Žigmund Pálffy

Žigmund "Ziggy" Pálffy (born May 5, 1972 in Skalica, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player currently playing for HK 36 Skalica of the Slovak Extraliga. 
He played right wing for the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1993–2006. He announced his retirement in January 2006, and his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007. Pálffy signed a contract to play for his hometown club of HK 36 Skalica for the entire 2007-08 season, and also retracted his decision from 2005 never to play for the Slovak national team again.
==Playing career==
After a solid season in his native Czechoslovakia and an impressive stint with the Czechoslovakian National Team in the 1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship Pálffy was drafted by New York Islanders in the second round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, 26th overall. After 2 more years in Czechoslovakia Palffy came to North America for the 1993-94 season. He spent the majority of the 1993–94 season with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles while also making his NHL debut with the Islanders, appearing in 5 games though he did not earn a single point. The following season he split the year between the Islanders and the Denver Grizzlies. 
The 1995–96 NHL season saw Pálffy break out as an offensive scorer. In his first game of 1995–96, his team went down 1 goal but Pálffy would score two goals to lead New York to a 2–1 win over the Florida Panthers. He also scored 87 points in 81 games and quickly became the star of the Islanders franchise. The following two seasons were much the same for Pálffy, scoring 90 and 87 points, respectively. During the 1998–99 season, Pálffy was limited to only 50 games but still played solidly, scoring 50 points. After the season, the Islanders, facing financial woes, traded him and Bryan Smolinski to the Los Angeles Kings in a deal that saw Olli Jokinen, Josh Green, Mathieu Biron, and a 1st round draft pick go to the Islanders. He was greatly missed by the team fans, who saw him as the one shining star of their perpetually turmoiled organization.
With the Kings, Pálffy continued his strong play, often being paired with fellow Slovak Jozef Stümpel and Canadian superstar Luc Robitaille. Injuries, specifically his shoulder, began to limit Pálffy's playing time. During the 2003–04 season, Pálffy's nagging shoulder kept him out of action for the majority of the season. After the 2003–04 season, the Kings decided not to re-sign Pálffy. Shortly after the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for three years and $13.5 million (USD).
After playing 42 games with the Penguins during the 2005–06 season, Palffy abruptly retired from hockey. On January 18, 2006 then Penguins GM Craig Patrick told reporters that Pálffy told him he was retiring due to a lingering shoulder injury. Many feel that tension with superstar Sidney Crosby may have also contributed to his retirement. Pálffy completed his career with 329 goals and 384 assists for 713 points in 684 games over 12 NHL seasons. 
Pálffy has represented Slovakia and Czechoslovakia in international competitions, winning the Gold Medal with Slovakia in the 2002 World Championships. Following the 2005 World Championships in Austria, Pálffy announced his retirement from the Slovak national team.
Pálffy announced his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007, and signed a contract to play for his hometown club of HK 36 Skalica for the entire 2007–08 season. He became the most productive player of the regular season 2007-08 in the Slovak Extraliga, gathering 75 points in just 49 games. He also retracted his decision never to play for the Slovak national team again, opening up the possibility for him to represent Slovakia at the World Championships tournament to be held in Canada in May 2008.
