Richard Šmehlík

Richard Šmehlík
Born	(1970-01-23) January 23, 1970 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenseman (retired)
Years active	1987–2003
Known for	NHL player, Stanley Cup champion (2003)

Richard Šmehlík (born January 23, 1970) is a retired Czech professional ice hockey defenseman who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected 97th overall by the Buffalo Sabres during the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Šmehlík began his NHL career with the Sabres in the 1992–93 season and remained with the franchise for nine years. Prior to the 2002–03 season, he signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Thrashers.

At the trade deadline of the 2002–03 season, Šmehlík was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a draft selection and subsequently earned a Stanley Cup championship that same year. He decided to retire following this victorious season.

Throughout his NHL tenure, Šmehlík appeared in 644 games, recording 49 goals and 146 assists. Additionally, he participated in 88 playoff contests, contributing one goal and 14 assists.

Awards

• Bronze Medal representing Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Winter Olympics
• Gold Medal representing the Czech Republic at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• Stanley Cup champion in 2003 with the New Jersey Devils

Trivia

• The draft pick used to select Šmehlík was obtained from the New York Rangers in exchange for Lindy Ruff, who later served as Šmehlík’s coach in Buffalo.
• Richard and his wife Martina are parents to two daughters: Adela and Jessica.
• Šmehlík was featured on the cover of the Czech edition of the video game NHL 2000.
• During the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, he was described as "like a human hovercraft... hard to get around!"

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987–88	TJ Vítkovice	CSSR Jr / CSSR-2		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	TJ Vítkovice	CSSR		28	2	3	5	12		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	TJ Vítkovice	CSSR		44	4	3	7	—		7	1	1	2	—
1990–91	ASD Dukla Jihlava	CSSR		51	4	2	6	22		7	0	1	1	0
1991–92	TJ Vítkovice	CSSR		35	8	5	13	—		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		80	4	27	31	59		8	0	4	4	2
1993–94	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		84	14	27	41	69		7	0	2	2	10
1994–95	HC Vítkovice / Buffalo Sabres	CZE / NHL		13	5	2	7	12 /39		4	7	11	46	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		62	11	19	30	43		12	0	2	2	4
1997–98	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		72	3	17	20	62		15	0	2	2	6
1998–99	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		72	3	11	14	44		21	0	3	3	10
1999–00	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		64	2	9	11	50		5	1	0	1	0
2000–01	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		56	3	12	15	4		10	0	1	1	4
2001–02	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		60	3	6	9	22
Atlanta Thrashers / New Jersey Devils	NHL	2/0 |9/2 |11/2 |16/0
CSSR totals				158	18	13	31	—		14	1	2	3	—
NHL totals				644	49	146	195	415		88	1	14	15	40

International

Year	Team	Competition		Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Minutes
1988	Czechoslovakia	EJC		5	1	1	2	4
1990	Czechoslovakia	WJC		7	0	1	1	4
1991	Czechoslovakia	CC		5	0	1	1	2
1991	Czechoslovakia	WC		8	1	2	3	8
1992	Czechoslovakia	OG		6	0	1	1	2
1992	Czechoslovakia	WC		8	0	0	0	4
1998	Czech Republic	OG		6	0	1	1	4
2002	Czech Republic	OG		4	0	0	0	4
Junior career totals				12	1	2	3	8
Senior career totals				37	1	5	6	24