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  Position: Goaltender
Catches: Left
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 165
Birth Date: 1-29-65
Place of Birth: Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
Jersey Number: 39
Compensation: $8,000,000


The Physical Game
Nobody has worse technique nor better leg reflexes than Hasek. His foot speed is simply tremendous. He wanders and flops and sprawls. But he stops the puck. Usually what Hasek sees, he stops, and to him the puck seems to be moving more slowly than it does for other goalies. He watches it come off the shooter's stick into his glove or body, and he always seems in control, even while he looks to be flopping like a trout. He is adept at directing his rebounds away from onrushing attackers. He prefers to hold pucks for face-offs, and the Sabres have a decent corps of centres so that tactic works fine for his team. Hasek instructs his defensemen to get out of the way so he can see the puck, and they follow orders. Hasek learned to come out of his net a little bit more but he still doesn't cut down his angles well. He also has to work on his puckhandling. He has the single most bizarre habit of any NHL goalie we've seen in recent years. In scrambles around the net he abandons his stick entirely and grabs the puck with his blocker hand. His work with the stick is brutal, which may be why he lets go of it so often.

The Mental Game
On the ice, Hasek is competitive and unflappable. He is always prepared for tough saves early in a game, and has very few lapses of concentration. His excitable style doesn't bother his teammates, who have developed faith in his ability.

The Intangibles
Hasek had a terrible start, probably due to the fallout from his clashes with ex-coach Ted Nolan and a rift between Hasek and Nolan loyalists, which took months to heal. By February, Hasek was a national hero in the Czech Republic for winning a gold medal, and was being cheered again at his home rink in Buffalo. Hasek had a disappointing playoffs, however, and time is running out for him to prove his greatness where it really matters.

Projection
Expect Hasek to be the team MVP again, and maybe the league's. He should get his 30 wins and the Sabres should cut his workload back to 65 games or so, whether he likes it or not.


Season Team/League GP W L T MIN GA SO AVG PIM Shots Pct A
1981-82 PARD/CZECH 12 0 0 0 661 34 0 3.09 0 0 0.000 0
1982-83 PARD/CZECH 42 0 0 0 2358 105 0 2.67 0 0 0.000 0
1983-84 PARD/CZECH 40 0 0 0 2304 108 0 2.81 0 0 0.000 0
1984-85 PARD/CZECH 42 0 0 0 2419 131 0 3.25 0 0 0.000 0
1985-86 PARD/CZECH 45 0 0 0 2689 138 0 3.08 0 0 0.000 0
1986-87 PARD/CZECH 43 0 0 0 2515 103 0 2.46 0 0 0.000 0
1987-88 PARD/CZECH 31 0 0 0 1862 93 0 3.00 0 0 0.000 0
1988-89 PARD/CZECH. 42 0 0 0 2507 114 0 2.73 0 0 0.000 0
1989-90 DUKL/Czech. 40 0 0 0 2251 80 0 2.13 0 0 0.000 0
1990-91 CHIC/NHL 5 3 0 1 195 8 0 2.46 0 93 0.914 0
1990-91 INDI/IHL 33 20 11 1 1903 80 5 2.52 0 0 0.000 0
1991-92 CHIC/NHL 20 10 4 1 1014 44 1 2.60 8 413 0.893 0
1991-92 INDI/IHL 20 7 10 3 1162 69 1 3.56 0 0 0.000 0
1992-93 BUFF/NHL 28 11 10 4 1429 75 0 3.15 0 720 0.896 0
1993-94 BUFF/NHL 58 30 20 6 3358 109 7 1.95 6 1552 0.930 3
1994-95 BUFF/NHL 41 19 14 7 2416 85 5 2.11 2 1221 0.930 0
1994-95 PARD/CZECH. 2 2 0 0 124 6 0 2.90 0 0 0.000 0
1995-96 BUFF/NHL 59 22 30 6 3417 161 2 2.83 6 2011 0.920 1
1996-97 BUFF/NHL 67 37 20 10 4037 153 5 2.27 30 2177 0.930 3
1997-98 BUFF/NHL 72 33 23 13 4220 147 13 2.09 12 2149 0.932 2
1997-98 CZEC/OLYMP 6 5 1 369 6 2 0.98 0.000
1998-99 BUFF/NHL 64 30 18 14 3817 119 9 1.87 14 1877 0.937 0
NHL TOT 414 195 139 62 23903 901 42 2.26 78 12213 9