Michal Rozsíval
Quick Facts
Virgo
Biography
Michal Rozsíval (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmɪxal ˈrossiːval]; born September 3, 1978) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He joined the team in 2012, previously playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1999 until 2004, the New York Rangers from 2005 to 2011, and the Phoenix Coyotes in 2011–12. He is a two time Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015.
Playing career
Rozsíval was drafted in the fourth round, 105th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. To adjust to North American play, he moved to Canada to play junior hockey with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Before making his debut with the Penguins, he played for the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League (AHL). He made his NHL debut in the 1999–2000 season.
Rozsíval joined the New York Rangers after the 2004–05 NHL lockout as a free agent. On April 29, 2007, Rozsíval ended the Rangers' longest home playoff game since 1971 by scoring on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller at 16:43 of the second overtime period. In the 2007–08 season, Rozsíval led all defensemen in shorthanded goals, with two.
On July 1, 2008, Rozsíval signed a four-year contract extension with the Rangers worth a total of $20 million. On February 22, 2009, Rozsíval switched his jersey number to 33 when former Rangers' player Harry Howell had his number 3 retired.
On January 10, 2011, Rozsíval was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for Wojtek Wolski. He did not record any points during the Coyotes' run to the 2012 Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Kings. He was injured on a play just seconds before Dustin Penner's overtime series winner after a hit from Dustin Brown, and had to be assisted off the ice. On September 11, 2012, Rozsíval was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks on a one-year contract. The Blackhawks would win the Stanley Cup during the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, defeating the Boston Bruins 3–2 in Game 6. In Game 1 of that series, Rozsíval shot a puck that deflected off Dave Bolland and Andrew Shaw into the net for the game-winning triple-overtime goal. Rozsíval was credited with an assist. On July 5, 2013, Rozsíval signed a two-year contract extension to remain with the Blackhawks.
Rozsíval recorded one goal and twelve assists over 65 games during the 2014-15 NHL season. He appeared in ten games during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but sustained a critical ankle injury during the Blackhawks’ second round series against the Minnesota Wild. The injury required surgery and between 12 and 16 weeks of rehabilitation. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup that year and Rozsíval’s name was engraved on the cup for a second time.
On September 22, 2015, Rozsíval signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks. He made his 2015-16 debut for the Blackhawks on November 14. In March 2016, the Professional Hockey Writers Association nominated Rozsival for the NHL's Masterton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the player who 'best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.'
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | Swift Current Broncos | WHL | 63 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 80 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 15 | ||
| 1997–98 | Swift Current Broncos | WHL | 71 | 14 | 55 | 69 | 122 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 33 | ||
| 1998–99 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 49 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 48 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 30 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 29 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 79 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 53 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Oceláři Třinec | CZE | 35 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Pardubice | CZE | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 34 | ||
| 2005–06 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 90 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2006–07 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 52 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 80 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 52 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | New York Rangers | NHL | 32 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 33 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 54 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 34 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 27 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | ||
| 2013–14 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 42 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 32 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2014–15 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 65 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 51 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 941 | 67 | 239 | 306 | 690 | 106 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 72 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Czech Republic | EJC18 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 2008 | Czech Republic | WC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Czech Republic | WC | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Czech Republic | OG | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |||
| Senior totals | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
Awards
- 2006 NHL Plus/Minus Award (joint winner)
- 2× Stanley Cup champion (2013, 2015) with the Chicago Blackhawks