# Petr Svoboda

Petr Svoboda (born February 14, 1966) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was the first Czech to play over 1,000 games in the NHL.
He is currently the director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC.

## Playing career

In 1984, Svoboda had participated in the european Under-18 ice hockey championships in then-West Germany as a part of the Czechoslovak team, and after the completion of the tournament, he defected to the West in order to play hockey at a higher professional level. That spring, he was selected fifth overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. His career highlights include winning the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986, and winning gold with the Czech team in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where he scored the only goal in the gold medal game against Russia. He retired from professional hockey in 2001 and then worked as a player agent. In May 2020, he became co-owner and director of hockey operations for Lausanne HC in Switzerland.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1982–83 | TJ CHZ Litvínov | TCH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1983–84 | TJ CHZ Litvínov | TCH | 18 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 65 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 93 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 1986–87 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 63 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1987–88 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 149 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 1988–89 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 147 | 21 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 16 |
| 1989–90 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 98 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 1990–91 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 52 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1991–92 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 58 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991–92 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 52 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1992–93 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 40 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993–94 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 60 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 89 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1994–95 | HC Litvínov, s.r.o. | ELH | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994–95 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 26 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994–95 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 1995–96 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 1 | 28 | 29 | 105 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 22 |
| 1996–97 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 67 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 94 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| 1997–98 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 56 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 1998–99 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 25 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 34 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 70 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 170 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 1,028 | 58 | 341 | 399 | 1,605 | 127 | 4 | 45 | 49 | 135 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1983 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 1984 | Czechoslovakia | WJC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| 1984 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| 1998 | Czech Republic | OG | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 39 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 40 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 39 |