Dominik Hašek Dominik Hašek ( , born January 29 , 1965 ) is a retired Czech ice hockey goaltender . In his 16 - season National Hockey League ( NHL ) career , he played for the Chicago Blackhawks , Buffalo Sabres , Detroit Red Wings , and the Ottawa Senators . During his years in Buffalo , he became one of the league ' s finest goaltenders , earning him the nickname " The Dominator " . His strong play has been credited with establishing European goaltenders in a league widely dominated by North Americans . Hašek was one of the league ' s most successful goaltenders of the 1990s and early 2000s . From 1993 to 2001 , he won six Vezina Trophies . In 1998 he won his second consecutive Hart Memorial Trophy , becoming the first goaltender to win the award multiple times . During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan , he led the Czech national ice hockey team to its first and only Olympic gold medal . The feat made him a popular figure in his home country and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him " the best player in the game " . While with the Red Wings in 2002 , Hašek became the first European starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup . In the process , he set a record for shutouts in a postseason year . Hašek is considered an unorthodox goaltender , with a distinct style that has labeled him a " flopper " . He is best known for his concentration , foot speed , flexibility , and unconventional saves , such as covering the puck with his blocker rather than his trapper . Hašek holds the second highest career save percentage of all time ( 0 . 9223 ) , and and the second - highest single - season save percentage ( 0 . 9366 in 1998 – 99 ) . The record was broken by Tim Thomas , who also holds the record for career save percentage . Hašek is regarded as a future Hall of Famer by those in the hockey world . At the time of his retirement , he was the oldest active goalie in the NHL at 43 , and the second oldest active player in the league after Red Wings teammate Chris Chelios , who was 46 . Hašek announced his retirement on June 9 , 2008 , but on April 21 , 2009 he announced a comeback to professional hockey and signed a contract with HC Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga . On June 7 , 2010 he signed with Spartak Moscow of the KHL . Early life . Hašek started playing hockey at the age of six in his native Czechoslovakia . As he explains : In 1980 , the 16 year old Hašek joined the top hockey league in the country , becoming the youngest hockey player in history to play at the professional level , playing for his home team HC Pardubice of the Czechoslovak Extraliga , winning two league titles in 1987 and 1989 . The next year , he was drafted by the Czech army to play for Dukla Jihlava . After making his mark and eventually playing for the Czechoslovakian National team , Hašek entered the NHL draft and was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983 . At the time , NHL teams were wary of drafting players from behind the Iron Curtain who were often unwilling to play in the NHL or barred from doing so by their countries . Consequently , Hašek was picked in the 10th round ( 199th overall ) and was the seventeenth goalie selected . Hašek did not even know he had been drafted until several months later . Until 1990 , Hašek played in his native Czechoslovakia for HC Pardubice and HC Jihlava . He was named the top ice hockey player of the Czechoslovak Extraliga in 1987 , 1989 , and 1990 , and Goaltender of the Year from 1986 through 1990 . With the end of communist rule in 1989 , the borders of the Soviet Bloc countries opened , allowing Hašek to emigrate to the United States with aspirations of playing in the NHL . His American career began with the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL , where he played parts of two seasons . His NHL debut with the Blackhawks finally came in the 1990 – 91 season , eight years after the 1983 NHL Entry Draft . NHL career . Chicago Blackhawks ( 1990 - 1992 ) . In Chicago , Hašek spent time as the backup to Ed Belfour , and played only 25 games over two seasons with the Blackhawks , splitting time between the Blackhawks and the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL . On November 6 , 1990 , wearing the number 34 ( 31 was worn by Ed Belfour in his rookie year ) , Hašek made his first NHL start in a 1 – 1 tie against the Hartford Whalers . His first victory came on March 8 , 1991 , in a 5 – 3 performance over the Buffalo Sabres , and on January 9 , 1992 , he recorded his first shutout in a 2 – 0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs . During this time with the Blackhawks , his goaltending coach was Vladislav Tretiak , who was drafted in the same draft as Hašek but never was able to play in the NHL for the same reasons that delayed Hašek ' s arrival until age 25 . His finest performance with the Blackhawks came in game 4 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals when he replaced Ed Belfour and played very well in a losing effort . Buffalo Sabres ( 1992 – 2001 ) . After the Stanley Cup finals loss to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins , Chicago decided to stay with Belfour and Jimmy Waite . Hašek was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for goalie Stephane Beauregard and future considerations , which later materialized into a draft pick used to obtain Éric Dazé . In Buffalo , wearing number 39 , he was initially the backup goaltender , first playing behind Tom Draper and then Grant Fuhr . When Fuhr was injured partway through the season , Hašek was elevated to starter , where he soon developed into a top tier goaltender . In 1994 , he won his first Vezina Trophy , was runner - up for the Hart Trophy and shared the William M . Jennings Trophy with Fuhr . Hašek played 58 games with a league - best 1 . 