Andrej Meszároš

Andrej Meszároš (; born 13 October 1985) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey player.

He previously played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators, the latter of which drafted him in the first round of the 2004 NHL entry draft, 23rd overall.

Playing career As a youth, Meszároš played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Bratislava. He later played for Dukla Trenčín in the Slovak Extraliga as a 17-year-old in the 2002–03 season. After two seasons with Trenčín, he was drafted 23rd overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Ottawa Senators.

The following season, he went overseas to North America to play junior ice hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Vancouver Giants. Meszároš recorded 41 points in 59 games with Vancouver — fifth in WHL rookie scoring — and was named to the Western Conference's Second All-Star Team. He was also named the Giants' Rookie of the Year and Top Defenceman. Nearly six years later, he was inducted into the Giants' Ring of Honour, a series of banners inside the Pacific Coliseum commemorating the team's best alumni.

In the 2005–06 season, Meszároš made the jump to the NHL with the Senators. Meszároš registered his first NHL point, an assist, on 10 October 2005, in a 6–5 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two months later, he scored his first NHL goal on 9 December — a game-tying goal in the third period of a shootout loss against the Vancouver Canucks. He finished his rookie season with 10 goals and 39 points, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team with the Calgary Flames' Dion Phaneuf. Playing on a defensive pairing with Zdeno Chára, Meszároš' plus-minus rating of +39 was tied for third in the league overall and first among rookies.

Although Meszároš produced at a similar pace in 2007–08, the Senators finished a disappointing seventh in the Eastern Conference and were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. Meszároš became a restricted free agent in the off-season and, unable to come to terms, the Senators traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning on 29 August 2008 in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and the San Jose Sharks' first-round draft pick (previously acquired) in 2009. The following day, he agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract.

On 1 July 2010, the first day of the NHL's free agency period, Meszároš was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a second round pick in 2012.

In his first season with the Flyers, Meszároš won the Barry Ashbee Trophy, awarded to the best defenceman on the team.

On 5 March 2014, the Flyers traded Meszároš to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a conditional 2014 third-round draft pick. He scored a power play goal in his debut as a Bruin on 9 March en route to a 5–2 road win against the Florida Panthers.

On 1 July 2014, Meszároš signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres. In the 2014–15 season, expected to contribute on the rebuilding Sabres blueline, Meszároš struggled to play consistently to match his contract, appearing in 60 games with only 14 points.

As a free agent from the Sabres in the off-season, Meszároš went un-signed and later accepted a professional try-out contract to attend the Colorado Avalanche training camp on 15 September 2015. After suffering an early injury during training camp, he was unable to make an impression and was later released on 30 September. On 30 October 2015, Meszároš signed with Sibir Novosibirsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

On 11 February 2023, Meszároš announced his retirement from professional hockey on his Instagram.

International play Meszároš debuted internationally for Slovakia in the 2003 World U18 Championships as team captain. After a strong round robin, finishing second in their group behind the United States, Slovakia upset the Czech Republic and Russia before being defeated by Canada 3–0 in the gold medal game, earning silver. Meszároš finished with four points in seven games, third in tournament scoring among defencemen.

In 2004, Meszároš competed in World Junior Championships in Finland. After losing their quarter-final match against the Czech Republic, Slovakia was then defeated 3–2 by Russia in the fifth place game. Meszároš scored a goal and an assist in six games. Later that year, he made his senior international debut with Slovakia in the 2004 World Championships. Meszároš recorded one assist in seven games as Slovakia was defeated 1–0 by the United States in the bronze medal game. At 18-years-of-age, he was the youngest player to compete for Slovakia in both 2004 tournaments.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 Dukla Trenčín SVK U20 — — — — — — — — — — 2002–03 Dukla Trenčín SVK U20 33 6 10 16 12 — — — — — 2002–03 Dukla Trenčín Slovak 23 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2003–04 Dukla Trenčín SVK U20 5 2 2 4 0 — — — — — 2003–04 Dukla Trenčín Slovak 44 3 3 6 8 14 3 1 4 2 2004–05 Vancouver Giants WHL 59 11 30 41 94 6 1 3 4 14 2005–06 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 10 29 39 61 10 1 0 1 18 2006–07 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 7 28 35 102 20 1 6 7 12 2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 9 27 36 50 4 0 1 1 6 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 52 2 14 16 36 — — — — — 2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 81 6 11 17 50 — — — — — 2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 81 8 24 32 42 11 2 4 6 8 2011–12 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 62 7 18 25 38 1 0 0 0 0 2012–13 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 11 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 2013–14 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 38 5 12 17 34 — — — — — 2013–14 Boston Bruins NHL 14 2 3 5 6 4 0 2 2 2 2014–15 Buffalo Sabres NHL 60 7 7 14 36 — — — — — 2015–16 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 28 6 3 9 36 9 1 3 4 10 2016–17 Slovan Bratislava KHL 35 4 9 13 63 — — — — — 2017–18 Slovan Bratislava KHL 51 6 11 17 46 — — — — — 2018–19 Slovan Bratislava KHL 39 2 5 7 32 — — — — — 2019–20 Slovan Bratislava Slovak 48 4 27 31 50 — — — — — 2020–21 Slovan Bratislava Slovak 27 3 6 9 36 10 2 4 6 10 2021–22 Dukla Trenčín Slovak 2 1 0 1 2 — — — — — NHL totals 645 63 175 238 457 50 4 13 17 46 KHL totals 153 18 28 46 177 9 1 3 4 10

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2002 Slovakia WJC18 8 0 1 1 8 2003 Slovakia WJC18 7 2 2 4 6 2004 Slovakia WJC 6 1 1 2 12 2004 Slovakia WC 7 0 1 1 2 2005 Slovakia WJC 6 3 1 4 4 2006 Slovakia OLY 6 0 2 2 4 2006 Slovakia WC 1 0 0 0 0 2010 Slovakia OLY 7 0 0 0 4 2014 Slovakia OLY 4 0 0 0 6 2015 Slovakia WC 7 3 1 4 27 2016 Slovakia WC 7 0 2 2 4 Junior totals 27 6 5 11 30 Senior totals 39 3 6 9 47

Awards and achievements SVK League championship with Dukla Trenčín — 2004 First All-Star Team — 2004

WHL Western Second Team All-Star — 2005 All-Rookie Team — 2005 Vancouver Giants' Top Defenceman — 2005 Vancouver Giants' Rookie of the Year — 2005

NHL All-Rookie Team — 2006 NHL YoungStars Game appearance — 2007 Barry Ashbee Trophy — 2011