Thomas Vanek Thomas Vanek ( born 19 January 1984 ) is an Austrian professional ice hockey left wing currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He has played for the Buffalo Sabres , New York Islanders , Montreal Canadiens , Minnesota Wild , and Detroit Red Wings . Vanek was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres fifth overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft , making him the highest drafted Austrian in NHL history . Early life . Vanek was born in Baden bei Wien , Austria , to Slovak mother Jarmila and Czech father Zdeněk , who moved in 1982 from Czechoslovakia to Austria . He grew up in Zell am See ( Salzburg ) and in Graz ( Styria ) , where his father played professional ice hockey . In 1998 , at the age of 14 , he moved to Canada . Playing career . Pre - NHL years . After playing junior hockey for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League ( USHL ) , Vanek joined the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers , leading the team in goals ( 31 ) , assists ( 31 ) and points ( 62 ) in the 2002 – 03 season . In part to his prolific scoring touch , the Golden Gophers won the 2003 NCAA National Championship . Vanek was named MVP of the Frozen Four tournament , scoring the game winning goal s in both the semifinal against Michigan in overtime and in the final against New Hampshire . He was also named Minnesota ' s team MVP for 2003 , becoming the first freshman to receive the honor . He scored the most points by a Golden Gopher freshman in 2003 since Aaron Broten who scored 72 total points in 1979 – 80 . He was the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Mike Antonovich in 1969 – 70 . His 31 goals also led all NCAA freshmen in goal scoring , and was fourth in the entire country . He was also the 2003 WCHA Rookie of the Year , the third Golden Gopher to win the award . Vanek was a member of the Austrian national team in the 2004 IIHF World Championships , where he collected seven points in six games ( two goals and five assists ) . Vanek led the Golden Gophers in goals ( 26 ) and points ( 51 ) for the second - straight season and finished fifth in points among Division I leaders with 51 . Vanek was the Twin Cities Best College Athlete for 2004 . Vanek spent 2004 – 05 with the Sabres ' AHL affiliate Rochester Americans , recording 68 points in 74 games and helped Rochester to the best record in the AHL . Vanek finished second on the team in points , 11 points behind Chris Taylor , but led the team in goals with 42 and in power play goals with 25 . He finished second among rookies in points and led all rookies in goals scored , the latter of which was second in the league among all players . Sabres years . Vanek signed a three - year deal with Buffalo on September 3 , 2004 , and began playing for the Sabres in 2005 – 06 after a season with their AHL affiliate . He had a promising rookie season with 25 goals and 48 points in 81 games for the Sabres . His performance tailed off in the playoffs , managing 2 goals in 10 games . Vanek recorded his best statistical season , the following year in 2006 – 07 . He played in all 82 regular season games for the Sabres , scoring 43 goals , tied for fifth in the league , and 41 assists . He also finished an NHL best + 47 , earning the NHL Plus / Minus Award . Upon the expiration of his rookie contract during the 2007 off - season , Vanek signed a seven - year $ 50 million offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers . The Sabres immediately matched the offer sheet , thus keeping Vanek under contract until at least the end of the 2013 – 14 season . Despite his lucrative new contract , Vanek ' s production dipped to 64 points in 2007 – 08 . In the midst of a more productive year , however , Vanek was named to his first NHL All - Star Game in 2009 in Montreal . He helped the East to a 12 - 11 shootout victory over the West . Earlier in the season , on December 13 , 2008 , Vanek helped the Sabres reach a milestone by scoring the 10 , 000th goal in franchise history . Following the All - Star Game , on February 4 , 2009 , Vanek carved a unique little slice of NHL history with a natural hat - trick to cap the Sabres ' 5 - 0 cruise past the Toronto Maple Leafs in HSBC Arena . It was also Vanek ’ s fourth consecutive natural hat - trick , matching an NHL record set by Cy Denneny between 1923 and 1924 with the old Ottawa Senators . Later that week , on February 7 , Vanek took a slapshot from Anton Volchenkov of the Ottawa Senators , fracturing his jaw . He underwent surgery the next day and was announced to be out of the lineup for three to four weeks . At the time of the injury , Vanek was third in the league goal - scoring . At the end of the 2008 - 2009 season Vanek would score a total of 40 goals with 24 assists totaling 64 points . At the end of the season Vanek led the NHL in Powerplay goals with 20 . The 2009 - 10 season also started on a sour note as Vanek sustained an upper body injury after scoring two goals in a 6 - 2 win against the Detroit Red Wings on October 13 , he has since returned . Vanek had scored 3 goals in 4 games up to that point . 4 - 10 - 10 Vanek scored 4 goals against Ottawa ( one on a penalty shot ) in the first two periods . On 1 October 2012 , Vanek signed with the Graz 99ers in Austria to play for them until 4 November 2012 , during the 2012 - 13 NHL lockout . On 1 October 2013 , the Sabres names Vanek and Steve Ott captains ; Vanek would wear the " C " for home games while Ott would wear the " C " for road games . New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens . On 27 October 2013 , Vanek was traded to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson , a conditional 2014 first - round draft pick and a 2015 second - round draft pick . He immediately joined the team ' s top line alongside John Tavares and Kyle Okposo . On 4 February 2014 , Vanek confirmed that he had turned down a contract extension offer from the Islanders . The contract was reportedly for seven years and $ 50 million . On 5 March 2014 , Vanek was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Sebastian Collberg and a second - round draft pick . On 19 March 2014 , he scored his first three goals for the team – a hat trick in a game against the Colorado Avalanche that they went on to win 6 – 3 . However , Vanek was noted for his lackluster performance during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs , including scoring just five even - strength points over 17 games . In late June , Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin announced that the team would not be resigning Vanek , allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent . Minnesota Wild . On 1 July 2014 , Vanek signed a three - year contract with the Minnesota Wild for $ 5 . 5 million in the first year , $ 6 . 5 million in the second year and $ 7 . 5 million in the third year , for a total of $ 19 . 5 million . His contract also included a no - trade clause . With the Wild up against the salary cap and having endured an unsuccessful stint with the Wild , Vanek ' s last year of his contract was bought - out by Minnesota on 24 June 2016 . Detroit Red Wings . On 1 July 2016 , Vanek signed a one - year , $ 2 . 6 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings reuniting him with Co - Captain Steve Ott when a member with the Sabres . Florida Panthers . Despite having a succesful season with the Red Wings , he was dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Dylan McIlrath and a conditional third - round draft pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft . Personal life . Vanek and his wife Ashley have three sons . They live in Stillwater , Minnesota . On 21 July 2014 , Vanek ' s name was listed in records seized from The Marina Restaurant & Bar , a Rochester , New York , facility suspected of running an illegal gambling ring . For his part , Vanek denies all wrongdoing , is cooperating with authorities and does not expect to be charged with any crime .