95 goals against average ( GAA ) , seven shutouts , and a . 930 save percentage . He followed this feat by again winning the Vezina Trophy and again placing as a Hart finalist in 1995 . Hašek ' s continued success in the 1996 – 97 season was overshadowed by a conflict with then - head coach Ted Nolan . The conflict created a tense , clique - like atmosphere in the Sabres ' clubhouse . In game three of the first round series against the Ottawa Senators , Hašek removed himself in the second period and was replaced by Steve Shields . Hašek suffered a mild sprain of his right MCL , and the team doctor pronounced him day - to - day . However , the media and some teammates speculated that Hašek was using his injury to bail out on the team . One such individual was " Buffalo News " columnist Jim Kelley , who wrote a column which detailed Hašek ' s injury and his conflict with Nolan , and questioned the goaltender ' s mental toughness . When Kelley approached Hašek for an interview after a loss in game five of the best - of - seven series , Hašek attacked the journalist and received a three - game suspension and a $ 10 , 000 ( US ) fine as a result of the incident . With Steve Shields in goal , the Sabres fought back against the Senators and took the series in seven games . However , Hašek claimed his knee was still injured and did not play in the five - game loss in the following series against the Philadelphia Flyers . Though General Manager John Muckler was named " Executive of the Year " , he was fired for his constant feuding with Nolan . Hašek , who sided with Muckler , stated in an interview during the 1997 NHL Awards Ceremony that it would be better if Nolan was not rehired . Despite winning the Jack Adams Award as top coach and being popular with the Sabres fanbase , Nolan was only offered a one - year contract extension by replacement GM Darcy Regier . He rejected this under the grounds that it was too short , and decided to part ways with the franchise . This upset many fans , who blamed Nolan ' s departure on Hašek ' s alleged attempt to rid him . For the first six weeks of the next season he was booed so vigorously that arena workers would play tapes of a crowd cheering to help balance it out . As the season progressed , Hašek played well and won back many fans . He won the Vezina Trophy again , as well as the Lester B . Pearson Award and the Hart Trophy for league MVP . He became one the few goaltenders in NHL history to win the Hart , alongside Al Rollins and José Théodore , and Hall of Famers Jacques Plante , Chuck Rayner and Roy Worters . Hašek played a career high 72 games in the 1997 – 98 season , and set a team record with 13 shutouts . Six of these shutouts came in December , which tied the all - time NHL record for most in one month . He again won the Lester B . Pearson Award , the Hart Trophy , and the Vezina Trophy , becoming the first goalie in NHL history to win the Hart twice . He donated the $ 10 , 000 prize money after winning the Pearson Award in 1998 to the " Variety Club of Buffalo " . In the off - season he signed a $ 26 million deal , the highest goaltender salary contract at that time . In 1999 , Hašek averaged a career best 1 . 87 GAA and . 937 save percentage , capturing him his third consecutive Vezina , and fifth overall . He was also a finalist for the Hart and Pearson trophies . Though the Sabres did not have a stellar regular season and finished with the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference , they defeated the Ottawa Senators , Boston Bruins , and Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs en route to a best - of - seven Stanley Cup Final against the Presidents ' Trophy - winning Dallas Stars . The Sabres eventually lost the series four games to two , with the decisive sixth game being one of the longest Stanley Cup playoff games in NHL history . Hašek and Ed Belfour made 50 and 53 saves , respectively , in a sudden - death triple - overtime duel that only ended when Brett Hull scored a controversial Cup - winning goal with his foot in the goal crease . The goal was not reviewed immediately , so officials did not notice Hull ' s foot in the crease until minutes later . After video reviews showed Hull ' s position , the goal was still upheld , leaving the Sabres infuriated . Hašek commented , " Maybe [ the video goal judge ] was in the bathroom . Maybe he was sleeping . Maybe he doesn ' t know the rule . " The following season , NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that video replays would no longer be used to judge if players are in the crease or not , and that it would be a judgment call by the officiating crew . After the season ended , Hašek contemplated retirement because of a combination of injuries and a desire to become more involved in his family life . The announcement stunned many of his teammates , particularly Mike Peca and Jason Woolley . In