Dominik Hasek

Hašek spent most of his career with the Buffalo Sabres. During his carrer, Hašek has won the Vezina Trophy for most outstanding goalie five times, and has won the Hart Trophy and Lester Pearson Award twice each. He led the NHL in save percentage six times, and has been named to the first team at the all star game five times.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Hašek led the Czech team to a gold medal, including a shutout of the Russian Federation team during the gold medal game. In 2001 Hašek, having won almost everything but a Stanley Cup, moved to the Detroit Red Wings, the odds on favourites to win. Hašek's dreams were fufilled and Detroit won both the President's and the Stanley Cup.

That summer Hašek retired, but after sitting out a year he returned to Detroit. In the intrim Detroit had hired Curtis Joseph and thus found itself with two expensive goal tenders, and no other team was willing to accept Joseph's large salary leading to tension among the Red Wings. The 2003-2004 season has been problematic for Hašek as he has suffered a number of groin injuries. In Febraury he announced that he was not going to continue to play this season, a decision that surprised Red Wing management.

Hašek, despite being on of the greatest goal tenders of his generation, is also known as a problem player. In the middle of the 1996 play-offs he announced he would not play another game with the Sabres if coach Ted Nolan was not fired. Hašek carried out his threat and sat in the stands and saw the Sabres lose in the next round. Nolan did not return the next year, upseting many other Buffalo players that liked him. After the 2001 play-offs he demanded a trade or else he threatend to retire. He got his wish and was moved the the Red Wings.

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