Dominik Hašek
Dominik Hašek (Czech: [ˈdomɪnɪk ˈɦaʃɛk], ; born 29 January 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey goaltender who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), mostly for the Buffalo Sabres. Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders in history, Hašek also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators in his NHL career before finishing his career in Europe. While in Buffalo, he became one of the league's finest goaltenders, earning him the nickname "The Dominator". His strong play has been credited with establishing European goaltenders in a league previously dominated by North Americans. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion as a member of the Red Wings, winning his first one as the starting goaltender and his second one as the backup.
Hašek was one of the league's most successful goaltenders of the 1990s and early 2000s. From 1993 to 2001, he won six Vezina Trophies, the most under the award's current system of voting for the best individual goaltender. In 1998 he won his second consecutive Hart Memorial Trophy, becoming the first goaltender to win the award multiple times. During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he led the Czech national ice hockey team to its first and only Olympic gold medal. The feat made him a popular figure in his home country and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him "the best player in the game". While with the Red Wings in 2002, Hašek became the first European-trained starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup. In the process, he set a record for shutouts in a postseason year.
Hašek was considered an unorthodox goaltender, with a distinct style that led to him being labeled as a "flopper". He was best known for his concentration, foot speed, flexibility, and unconventional saves, such as covering the puck with his blocker rather than his trapper. Hašek holds the record for highest NHL career save percentage (0.9223) and is seventh (first in the modern era) in goals against average (2.202). He also has the third-highest NHL single-season save percentage (0.9366 in 1998–99), behind Tim Thomas in 2010–11 and Brian Elliott's 0.940 in 2011–12. Hašek is the only goalie to face the most shots per 60 minutes and have the highest save percentage in the same season, which he achieved twice (1996 and 1998) playing for the Sabres.
At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest active goaltender in the NHL at 43, and the second-oldest active player in the league after Red Wings teammate Chris Chelios, who was 46. Hašek announced his retirement on 9 June 2008, but on 21 April 2009, he announced a comeback to professional hockey and signed a contract with HC Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga. On 7 June 2010, he signed with Spartak Moscow of the KHL and played the last season of his career with this team. Hašek announced his second retirement on 9 October 2012. Hašek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on 17 November 2014. He is also a member of the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame. His number was retired by the Buffalo Sabres (2015) and HC Pardubice (2013). In 2017, he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
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