Žigmund Pálffy

Žigmund Pálffy
Pálffy with HK Skalica in 2010
Born	(1972-05-05) 5 May 1972 Skalica, Czechoslovakia
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	HK Nitra Dukla Trenčín New York Islanders HK Skalica Los Angeles Kings Slavia Praha Pittsburgh Penguins
National team	Czechoslovakia and Slovakia
NHL draft	26th overall, 1991 New York Islanders
Playing career	1990–2013

Žigmund "Ziggy" Pálffy (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈʐiɡmunt ˈpaːlfi]; born 5 May 1972) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey player. Along with his English nickname, he was nicknamed "Žigo" in Slovak.

One of the most talented wingers, Pálffy played in the NHL for 12 years with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1993 and 2006. He announced his retirement in January 2006, and his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007. Pálffy signed a contract to play for his boyhood club HK 36 Skalica in the 2007–08 season and continued to do so until the end of his career. He also retracted his decision from 2005 never to play for the Slovak national team again by participating at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he was also the flagbearer. In July 2013, he announced his definite retirement. Pálffy was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2019.

Playing career

New York Islanders

After a solid season in his native Czechoslovakia and an impressive stint with the Czechoslovakia national team in the 1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pálffy was drafted by the New York Islanders in the second round of the 1991 NHL Draft, 26th overall. After two more years in Slovakia, Pálffy came to North America for the 1993–94 season. He spent the majority of the 1993–94 season in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, while also making his NHL debut with the Islanders, appearing in five games, though he did not earn a single point. The following season, 1994–95, he split the year between the Islanders and the Denver Grizzlies of the IHL.

The 1995–96 NHL season saw Pálffy break out as an offensive scorer. In his first game of 1995–96, his team went down one goal but Pálffy would score two goals to lead New York to a 2–1 win over the Florida Panthers. He also scored 87 points in 81 games and quickly became the star of the Islanders franchise. The following two seasons were much the same for Pálffy, scoring 90 and 87 points respectively. During the 1998–99 season, Pálffy was limited to only 50 games but still played solidly, scoring 50 points.

Los Angeles Kings

After the season, the Islanders, facing financial woes, traded him and Bryan Smolinski to the Los Angeles Kings in a deal that saw Olli Jokinen, Josh Green, Mathieu Biron and a first-round draft pick go to the Islanders.

With the Kings, Pálffy continued his strong play, often being paired with fellow Slovak Jozef Stümpel and Canadian superstar Luc Robitaille. Injuries, specifically his shoulder, began to limit Pálffy's playing time. During the 2003–04 season, Pálffy's nagging shoulder kept him out of action for the majority of the season.

Pittsburgh Penguins and first retirement

After the 2003–04 season, the Kings tried to re-sign Pálffy, but when Pálffy had a phone call with Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux and gave him his word that he would sign with the Penguins, that ended all negotiations with the Kings. Shortly after the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he signed with the Penguins for three years and US$13.5 million.

After playing 42 games with the Penguins during the 2005–06 season, Pálffy abruptly retired from professional hockey. On January 18, 2006, then-Penguins general manager Craig Patrick told reporters Pálffy told him he was retiring due to a lingering shoulder injury. Pálffy completed his career with 329 goals and 384 assists for 713 points in 684 games over 12 NHL seasons.

HK 36 Skalica and second retirement

Pálffy announced his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007, and signed a contract to play for his hometown club of HK 36 Skalica for the entire 2007–08 season. He became the most productive player of the regular season in the Slovak Extraliga, where he led four seasons in points.

In July 2013, before the start of the 2013–14 season, Pálffy formally announced his retirement from professional hockey. He said he was old enough and did not feel like playing and traveling with the team after so many years, but also that he was going to miss the game of hockey since he lived for it for almost 40 years.

International play

Žigmund Pálffy

Pálffy at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Medal record
Representing Czechoslovakia
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	1991 Saskatoon
Representing Slovakia
World Championships
	2002 Gothenburg
	2003 Helsinki

Pálffy has represented Slovakia and Czechoslovakia in international competitions, winning a gold medal with Slovakia in the 2002 after he had assisted on Peter Bondra's tournament-winning goal 100 seconds to go in the third period. Following the 2005 World Championships in Austria, Pálffy announced his retirement from the Slovak national team.

