Born	October 22, 1974 (1974-10-22) (age 35), Jacovce, Czechoslovakia
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team F. teams	Free agent Edmonton Oilers Buffalo Sabres New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins
Ntl. team	Slovakia
NHL Draft	111th overall, 1993 Edmonton Oilers
Pro career	1994 – present

Miroslav Šatan (born October 22, 1974 in Jacovce, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent in the National Hockey League. He and wife Ingrid have a son, Miroslav Jr., born in March 2006 and a daughter Viktoria born July 2009

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Edmonton Oilers

Šatan 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 9 goals in 8 games representing Slovakia at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.^[1]

In 1994–95, Šatan played a season in the minor leagues, split between four teams including the Oilers' farm club in Cape Breton and the IHL's Detroit Vipers. While with the Vipers, he 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 NHL lockout.

[edit] Buffalo Sabres

After two seasons with the Oilers, the highly skilled winger was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Craig Millar and Barrie Moore. He firmly established himself as a top-line forward and one of the key players of the Buffalo team.^[1] He would lead the Sabres in scoring on six occasions. During the 2004–2005 NHL labor dispute, Šatan played for HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak League. After the Lockout, Šatan was not offered a contract by the Sabres.^[2]

[edit] New York Islanders

Šatan signed as a free agent with the New York Islanders on August 3, 2005.^[3] 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 Buffalo Sabres. Almost half his 35 goals came on the power play (17), also a career personal best.^[1] Šatan tied for the team lead in points with 66, shared with captain Alexei Yashin. Also in 2005–06, Šatan went 7-for-10 (70%) and was third in the league 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, Šatan 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 Buffalo Sabres that ended in November 2002.^[1]

[edit] Pittsburgh Penguins

On July 3, 2008, Satan signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[4] During the 2008-09 season, Satan was placed on waivers by Pittsburgh on March 4, 2009, the same day as the NHL trade deadline. Having not been claimed by another team, Satan was assigned to the Penguins AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.^[5] In Wilkes-Barre, Satan had three goals and nine points in 10 games. Various reports credited him with being upbeat and a good influence, especially with the younger players.

On April 10, 2009, Satan was recalled by Pittsburgh and cleared re-entry waivers. Miroslav re-established himself with the Penguins in the playoffs when he played against the Washington Capitals in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals on April 23, 2009.^[6] He then played in 9 games and won his first ever Stanley Cup Championship as a member of the Penguins.

The Penguins did not re-sign Satan when his contract expired at the end of the season and he was not signed during the free agency period.

[edit] Awards

• Played in NHL All-Star Game - 2000, 2003
• Won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

[edit] Records

• Led Buffalo Sabres in Points scored six times
• 10th place on Buffalo Sabres all-time scoring list with 224 goals and 232 assists (7th in goals scored)

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] International play

Played for Slovakia in:

• 1994 Winter Olympic Games
• World Championships - 1994 (Pool C - gold medal), 1995 (Pool B - gold medal), 1996, 2000 (silver medal), 2002 (gold medal), 2003 (bronze medal), 2004, 2005
• World Cup of Hockey - 1996, 2004
• Team Slovakia - 116 caps / 69 goals

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Miroslav Šatan's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Sports Illustrated Player profile
• Miroslav Šatan at ESPN.com

• Miroslav Šatan's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Miroslav Šatan´s hockey cards gallery