Martin Havlat Martin Havlát ( [ ˈmarcɪn ˈɦavlaːt ] ; born April 19 , 1981 ) is a retired Czech professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Playing career . Ottawa Senators . Havlát was drafted out of the Czech Extraliga in the first round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft ( 26th overall ) by the Ottawa Senators . He remained in the Czech Republic for one more season following his draft before joining the Senators for his rookie NHL season in 2000 – 01 . Havlát recorded 19 goals and 42 points in his first year and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy for top rookie . Playing for the Senators , he earned the nickname " Mach 9 " for his speed and the jersey number he wore . In his third year with the club , he notched his second consecutive 20 - goal campaign with 24 goals and 59 points before helping the Senators on a 2003 playoff run to the Conference Finals . He was criticized in the second round by Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock for his stickwork against the Flyers during the series . The Senators went on to eliminate Philadelphia in six games , but could not get past the eventual Stanley Cup champions , the New Jersey Devils in the third round . Havlát finished the playoffs with 11 points in 18 games . The following season , in 2003 – 04 , Hitchcock made headlines once more with comments regarding a high - sticking incident with Havlát , saying that " " somebody is going to make him eat his lunch . " " Over the course of the campaign , Havlát was suspended twice , once for kicking , and once for high - sticking . Despite missing time , however , he continued to improve offensively with 31 goals and 68 points in 68 games , his most productive season with the Senators . Due to the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout , Havlát spent the entirety of the next season back in the Czech Extraliga , as well as Russian Superleague , playing for several teams . As NHL play resumed in 2005 – 06 , he was suspended once more early in the season on October 17 , 2005 , for five games following another kicking incident against Boston Bruins defenceman Hal Gill . After returning to the lineup , he suffered a shoulder injury against the Montreal Canadiens on November 29 which required surgery and kept him out for 59 games . He returned to the ice on April 15 , 2006 , against the Toronto Maple Leafs , almost exactly four months from the date of his surgery . Havlát has had a number of injuries in his career , most often in the form of groin strains , though he ' s had an assortment of shoulder , and hamstring issues as well . After missing the majority of the regular season , Havlát enjoyed his most prolific playoffs as a Senator in 2006 , recording 13 points in 10 games as Ottawa was eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres in five games in the second round . Chicago Blackhawks . During the 2006 off - season , Havlát , a restricted free agent , told the Senators that he would only sign a one - year deal so he could then test the free agent market . As a result , on July 9 , 2006 , Havlát was traded to the Blackhawks with Bryan Smolinski in a 3 - way deal , which also involved the San Jose Sharks acquiring Mark Bell for Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy . After the trade , Havlát signed a 3 - year , $ 18 million contract with the Blackhawks . As his usual number 9 was retired by the Blackhawks for Hall of Famer Bobby Hull , he switched to 24 . On October 5 , 2006 , Havlát made his Blackhawks debut in outstanding fashion against the Nashville Predators by scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in an 8 - 6 win . Through the first seven games of the season , he was near or at the top of the league in scoring until he went down with a high ankle sprain late in a game against the Dallas Stars on October 20 , 2006 . He returned to the Blackhawks lineup on December 9 , 2006 , against the Minnesota Wild netting 2 goals and an assist in a losing effort . Havlát was also selected for the 2007 NHL All - Star Game that season . In April 2007 , Havlát suffered a shoulder injury , which required off - season surgery . Despite a first season in Chicago partially marred by injuries , he produced at a point - per - game pace with 57 points in 56 games . In the 2007 – 08 season , Havlát was limited to 35 games while scoring 10 goals and 17 assists as he again struggled with injuries . The season marked a turning point for the team , however , as the Blackhawks ' offence was immediately bolstered by the emergence of rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews . The next season , in 2008 – 09 , Havlát led a rejuvenated Blackhawks team in scoring with a career - high 77 points in 81 games . Chicago qualified for the post - season for the first time since 2002 that season . Playing the Calgary Flames in the opening round , Havlát registered 2 goals