Ziggy Palffy

Žigmund "Ziggy" Pálffy (born May 5, 1972) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player currently playing for HK 36 Skalica of the Slovak Extraliga.

He played right wing for the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1993–2006. He announced his retirement in January 2006, and his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007. Pálffy signed a contract to play for his hometown club of HK 36 Skalica for the entire 2007-08 season, and also retracted his decision from 2005 never to play for the Slovak national team again.

Playing career
After a solid season in his native Czechoslovakia and an impressive stint with the Czechoslovakian national team in the 1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Pálffy was drafted by the New York Islanders in the second round of the 1991 NHL Draft, 26th overall. After two more years in Czechoslovakia, Pálffy came to North America for the 1993-94 season. He spent the majority of the 1993–94 season with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, while also making his NHL debut with the Islanders, appearing in five games, though he did not earn a single point. The following season, he split the year between the Islanders and the Denver Grizzlies.

The 1995–96 NHL season saw Pálffy break out as an offensive scorer. In his first game of 1995–96, his team went down one goal but Pálffy would score two goals to lead New York to a 2–1 win over the Florida Panthers. He also scored 87 points in 81 games and quickly became the star of the Islanders franchise. The following two seasons were much the same for Pálffy, scoring 90 and 87 points, respectively. During the 1998–99 season, Pálffy was limited to only 50 games but still played solidly, scoring 50 points. After the season, the Islanders, facing financial woes, traded him and Bryan Smolinski to the Los Angeles Kings in a deal that saw Olli Jokinen, Josh Green, Mathieu Biron, and a first round draft pick go to the Islanders. He was greatly missed by the team's fans, who at that time saw him as the shining star of their turmoiled organization.

With the Kings, Pálffy continued his strong play, often being paired with fellow Slovak Jozef Stümpel and Canadian superstar Luc Robitaille. Injuries, specifically his shoulder, began to limit Pálffy's playing time. During the 2003–04 season, Pálffy's nagging shoulder kept him out of action for the majority of the season. After the 2003–04 season, the Kings tried to resign Pálffy, but when Pálffy had a phone call with Penguins owner Mario Lemieux and gave him his word that he would sign with the Penguins, that ended all negotiations with the Kings. Shortly after the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for three years and $13.5 million (USD).

After playing 42 games with the Penguins during the 2005–06 season, Palffy abruptly retired from hockey. On January 18, 2006, then-Penguins general manager Craig Patrick told reporters that Pálffy told him he was retiring due to a lingering shoulder injury. Pálffy completed his career with 329 goals and 384 assists for 713 points in 684 games over 12 NHL seasons.

Pálffy has represented Slovakia and Czechoslovakia in international competitions, winning a gold medal with Slovakia in the 2002 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships after he had assisted on Peter Bondra's tournament-winning goal 100 seconds to go in the third period. Following the 2005 World Championships in Austria, Pálffy announced his retirement from the Slovak national team.

Pálffy announced his comeback from retirement in the summer of 2007, and signed a contract to play for his hometown club of HK 36 Skalica for the entire 2007–08 season. He became the most productive player of the regular season in the Slovak Extraliga, gathering 75 points in just 49 games. He also retracted his decision never to play for the Slovak national team again, opening up the possibility for him to represent Slovakia at the World Championships tournament to be held in Canada in May 2008.

Pálffy was named to Slovakia’s 2010 Olympic roster in Vancouver and recorded three assists with the team for a total of three points in seven games.

Awards

 * Played in the 1996 NHL All-Star game
 * Played in the 1998 NHL All-Star game
 * Played in the 2001 NHL All-Star game
 * Played in the 2002 NHL All-Star Game

International play
Played for Czechoslovakia in:


 * 1991 World Junior Championships (Bronze medal)
 * 1991 Canada Cup
 * 1992 World Junior Championships

Played for Slovakia in:


 * 1994 Winter Olympics
 * 1996 World Championships
 * 1996 World Cup
 * 1999 World Championships
 * 2002 Winter Olympics
 * 2002 World Championships (Gold medal)
 * 2003 World Championships (Bronze medal)
 * 2005 World Championships
 * 2010 Winter Olympics