==Awards==
*Played in the 1996 NHL All-Star game
*Played in the 1998 NHL All-Star game
*Played in the 2001 NHL All-Star game
*Played in the 2002 NHL All-Star Game
==Career statistics==
 	 	 		Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season		Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1990–91 	Nitra 	CS 		50 	34 	16 	50 	18 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1991–92 	Dukla Trenčín 	CS 		32 	23 	24 	47 	- 		13 	18 	8 	26 	-
1992–93 	Dukla Trenčín 	CS 		43 	38 	41 	79 	0 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1993–94 	Salt Lake Golden Eagles	IHL 		57 	25 	32 	57 	83 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1993–94 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		5 	0 	0 	0 	0 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1994–95 	Denver Grizzlies 	IHL 		33 	20 	23 	43 	40 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1994–95 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		33 	10 	7 	17 	6 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1995–96 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		81 	43 	44 	87 	56 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1996–97 	Dukla Trenčín 	SVK 		1 	0 	0 	0 	0 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1996–97 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		80 	48 	42 	90 	43 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1997–98 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		82 	45 	42 	87 	34 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1998–99 	HK 36 Skalica 	SVK 		9 	11 	8 	19 	9 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1998–99 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		50 	22 	28 	50 	34 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
1999–00 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		64 	27 	39 	66 	32 		4 	2 	0 	2 	0
2000–01 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		73 	38 	51 	89 	20 		13 	3 	5 	8 	8
2001–02 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		63 	32 	27 	59 	26 		7 	4 	5 	9 	0
2002–03 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		76 	37 	48 	85 	47 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
2003–04 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		35 	16 	25 	41 	12 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
2004–05 	HK 36 Skalica 	SVK 		8 	10 	3 	13 	6 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
2004–05 	HC Slavia Praha 	CZE 		41 	21 	19 	40 	30 		7 	5 	2 	7 	2
2005–06 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	NHL 		42 	11 	31 	42 	12 		-- 	-- 	-- 	-- 	--
2007–08 	HK 36 Skalica 	SVK 		46 	30 	45 	75 	93 		13 	7 	17 	24 	26
2008–09 	HK 36 Skalica 	SVK 		53 	52 	47 	99 	46 		 	 	 	 	
NHL totals	NHL totals 	NHL totals		684 	329 	384 	713 	322 		24 	9 	10 	19 	8
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
==International play==
Played for Czechoslovakia in:
*1991 World Junior Championships (Bronze Medal)
*1991 Canada Cup 
*1992 World Junior Championships
Played for Slovakia in:
*1994 Winter Olympics
*1996 World Championships
*1996 World Cup
*1999 World Championships 
*2002 Winter Olympics
*2002 World Championships (Gold medal)
*2003 World Championships (Bronze medal)
*2005 World Championships
===International statistics===
Year 	Team 	Comp 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
1991 	Czechoslovakia 	WJC 	7 	7 	6 	13 	2
1991 	Czechoslovakia 	CC 	5 	1 	0 	1 	2
1992 	Czechoslovakia 	WJC 	6 	3 	1 	4 	6
1994 	Slovakia 	OG 	8 	3 	7 	10 	8
1996 	Slovakia 	WC 	5 	2 	0 	2 	10
1996 	Slovakia 	WCH 	3 	1 	2 	3 	2
1999 	Slovakia 	WC 	6 	5 	5 	10 	6
2002 	Slovakia 	OG 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
2002 	Slovakia 	WC 	3 	1 	6 	7 	2
2003 	Slovakia 	WC 	9 	7 	8 	15 	18
2005 	Slovakia 	WC 	7 	5 	4 	9 	10
Junior int'l totals 	Junior int'l totals 	Junior int'l totals 	13	10	7 	17 	8
Senior CSFR int'l totals	Senior CSFR int'l totals	Senior CSFR int'l totals	5 	1 	0 	1 	2
Senior SVK int'l totals 	Senior SVK int'l totals 	Senior SVK int'l totals 	42	24	32	56 	56
==External links==
* 
Category:Born in 1972
Category:Los Angeles Kings players
Category:NHL All-Stars
Category:New York Islanders draft picks
Category:New York Islanders players
Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players
Category:Slovak ice hockey players
Category:Olympic ice hockey players of Slovakia
Category:1994 Olympian
Category:2002 Olympian
Category:Salt Lake Golden Eagles players
Category:Denver Grizzlies players
Category:HK 36 Skalica players
Category:Dukla Trencin players
Category:MHC Nitra players
Category:2010 Olympian
Category:Member of the Slovak National Team
Category:NHL Players that have scored a hat trick