During his playing career he played for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, and the Ottawa Senators. When he was in Buffalo, he became one of the league's best goaltenders. He was nicknamed "The Dominator." His strong play has been said to have establish European goaltenders in a league dominated by North Americans.[1]
Hašek was one of the league's most successful goaltenders of the 1990s and early 2000s. From 1993 to 2001, he won six Vezina Trophies, and in 1998 he became the first goaltender to win consecutive Hart Trophies.[2]
During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he led the Czech national ice hockey team to its first and only Olympic gold medal. The feat made him a popular figure in his home country[3] and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him "the best player in the game."[4]
While with the Red Wings in 2002, Hašek became the first European starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup.[5]
Doing that, he set a record for shutouts in a postseason year. He came in second in votes for the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoff's Most Valuable Player.
Hašek was considered an unorthodox goaltender, with a special style that has labelled him a "flopper."[6] He is best known for his concentration, foot speed, flexibility, and unconventional saves, such as covering the puck with his blocker rather than his trapper.[6]
