František Kučera

František Kučera
Born (1968-02-03) February 3, 1968 (age 56)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Chicago Blackhawks
Hartford Whalers
Vancouver Canucks
Philadelphia Flyers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals
National team  Czech Republic
NHL draft 77th overall, 1986
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 1990–2005
Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Gold medal – first place 1998 Nagano Ice Hockey

František Kučera (born February 3, 1968) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.

Playing career

Originally drafted in 1986 by the Chicago Blackhawks, Kučera played parts of four seasons with Chicago before he was traded to the Hartford Whalers. He would also play for the Vancouver Canucks and Philadelphia Flyers before he returned to play hockey in the Czech Republic at the end of the 1996–97 NHL season.

Three years later, when the NHL expanded again, Kučera returned to North America and signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Midway through the season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was traded again, this time to the Washington Capitals in the deal that also sent Jaromír Jágr to Washington. After playing a season, he once again returned to the Czech Republic to play hockey.

Kučera played 465 NHL games, scoring 24 goals and 95 assists. In 1998, he was a member of the Czech Olympic Team and won the golden Olympic medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1985–86 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha TCH Jr 25 2 16 18 — — — — — —
1985–86 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha TCH 15 0 0 0 10 — — — — —
1986–87 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha TCH 34 4 2 6 14 6 1 0 1 —
1987–88 TJ Sparta ČKD Praha TCH 45 7 2 9 30 — — — — —
1988–89 ASD Dukla Jihlava TCH 34 6 6 12 28 11 4 3 7 —
1989–90 ASD Dukla Jihlava TCH 40 9 10 19 42 1 1 0 1 0
1990–91 Indianapolis Ice IHL 35 8 19 27 23 7 0 1 1 15
1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 40 2 12 14 32 — — — — —
1991–92 Indianapolis Ice IHL 7 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
1991–92 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 61 3 10 13 36 6 0 0 0 0
1992–93 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 71 5 14 19 59 — — — — —
1993–94 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 60 4 13 17 34 — — — — —
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 16 1 3 4 14 — — — — —
1994–95 HC Sparta Praha ELH 16 1 2 3 14 — — — — —
1994–95 Hartford Whalers NHL 48 3 17 20 30 — — — — —
1995–96 Hartford Whalers NHL 30 2 6 8 10 — — — — —
1995–96 Vancouver Canucks NHL 24 1 0 1 10 6 0 1 1 0
1996–97 Houston Aeros IHL 12 0 3 3 20 — — — — —
1996–97 Vancouver Canucks NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1996–97 Syracuse Crunch AHL 42 6 29 35 36 — — — — —
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1996–97 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 9 1 5 6 2 10 1 6 7 20
1997–98 HC Sparta Praha ELH 42 8 11 19 44 9 3 1 4 53
1998–99 HC Sparta Praha ELH 41 3 12 15 92 8 0 2 2 34
1999–2000 HC Sparta Praha ELH 51 7 26 33 46 9 1 9 10 4
2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 48 2 5 7 12 — — — — —
2000–01 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 7 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2001–02 Washington Capitals NHL 56 1 13 14 12 — — — — —
2001–02 HC Sparta Praha ELH 10 2 2 4 2 — — — — —
2002–03 HC Slavia Praha ELH 44 4 15 19 26 6 0 1 1 0
2003–04 HC Slavia Praha ELH 11 1 1 2 6 16 0 2 2 6
2004–05 HC Slavia Praha ELH 8 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
TCH totals 168 26 20 46 124 18 6 3 9 —
NHL totals 465 24 95 119 251 12 0 1 1 0
ELH totals 223 26 69 95 234 48 4 15 19 97

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1985 Czechoslovakia EJC 5 0 2 2 2
1986 Czechoslovakia EJC 5 1 2 3 4
1987 Czechoslovakia WJC 7 1 2 3 2
1988 Czechoslovakia WJC 7 1 2 3 2
1989 Czechoslovakia WC 6 0 1 1 6
1991 Czechoslovakia CC 5 0 0 0 4
1994 Czech Republic WC 4 0 0 0 2
1998 Czech Republic OG 6 0 0 0 0
1998 Czech Republic WC 8 4 0 4 4
1999 Czech Republic WC 10 0 6 6 6
2000 Czech Republic WC 9 2 2 4 6
Junior totals 24 3 8 11 10
Senior totals 48 6 9 15 28