Richard ZednÃÂk (born 6 January 1976) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey winger. He had a 15-year career in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Florida Panthers.
In February 2008, ZednÃÂk sustained a life-threatening injury during an NHL game when the skate of his teammate Olli Jokinen accidentally sliced his common carotid artery.
ZednÃÂk was drafted in the 1994 NHL entry draft by the Washington Capitals, in the tenth round, 249th overall, after playing junior hockey for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
ZednÃÂk scored 35 goals in his rookie year with the Winter Hawks during the 1994âÂÂ95 season. In his second year with the major junior team, he scored 44 goals which earned him Second Team All-Star honours. ZednÃÂk made his professional debut at the end of the 1995âÂÂ96 season, playing in a single game with the Capitals before joining their minor league affiliate, the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League (AHL), for their Calder Cup finals playoff run. ZednÃÂk made the Capitals' roster out of training camp in 1996 and scored his first career NHL goal in the season opener on October 5 against Ed Belfour of the Chicago Blackhawks. After one goal in nine games, ZednÃÂk was sent down to Portland before being recalled briefly in March 1997.
ZednÃÂk played his first full NHL season in 1997âÂÂ98, playing in 65 games with the Capitals and recording 17 goals. ZednÃÂk scored the first Capitals goal in Capital One Arena (then MCI Center) history.
On October 31, 2000, a local Washington, D.C., radio station, DC101, had a promotion in which they offered fans a free ticket and ZednÃÂk jersey if they dyed their hair blond as ZednÃÂk had in the off-season. Two hundred fans with dyed hair attended the game, at which ZednÃÂk scored his first career hat-trick against the Detroit Red Wings, who had not lost in Washington in ten years.
After spending six seasons with the Capitals, ZednÃÂk was traded during the 2000âÂÂ01 season, along with Jan Bulis and a first-round draft pick (used to select Alexander Perezhogin), to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus and a second-round draft pick (later traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning) on March 13, 2001.
On April 26, 2002, during a playoff game in Montreal against the Boston Bruins, ZednÃÂk was elbowed in the face by Bruins defenceman Kyle McLaren. ZednÃÂk suffered a fractured cheekbone, broken nose and a concussion. Despite the Canadiens losing the game 5âÂÂ2 and ZednÃÂk for the remainder of the playoffs, they would win the series 4âÂÂ2.
After playing the next three years in Montreal, ZednÃÂk was traded back to the Capitals on July 12, 2006, in exchange for a third-round draft pick. ZednÃÂk's second stint back with the Capitals was short as he was dealt at the trade deadline to the New York Islanders for a second-round draft pick on February 26, 2007.
At the conclusion of the 2006âÂÂ07 season, ZednÃÂk, a free agent, signed a two-year contract with the Florida Panthers on July 1, 2007.
On April 30, 2009, ZednÃÂk was announced as a Masterton Trophy finalist for the 2008âÂÂ09 season. His nomination coincided with an official announcement that ZednÃÂk signed a two-year contract to play for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) from the 2009âÂÂ10 season. Following his first season at the club, where he scored 9 goals and recorded 17 assists across 54 games, the club terminated his contract in July 2010.
ZednÃÂk then played two games with HC 05 Banská Bystrica of the Slovak Extraliga. On January 10, 2011, he signed a contract with AIK IF, which expired after the 2010âÂÂ11 Elitserien season.
On February 10, 2008, in a game where the Florida Panthers were playing the Buffalo Sabres, ZednÃÂk suffered a severe and life-threatening injury. Teammate Olli Jokinen was tangled up with Sabre Clarke MacArthur and lost his balance in front of ZednÃÂk. ZednÃÂk was skating past as Jokinen fell, and his skate blade accidentally made contact with ZednÃÂk's neck, slicing his common carotid artery open and causing it to expel a trail of blood onto the ice as ZednÃÂk reacted quickly and skated to the Panthers' bench. He was immediately attended to by Florida trainer Dave Zenobi, who took him to the locker room for treatment. Paramedics, who are on standby at every NHL game, stabilized ZednÃÂk while the home team doctor Les Bisson controlled the bleeding. Bisson noted that ZednÃÂk appeared to be in shock but was not near death, as he was alert and responsive. ZednÃÂk lost five pints of blood (2.3 L). He was transported to hospital on emergency run, his status being published as stable after leaving the arena. The game was delayed for more than 20 minutes as the Zamboni was needed to help remove the blood from the ice. The announcement over the public address speakers at HSBC Arena that ZednÃÂk was in stable condition and en route to a Buffalo, New York, hospital sparked a prolonged standing ovation from the Buffalo fans as the game went on as planned.
Emergency surgery was performed to repair the artery, but according to doctors at Buffalo General Hospital, ZednÃÂk's life was not in jeopardy. The artery was not severed; had it been, it would have recessed into the neck, requiring more extensive surgery to repair. ZednÃÂk was in the intensive care unit through February 12, then released from hospital on February 16, but missed the rest of the season recovering from the injury. He returned to play in the 2008âÂÂ09 season.
ZednÃÂk's injury drew comparisons with a similar injury suffered in 1989 by Clint Malarchuk, who was a goalkeeper for the Buffalo Sabres. Both injuries prompted discussion about neck guards and player safety in the NHL. At present, team doctors (practitioners of sports medicine) are trained in trauma care and are required to be seated behind the home team bench at every game.
ZednÃÂk married French-Canadian actress Jessica Welch in 2005. They divorced in 2009 and have one daughter.
Played for Slovakia in: