Peter Bondra Peter Bondra ( born February 7 , 1968 ) is a former Slovak professional ice hockey player , who was the general manager of the Slovak national team from 2007 to 2011 . Bondra became the 37th player in NHL history to score 500 NHL goals . Playing career . Peter was drafted by the Capitals in 1990 , 156th overall , but before joining the team in 1990 - 91 season he played for hockey team TJ VSŽ Košice ( now called HC Košice ) for four seasons from 1986 - 90 in Czechoslovakia . In Washington , Bondra blossomed to become one of the more prolific goal - scorers of the 1990s , while trying to fulfill his dream of winning the Stanley Cup . His best chance to do so came in 1997 – 98 , when the Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before being swept by Detroit . In the 2004 season , Bondra ' s 14th with Washington , the Capitals endured a disappointing year and in a salary purge move traded veteran members of the team to contenders . Bondra was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Brooks Laich and a second round draft pick . At the press conference announcing this trade Bondra notably became choked up . Over his career , he has been renowned for his exceptional skills . In 14 years with the Capitals , he scored 472 goals and racked up 353 assists in 961 games . He holds Capitals team records in goals ( 472 ) , points ( 825 ) , power - play goals ( 137 ) , game - winning goals ( 73 ) , short - handed goals ( 32 ) and hat tricks ( 19 ) . With the Caps he appeared in five all - star games ( 1993 , 1996 , 1997 , 1998 , 1999 ) . In 1997 and 1999 Bondra won the Fastest Skater Competition on All - Star weekend . In 2004 , the Capitals held a vote for fans to determine the top 30 players in franchise history to celebrate their 30th season in the league . Bondra finished second with 2 , 018 votes . The winner , Olaf Kolzig , beat him by a mere 20 votes . For his goal - scoring ability , he is nicknamed " Bonzai " and occasionally " The Slovakian Sniper " . During the 1994 - 1995 ( with 34 in a lockout - shortened season ) and 1997 - 1998 seasons ( with 52 ) , he led the league in goals scored . After the 2004 - 2005 NHL season was canceled due to the NHL labor dispute , Bondra played a handful of games with HK Tatravagónka ŠKP Poprad of the Slovak Extraliga . Prior to the 2005 - 2006 NHL season , Bondra was in talks to possibly rejoin the Capitals . He ended up signing with the Atlanta Thrashers . On December 10 , Bondra signed a one - year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks . On December 22 , 2006 , he scored his 500th NHL career goal at the United Center , in Chicago ' s 3 – 1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs . Bondra drove to the net and netted the rebound of Jassen Cullimore ' s shot from the left point past Toronto ' s Jean - Sébastien Aubin , 6 : 37 into the third period on the power play . Peter Bondra became the 37th player in league history to reach the 500 – goal mark . Bondra became the 4th player to record his 500th goal in a Chicago Blackhawks sweater joining Bobby Hull , Stan Mikita and Michel Goulet . On October 29 , 2007 , Bondra announced his retirement from professional hockey at the age of 39 . International play . Bondra has represented Slovakia on seven occasions in international competition , including the 1994 Winter Olympics qualifying tournament , the 1998 Winter Olympics , the 2006 Winter Olympics , the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2002 and 2003 . He scored a tournament - leading seven goals ( scored the tournament - winning goal 100 seconds to go in third period ) and ranked third among all players with nine points to lead Slovakia 4 – 3 over Russia to the gold medal at the 2002 World Championship . He notched five points ( three goals , two assists ) in eight games to help Slovakia earn the bronze medal at the 2003 World Championship . Overall , he played 47 games and scored 35 goals on international level for Slovakia .