Travis Zajac

Travis Zajac (; ; born May 13, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Zajac was selected in the first round, 20th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2004 NHL entry draft. He played more than 1,000 NHL games with the team over 15 years, and retired after a brief stint with the New York Islanders.

Playing career

Amateur Zajac began his junior ice hockey career with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). One of his teammates was Brady Murray, who would briefly play in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings, and his linemate was future Calgary Flames winger Kris Chucko. In his second season with Salmon Arm, Zajac led the team in goals, assists and points, At season's end, he was named the MVP of the BCHL's Interior Division, and he played in the BCHL All-Star Game. His play attracted attention, and he was projected to be a potential first-round draft pick in the 2004 NHL entry draft. The projection proved accurate, as the New Jersey Devils would take him with the 20th overall pick. The Devils traded up to get Zajac, which "mean a lot" to him, but was not a surprise, as the Devils scouted him more than any other team. Then-Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello commented that there would be room for Zajac on the North Dakota roster because the Devils were recalling forward Zach Parise, drafted the year earlier, to play professional hockey. He added two more in the semifinal game against the University of Minnesota as the Sioux won 4–2. Although the Sioux lost to the University of Denver in the championship game, Zajac tallied a power-play goal to tie the game. Despite the loss, he was named to the Championship All-Tournament Team, as well as the NCAA East All-Tournament Team and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Rookie Team.

The following year, Zajac finished the season with 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points. That season, the Sioux featured several future NHL players, including Taylor Chorney, Brian Lee, T. J. Oshie, Chris Porter, Matt Smaby, Drew Stafford and Jonathan Toews. The Sioux won the Broadmoor Trophy as the WCHA playoff champion, and advanced once again to the NCAA tournament.

Professional New Jersey Devils (2006–2021) After North Dakota's season was over, Zajac signed an entry-level contract with the Devils, forgoing his last two seasons of college eligibility. He scored one assist and earned two penalty minutes in two appearances with the Devils' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Albany River Rats. Despite being considered to have an outside chance at making the Devils' roster out of training camp, Zajac survived the first round of cuts and eventually made it to the roster on opening night of the 2006–07 season. He scored his first career NHL goal in the second game of the season against the Dallas Stars. Zajac was placed on the Devils' second line with former North Dakota standout Zach Parise and veteran winger Jamie Langenbrunner. owing to Zajac and Zach's initials and Langenbrunner's veteran status ("Pop(s)"). Zajac would miss two games in October due to a leg injury; Zajac would net three assists against the Ottawa Senators in a November game. Later in the season, Zajac notched his first NHL two-goal game against the Philadelphia Flyers, and had an eight-game point streak in late March. In Game 1 of the Semifinals against Ottawa, Zajac would score his first career post-season goal; the Senators, however, won the game 5–4. Although Zajac earned an assist on linemate Langenbrunner's overtime goal in Game 2, Zajac finished tenth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year, and won the Devils' Fan Club award for Rookie of the Year.

At the start of Zajac's sophomore season, he was still centering the second line with Zach Parise; Brian Gionta replaced Langenbrunner on right wing while the latter recovered from sports hernia surgery. Zajac scored his first goal of the season in the team's fifth game against the Atlanta Thrashers, a 6–5 Devils win. In October, he was moved up to the top line, centering Gionta and Eliáš, and saw an increase in time on the power play unit. January 2008 was a good month for Zajac – he had a four-game point streak, during which he tied his career high with a three-point game (three assists) against the Flyers.

During the subsequent off-season, Zajac signed a multi-year contract extension with the Devils, avoiding salary arbitration. The 2009–10 season was one of many milestones for Zajac; he notched his 100th career assist in November, his 200th career point in March and appeared in his 300th game in February. He once again led the team in faceoffs, winning 52.9% of his draws.

