Welcome to our series on who wore each number best for the Penguins.
The idea is being openly borrowed from our new hockey writer, Cody Tucker, and his project at the Lansing State Journal covering all the uniform numbers worn through Michigan State football history, one that’s been well received by their readers and prompted heavy discussion and debate.
Under my organization, and following the voting of a big chunk of our staff, we’ll publish one new one each day until completion, which will be at the start of training camp.
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Name: Petr Nedved
Number: 93
Position: Center
Born: December 9, 1971 in Liberec, Czechoslovakia
Seasons with Penguins: 1995-97
Statistics with Penguins: 154 games, 78 goals, 92 assists in regular season; 23 games, 11 goals, 12 assists in playoffs
WHY NEDVED?
Just before the 1995-96 season, the Penguins traded Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson to the New York Rangers in exchange for Sergei Zubov and Petr Nedved.
Nedved set career highs in his first season in Pittsburgh, scoring 45 goals and registering 54 assists in 80 games.
His shining moment in a Penguins' uniform came that spring -- April 24, 1996.
It was Game 4 of the Penguins' 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup with the Washington Capitals. The Penguins trailed 2-1 in the series. The Capitals took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a Michal Pivonka power-play goal. Tom Barrasso left the game with back spasms, and Peter Bondra put another power-play tally past Ken Wregget in the second period to extend the Capitals' lead.
Jaromir Jagr scored a shorthanded goal in the final two minutes of the second period, and Mario Lemieux was ejected for instigating a fight. Nedved's power-play tally in the third period tied the game, and sent it to overtime. Hey, free hockey.
Each team took a minor penalty in the first 20-minute overtime period. Scoreless, the game went to a second frame.
The second overtime saw another 20 minutes go by, offsetting roughing penalties from Jagr and Jeff Nelson, and a missed penalty shot from Washington's Joe Juneau. Still, no score.
The Penguins were shorthanded twice in the third overtime period, and the Capitals took another penalty themselves. Another 20 minutes, no goals. More free hockey.
The game went to a fourth overtime. 17 minutes into the period, Washington's Jim Johnson took a hooking penalty. In the waning seconds of the power play, at 2:22 a.m., Nedved sent the puck past Olaf Kolzig and ended it:
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
After leaving the Penguins, Nedved went on to play for the Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers (and AHL Phantoms), Edmonton Oilers, and various Czech teams. He continued to represent the Czech Republic internationally, including in the 2014 Olympics.
Nedved retired from professional hockey in 2014, but he wasn't quite finished. In 2017-18, 46-year-old Nedved played one game for HC Benatky nad Jizerou of the Czech2 league.
Why did Nedved come out of retirement for a single game? Benatky was playing HC Kladno shortly after Jagr left Calgary. Benatky said that Nedved was only going to suit up if Jagr was ready to go. Sure enough, Jagr was in the lineup, and Nedved made the reunion happen.
Donning the captain's "C", Nedved recorded one goal and one assist in a 7-2 loss. Jagr recorded three assists in Kladno's win.
IT WAS SPOKEN
“When Nedved scored he dropped to his knees and celebrated just as you might expect a player to celebrate a goal in a fourth overtime. With elation, relief and an expression of total exhaustion.” -- Paul Steigerwald on Nedved's goal
"He knows that, the last two years, he lost a lot of money by not playing, and he probably blames somebody else, not him." -- Jagr on Nedved's contract dispute
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 93:
None
ANY DEBATE?
Nope. Nobody else wore No. 93.
Tomorrow: I close the series out with No. 95
Yesterday: Rick Tocchet
