Tomas Vokoun, former netminder who last played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, has announced his retirement after playing for five different teams over a fourteen year period. He is a veteran of 700 NHL games and owns a record of 300-288-35-43 with a 2.55 GAA and 9.17 SV% from 1998-99 up until his last NHL season 2012-13.
Vokoun was drafted in the ninth round, 226th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. However, he only played one period with the Habs in 1996-97, allowing four goals on fourteen shots. This was right after the Patrick Roy fiasco so the Habs goaltending carousel was always spinning with Patrick Roy (until 1995), Pat Jablonski, Jocelyn Thibault, Andy Moog, Jose Theodore, and Vokoun all in the system from 1994 until 1998. The Habs management didn’t think Vokoun was going to be a big star, so when the 1998 Expansion Draft came around for the newly created Nashville Predators, he was picked up with the Preds fifth choice and started his career.
It took four seasons and splitting duties between Nashville and Milwaukee Admirals, the Preds minor league team, before Vokoun had planted himself as a starter in the NHL, being stuck behind Mike Dunham before Dunham was traded to the New York Rangers shortly into the 02-03 season. That season Vokoun set career highs, playing 69 games with 25 wins, 31 losses, a GAA of 2.20, and a .918 SV%. It was not his best year, but for a 27 year old Czech native picked in the ninth round, it was pretty decent.
Vokoun played with Nashville for three more seasons, setting two more career highs in wins with 34(03-04) and 36(05-06). He played in the postseason twice with the Preds, in 03-04 and 06-07 but failed to get past the first round. But what was really amazing was that on April 10, 2006 it had been announced that Vokoun was found to be suffering from thrombophlebitis, which is a serious blood clotting disorder. Vokoun missed the end of the 05-06 season and the playoffs. He was able to return to practicing and working out by July 26, not even five months after. He was cleared to start the 2006-07 season, but he broke his thumb early on in the season. He had surgery and was able to return sooner then originally thought, playing with a brace on his thumb.
At the 2007 NHL Draft, it was announced that he was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for three draft picks. He played four seasons with the Panthers, his first two seasons were winning seasons but was unable to carry the Panthers to the playoffs, falling short by two points behind his former team, the Montreal Canadiens . The last two seasons in the Sunshine State were disappointing, finishing last in their division two years in a row.
After being let go by the Panthers, he signed a redemption contract with the Washington Capitals, out to prove he was still capable of winning 30 plus games and getting a team to the playoffs. However it did not work out that way. Vokoun’s season was marred by injuries and not being able to perform like he once could. He finished with a winning season, but was injured so often that the Caps went with Braden Holtby for the playoffs instead of Vokoun. He was traded shortly after the playoffs ended to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a seventh round pick and subsequently signed a two year deal with the Pens.
He made his Pens debut, splitting the crease with Marc-Andre Fleury. That same year Vokoun set a franchise record in his shutout streak, lasting 187:30. He also made his first playoffs debut in nearly six seasons, which was a 31 save shutout against the New York Islanders. He was chosen to lead the Pens in favor or Fleury, who has a huge reputation of choking in the playoffs. The Pens got all the way to the Conference Finals but lost to the Boston Bruins in a four game sweep.
During the 2013 offseason, it was announced that Vokoun had nearly died due to blood clots again. He underwent another surgery to dissolve them and was placed on long term injured reserve. It was a time of uncertainty for the net minder who had turned 37 just a month earlier. He began skating again in late January 2014, but was still nowhere near able to return to the NHL. He played two games for a conditioning stint for the Pens minor team, going 1-1with a 2.41 GAA and .891 SV%, but he was shut down. He has not played since then.
He had played for Czech Republic numerous times over the course of his career, playing in four World Championships (winning gold in ’05 and ’10), two Winter Olympics (bronze in ’06 and finishing seventh in ’10), and also playing in the World Cup of Hockey in 2004 grabbing a bronze medal.
Vokoun had a long career spanning 15 seasons, playing in 14 full seasons but was never able to capture the Stanley Cup. His injury problems also caused him to miss some considerable time over the years. But for a Czech native who broke into the league as a former ninth round pick and finally secured a starters job at 26, he managed to play 700 games over those years which is impressive. He still probably could have played in a back up role this year, but as always health takes precedent over playing. We wish you all the best Vokoun.
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