Tomáš Vokoun

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Tomáš Vokoun
Vokoun with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013
Born (1976-07-02) 2 July 1976 (age 48)
Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Right
Played for
HIFK
Florida Panthers
Washington Capitals
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team  Czech Republic
NHL draft 226th overall, 1994
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1995–2014

Tomáš Vokoun (Czech pronunciation:

1994 NHL Entry Draft, and played one game for the team, as well as playing with the Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Internationally, Vokoun played for the Czech national team at several tournaments, including the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 2006, as well as gold medals at the 2005 and 2010 World Championships
.

Playing career

Early career (1994–1998)

Vokoun was drafted by the

Poldi Kladno
.

Vokoun moved to North America for the 1995–96 season and played for the

Fredericton and played in his only game for Montreal; it was not a stellar debut, however, as he allowed four goals in only 20 minutes of play against the Philadelphia Flyers
.

Vokoun playing for the Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators (1998–2007)

After another season with the Fredericton Canadiens, Vokoun was chosen by the

1998 NHL Expansion Draft
on 26 June 1998.

Vokoun played 37 games for Nashville in their debut season and played nine games for the Milwaukee Admirals in the International Hockey League (IHL). Although he again split time between the two clubs the following season, by 2000, Vokoun established himself in the NHL, though he initially only saw limited action as the back-up to starter Mike Dunham. In 2002, Dunham was traded to the New York Rangers for Marek Židlický, Tomáš Klouček and Rem Murray, effectively awarding Vokoun the starting job.

Vokoun's play was solid enough in

All-Star Game for the first time, and his goaltending was a major factor in the Predators' first-ever playoff berth that season. The team lost in six games to the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. In game 4 of that series, played in Nashville, Vokoun earned the first-ever playoff shutout in franchise history, stopping 41 Red Wing shots.[1]

During the

SM-liiga
, posting a .940 save percentage. In the playoffs, Vokoun did not perform as well, posting an .846 save percentage in four games, the worst in the league in that year's playoffs.

On 10 April 2006, the Predators announced Vokoun was afflicted by

blood-clotting condition. He missed the team's remaining regular season games and the entire playoffs while he recovered by taking blood-thinning drugs and avoiding physical activity.[2] Back-up goaltender Chris Mason took his place as the starter, but the Predators failed to advance in the playoffs, again losing in the quarter-finals. On 24 July 2006, Vokoun was cleared to resume his career and returned for the 2006–07 NHL season.[3]
However, at the beginning of the season, Vokoun injured his thumb during a game and was required to have surgery. Pins were put in this thumb, and he played with the pins and a brace on his thumb.

Florida Panthers (2007–2011)

2009
.

On the day of the

2008 NHL Entry Draft, a second-round selection in the 2007 draft (58th overall) and a conditional second-round selection in either 2007 or 2008.[4] Vokoun's nine-year tenure in Nashville had him setting many of the Predators' goaltending records, all of which were overtaken by Pekka Rinne in the following decade.[5][6]

Vokoun was selected to play for the Eastern Conference team in the 2008 NHL All Star Game in Atlanta.[7]

During the 2008–09 NHL season, Vokoun recorded 26 wins for the Panthers as they battled for their first playoff berth since 2000. Although they ultimately fell short, the Panthers' being in position to qualify was due in large part to the goaltending of Vokoun and fellow goaltender Craig Anderson.

Vokoun was injured by teammate Keith Ballard in a game on 30 November 2009, when Ballard hit Vokoun with an errant stick in the head. Vokoun was carried off the ice on a stretcher and was treated at a nearby hospital for an ear laceration. Vokoun had just given up a goal to Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers and Ballard went to break his stick on the goal post in frustration, but caught Vokoun instead.[8]

Washington and Pittsburgh (2011–2014)

Vokoun with the Capitals in 2012.

Vokoun signed a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals on 2 July 2011 worth $1.5 million.[9] Vokoun had a rough 2011–12 NHL season with the Capitals, as it was plagued by injury and inconsistent performance.

With Washington resorting to youngster

2012 NHL Entry Draft. The following day, Vokoun signed to a two-year, $4 million contract.[10] Since his customary sweater number 29 was being worn by Marc-André Fleury, Vokoun opted to wear number 92 with the Penguins; he became the first goaltender since Daren Puppa
to wear a sweater number from 90 to 98.

On 30 March 2013, Vokoun set a personal best and Pittsburgh Penguins individual franchise record shutout streak of 187:30.[11] He had two consecutive shutouts (on 28 March against the Winnipeg Jets and on 30 March against the New York Islanders) and a combined shutout with Marc-André Fleury on 26 March against the Montreal Canadiens. Vokoun played the third period to complete the shutout after Fleury was injured at the end of the second period. On 9 May 2013, Vokoun made his first playoff start in six seasons, a 31-save shutout against the New York Islanders in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals.[12]

Vokoun was sidelined indefinitely after undergoing surgery to dissolve another blood clot in his pelvis during the 2013 pre-season.[13] On 21 January 2014, it was reported Vokoun would begin skating in practice again, with no timetable as to his possible return.[14] On 15 December 2014, Vokoun announced his retirement.

International play


Vokoun during the 2010 Olympics
Medal record
Representing  Czech Republic
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Turin
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Vienna
Gold medal – first place 2010 Cologne
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Toronto
European Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Jyväskylä

Vokoun has represented the

IIHF World Championships, two Winter Olympic Games and also in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He backstopped the Czechs to a third-place finish at the World Cup, gold medals at the 2005 and 2010 World Championships and won bronze with the team at the 2006 Olympics in Turin
.