in the first game of the series , including a game - tying goal late in the third period and the game - winner just 12 seconds into overtime . The Blackhawks would defeat the Flames in six games before doing the same to the Vancouver Canucks in the second round . Meeting the Detroit Red Wings in the semi - finals , Havlát was knocked out in Game 3 of the series from a hit delivered by defenceman Niklas Kronwall . Kronwall was given a five - minute major and was ejected for the hit , while Havlat left the game after lying on the ice for several minutes . Despite being named team MVP for the 2008 - 09 season , Havlát was not re - signed by the club . After three months of attempting to negotiate a long term contract to remain with the team , Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon annulled previous discussions and refused to offer anything more than a one - year extension come July 1 . The negotiations were well documented on both Havlát and his agent ' s Twitter pages , with Havlát ominously stating , " " There ' s something to be said for loyalty and honor . " " He followed this up by stating that he did not leave the team , but rather they left him . Minnesota Wild . On July 1 , 2009 , Havlát signed a 6 - year deal with the Minnesota Wild worth $ 30 million . Havlat wore number 14 in his first season with the Wild , but changed his number to 24 prior to the start of the 2010 - 2011 season due to the off - season departure of forward Derek Boogaard who wore the number previously . San Jose Sharks . On July 3rd , 2011 , Martin Havlat was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Dany Heatley . In the following 2011 - 12 season , on December 17 , 2011 , Havlát caught his skate on the bench and fell over the boards onto the ice , tearing his hamstring . He returned on March 17 , 2012 . On March 18 , one day after returning , Havlát scored the game winning goal in overtime for the Sharks in defeating the Detroit Red Wings . On May 1 , 2013 , against the Vancouver Canucks , Havlát suffered an injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the playoff quarter - finals . He returned in Game 3 of the semi - final on May 18 against the Los Angeles Kings , but suffered a spear from Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa 52 seconds into the game . In early June 2013 , Havlát had a bilateral pelvic floor reconstruction and played his first game of the season on October 31 , 2013 . On December 31 , he was placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury . New Jersey Devils , St . Louis Blues and Retirement . With his tenure with the Sharks largely affected by injury and a lack of productivity , Havlát became the first Sharks player in franchise history to be bought - out from the remaining year of his contract on June 27 , 2014 . Three days later , on July 1 , Havlát , with the ambition to redeem himself , signed as an unrestricted free agent to a one - year contract with the New Jersey Devils . After going unsigned by New Jersey at the end of the season and over the summer , Havlat agreed to a professional try - out agreement with the Florida Panthers . Upon failing to secure a contract with Florida , the 2015 - 16 season began without Havlat having a contract . Havlat made another attempt , signing another professional tryout agreement on October 27 , 2015 , this time with the St . Louis Blues , earning himself a one - year contract on November 6 , 2015 . Havlat made an immediate impact with the Blues , scoring the game - winning goal in his Blues debut in against former club the New Jersey Devils . After just 2 games , the St . Louis Blues placed Havlat on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract , at the request of Havlat , citing personal reasons on November 13 , 2015 . In August 2016 , while working out with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga , Havlát revealed that he requested the contract termination due to a groin injury , and that he intended to continue to practice with the team with the aim of returning to the NHL . However , he failed to attract NHL interest and eventually stopped working out with the team on January 25 , 2017 after re - injuring his groin . Havlát ultimately announced his retirement on February 8 , 2017 . International play . Havlát plays for the Czech Republic internationally , and while representing them at the 2002 Winter Olympics he had three goals . He missed the 2006 Olympics due to a shoulder injury . In the 2011 World Championships in Bratislava and Košice , Slovakia , he was a member of the Czech team that claimed a bronze medal . Played for the Czech Republic in : Personal life . Havlát has two siblings : a sister named Lenka who is 16 years older and a half - brother named Slava who is 28 years older . He can speak both English and Czech and lives in Brno , Czech Republic during the off - season . His nephew , Borek Sedlák , is a Czech ski jumper .