Tomáš Plekanec
Czech centre who played over 1,000 NHL games for Montreal.
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Tomáš Plekanec is a Czech former professional ice hockey centre who played most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career for the Montreal Canadiens. He was selected 71st overall by the Canadiens in the 2001 NHL entry draft and went on to play over 1,000 NHL games, ranking seventh all-time in games played for the Canadiens.
Lore & Background
Plekanec began his professional career with Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga before being drafted by the Canadiens in 2001. He moved to North America in 2002 and spent three seasons with the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, before joining the NHL full-time in 2005–06. During his NHL career, he was known for his use of a turtleneck undershirt.
He recorded his first NHL hat-trick on 29 February 2008 in a 6–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. On 12 February 2009, he received a two-game suspension for a slewfoot on Edmonton Oilers defenceman Denis Grebeshkov, who suffered a high ankle sprain. Plekanec was named an alternate captain of the Canadiens on 15 September 2014, alongside P. K. Subban, Max Pacioretty and Andrei Markov.
In the 2017–18 season, Plekanec was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Kyle Baun in exchange for Kerby Rychel, Rinat Valiev and a second-round pick in 2018. He returned to the Canadiens on 1 July 2018, signing a one-year contract, and played his 1,000th regular season NHL game on 15 October 2018. On 9 November 2018, the Canadiens placed him on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract, and he announced his retirement from the NHL the same day.
Reader's Guide
Tomáš Plekanec's significance lies in his long tenure with the Montreal Canadiens, where he became the seventh player in franchise history in games played. A reliable two-way centre, he recorded a career-high 70 points in the 2009–10 season and served as an alternate captain. His career spanned over 1,000 NHL games, a milestone he reached with the Canadiens. After retiring from the NHL, he continued playing in the Czech Extraliga and later moved into coaching, joining the Czech national team staff in November 2023.
In 2024, he was an assistant coach for the Czech team that won the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship on home ice in Prague. In March 2025, he was introduced as the director of hockey operations for Rytíři Kladno. His legacy includes his distinctive turtleneck undershirt and his contributions to Czech hockey at both the player and coaching levels.
Career statistics and honours
Medals
- Gold 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
- Silver 2006 IIHF World Championship
- Bronze 2011 IIHF World Championship
- Bronze 2012 IIHF World Championship
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1998–99 | HC Velvana Kladno | CZE U20 | 53 | 22 | 20 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | HC Velvana Kladno | ELH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–2000 | HC Velvana Kladno | CZE U20 | 43 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–2000 | HK Lev Slaný | CZE.3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–2000 | HK Kralupy nad Vltavou | CZE.3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | HC Vagnerplast Kladno | CZE U20 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | HC Vagnerplast Kladno | ELH | 47 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | HC Mladá Boleslav | CZE.3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001–02 | HC Vagnerplast Kladno | ELH | 48 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 77 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 74 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 2003–04 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 74 | 23 | 43 | 66 | 90 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| 2003–04 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004–05 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 80 | 29 | 35 | 64 | 68 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| 2005–06 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005–06 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 2006–07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 29 | 40 | 69 | 38 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 2008–09 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 54 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2009–10 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 25 | 45 | 70 | 50 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 |
| 2010–11 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 22 | 35 | 57 | 60 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2011–12 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 17 | 35 | 52 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | Rytíři Kladno | ELH | 32 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 47 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 38 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 |
| 2014–15 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 26 | 34 | 60 | 46 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 2015–16 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 14 | 40 | 54 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017–18 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2018–19 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Rytíři Kladno | CZE.2 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 14 |
| 2018–19 | HC Kometa Brno | ELH | 16 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | HC Kometa Brno | ELH | 50 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020–21 | Rytíři Kladno | CZE.2 | 33 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 52 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 2 |
| 2021–22 | Rytíři Kladno | ELH | 56 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Rytíři Kladno | ELH | 52 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 34 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 2 |
| 2023–24 | Rytíři Kladno | ELH | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 1,001 | 233 | 375 | 608 | 543 | 94 | 18 | 35 | 53 | 52 | ||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Czech Republic | WJC18 | 6th | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2001 | Czech Republic | WJC | Gold | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2002 | Czech Republic | WJC | 7th | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 2006 | Czech Republic | WC | Silver | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| 2007 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 2008 | Czech Republic | WC | 5th | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 2009 | Czech Republic | WC | 6th | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2010 | Czech Republic | OG | 7th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 2011 | Czech Republic | WC | Bronze | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| 2012 | Czech Republic | WC | Bronze | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| 2013 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2014 | Czech Republic | OG | 6th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | WC | 4th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Czech Republic | WC | 5th | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| 2016 | Czech Republic | WCH | 6th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2018 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Junior totals | 20 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | |||
| Senior totals | 86 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 56 | |||
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Tomáš Plekanec (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Tomáš Plekanec (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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