Pavel Kubina

Playing career

Pavel Kubina's professional hockey career started with HC Vítkovice in the Czech Extraliga, where he spent four seasons. During that time, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him in the seventh round of the 1996 NHL entry draft. Later that same year, he moved to Canada and joined the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League, putting up 44 points in 61 games during the 1996–97 season. He made his NHL debut in the 1997–98 campaign but spent most of that year with the Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League. The next season, he played primarily in the NHL, scoring 21 points, while also seeing some action with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League. By the 1999–2000 season, Kubina had earned a regular spot in the Lightning's lineup, recording 26 points. He followed that with 30 points in 2000–01 and 34 points in 2001–02. In the 2003–04 season, he was selected for the NHL All-Star Game and helped Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup by defeating the Calgary Flames in the Final. On July 1, 2006, he signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He received a one-game suspension from the NHL to start the 2006–07 season for cross-checking Detroit Red Wings forward Jiří Hudler during a preseason game. On July 1, 2009, the Maple Leafs traded Kubina and Tim Stapleton to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart. On July 2, 2010, he returned to the Lightning on a two-year deal worth $7.7 million. On March 9, 2011, he was suspended for three games after elbowing Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland, an incident that gave Bolland a concussion. On February 18, 2012, the Lightning traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers for Jon Kalinski, a second-round pick in either the 2012 or 2013 draft, and a fourth-round pick in the 2013 draft. He finished the 2011–12 season with 4 points in 17 games for the Flyers. On September 15, 2012, Kubina left the NHL to play for Genève-Servette HC in the Swiss National Liga A. He announced his retirement from hockey on December 20, 2013.