Jiří Hrdina

Jiří Hrdina (born 5 January 1958) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He spent 10 seasons in the Czechoslovak First League with Sparta ČKD Praha and HK Dukla Trenčín and five in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins. Of his four full NHL seasons, Hrdina is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, playing on NHL championship teams in 1989, 1991 and 1992.

Internationally, Hrdina was a member of the Czechoslovak national team between 1977 and 1990. He appeared in two Canada Cups, and played in six World Championships. He was a member of five World Championship medal-winning teams, including a gold medal at the 1985 tournament. He is a two-time Olympian and won a silver medal with the Czechoslovak team at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo.

Playing career National Hockey League The Calgary Flames selected Hrdina with their eighth round selection, 159th overall, at the 1984 NHL entry draft. However, due to a Czechoslovak policy at the time regarding national team players, he was not permitted to join a professional team until after the 1988 Winter Olympics. Hrdina joined the Flames at the Games' conclusion, and made his NHL debut, as a 30-year-old, on 3 March 1988. He recorded his first point, an assist, in that game, then scored his first NHL goal on March 15 against the Hartford Whalers. On the season, he appeared in 70 games and scored 22 goals to go along with 32 assists. He appeared in only four playoff games that season, but was a member of the Flames' Stanley Cup championship team. Playing as a defensive forward, Hrdina recorded 30 points in 64 games in 1989–90.

In need of an additional centre, the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Hrdina from the Flames on 13 December 1990, in exchange for defenceman Jim Kyte. The team also hoped he could help their star Czechoslovak rookie Jaromír Jágr, who was struggling to adapt to life in North America. He finished the 1990–91 season with 23 points in 51 games combined between the Penguins and Flames, and appeared in 14 more in the 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored two goals in the playoffs, both in game seven of Pittsburgh's first round series against the New Jersey Devils, including the game winner.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1977–78 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR Jr 35 6 8 14 20 — — — — — 1978–79 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 39 7 8 15 18 — — — — — 1979–80 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 44 7 7 14 24 — — — — — 1980–81 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 42 14 20 34 54 — — — — — 1981–82 ASVŠ Dukla Trenčín CSSR 44 11 27 38 36 — — — — — 1982–83 ASVŠ Dukla Trenčín SVK-2 36 40 24 64 — — — — — — 1983–84 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 44 16 33 49 28 — — — — — 1984–85 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 44 18 19 37 30 — — — — — 1985–86 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 40 28 21 49 30 — — — — — 1986–87 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 37 20 23 43 50 — — — — — 1987–88 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha CSSR 22 7 15 22 30 — — — — — 1987–88 Calgary Flames NHL 9 2 5 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 1988–89 Calgary Flames NHL 70 22 32 54 26 4 0 0 0 0 1989–90 Calgary Flames NHL 64 12 18 30 31 6 0 1 1 2 1990–91 Calgary Flames NHL 14 0 3 3 4 — — — — — 1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 37 6 14 20 13 14 2 2 4 6 1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 56 3 13 16 16 21 0 2 2 16 CSSR totals 356 128 197 325 300 — — — — — NHL totals 250 46 85 130 92 45 2 5 7 24

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1977 Czechoslovakia WJC 7 2 2 4 0 1978 Czechoslovakia WJC 6 1 3 4 0 1982 Czechoslovakia WC 9 1 0 1 4 1983 Czechoslovakia WC 9 1 0 1 4 1984 Czechoslovakia OLY 7 4 6 10 10 1984 Czechoslovakia CC 5 0 1 1 4 1985 Czechoslovakia WC 10 2 2 4 4 1986 Czechoslovakia WC 10 7 5 12 14 1987 Czechoslovakia WC 10 3 3 6 6 1987 Czechoslovakia CC 6 1 2 3 0 1988 Czechoslovakia OLY 8 2 5 7 4 1990 Czechoslovakia WC 9 1 5 6 8 Junior totals 13 3 5 8 2 Senior totals 83 22 28 50 50