the 1999 – 2000 season , Hašek was hampered by a nagging groin injury . He missed forty games and failed to win a major NHL award for the first time in several years . Though he healed in time for the playoffs , the Sabres were eliminated in the first round in five games by the Philadelphia Flyers . In 2000 – 01 — his final season with Buffalo — Hašek set a modern era record by collecting his sixth Vezina Trophy . He also won his second William M . Jennings Trophy . The Sabres played Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs again , where Hašek outplayed his 1998 Olympic back - up Roman Čechmánek . In the clinching sixth game , Hašek recorded a shutout against the Flyers . In the second round , the Sabres played a seven - game series against Mario Lemieux ' s Pittsburgh Penguins , which culminated with the Penguins winning the final game in overtime . Detroit Red Wings ( 2001 - 2004 ) . Before the start of the next season , Hašek was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in an attempt to lower the Sabres ' payroll and to send Hašek to a more competitive team . He was dealt for Vyacheslav Kozlov , a first round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and future considerations , which eventually became the draft pick of Jim Slater . During his first season with Detroit , Hašek posted a career high 41 wins with just 15 losses , helping the Red Wings earn the President ' s Trophy with the league ' s best record . In the playoffs , he led the Wings past the Vancouver Canucks , the St . Louis Blues , the Colorado Avalanche and eventually the Carolina Hurricanes in the finals to win the Stanley Cup . During the conference finals against Colorado , he became the first goalie to be awarded an assist on an overtime game - winning goal in the post - season after passing the puck to Wings captain Steve Yzerman , who then assisted Fredrik Olausson in scoring the final goal of the third game of that series . He also set a record for most shutouts in a post - season with six , broken the year after by Martin Brodeur with seven . That summer , Hašek officially announced his retirement so that he could spend time with his family and other hobbies . However , after Detroit ' s first round loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the following season , he expressed his desire to play again . This created a difficult situation for the Red Wings , who had two years left on Curtis Joseph ' s three - year $ 24 million contract , which had a no - trade clause . Detroit was also under pressure knowing that the rival Colorado Avalanche would be looking for a goalie to replace Patrick Roy after his retirement . With Manny Legacé also on the Wings ' roster , Detroit now had three potential starting goalies . In the 2003 – 04 season Hašek injured his groin after playing just 14 games . On January 9 , he and the team agreed he should rest his injury for two to four weeks . Hašek privately told general manager Ken Holland that he would not accept any pay while he was injured . On February 10 , he announced that he was not going to continue to play that season , surprising the Red Wings management . He eventually revealed that he refused about $ 3 million of his $ 6 million salary . In April 2004 , he underwent groin surgery in Prague , and returned to his hometown of Pardubice to recuperate . Ottawa Senators ( 2005 - 2006 ) . After his contract with the Wings expired , Hašek announced his intention to play for a Stanley Cup contender , and specifically named the Ottawa Senators as a possibility . On July 6 , 2004 , after trading Patrick Lalime to the St . Louis Blues , the Senators signed Hašek to a one - year deal . During the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout , Hašek toured with the Primus Worldstars . Similar to the tour Wayne Gretzky and IMG formed during the 1994 – 95 NHL lockout , the Primus Worldstars Tour ran December 7 – 23 , playing in seven different countries ( Riga , Latvia ; Moscow and St Petersburg , Russia ; Bratislava , Slovakia ; Bern , Switzerland ; Karlstad , Jonkoping and Linkoping , Sweden ; Oslo , Norway ; Katowice , Poland ) in ten scheduled games . The tour competed against all - star teams or club teams of each country . Hašek played increasingly well for the Senators up until the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin . During the season , he reached 300 career wins , and his GAA and save percentage were the second - best in the league . Upon departure to Turin , Hašek ' s equipment was accidentally left behind in Ottawa . This caused Hašek to miss a number of practices with the Czech National team . At the Winter Olympics , he injured his right adductor muscle while making a save in the first qualifying match against Germany , forcing him to leave the game after only 9 minutes and 25 seconds . Hašek ' s injury caused him to miss the rest of the regular season and post - season , despite several rumours that he would return in time for the playoffs . He said that if he were to be re - signed , he would play for a base salary of $ 500 , 000 with bonuses . After the Senators were eliminated in the second round , they opted not to re - sign Hašek , despite Hašek ' s willingness to take a pay cut . Detroit Red Wings ( 2006 - 2008 ) . On July 31 , 2006 , at the age of 41 , Hašek joined the Red Wings for the second time . He signed a one - year $ 750 , 000 US contract , with added bonuses if the team succeeded in the playoffs . He posted 38 wins and a 2 . 