page_title: Pavol Demitra
section_title: Vancouver Canucks
hierarchical_section_title: Pavol Demitra / Playing career / Vancouver Canucks
caption_attribution_description: English: Pavol Demitra of the Vancouver Canucks warming up at GM Place in Vancouver before playing the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 18, 2009.
context_page_description: Pavol Demitra was a Slovak professional ice hockey player. He played nineteen seasons of professional hockey, for teams in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, National Hockey League, Slovak Extraliga, and Kontinental Hockey League. A skilled offensive player, Demitra was a top-line forward throughout his career.
  After a season with HC Dukla Trenčín in the CSL, Demitra was selected 227th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He subsequently left Slovakia to join the Senators organization, spending three seasons split between team and their American Hockey League affiliate. A contract holdout at the start of the 1996–97 season saw Demitra traded to the St. Louis Blues. Demitra had his most successful seasons with St. Louis, being selected for three NHL All-Star Games and winning the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2000. He scored at least 30 goals three times and 90 points once while with the Blues. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Demitra returned to HC Dukla Trenčín for, and upon returning to the NHL the following year, he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings.
context_section_description: On 10 July 2008, Demitra signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks. He played in his first game as a Canuck on 9 October 2008, getting no points in a 6–0 win over the Calgary Flames. In his next game, also against Calgary, Demitra scored his first goal with Vancouver, the game winning overtime goal against Miikka Kiprusoff in a 5–4 win. He finished the season with 20 goals and 53 points in 69 games, finishing fourth in team scoring. Demitra appeared in his first playoff game with Vancouver on 15 April 2009, recording an assist in a 2–1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Demitra scored his first playoff goal with the Canucks on 30 April 2009, scoring against Nikolai Khabibulin of the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5–3 victory. On 2 May 2009, Demitra suffered a shoulder injury against the Blackhawks that would end his season. In six playoff games, Demitra had a goal and three points.
  The 2009–10 would be a tough season on Demitra, as he missed most of the regular season with the shoulder injury that occurred in the 2009 playoffs. In 28 games, Demitra had three goals and 16 points, his lowest totals since 1996–97. In the playoffs, Demitra had a three-point game against the Los Angeles Kings on 23 April 2010, helping Vancouver to a 7–2 win. Overall, Demitra appeared in 11 playoff games, scoring two goals and six points. After the season, he became an unrestricted free agent. This would mark the end of Demitra's NHL career. He'd played in 847 career games, and scored 304 goals with 464 assists for 768 points.
caption: Pavol Demitra with the Vancouver Canucks.
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