Marián Gáborík

Marián Gáborík
Gáborík with the Blue Jackets in 2013
Born	(1982-02-14) February 14, 1982 Trenčín, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Los Angeles Kings Dukla Trenčín Minnesota Wild New York Rangers Columbus Blue Jackets
National team	Slovakia
NHL Draft	3rd overall, 2000 Minnesota Wild
Playing career	1998–present
Medal record World Junior Championships 1999 Canada

Marián Gáborík (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmarijaːn ˈɡaːboriːk]; born February 14, 1982) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He began his playing career in the Slovak Extraliga with Dukla Trenčín for two seasons before being drafted third overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild. Spending eight seasons in Minnesota before signing with the New York Rangers in 2009, Gáborík is the Wild's all-time leading scorer in goals. On June 13, 2014, Gáborík won his first Stanley Cup while playing with Los Angeles.

Internationally, Gáborík is a two-time Olympian with Slovakia and has won a bronze medal at the 1999 World Junior Championships.

Playing career

Dukla Trenčín

Gáborík played with Dukla Trenčín's junior team and scored 59 points over 36 games in 1997–98. That same season, he appeared in one Slovak Extraliga game with Dukla Trenčín's men's team, scoring a goal in his professional debut. The following season, in 1998–99, he joined Dukla Trenčín in the Slovak Extraliga full-time and registered 20 points over 33 games as a rookie. Gáborík then improved to 46 points in 50 games the following season in his draft year.

Minnesota Wild

Gáborík saluting the crowd following his five-goal game in 2007.

Gáborík was drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft after Rick DiPietro and Dany Heatley. Gáborík immediately showed promise during his rookie season with the Wild, collecting 18 goals and 36 points for the expansion Wild. He elevated his game the following season, in 2001–02, notching his first 30-goal season and nearly doubling his rookie output to 67 points. He also recorded his first career NHL hat-trick near the beginning of the season on November 13, 2001. In 2002–03, Gáborík was named to his first NHL All-Star Game and won the fastest skater competition, lapping the rink in 13.713 seconds. He notched 30 goals for the second consecutive season, but more importantly helped lead the Wild to their first Stanley Cup playoffs appearance. He capped off his third NHL season with 17 points in 18 games as part of a run to the Western Conference Finals.

Contractual issues kept Gáborík from starting the 2003–04 season with the Wild, as his initial entry-level contract came to an end in the off-season. Holding out with Dukla Trenčín, his agent, Allan Walsh, asserted that Gáborík would not take less than $6.5 million a year. After switching agents three times, Gáborík eventually agreed to a three-year, $10 million contract with the Wild on October 31, 2003. Limited to 65 games that season, he recorded 18 goals and 40 points. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Gáborík again returned to Dukla Trenčín, where he dominated with 52 points in 29 games. He also saw time with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Elitserien.

As NHL play resumed in 2005–06, Gáborík took another step forward, becoming a point-per-game player with 38 goals and 66 points in a 65-game season limited by a groin injury. His season was shortened once more the following season in 2006–07, re-injuring his groin on October 20, 2006, against the Anaheim Ducks. Despite a 10-to-14 day estimated recovery time, he did not return to the lineup until January 6, 2007, against the Colorado Avalanche two-and-a-half months later. Although Gáborík missed 34 games, he still managed a second consecutive 30-goal season to go with 57 points overall.

On December 20, 2007, Gáborík recorded a six-point game against the New York Rangers with five goals and an assist. This made him the first player in Wild history to score five goals in a game, as well as the first NHLer since Sergei Fedorov of the Detroit Red Wings did so, 11 years earlier (on December 26, 1996, against the Washington Capitals). At mid-season, he was chosen to his second NHL All-Star Game and would go on to record personal bests of 42 goals, 41 assists and 83 points. Gáborík finished his career year as team captain for the Wild in March 2008. It was the first time in his career he was chosen as part of the team's monthly rotating captaincy.