05 GAA while leading the Red Wings to the number one seed in the Western Conference . He also broke his own personal record by going 181 minutes and 17 seconds without allowing a goal . Midway through the regular season , the team announced that to avoid injury and preserve Hašek for the playoffs , he would not play on consecutive nights . He played his first consecutive nights of the season on April 21 and 22 against the Calgary Flames in games 5 and 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals . Hašek won both games , clinching the series for Detroit . In the next round against the San Jose Sharks , the Red Wings were on the road and down two games to one , but Hašek held the Sharks to three goals in the next three games . His 28 - save shutout in game six tied him for sixth place on the all - time NHL playoff shutouts list and sent the Red Wings to the Western Conference finals against the Anaheim Ducks . However , Hašek and the Red Wings lost in six games to the Ducks , who eventually defeated the Ottawa Senators for the Stanley Cup . Hašek contemplated retirement in the 2007 offseason , but on July 5 , 2007 , he signed a one - year contract with Detroit worth $ 2 million with up to $ 2 million in bonuses , reportedly turning down $ 5 million for salary cap room for the rest of the Red Wings ' roster . During the 2007 – 08 season , he was replaced by backup Chris Osgood . When Hašek recovered and got back into his stride , Detroit chose to alternate goaltenders in tandem instead of designating either as the backup . Detroit coach Mike Babcock announced Hašek to start in the 2008 playoffs . Through the first two games against the Nashville Predators , the Red Wings were victorious , but after a lackluster performance in the next two , Osgood was declared as the number one goaltender for the playoffs . Despite expressing disappointment at losing his starting position , Hašek maintained his professionalism in practice and continued to support his teammates , with Darren McCarty citing close relationship between Hašek and Osgood . Eventually the Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games for the Stanley Cup . On June 9 , 2008 , Hašek announced his retirement from the NHL , only five days after winning his second Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings , saying he lacked the motivation for another year in the NHL . With Osgood , the two were awarded the William Jennings Trophy for least goals against on a team in the season . Hašek is expected to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility . Out of retirement in Europe . In April 2009 , Hašek once again came out of retirement and signed a one - year contract with HC Moeller Pardubice , the club where he started his long career . In the 2009 – 10 season he led his team to win Czech league title . Hašek had three shutouts in the playoffs , one in the finals , while his Pardubice lost just one game in the playoffs before claiming 12 consecutive wins . For the 2010 - 2011 hockey season , Hasek signed a one - year contract with HC Spartak Moscow . International play . Hašek ' s most memorable international performance came in the 1998 Winter Olympics , where he led the Czech national team to the gold medal . He allowed six goals in total , with only two of them coming in the medal round . Against Team Canada in the semifinals , Hašek stopped Theoren Fleury , Ray Bourque , Joe Nieuwendyk , Eric Lindros and Brendan Shanahan in a dramatic shootout win . He then shut out the Russian team 1 – 0 in the final game , stopping 20 shots . He was later announced as the best goaltender in the Olympics . After he won the gold , he was quoted as saying : His play made him one of the most popular figures in the Czech Republic , so much so that residents chanted " Hašek to the castle ! " in the streets . In response to this , Hašek called the country ' s president Václav Havel and jokingly told him that his job was not in jeopardy . He also helped to inspire an opera ( titled " Nagano " ) about the Czech team ' s gold medal victory , and in 2003 , Petr Pravec and Lenka Šarounová named an asteroid ( 8217 Dominikhašek ] ) in his honour . In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy , Hašek played for just nine minutes and twenty - five seconds , until he injured his right adductor muscle . Despite his absence , the Czechs managed to earn the bronze medal with backup goaltender Tomáš Vokoun , which Hašek received as well . Style of play . Hašek has an unorthodox goaltending style . He is extraordinarily flexible and was jokingly described in a MasterCard commercial as having " a Slinky for a spine " . In order to cover the bottom of the net , where most goals are scored , Hašek drops down on almost every shot . His " flopping " style is derived from him flailing in the crease , using every part of his body , including his head , to stop the puck . Hašek occasionally drops his stick and covers the puck with his stick hand , whereas most goaltenders would use the glove hand instead . In response to the speculation he receives from his style , Hašek explained : Hašek ' s unique style has attracted fans to games . Because of his flexibility , Hašek can make difficult saves that other goalies cannot — an