Miroslav Šatan

Miroslav Šatan
Born	(1974-10-22) October 22, 1974 Jacovce, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Pittsburgh Penguins Edmonton Oilers Buffalo Sabres New York Islanders
NHL draft	111th overall, 1993 Edmonton Oilers
Playing career	1994–present

Miroslav Šatan (born October 22, 1974 in Jacovce, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovakian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He and wife Ingrid have a son, Miroslav Jr., born in March, 2006.

The proper Slovak pronunciation of his surname is "SHAH-tahn," but North Americans usually pronounce it "shuh-TAN."

Playing career

Edmonton Oilers

Šatan was drafted 111th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Prior to his entry into the NHL, he played in the Czechoslovak and Slovak leagues and he had scored 9 goals in 8 games representing Slovakia at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

In 1994–95, Šatan played a season in the minor leagues, split between four teams including the Oilers' farm club in Cape Breton and the IHL's Detroit Vipers. While with the Vipers, he scored the winning goal in an exhibition game against Wayne Gretzky's Ninety-Niners, an all-star team put together by Gretzky during the 1994 NHL lockout.

Buffalo Sabres

After two seasons with the Oilers, the highly skilled winger was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Craig Millar and Barrie Moore. He firmly established himself as a top-line forward and one of the key players of the Buffalo team. During the 2004–2005 NHL labor dispute, Šatan played for HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak League. He signed as an unrestricted free agent with the New York Islanders on August 3, 2005.

His 35 goals during the 2005–06 season were his highest goal-output since the 2001–02 season, with the Buffalo Sabres. Almost half his 35 goals came on the power play (17), also a career personal best.

New York Islanders

He led the Islanders in goals in the 2005–06 season. Satan tied for the team lead in points with 66, shared with captain Alexei Yashin. Also in 2005–06, Satan went 7-for-10 (70%) and was third in the league in shooting percentage in the shootout.

On December 2, 2006, he scored his 300th career goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Earlier in the season he had recorded his 300th career assist and his 600th career point.

On March 24, 2007, Šatan missed the Islanders' game in Philadelphia for personal reasons, ending a streak of having played in 305 consecutive games. It was the fourth longest active streak at the time, and marked the second time in his career that he has played over 250 consecutive games. He had a 256 game streak as a member of the Buffalo Sabres that ended in November 2002.

Pittsburgh Penguins

On July 3, 2008, Šatan signed a one year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth $3.5 million.

Satan was placed on waivers by Pittsburgh on March 4, 2009, the same day as the NHL trade deadline. Having not been claimed by another team, Satan was assigned to the Penguins AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In Wilkes-Barre, Satan had three goals and nine points in 10 games. Various reports credited him with being upbeat and a good influence, especially with the younger players. On April 10, 2009, Satan was recalled by Pittsburgh and cleared re-entry waivers. He did not play in the final game of the regular season on April 11, 2009, but remained eligible to play with Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Awards

• Played in NHL All-Star Game - 2000
• Selected to 2003 NHL All-Star Game

Records

• Six times best on Buffalo Sabres team in points scored
• 10th place on Buffalo Sabres all-time scoring list with 224 goals and 232 assists (7th in goals scored)

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991–92	HC Topoľčany			9	2	1	3	6		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	HC Dukla Trenčín	Czechoslovak		38	11	6	17	—		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	HC Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		30	32	16	48	16		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Cape Breton Oilers	AHL		25	24	16	40	15		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Detroit Vipers	IHL		8	1	3	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Detroit Falcons	CoHL		1	0	2	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	San Diego Gulls	IHL		6	0	2	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		62	18	17	35	22		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		64	17	11	28	22		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		12	8	2	10	4		7	0	0	0	0
1997–98	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	22	24	46	34		14	5	4	9	4
1998–99	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		81	40	26	66	44		12	3	5	8	2
1999–2000	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		81	33	34	67	32		5	3	2	5	0
1999–2000	HC Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		3	2	8	10	2		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	29	33	62	36		13	3	10	13	8
2001–02	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	37	36	73	33		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	26	49	75	20		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	29	28	57	30		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	HC Slovan Bratislava	Slovak		7	6	4	10	41		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	HC Slovan Bratislava	Slovak		18	11	9	20	14		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	New York Islanders	NHL		82	35	31	66	38		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	New York Islanders	NHL		81	27	32	59	46		5	1	2	3	0
2007–08	New York Islanders	NHL		80	16	25	41	39		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		65	17	19	36	36		9	1	4	5	7
2008–09	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		10	3	6	9	4		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1,012	354	367	721	452		56	15	23	38	14
Czechoslovak/Slovak Extraliga totals				105	72	51	123	57		—	—	—	—	—

International play

Played for Slovakia in:

• 1994 Winter Olympic Games
• World Championships - 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000 (silver medal), 2002 (gold medal), 2003 (bronze medal), 2004, 2005
• World Cup of Hockey - 1996, 2004
• Team Slovakia - 116 caps / 69 goals

External links

• Miroslav Šatan career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Yahoo Sports profile
• Sports Illustrated Player profile
• Template:Espn nhl
• Miroslav Šatan biography at Legends of Hockey (archived)
• ESPN - Sabres Renounce Satan (2005)
• Miroslav Šatan´s hockey cards gallery