Marián Šťastný

Marián Šťastný (born 8 January 1953) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for five seasons in the National Hockey League from 1981 through 1986 for the Quebec Nordiques and Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to moving to the NHL Šťastný had played in Czechoslovakia for Slovan ChZJD Bratislava with his brothers, Peter and Anton. They defected in 1980, joining the Nordiques, though Marián waited until 1981 to join them.

Playing career

Šťastný played for Slovan ChZJD Bratislava of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League from 1974 to 1981. During this time, he represented Czechoslovakia in five World Championships (winning two gold medals), two Winter Olympics, and the 1976 Canada Cup. He also competed in the men's tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

In 1981, Šťastný joined his two younger brothers, Peter and Anton, as free agents with Quebec Nordiques, playing with them for four seasons. They were the third trio of brothers to play on the same professional hockey team (the first being the Bentley brothers of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1940s and the second being the Plager brothers of the St. Louis Blues in the 1970s). He signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs before the beginning of the 1985–86 NHL season, playing one season in Toronto before ending his career in Switzerland with the HC Sierre.

Political activity Šťastný was elected vice-chairman of the Slovak World Congress in July 1987. To protest the Communist regime's violations of religious freedom and human rights, he organized protests in front of Czechoslovak embassies for the following 25 March. He communicated these plans to dissident leader Ján Čarnogurský in a hidden letter on a chocolate wrapper. These plans led to the Candle demonstration in Bratislava.

Personal life Šťastný was born in Bratislava, the third son of Stanislav and Františka. His two older brothers, Vladimír (born 1945) and Bohumil (born 1947) were born when the family still lived in the village of Pružina, about 170 kilometres northeast of Bratislava. They moved to Bratislava before Marián's birth, which was followed by Peter (1956), Anton (1959), and Eva (1966). Stanislav worked for a state-run company that built hydro-electric dams until 1980 when he retired, and mainly dealt with managing inventory. Františka stayed at home and raised the children. Vladimir was the former assistant coach of the Slovakia national ice hockey team. Marián's nephews Yan and Paul Stastny, both sons of Peter, have also played in the NHL.

Šťastný retired to the Quebec City area and after a brief attempt at coaching with the Junior Tier II CNDF hockey team, is now the owner of a golf club and a hotel in Saint-Nicolas, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec City.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1970–71 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR — — — — — — — — — — 1971–72 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR — 17 11 28 — — — — — — 1972–73 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR — — — — — — — — — — 1973–74 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR — 14 7 21 — — — — — — 1974–75 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 44 36 27 63 57 — — — — — 1975–76 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 31 17 11 28 53 — — — — — 1976–77 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 43 28 20 48 — — — — — — 1977–78 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 44 33 23 56 58 — — — — — 1978–79 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 40 39 35 74 — — — — — — 1979–80 HC Dukla Jihlava CSSR 14 8 6 14 0 — — — — — 1979–80 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 21 20 15 35 22 — — — — — 1981–82 Quebec Nordiques NHL 74 35 54 89 27 16 3 14 17 5 1982–83 Quebec Nordiques NHL 60 36 43 79 32 2 0 0 0 0 1983–84 Quebec Nordiques NHL 68 20 32 52 26 9 2 3 5 2 1984–85 Quebec Nordiques NHL 50 7 14 21 4 2 0 0 0 0 1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 23 30 53 21 3 0 0 0 0 1986–87 HC Sierre NDA 27 23 19 42 24 — — — — — CSSR totals 237 181 137 318 212 — — — — — NHL totals 322 121 173 294 110 32 5 17 22 7

CSSR totals do not include numbers from the 1970–71 season to the 1973–74 season.

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1971 Czechoslovakia EJC — — — — — 1972 Czechoslovakia EJC 5 5 4 9 6 1975 Czechoslovakia WC 5 3 1 4 0 1976 Czechoslovakia WC 8 2 4 6 2 1976 Czechoslovakia CC 7 1 4 5 2 1977 Czechoslovakia WC 10 7 4 11 2 1978 Czechoslovakia WC 9 4 5 9 4 1979 Czechoslovakia WC 8 0 5 5 2 1980 Czechoslovakia OLY 6 5 6 11 4 Senior totals 53 22 29 51 16