 3 4
1996-97 Hartford Whalers NHL 47 1 5 6 50
1997-98 Malmö Redhawks SEL 37 1 5 6 21
1998-99 Beast of New Haven AHL 21 2 8 10 28
1998-99 HC Vítkovice Czech 1 1 0 1 6
1998-99 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 52 2 9 11 36 4 0 0 0 4
1999-00 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 Steel Czech 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
NHL totals 691 33 135 168 620 65 2 8 10 64

International play

Marek Malík
Medal record
Representing Czech Republic
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
2006 Turin

Malík has played for the Czech Republic in the following competitions:

  • 1993 European Junior Championships
  • 1994 World Junior Championships
  • 1995 World Junior Championships
  • 2004 World Cup
  • 2006 Winter Olympics

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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