Gáborík with the Wild in March 2009

Entering the final year of his contract with the Wild in 2008–09, the Wild began negotiations early to re-sign Gáborík. A ten-year, $80 million deal was turned down by Gáborík, and the Wild consequently began entertaining trade offers from NHL teams. His playing time with the Wild was limited in his final year after being sidelined early in the season with a lower-body injury before undergoing hip surgery in January 2009. He returned to the lineup on March 21, 2009, against the Edmonton Oilers and finished the season with 23 points in 17 games.

Gáborík was unable to sign a new contract with the Wild in the 2009 off-season. He left the Wild after eight seasons as its last original player and as the club's all-time leader in goals, assists and points.

New York Rangers

Leading up to the free agency period, Gáborík was speculated to have interest in signing with the Vancouver Canucks after The Province reported he had recently bought a home in West Vancouver in the 2009 off-season. Nevertheless, Gáborík signed as an unrestricted free agent with the New York Rangers on the first day of free agency on July 1, 2009. The Rangers signed him to a reported $37.5 million contract over five years.

Gáborík got off to a quick start with his new club, scoring 10 goals in his first 12 games. Nearly a month into the season, he suffered a knee injury after colliding with former Ranger Petr Průcha in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on October 26, 2009. He missed two games, including what would have been his first game back in Minnesota against the Wild. Gáborík was injured for a second time in the season when his right leg was cut by team goaltender Henrik Lundqvist during a team practice on February 9, 2010. Though the Rangers missed the 2010 playoffs, Gáborík did not disappoint in his first season with the team; he played in 76 games, matching his career high with 42 goals, and set a new career high in points with 86.

Gáborík's second season with the Rangers, in 2010–11, was hampered by injury. Just three games into the season, he suffered a shoulder injury after receiving an illegal boarding hit in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The injury caused him to miss nearly a month, and, upon his return, limited his playing style, which relies on his tremendous wrist shot. Perhaps due to lingering effects from his various ailments, Gáborík proved a streaky scorer throughout the season and finished with 22 goals and 26 assists in 62 games, though 12 of those goals came in four games. His best game of the season was on January 19, 2011, when Gáborík scored four goals and an assist in a 7–0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. For the first time since Gáborík had joined the team, the Rangers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 5–2 win over the rival New Jersey Devils in the final game of the season. Gáborík contributed an assist on the game-winning goal, and a plus-minus rating of +2 during the game.

On January 29, 2012, Gáborík was named the MVP of the 59th NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa.

On May 3, 2012, shortly after midnight, Gáborík scored a triple-overtime game winner against the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, ending one of the longest playoff games in Rangers history.

On the commencement of the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Gáborík, who remained idle during the labour dispute, struggled to recapture his previous scoring pace with New York. Whilst in the penultimate year of his contract, and with the addition of Rick Nash to the Rangers contributing to his expendability, Gáborík was subject to trade rumours.

Columbus Blue Jackets

After scoring nine goals in 35 games, Gáborík was dealt at the trade deadline on April 3, 2013, along with minor league players Blake Parlett and Steven Delisle, to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett, John Moore and a sixth-round draft pick. The following night, Gáborík made his debut with the Blue Jackets and immediately made an impact, scoring the game-winning goal and earning an assist in a victory over the Nashville Predators. Gáborík then scored for Columbus in their opening game of the 2013–14 season, a 4–3 loss to the Calgary Flames.

Los Angeles Kings

Gáborík was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on March 5, 2014, in exchange for forward Matt Frattin, a second-round draft pick and a conditional third-round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The Kings' acquisition of Gáborík paid dividends in the 2014 playoffs, as he went on to lead the playoffs with 14 goals and contributed to the Kings' effort in capturing their second Stanley Cup in three years, prevailing over his former club, the New York Rangers.

On June 25, 2014, Gáborík, as a pending free agent, opted to remain with the Kings in signing a seven-year contract worth an annual average value of $4.875 million per year.