Five years later, Pálffy broke his retirement and was named to the Slovak national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and recorded three assists with the team for a total of three points in seven games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1990–91	AC/HC Nitra	TCH		50	34	16	50	18		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	ASVŠ Dukla Trenčín	TCH		45	41	33	74	36		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	ASVŠ Dukla Trenčín	TCH		43	38	41	79	—		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	New York Islanders	NHL		5	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Salt Lake Golden Eagles	IHL		57	25	32	57	83		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	New York Islanders	NHL		33	10	7	17	6		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Denver Grizzlies	IHL		33	20	23	43	40		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	New York Islanders	NHL		81	43	44	87	56		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	New York Islanders	NHL		80	48	42	90	43		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	HC Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		1	0	0	0	—		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	New York Islanders	NHL		82	45	42	87	34		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	New York Islanders	NHL		50	22	28	50	34		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	HK 36 Skalica	Slovak		9	11	8	19	6		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		64	27	39	66	32		4	2	0	2	0
2000–01	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		73	38	51	89	20		13	3	5	8	8
2001–02	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		63	32	27	59	26		7	4	5	9	0
2002–03	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		76	37	48	85	47		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		35	16	25	41	12		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	HK 36 Skalica	Slovak		8	10	3	13	6		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	HC Slavia Praha	Czech		41	21	19	40	30		7	5	2	7	2
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		42	11	31	42	12		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	HK 36 Skalica	Slovak		46	30	45	75	93		13	7	17	24	26
2008–09	HK 36 Skalica	Slovak		53	52	47	99	46		17	12	15	27	12
2009–10	HK 36 Skalica	Slovak		36	17	36	53	28		6	6	6	12	18
2011–12	HK 36 Skalica	Slovak		48	26	57	83	76		6	3	4	7	6
2012–13	HK 36 Skalica	Slovak		39	26	47	73	103		7	3	5	8	2
NHL totals				684	329	384	713	322		24	9	10	19	8
Slovak totals				240	172	243	415	358		49	31	47	78	64

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991	Czechoslovakia	WJC			7	7	6	13	2
1991	Czechoslovakia	CC	6th		5	1	0	1	2
1992	Czechoslovakia	WJC	5th		6	3	1	4	6
1994	Slovakia	Oly	6th		8	3	7	10	8
1996	Slovakia	WC	10th		5	2	0	2	10
1996	Slovakia	WCH	—		3	1	2	3	2
1999	Slovakia	WC	7th		6	5	5	10	6
2002	Slovakia	Oly	13th		1	0	0	0	0
2002	Slovakia	WC			3	1	6	7	2
2003	Slovakia	WC			9	7	8	15	18
2005	Slovakia	WC	5th		7	5	4	9	10
2010	Slovakia	Oly	4th		7	0	3	3	8
Junior totals					13	10	7	17	8
Senior totals					54	25	35	60	66

Awards and honours

Award	Year
Czechoslovak Extraliga
TCH Champion	1992
Leading Scorer	1992, 1993
Most Goals	1992
Most Assists	1993
Rookie of the Year	1991
NHL
All-Star	1997, 1998, 2001, 2002
Slovak Extraliga
All-Star Team	2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
Leading Scorer	2008, 2009, 2012, 2013
Most Goals	2009
Most Assists	2012
International
World Championship points leader	2003
Winter Olympics points leader and assists	1994
IIHF Hall of Fame	2019
IIHF All-Time Slovakia Team	2020

Transactions

• June 9, 1991 – Drafted 26th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders.
• June 19, 1999 – Traded to the Los Angeles Kings with Bryan Smolinski, Marcel Cousineau & a 1999 4th round pick (Daniel Johansson) for Olli Jokinen, Josh Green, Mathieu Biron & a 1999 1st round pick (Taylor Pyatt).
• September 15, 2004 – Signed to a lockout contract by SK Slavia Prague.
• October 7, 2004 – Signed to a lockout contract by HK 36 Skalica.
• November 16, 2004 – Signed to a lockout contract by SK Slavia Praha.
• August 6, 2005 – Signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• January 18, 2006 – Announced his retirement.
• July 19, 2007 – Signed by HK 36 Skalica (comeback).
• September 15, 2011 – Re-signed by HK 36 Skalica.
• July 31, 2013 – Announced his retirement.

See also

• Slovaks in the NHL

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Žigmund Pálffy at Olympedia (archive)
• Žigmund Pálffy at Olympics.com
• Žigmund Pálffy at Olympic.sk (in Slovak)