Former King Ziggy Palffy to be Inducted to IIHF Hall of Fame
- Updated: February 10, 2019
This week, some great news came for a former Los Angeles King. On Wednesday, former Kings right winger Zigmund Palffy was named to the 2019 IIHF Hall of Fame class, joining, among others, former NHLers Mike Modano and fellow countryman Miroslav Satan.
Drafted 26th overall by the New York Islanders in 1991, Palffy spent the first three-and-a-half seasons with the club. During that time, Palffy played 331 games for the Isles, recording 331 points. In June 199, though, Palffy was involved in a multi-player deal that saw him get traded to the Los Angeles Kings.
(si.com)
Despite making the playoffs in 1998, the Kings had struggled since making the Stanley Cup Final in 1993 and, only three years removed from trading Wayne Gretzky were still struggling to find an identity.
Palffy’s arrival to Los Angeles, though, helped the franchise get back on the right track.
The Kings made the playoffs in each of Palffy’s first three seasons with the club, which included the club pull off a shocking opening-round upset of the Detroit Red Wings in 2001.
To suggest that Palffy was a fan favourite in Los Angeles would be considered an understatement.
The native of Skalica, Slovakia, would spend a total of five seasons with the Kings, notching 340 points (150 goals, 190 assists) in 311 games. Palffy would also add nine goals and 10 assists in 24 playoff games with the Kings.
He would then wrap up his NHL career in 2005-06 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
When his NHL career was officially through, Palffy was able to look back on a 12-year career that saw him hit the 30-goal plateau six times. Overall, in 713 career games, Palffy would notch 713 points (329-384=713).
As successful as he was in the NHL, though, Ziggy Palffy found a great deal of success representing his native Slovakia.
After representing Slovakia — and leading the tournament in scoring — at the 1994 Olympics (the country’s first tournament as an independent nation), Palffy would suit up for his country many more times. This included the 2002 World Hockey Championship where Slovakia unexpectedly won the gold medal, first defeating Sweden in the semi-final before edging Russia in the final.
In said semi-final, he scored scored the game-winner in a shootout before setting up Peter Bondra for the late gold-medal-winning goal against the favored Russians.
While their team may be having a rough season, fans of the Los Angeles Kings can take solace with one of their former players being given such a distinctive honor. Palffy will be officially inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame this coming May during the World Hockey Championship in his native Slovakia.
Congratulations, Ziggy!
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time
(sport.aktuality.sk)
Related Posts
About Ryan Cowley