Awards

• Selected to three NHL All-Star Games: 2003, 2008 and 2012
  • Named the MVP of the 2012 NHL All-Star Game
• 2014 Stanley Cup

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997–98	Dukla Trenčín	Slovak-Jr.		36	37	22	59	28		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		1	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		33	11	9	20	6		3	1	0	1	2
1999–00	Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		50	25	21	46	34		5	1	2	3	2
2000–01	Minnesota Wild	NHL		71	18	18	36	32		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Minnesota Wild	NHL		78	30	37	67	34		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Minnesota Wild	NHL		81	30	35	65	46		18	9	8	17	6
2003–04	Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		9	10	3	13	10		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Minnesota Wild	NHL		65	18	22	40	16		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		29	25	27	52	46		12	8	9	17	26
2004–05	Färjestad BK	SEL		12	6	4	10	45		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Minnesota Wild	NHL		65	38	28	66	64		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Minnesota Wild	NHL		48	30	27	57	40		5	3	1	4	8
2007–08	Minnesota Wild	NHL		77	42	41	83	63		6	0	1	1	4
2008–09	Minnesota Wild	NHL		17	13	10	23	2		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	New York Rangers	NHL		76	42	44	86	37		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	New York Rangers	NHL		62	22	26	48	18		5	1	1	2	2
2011–12	New York Rangers	NHL		82	41	35	76	34		20	5	6	11	2
2012–13	New York Rangers	NHL		35	9	10	19	8		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		12	3	5	8	6		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		22	6	8	14	6		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		19	5	11	16	4		26	14	8	22	6
2014–15	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		69	27	20	47	16		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				879	374	377	751	430		80	32	25	57	28

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998	Slovakia	EJC18	6th		6	2	1	3	0
1999	Slovakia	WJC			6	3	0	3	2
1999	Slovakia	WJC18			7	3	8	11	2
2000	Slovakia	WJC	9th		7	3	1	4	0
2000	Slovakia	WJC18	5th		6	6	2	8	12
2001	Slovakia	WC	7th		7	2	1	3	0
2004	Slovakia	WC	4th		9	4	2	6	4
2004	Slovakia	WCH	7th		4	1	0	1	2
2005	Slovakia	WC	5th		7	3	1	4	6
2006	Slovakia	Oly	5th		6	3	4	7	4
2007	Slovakia	WC	6th		6	5	6	11	14
2010	Slovakia	Oly	4th		7	4	1	5	6
2011	Slovakia	WC	10th		6	2	1	3	0
Junior totals					32	17	12	29	16
Senior totals					52	24	16	40	36

Charity

Gáborík has used his success to benefit Slovak ice hockey and player development. In 2005, he opened his ice rink Arena Mariána Gáboríka in his native city of Trenčín at a personal cost of approximately 50 million Slovak koruna. The ice rink provides the opportunity to both learn how to skate as well as play ice hockey for local youth, and also contains both a full fitness center for off-ice conditioning and accommodations so that participants in programs may stay overnight. The rink earned the distinction of 2005 Construction of the Year in Trenčín. Beginning in 2009, Gáborík's ice rink has also begun offering a hockey school program.

Of the rink, Gáborík says:

"ARENA MG represents the fulfilment of one of my dreams. It was in Trenčín where I took my first ice-hockey steps, where I learned the first zigzags and shot my first goals. I am thankful for this opportunity and in order to give thanks for what ice hockey gave me, I also wanted to help other boys and girls and create conditions to help fulfil their sports dreams."

Gáborík spends a lot of personal time pursuing this endeavor during the off-season, as he personally attends each of his hockey school's summer camp sessions to meet the campers and pose for photographs.

Gáborík has also founded the Marian Gaborik Foundation, which also supports his mission of expanding access to youth hockey in Slovakia.

External links

• Marián Gáborík's player profile at NHL.com
• Marián Gáborík's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Marián Gáborík at NHLPA
• Marian Gaborik Official Site

Preceded by Team founded	Minnesota Wild first round draft pick 2000	Succeeded by Mikko Koivu
Preceded by Mikko Koivu	Minnesota Wild captain March and April 2008	Succeeded by Mikko Koivu