Awards and records

  • Runner-up for the NHL Rookie of the Month award for December 1998.
  • NHL Player of the Week for the week ending 2 January 2000 (3–0–0, 1 shutout, 1.33 goals against average (GAA), .960 save percentage; he was the first Predator to ever win this award).
  • NHL Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending 30 November 2003 (4–0–0, 1.50 GAA, .950 save percentage).
  • Selected to play for the Western Conference in the
    2004 NHL All-Star Game
    .
  • Selected to play for the Eastern Conference in the
    2008 NHL All-Star Game
    .
  • NHL Defensive Player of the Month for January 2010 (NHL's Third Star of the Month, 8–4–2, 1.49 GAA, .956 SV%, 4 SO).

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season
 Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1993–94
Poldi SONP Kladno
 ELH 2 1 1 0 — 60 5 0 5.00 .839 2 2 0 120 14 0 7.00 .811
1994–95 Poldi SONP Kladno ELH 26 13 9 4 — 1334 68 0 3.06 .915 5 2 3 241 19 0 4.75 .872
1995–96
Wheeling Thunderbirds
 ECHL 35 20 10 2 — 1912 117 0 3.67 .881 7 4 3 436 19 0 2.61 .903
1995–96 Fredericton Canadiens AHL — — — — — — — — — — 1 0 1 59 4 0 4.07 .879
1996–97 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 0 0 — 20 4 0 12.00 .714 — — — — — — — —
1996–97 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 47 12 26 7 — 2645 154 2 3.49 .902 — — — — — — — —
1997–98 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 31 13 13 2 — 1735 90 0 3.11 .907 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 Nashville Predators NHL 37 12 18 4 — 1954 96 1 2.95 .908 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 9 3 2 4 — 539 22 1 2.45 .920 2 0 2 149 8 0 3.22 .909
1999–00
 Nashville Predators NHL 33 9 20 1 — 1879 87 1 2.78 .904 — — — — — — — —
1999–00
 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 7 5 2 0 — 364 17 0 2.80 .921 — — — — — — — —
2000–01 Nashville Predators NHL 37 13 17 5 — 2088 85 2 2.44 .910 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 Nashville Predators NHL 29 5 14 4 — 1471 66 2 2.69 .903 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Nashville Predators NHL 69 25 31 11 — 3974 146 3 2.20 .918 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Nashville Predators NHL 73 34 29 10 — 4221 178 3 2.53 .909 6 2 4 356 12 1 2.02 .939
2004–05
HC Znojemští Orli
 ELH 27 10 14 3 — 1599 69 3 2.59 .927 — — — — — — — —
2004–05
HIFK
SM-l
 19 11 4 4 — 1149 35 2 1.83 .940 4 0 3 205 12 0 3.51 .846
2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 61 36 18 — 7 3600 160 4 2.67 .919 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Nashville Predators NHL 44 27 12 — 4 2601 104 5 2.40 .920 5 1 4 323 16 0 2.96 .902
2007–08 Florida Panthers NHL 69 30 29 — 8 4030 180 4 2.68 .919 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Florida Panthers NHL 59 26 23 — 6 3324 138 6 2.49 .926 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Florida Panthers NHL 63 23 28 — 11 3695 157 7 2.55 .925 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Florida Panthers NHL 57 22 28 — 5 3224 137 6 2.55 .922 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Washington Capitals NHL 48 25 17 — 2 2583 108 4 2.51 .917 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 20 13 4 — 0 1029 42 3 2.45 .919 11 6 5 685 23 1 2.01 .933
2013–14
Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins
 AHL 2 1 1 — 0 124 5 0 2.41 .891 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 700 300 288 35 43 39,695 1,688 51 2.56 .917 22 9 13 1,365 51 2 2.24 .928

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1994 Czech Republic
EJC
 5 — — — 300 11 — 2.20 .916
1996 Czech Republic WJC 6 2 2 2 356 21 1 3.54 .877
2003 Czech Republic WC 7 4 1 1 389 14 1 2.16 .925
2004 Czech Republic WC 6 5 1 0 370 7 2 1.14 .944
2004 Czech Republic WCH 5 2 3 0 303 15 0 2.96 .881
2005 Czech Republic WC 8 7 1 0 499 9 2 1.08 .953
2006 Czech Republic OLY 7 3 3 0 342 14 1 2.46 .897
2010
 Czech Republic OLY 5 3 2 0 304 9 0 1.78 .936
2010 Czech Republic WC 8 7 1 0 496 13 0 1.57 .944
Senior totals 46 31 12 1 2703 81 6 1.80 .928

References

  1. ^ "Nashville goalie makes 41 saves in shutout". Associated Press. 14 April 2004. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Nashville's Vokoun will miss entire postseason". 10 April 2006.
  3. ^ "Vokoun to return after dealing with blood ailment". 25 July 2006.
  4. ^ Predators trade Vokoun to Panthers for draft picks
  5. ^ Rinne Sits Atop Preds Goaltending History
  6. ^ Tomas Vokoun: Pekka Rinne great eraser for Predators
  7. Hockey-Reference
    . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  8. NHL.com
    . Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Washington signs Vokoun to one-year, $1.5 million contract". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  10. NHL.com
    . Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  11. NHL.com
    . Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  12. Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original
    on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  13. NHL.com
    . Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  14. NHL.com
    . Retrieved 29 January 2014.
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