Marián Gáborík

Lore & Background

Gáborík played with Dukla Trenčín's junior team and scored 59 points over 36 games in 1997–98. He appeared in one Slovak Extraliga game that same season, scoring a goal in his professional debut. The following season he joined Dukla Trenčín full-time and registered 20 points over 33 games as a rookie, then improved to 46 points in 50 games in his draft year. After being drafted third overall by the expansion Minnesota Wild in 2000, he scored the team's first ever regular season goal and collected 18 goals and 36 points as a rookie. He notched his first 30-goal season in 2001–02 and recorded his first career NHL hat-trick on 13 November 2001. In 2002–03, he was named to his first NHL All-Star Game and won the fastest skater competition, lapping the rink in 13.713 seconds. He helped lead the Wild to their first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance and had 17 points in 18 games during a run to the Western Conference Finals.

Reader's Guide

Gáborík's career was marked by both high-scoring peaks and significant injuries. After contractual issues delayed his 2003–04 season, he eventually signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the Wild. He became a point-per-game player in 2005–06 with 38 goals and 66 points in a season limited by a groin injury. On 20 December 2007, he recorded a six-point game against the New York Rangers with five goals and an assist, becoming the first player in Wild history to score five goals in a game and the first NHLer to do so since Sergei Fedorov in 1996. He finished that season with career bests of 42 goals, 41 assists and 83 points, and served as team captain for the Wild in March 2008. After turning down a ten-year, $80 million deal, he left the Wild as its last original player and the club's all-time leader in goals, assists and points. He signed with the New York Rangers in 2009 and matched his career high with 42 goals in his first season. He was named MVP of the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Gáborík won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014, defeating his former team, the Rangers, in the Final.

Did You Know?

• Gáborík was the highest-drafted Slovak player in NHL history until Juraj Slafkovský was drafted 1st overall in 2022.
• He scored the Minnesota Wild's first-ever regular season goal.
• On 20 December 2007, he recorded five goals and an assist against the New York Rangers, the first five-goal game in Wild history.
• He won the fastest skater competition at the 2003 NHL All-Star Game with a time of 13.713 seconds.