Peter Šťastný

Lore & Background

Šťastný initially played hockey with HC Slovan Bratislava in Czechoslovakia, winning the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1976 and 1977. Fearing the Communist regime, he defected in August 1980 with his wife and brother Anton after a club tournament in Austria. He signed with the Quebec Nordiques and in his rookie season set history as the first NHL rookie to record 70 assists and 100 points, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. The following year, his older brother Marián joined them, making them the third trio of brothers to play on the same NHL team. Šťastný became a Canadian citizen in 1984 and won the Canada Cup that year. He recorded his 1,000th point in the 1989–90 season before being traded to the New Jersey Devils. He retired in 1995 after a knee injury limited his final season.

Reader's Guide

Šťastný's defection was a watershed moment in professional ice hockey, as he was one of the first major Eastern bloc stars to join the NHL, and the trickle of Czechoslovak and Soviet players rapidly became a flood following his footsteps. On the ice, he was consistent and productive, finishing his NHL career with 450 goals and 789 assists for 1,239 points, which was seventeenth most in NHL history at retirement. He ranks second overall for points among players born in Slovakia. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000. After playing, he served as general manager for the Slovak team that won gold at the 2002 IIHF World Championship, and later served as a member of the European Parliament for Slovakia from 2004 to 2014. In 2017, he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. His son, Paul Stastny, also played in the NHL.

Did You Know?

• Šťastný shares the NHL record for most assists in a season by a rookie with Joe Juneau (70).
• He holds the NHL record for points in a game by a rookie with 8 (four goals and four assists on 22 February 1981).
• He and his brother Anton share the rookie record for points in a game with 8, accomplished in the same game.
• He recorded the second most points in the NHL in the 1980s, behind only Wayne Gretzky.