Zajac had high expectations heading into his fifth season. Replacing Langenbrunner on the top line was Ilya Kovalchuk, whom the Devils acquired at the trade deadline the previous year in a blockbuster trade, and re-signed to a controversial 15-year deal in the off-season. Parise wanted Zajac to shoot more, saying he had "one of the best shots on [the] team." Zajac's productivity took another hit when Parise tore his meniscus and was sidelined for several months. Further injuries and poor play forced Head Coach John MacLean to shuffle his lines further; Zajac's linemates for the first half of the season included Parise, Langenbrunner, Kovalchuk, Zubrus, Brian Rolston, David Clarkson, Eliáš and Adam Mair. Despite the lack of stability for his wingmen, Zajac's faceoff ability continued to improve. He credited Assistant Coach Adam Oates, considered one of the premier faceoff men of his era, with the improvement. Following the firing of MacLean and the trading of captain Langenbrunner, the Devils found themselves playing better under returning Head Coach Jacques Lemaire. Zajac snapped a five-game pointless streak, and shortly thereafter scored a short-handed goal and added three assists in just three games. On March 15, Zajac tied Ken Daneyko's team record for consecutive games played (388); he broke the record the following game against Ottawa. Although the Devils did not qualify for the 2011 playoffs, Zajac won the team's Unsung Hero award.

On April 24, 2012, Zajac scored his second career overtime goal against the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, to force a Game 7, which the Devils also won in double Overtime.

Hw re-signed with the Devils in January 2013, committing to an eight-year, $46 million contract. He recorded his first career hat-trick against Florida Panthers on March 31, 2014. While the 2017–18 season brought the Devils back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2012, he played his fewest games since the 2012–13 season due to a pectoral injury that required surgery. He played his 1,000th career game for the Devils against the Washington Capitals on February 21, 2021. On March 30, 2021, during a game against the Boston Bruins, Zajac scored his 200th career goal.

New York Islanders (2021) During the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, while in the final season of his eight-year contract and his 15th season within the Devils organization, on April 7, 2021, Zajac was traded to the New York Islanders along with Kyle Palmieri, in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft, a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick, and forwards A. J. Greer and Mason Jobst.

Retirement On September 20, 2021, Zajac signed a one-day contract to retire with the Devils. Zajac was honored during a Devils game against the Winnipeg Jets on March 10, 2022, for playing 1,000 games with the team, where he also performed a ceremonial puck drop.

International play

Zajac was a member of Team Canada at the 2009 IIHF World Championship. He scored no points in five games, and helped Canada to a silver medal, losing to Russia in the final. He would finish with a goal and two assists in seven games as Canada finished in fifth place.

Playing style "I'm a big, physical forward who can beat guys one-on-one... Drive the puck to the net. I win the battles in the corners. Pretty offensively skilled, more of my game is offensive, but defensively I'm pretty sound. A pretty versatile player. Play in all situations." — —Zajac, on his style of play in 2004 When they were on the same line, Parise credited his offensive output to Zajac's defensive responsibility. He married former captain of the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team Nicole Hekle in 2009. The couple have three children.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 St. James Canadians MJHL 63 19 36 55 18 — — — — — 2002–03 Salmon Arm Silverbacks BCHL 59 16 36 52 27 — — — — — 2003–04 Salmon Arm Silverbacks BCHL 59 43 69 112 110 14 10 13 23 10 2004–05 University of North Dakota WCHA 43 17 19 36 16 — — — — — 2005–06 University of North Dakota WCHA 45 17 27 44 20 — — — — — 2005–06 Albany River Rats AHL 2 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2006–07 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 17 25 42 16 11 1 4 5 4 2007–08 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 14 20 34 31 5 0 1 1 4 2008–09 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 20 42 62 29 7 1 3 4 6 2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 25 42 67 24 5 1 1 2 2 2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 13 31 44 24 — — — — — 2011–12 New Jersey Devils NHL 15 2 4 6 4 24 7 7 14 4 2012–13 New Jersey Devils NHL 48 7 13 20 22 — — — — — 2013–14 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 18 30 48 28 — — — — — 2014–15 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 11 14 25 29 — — — — — 2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 14 28 42 25 — — — — — 2016–17 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 14 31 45 33 — — — — — 2017–18 New Jersey Devils NHL 63 12 14 26 25 5 1 1 2 0 2018–19 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 19 27 46 20 — — — — — 2019–20 New Jersey Devils NHL 69 9 16 25 28 — — — — — 2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 33 7 11 18 6 — — — — — 2020–21 New York Islanders NHL 13 1 1 2 0 14 1 1 2 6NHL totals 1,037 203 349 552 344 71 12 18 30 26

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2009 Canada WC 5 0 0 0 2 2011 Canada WC 5th 7 1 2 3 2Senior totals 12 1 2 3 4

Awards and honours Award Year BCHL BCHL Interior Division MVP 2004 BCHL All-Star Game 2004 College WCHA All-Rookie Team 2004–05 All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2005 New Jersey Devils Fan Club Rookie of the Year 2007 Unsung Hero 2011