Martin Havlat

Martin Havlat (born on April 19, 1981) is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing Career
Martin was drafted out of the Czech Extraliga in the first round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft (26th overall) by the Ottawa Senators. He remained in the Czech Republic for one more season following his draft before joining the Senators for his rookie NHL season in 2000–01.

Martin recorded 19 goals and 42 points in his first year and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy for top rookie. Playing for the Senators, he earned the nickname "Mach 9" for his speed and the jersey number he wore.

In his third year with the club, Martin notched his second consecutive 20-goal campaign with 24 goals and 59 points before helping the Senators on a 2003 playoff run to the Conference Finals. He was criticized in the second round by Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock for his stickwork against the Flyers during the series.

The Senators went on to eliminate Philadelphia in six games, but they could not get past the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the New Jersey Devils in the third round. Martin finished the playoffs with 11 points in 18 games.

The following season, in 2003–04, Hitchcock made headlines once more with comments regarding a high-sticking incident with Martin, saying that "somebody is going to make him eat his lunch."

Over the course of the campaign, Martin was suspended twice, once for kicking and once for high-sticking. Despite missing time, however, Martin continued to improve offensively with 31 goals and 68 points in 68 games, his most productive season with the Senators.

Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Martin spent the entirety of the next season back in the Czech Extraliga, as well as Russian Superleague, playing for several teams.

As NHL play resumed in 2005–06, he was suspended once more early in the season on October 17, 2005, for five games following another kicking incident against Boston Bruins defenceman Hal Gill.

After returning to the lineup, he suffered a shoulder injury against the Montreal Canadiens on November 29 which required surgery and kept him out for 59 games.

On April 15, 2006, Martin returned to the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs, almost exactly four months from the date of his surgery. He has had a number of injuries in his career, most often in the form of groin strain though he's had an assortment of shoulder, elbow and hamstring issues as well.

After missing the majority of the regular season, Martin enjoyed his most prolific playoffs as a Senator in 2006, recording 13 points in 10 games as Ottawa was eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres in five games in the second round.

During the 2006 off-season, Martin (a restricted free agent) told the Senators that he would only sign a one-year deal so he could then test the free agent market.

As a result, on July 9, 2006, Martin was traded to the Blackhawks with Bryan Smolinski in a 3-way deal, which also involved the San Jose Sharks acquiring Mark Bell for Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy.

After the trade, Martin signed a 3-year, $18 million contract with the Blackhawks. As his usual number 9 was retired by the Blackhawks for Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, he switched to 24.

On October 5, 2006, Martin made his Blackhawks debut in outstanding fashion against the Nashville Predators by scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in an 8-6 win.

Through the first seven games of the season, Martin was near or at the top of the league in scoring until he went down with a high ankle sprain late in a game against the Dallas Stars on October 20, 2006.

Martin returned to the Blackhawks lineup on December 9, 2006, against the Minnesota Wild netting two goals and an assist in a losing effort. He was also selected for the 2007 NHL All-Star Game that season.

In April of 2007, Martin suffered a shoulder injury, which required off-season surgery. Despite a first season in Chicago partially marred by injuries, he produced at a point-per-game pace with 57 points in 56 games.

In the 2007–08 season, Martin was limited to 35 games while scoring 10 goals and 17 assists as he again struggled with injuries.

The season marked a turning point for the team, however as the Blackhawks' offence was immediately bolstered by the emergence of rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

The next season, in 2008–09, Havlát led a rejuvenated Blackhawks team in scoring with a career-high 77 points in 81 games. Chicago qualified for the post-season for the first time since 2002 that season.

Playing the Calgary Flames in the opening round, Havlát registered 2 goals in the first game of the series, including a game-tying goal late in the third period and the game-winner just 12 seconds into overtime.

The Blackhawks would defeat the Flames in six games before doing the same to the Vancouver Canucks in the second round.

Meeting the Detroit Red Wings in the semi-finals, Martin was knocked out in Game 3 of the series from a hit delivered by defenceman Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall was given a five-minute major and was ejected for the hit while Martin left the game after lying on the ice for several minutes.

Despite being named team MVP for the 2008-09 season, Martin was not re-signed by the club.

After three months of attempting to negotiate a long term contract to remain with the team, Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon annulled previous discussions and refused to offer anything more than a one-year extension come July 1st.

The negotiations were well documented on both Martin and his agent's Twitter pages, with Martin ominously stating, "There's something to be said for loyalty and honor."

Martin followed this up by stating that he did not leave the team, but rather they left him. On July 1, 2009, Martin signed a 6-year deal with the Minnesota Wild worth $30 million.

Martin wore number 14 in his first season with the Wild, but changed his number to 24 prior to the start of the 2010-2011 season due to the off-season departure of forward Derek Boogaard who wore the number previously.

On July 3, 2011, Martin was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Dany Heatley.

On December 17, 2011, Martin caught his skate on the bench and fell over the boards onto the ice tearing his hamstring. He returned on March 17, 2012.

On March 18, 2012, one day after returning, Martin scored the game winning goal in OT to beat the Detroit Red Wings.

On May 1, 2013 against the Vancouver Canucks, Martin suffered an injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the quarterfinal. He returned in game 3 of the semifinal on May 18th against the Los Angeles Kings, but he suffered a spear from Canucks Bieksa 52 seconds into the game.

In early June of 2013, Martin had a bilateral pelvic floor reconstruction and played his first game of the season on October 31, 2013.

On December 31, 2013, Martin was placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury.

International Play
Martin plays for the Czech Republic internationally and while representing them at the 2002 Winter Olympics, he had three goals. He missed the 2006 Olympics due to a shoulder injury.

Martin played for the Czech Republic in the:
 * 2000 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (Gold medal)
 * 2000 World Championships (Gold medal)
 * 2002 Winter Olympics
 * 2004 World Championships
 * 2004 World Cup of Hockey
 * 2010 Czech Republic Olympic hockey team
 * 2011 World Championships (Bronze medal)

Career Transactions

 * June 26, 1999: Drafted in the first round (26th overall) by the Ottawa Senators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
 * July 9, 2006: Traded from the Senators to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Bryan Smolinski; the San Jose Sharks acquired Mark Bell from Chicago; the Senators acquired Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy from San Jose (via Chicago) as well as Michal Barinka and a second-round draft pick in 2008 from the Blackhawks.
 * July 1, 2009: Signed as free agent by the Minnesota Wild to a 6-year deal for $30 million.
 * July 3, 2011: Traded from the Wild to the San Jose Sharks for Dany Heatley.

Personal Life
Martin has two siblings: a sister named Lenka who is 16 years older and a half-brother named Slava who is 28 years older. He is fluent in both English and Czech.

In the off-season, Martin resides in Brno, Czech Republic.