Radim Vrbata
Czech right winger, 16-year NHL veteran and 2015 All-Star.
Radim Vrbata, a Czech right winger born on 13 June 1981, spent 16 seasons in the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche picked him in the seventh round of the 1999 draft, and he went on to suit up for the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, and Florida Panthers. He earned an NHL All-Star nod in 2015.
Vrbata made his NHL debut in February 2002 against the New York Islanders and scored his first goal the next night versus the Rangers, finishing his rookie year with 18 goals and 12 assists while playing alongside Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. In March 2003, Colorado traded him to Carolina for Bates Battaglia. Chicago acquired him in December 2005 for future considerations, but after two quiet seasons there, he was dealt to Phoenix in August 2007 for Kevyn Adams. In his first year with the Coyotes, he set personal bests in goals and assists and led the team in scoring.
As a free agent in July 2008, Vrbata signed a three-year deal with Tampa Bay. Struggling early in the 2008–09 season and citing confidence issues along with his wife’s difficult pregnancy, he requested and received permission to return to the Czech Republic in December 2008. He joined hometown club BK Mladá Boleslav in January 2009, but was soon loaned to Bílí Tygři Liberec. After finishing the season abroad, he told the Lightning he would return for the second year of his contract. Tampa Bay, having already filled his roster spot, allowed his agent to seek a trade. In July 2009, Vrbata went back to Phoenix in exchange for David Hale and Todd Fedoruk. Over the next two seasons, he scored 43 goals and added four playoff goals as the Coyotes reached the postseason in 2010 and 2011, losing both times to Detroit.
In February 2012, Vrbata netted two goals in a shootout win over Los Angeles, with his second giving him 30 on the season—a new career high. He finished the 2011–12 campaign with 35 goals, leading the NHL in game-winners with 12. In July 2014, he signed a two-year, $10 million deal with Vancouver as an unrestricted free agent, citing the chance to play with the Sedin twins. His first season with the Canucks was a career year: 63 points in 79 games, topping his previous best of 62, and a team-leading 31 goals.
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 13 June 1981
- Birth Place
- Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia
- Height Ft
- 6
- Height In
- 1
- Weight Lb
- 190
- Position
- Right wing
- Shoots
- Right
- Played For
- Colorado Avalanche / Carolina Hurricanes / Bílí Tygři Liberec / Chicago Blackhawks / Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes / Tampa Bay Lightning / Mladá Boleslav / Vancouver Canucks / Florida Panthers
- Ntl Team
- CZE
- Draft
- 212th overall
- Draft Year
- 1999
- Draft Team
- Colorado Avalanche
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Vrbata began his NHL career with the Colorado Avalanche, scoring his first goal against the New York Rangers in February 2002 and finishing his rookie season with 18 goals and 12 assists, primarily playing alongside Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in March 2003, then to the Chicago Blackhawks in December 2005, and later to the Phoenix Coyotes in August 2007, where he set career highs in goals and assists and led the team in scoring. In July 2008, Vrbata signed a three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent, but after starting the 2008–09 season out of form and citing confidence issues and his wife's difficult pregnancy, he requested and was granted permission to return to the Czech Republic in December 2008. He joined BK Mladá Boleslav and later was loaned to Bílí Tygři Liberec before returning to the NHL for the 2009–10 season. Tampa Bay, having filled his roster spot, traded him back to the Coyotes in July 2009 for David Hale and Todd Fedoruk. During his second stint with Phoenix, Vrbata totaled 43 goals over two seasons and scored four playoff goals as the team qualified for the playoffs in 2010 and 2011, losing both times to the Detroit Red Wings. In February 2012, he scored two goals in a shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings, his second goal giving him a career-high 30 on the season; he finished 2011–12 with 35 goals and led the NHL in game-winning goals with 12.
Reader's Guide
Radim Vrbata's significance lies in his consistent scoring over a 16-season NHL career, highlighted by a 2015 All-Star selection and multiple career-best seasons. He achieved a career-high 35 goals in 2011–12, leading the NHL in game-winning goals that year, and later set a personal best of 63 points in 2014–15 with the Vancouver Canucks, where he also led the team in goals with 31. Vrbata became the NHL's all-time leader in shootout goals in November 2016 during his third stint with the Arizona Coyotes, where he again led the club with 20 goals and 55 points in 81 games. His career included stints with seven NHL teams, a trade back to the Coyotes after a brief and complicated tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a return to the Czech Republic mid-season due to personal and performance issues. Vrbata also won the 2001 World Junior Championships and the 2005 World Championship with the Czech Republic. After retiring in April 2018, he co-founded Bez frází, a website for Czech athletes to publish personal essays, modeled after The Players' Tribune.
Did You Know?
- Vrbata was drafted in the seventh round, 212th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in 1999.
- He co-founded Bez frází, a Czech athlete essay website, in October 2016.
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