Petr Sýkora
Petr Sýkora | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 19, 1976 Plzeň, Czechoslovakia |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey player (retired) |
| Years active | 1995–2012 |
| Known for | NHL right winger, two-time Stanley Cup champion |
Petr Sýkora (; born November 19, 1976) is a retired Czech professional ice hockey right winger who competed in the NHL with teams including the New Jersey Devils, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota Wild. Throughout his career, he participated in six Stanley Cup Finals and secured the championship twice: once in 2000 with the Devils and again in 2009 with the Penguins.
Playing career
Prior to joining the NHL, Sýkora played in the Czechoslovak Extraliga and the International Hockey League (IHL), where he became the youngest player in IHL history at 17 years and 71 days while representing the Cleveland Lumberjacks. Selected 18th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, he tallied 42 points in his debut season (1995–96) and earned NHL Rookie of the Month honors for December. His breakthrough came during his fourth NHL campaign, amassing 72 points and playing a key role alongside Patrik Eliáš and Jason Arnott on the "A-line," which helped propel the Devils to the 2000 Stanley Cup. Although an injury sidelined him during Game 6—the clinching match—the team paid tribute by wearing his jersey and presenting him with the trophy.
In the subsequent season, Sýkora achieved personal bests with 35 goals, 46 assists, totaling 81 points. However, his production declined to 48 points before being traded to Anaheim in 2002 in exchange for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky. While with Anaheim, he reached his third Stanley Cup Final but fell short against his former team. A highlight included scoring a decisive goal in quintuple overtime during the Western Conference Semi-finals versus Dallas.
During the NHL lockout of 2004–05, Sýkora competed for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Russia’s Superleague, recording 31 points across 45 games. He returned to NHL action in 2005–06 but requested a trade from Anaheim, resulting in a move to the New York Rangers. After one season there, he inked a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers, where he notched 53 points alongside fellow Czech Aleš Hemský.
In July 2007, as an unrestricted free agent, Sýkora signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Teaming up with Sidney Crosby and later Evgeni Malkin, he posted his most productive offensive season since 2000–01, accumulating 63 points. During the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit, he netted a triple-overtime powerplay goal in Game 5; however, Pittsburgh ultimately lost the series in seven games.
On December 11, 2008, Sýkora achieved his first NHL hat-trick against the New York Islanders after previously holding the record for most two-goal games (38) without a hat-trick. He reached a milestone by scoring his 300th NHL goal on April 7, 2009. Despite facing shoulder injuries and reduced playing time following Pittsburgh’s acquisition of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz at the trade deadline, Sýkora contributed to Pittsburgh’s journey to another Stanley Cup Final in 2009. He sustained a foot injury during Game 6 but participated in celebrations after Pittsburgh secured victory over Detroit in Game 7.
After becoming an unrestricted free agent in July 2009, Sýkora accepted a tryout opportunity with Minnesota Wild before signing a one-year contract worth $1.6 million. A concussion early that season limited him to just three points over 14 games before being placed on waivers and subsequently released.
Sýkora then returned to Europe for the start of the 2010–11 season by signing with HC Plzeň, where he scored at a point-per-game pace through 13 contests. He later joined Dinamo Minsk of the KHL on a trial basis, contributing eight goals and totaling 15 points across 28 games.
In September 2011, Sýkora attended New Jersey Devils’ training camp on a tryout basis and subsequently signed a one-year contract valued at $650,000 in October. He marked his 1,000th NHL game on March 2, 2012.
International competition
Sýkora took part in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games held in Salt Lake City, representing the Czech Republic, where the national squad secured a seventh-place finish. Additionally, he competed in the 2004 World Cup. His international career highlights feature three medals from the Men's World Ice Hockey Championships: bronze in 1998, and gold medals earned in both 1999 and 2005.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1991–92 | HC Škoda Plzeň | TCH U20 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | HC Škoda Plzeň | TCH | 19 | 12 | 5 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | HC Škoda Plzeň | ELH | 37 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Cleveland Lumberjacks | IHL | 13 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 29 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 63 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 32 | |||||||
| NHL totals | 1,017 | 323 | 398 | 721 | 455 | 133 | 34 | 40 | 74 | 62 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
International
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" *2005 IIHF World Championship* Czech Republic WC 9 2 1 3 4See also
External links
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 IIHF European U18 Championship#1993 | Czech Republic men's national junior ice hockey team | IIHF European Junior Championships | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 20 | |
| 1994 IIHF European U18 Championship#1994 | Czech Republic | EJC | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | |
| 1994 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships | Czech Republic | World Junior Ice Hockey Championships | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | |
| 1995 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships | Czech Republic | WJC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1996 World Cup of Hockey | Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team | WCH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1998 IIHF World Championship | Czech Republic | WC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1999 IIHF World Championship | Czech Republic | WC | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | |
| Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics | Czech Republic | OG | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 World Cup of Hockey | Czech Republic
*WCH* 3 0 1 1 2 |
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
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- 1976 births
- Albany River Rats players
- Cleveland Lumberjacks players
- Czech ice hockey right wingers
- Detroit Vipers players
- Edmonton Oilers players
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- HC Dinamo Minsk players
- HC Plzeň players
- Metallurg Magnitogorsk players
- Living people
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
- Minnesota Wild players
- NHL first-round draft picks
- New Jersey Devils draft picks
- New Jersey Devils players
- New York Rangers players
- Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic
- Ice hockey people from Plzeň
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- SC Bern players
- Stanley Cup champions
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Belarus
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland