Miroslav Satan

**Miroslav Satan** (born on October 22, 1974 in Jacovce, Slovakia) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins.

Satan was drafted 111th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

In 1991–92, Miroslav played for the local HC Topoľčany and did remarkably well, as he scored 30 goals and had 22 assists in just 31 games. He then graduated to the senior division within the same year.

When he turned 18, he joined Dukla Trenčín rather than enter compulsory army service for Slovakia (which stopped in 2006). He played there for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons.

### Professional

Miroslav was drafted 111th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Prior to his entry into the NHL, he played in the Czechoslovak and Slovak leagues and he had scored nine goals in eight games representing Slovakia at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

In 1994–95, he played a season in the minor leagues, split between four teams including the Oilers' minor league affiliate, the Cape Breton Oilers, and the International Hockey League's Detroit Vipers.

While with the Vipers, Miroslav scored the winning goal in an exhibition game against Wayne Gretzky's Ninety-Niners, an all-star team put together by Gretzky during the 1994–95 NHL lockout.

After two seasons with the Oilers, Miroslav was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Craig Millar and Barrie Moore. He would lead the Sabres in scoring on six occasions.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played for Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Extraliga. After the lockout, he was not offered a contract by the Sabres.

Miroslav signed as a free agent with the New York Islanders on August 3, 2005. He led the Islanders in goals in the 2005–06 season. His 35 goals during the season were his highest goal-output since the 2001–02 season with the Sabres. Almost half his 35 goals came on the power play (17), also a career personal best.

Miroslav tied for the team lead in points with 66, shared with captain Alexei Yashin. Also in 2005–06, he went seven for ten (70%) and was third in the NHL in shooting percentage in the shootout.

On December 2, 2006, he scored his 300th career goal, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Earlier in the season, he had recorded his 300th career assist and his 600th career point.

On March 24, 2007, Miroslav missed the Islanders' game in Philadelphia for personal reasons, ending a streak of having played in 305 consecutive games. It was the fourth longest active streak at the time, and marked the second time in his career that he has played over 250 consecutive games. He had a 256-game streak as a member of the Sabres that ended in November 2002.

On July 3, 2008, he signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. During the 2008–09 season, he was placed on waivers by Pittsburgh on March 4, 2009, the same day as the NHL trade deadline, not long after playing in his 1,000th NHL game.

Having not been claimed by another team, Miroslav was assigned to the Penguins' AHL-affiliate team, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In Wilkes-Barre, he had three goals and nine points in ten games. Various reports credited him with being upbeat and a good influence, especially with the younger players.

On April 10, 2009, he was recalled by Pittsburgh and cleared re-entry waivers. He re-established himself with the Penguins in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs when he played against the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on April 23. He then played in nine games and won his first ever Stanley Cup as a member of the Penguins.

The Penguins did not re-sign Miroslav when his contract expired at the end of the season, and he was not signed during the free agency period. On January 2, 2010, he signed a US$700,000 contract with the Boston Bruins for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. The contract included a no movement clause.

He made his Bruins debut against the Ottawa Senators on January 5, finishing with a +2 plus-minus. He scored his first a goal as a Bruin on January 7 against Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi.

On April 21, Miroslav scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to defeat the Buffalo Sabres and take a 3–1 lead in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. On April 26, he then scored the series-winning goal over the Sabres with 5:11 remaining in the game.

At the beginning of 2011, he signed with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) until the end of 2010–11 season. The club opted not renew to his contract upon its expiry.

On September 8, 2011, Miroslav moved to the Slovak Extraliga to rejoin former club Slovan Bratislava. In 2012–13, he moved from the Slovak Extraliga to the KHL and named Šatan team captain. He was badly injured by his former Boston Bruins teammate Zdeno Chára in a match against Lev Praha on 3 November 2012.

Subsequently, Miroslav said he did not know if he would play another hockey match in his life. He would return to play in the 2013 IIHF World Championship.

### Retirement

On May 20, 2014, Miroslav announced his retirement from professional hockey at the age of 39.

In September 2015, he was appointed general manager for Team Europe to compete in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Team Europe finished second in the tournament after losing the final series to Canada.

In June 2019, he was elected President of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation.

## International Play

Miroslav captained the Slovak national team to gold, silver, and bronze in multiple world championships:

* Winter Olympic Games – 1994, 2002, 2006, 2010
* World Championships – 1994 (Pool C – gold medal), 1995 (Pool B – gold medal), 1996, 2000 (as a captain won silver medal), 2002 (as a captain won gold medal), 2003 (as a captain won bronze medal), 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 (silver medal), 2013, 2014
* World Cup of Hockey – 1996, 2004
* Team Slovakia – 180 caps / 86 goals

## Accolades

* Champion of Slovak Extraliga in 1994 and 2012.
* Played in NHL All-Star Game – 2000, 2003
* Stanley Cup champion – Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
* Played in KHL All-Star Game – 2014

### Records

* Led Buffalo Sabres in points six times
* Tenth place on Buffalo Sabres all-time scoring list with 224 goals and 232 assists (seventh in goals scored).

## Personal Life

Miroslav grew up in Topoľčany, Slovakia. In 2004, he married his long-time girlfriend Ingrid in 2004. He has two children: a son Miroslav Jr. (born in March 2006) and a daughter Viktoria (born in 2009). He resides in Jerico, New York.