Petr Svoboda

For other people named Petr Svoboda, see Petr Svoboda (disambiguation).

Petr Svoboda (born February 14, 1966) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was the first Czech to play over 1,000 games in the NHL.

Petr Svoboda
Born	(1966-02-14) February 14, 1966 (age 59) Most, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	CHZ Litvínov Montreal Canadiens Buffalo Sabres Philadelphia Flyers Tampa Bay Lightning
National team	Czech Republic
NHL draft	5th overall, 1984 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1982–2001

He is currently the director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC.

Playing career

In 1984, Svoboda had participated in the european Under-18 ice hockey championships in then-West Germany as a part of the Czechoslovak team, and after the completion of the tournament, he defected to the West in order to play hockey at a higher professional level.^[1] That spring, he was selected fifth overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. His career highlights include winning the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986, and winning gold with the Czech team in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where he scored the only goal in the gold medal game against Russia. He retired from professional hockey in 2001 and then worked as a player agent.^[2][3] In May 2020, he became co-owner and director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC in Switzerland.^[4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1982–83	TJ CHZ Litvínov	TCH		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	TJ CHZ Litvínov	TCH		18	3	1	4	20		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		73	4	27	31	65		7	1	1	2	12
1985–86	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		73	1	18	19	93		8	0	0	0	21
1986–87	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		70	5	17	22	63		14	0	5	5	10
1987–88	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		69	7	22	29	149		10	0	5	5	12
1988–89	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		71	8	37	45	147		21	1	11	12	16
1989–90	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		60	5	31	36	98		10	0	5	5	2
1990–91	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		60	4	22	26	52		2	0	1	1	2
1991–92	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		58	5	16	21	94		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		13	1	6	7	52		7	1	4	5	6
1992–93	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		40	2	24	26	59		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		60	2	14	16	89		3	0	0	0	4
1994–95	HC Litvínov, s.r.o.	ELH		8	2	0	2	50		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		26	0	5	5	60		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		11	0	3	3	10		14	0	4	4	8
1995–96	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		73	1	28	29	105		12	0	6	6	22
1996–97	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		67	2	12	14	94		16	1	2	3	16
1997–98	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		56	3	15	18	83		3	0	1	1	4
1998–99	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		25	4	2	6	28		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		34	1	16	17	53		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		70	2	23	25	170		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		19	1	3	4	41		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1,028	58	341	399	1,605		127	4	45	49	135

International

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
	1998 Nagano	Ice hockey

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1983	Czechoslovakia	EJC		5	0	0	0	8
1984	Czechoslovakia	WJC		7	0	4	4	16
1984	Czechoslovakia	EJC		5	1	1	2	16
1998	Czech Republic	OG		6	1	1	2	39
Junior totals				17	1	5	6	40
Senior totals				6	1	1	2	39

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played