opposing coach once referred to them as " miracle saves " . These types of saves include toe - stops , snagging pucks from behind his back , and a desperation maneuver known as the " Hašek roll " . Hašek is also known for his strict regimen of conditioning . During the off - season between May and September 2006 , he lost a considerable amount of weight to increase his flexibility . Hašek was one of the last goaltenders to wear a helmet - and - cage combo rather than a contemporary hybrid goalie mask . Personal life . Hašek and his wife Alena have a son named Michael ( born 1990 ) and a daughter named Dominika ( born 1994 ) . He divides much of his free time playing squash and inline hockey , where he plays defense . When he was younger , Hašek played competitive football as a midfielder , and was a junior tennis champion in Eastern Bohemia . His brother Martin is also a competitive athlete and played for the Czech Republic football team AC Sparta Prague before retiring and eventually deciding to coach . Cousin Ivan Hašek also played professional football . Hobby - wise , Hašek claims that he has been a fan of professional wrestling since his Buffalo days , and says that he mostly follows his favorite wrestlers , Stone Cold Steve Austin and Don " The Rock " Muraco . He and his son were seen many times throughout the night at WrestleMania 23 in the front row at Ford Field . Because of his formal education , Hašek stands out among Czech sportsmen . He earned a university degree after studying history and the Czech language in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hradec Králové , which qualified him to be a teacher , and led him to teach high school classes . Hašek also has a brand of sportswear named " Dominator Clothing " , which was launched shortly after the Nagano Olympics in 1998 and is popular among Dominik ' s fans in the Czech Republic . It also had two locations in Michigan for a short time . In May 2001 , Hašek founded the " Dominik Hašek Youth Hockey League " / " Hašek ' s Heroes " , and donated over $ 1 million to help underprivileged children in Buffalo play hockey . In 1998 , he also organized a charity hockey game in Prague , and donated the profits to hospitals in the Czech Republic . Hašek is known to appreciate humor to keep team spirits up , and often jokes about his resemblance to Cosmo Kramer of " Seinfeld " . In the late 1990s , he was featured in a Mastercard commercial that praised his flexibility . On November 26 , 2006 , Mark Parisi ' s comic panel " off the mark " featured a comic about Hašek ' s childhood . Throughout his long career , Hašek has been represented by agent Ritch Winter . Inline hockey game incident . During an inline hockey game on May 18 , 2003 , Hašek was accused of assaulting another player . He was playing as a defender for Bonfire Střída when he crosschecked Martin Šíla . The prosecutor in the case , Lenka Strnadová , ruled two months later that there was no evidence that Hašek intended bodily harm and recommended the case be treated as a misdemeanor , punishable only by fine ( $ 95 USD maximum ) , rather than a felony where jail time would have been possible . Hašek ' s lawyer Pavel Jelínek announced in a statement that media reports about the incident were exaggerated , with Šíla not having sustained any documented injuries . In October 2003 , the country ' s top prosecutor overruled Strnadová , saying her ruling was unlawful because the case had not been properly investigated . The Pardubice prosecution then investigated the case again , and reached the same decision as Strnadová . Legacy . Milestones . Hašek earned his 300th National Hockey League win on October 15 , 2005 , in a 5 – 1 home victory with the Ottawa Senators over the Boston Bruins . He stopped 34 of 35 shots and was holding a shutout until Bruins forward Pat Leahy jammed a loose puck under him three minutes into the third period . He became the twenty - second goaltender to reach the milestone . He is the oldest goaltender in NHL history to post a 30 - win season , and in 1997 , he became the first goaltender to win the Lester B . Pearson Award for most outstanding player in the league . He is also the only goaltender to win the Hart Trophy twice for most valuable player , and was only one Vezina Trophy away from tying Jacques Plante ' s record of seven . Hašek ' s personal best shutout streak is 181 minutes , 17 seconds . Records . In nine seasons with the Buffalo Sabres , Hašek acquired over 25 franchise records , including most all - time games played , wins , shutouts and lowest goals against average . He also holds the Sabres ' record for most shutouts in a single season with 13 in 1997 – 98 , and lowest goals against average in a single season with a total of 1 . 87 in 1998 – 99 . During the Detroit Red Wings ' championship run in 2002 , Hašek set franchise records for most games played , minutes played , wins and shutouts in a playoff year . He holds several notable NHL records : Possibly the most impressive single - game performance by any player in NHL history came on April 27 , 1994 . Dominik Hasek made 70 saves in a 4OT shutout . The opposing goalie was Martin Brodeur , then a rookie , who made 49 saves before being beaten by Dave Hannan and the Sabres beat New Jersey 1 - 0 . Hasek ' s 70 saves set a record , which still stands , for the most saves without allowing a goal .