Radim Vrbata finishes NHL career with one final start
SUNRISE Panthers forward Radim Vrbata got one final chance to be an NHL player.
On Saturday night, Vrbata reentered the Panthers lineup for the last time ahead of his upcoming retirement this summer. Vrbata, 36, will finish his 16-year NHL career with 1,057 games played, 284 goals, 339 assists and one All-Star appearance. He was not expected to play Sunday when the Panthers visited Boston in the season finale.
After signing with the Panthers in the offseason, Vrbata had five goals and nine assists in 42 games this year.
“It’s emotional, but this is something I was preparing myself for for basically the whole year,” Vrbata said after Florida’s 4-3 win over Buffalo. “This would be my last year. As I said to the guys, I wish I was 10 years younger and I could keep going with this group because this is a great bunch of guys and there is lots of promise in this team. I’m looking forward to cheering them on the next couple seasons.”
Vrbata was originally not supposed to play Saturday night, but when a Philadelphia Flyers win eliminated the Panthers from playoff contention, Panthers coach Bob Boughner opted to give the veteran winger a last sendoff from the league.
Vrbata played mostly on the fourth line, but started the game. When he was announced as a starter, the Panthers bench responded with a round of stick taps SunSentinel.com/sports
along the boards.
“I thought it was important … that we wanted to make sure if the game didn’t mean anything that we would give Vrby his proper sendoff,” Boughner said. “He’s been a class act and a classy guy the whole year, and it hasn’t been easy for him. It was nice to see that happen.”
Vrbata endured perhaps the worst season of his long career, initially pegged as a second-line winger for Vincent Trocheck but largely languishing as a healthy scratch in the final months of the season. Prior to Saturday’s game, Vrbata was a healthy scratch in 27 of the Panthers’ 33 games since the All-Star break.
The Czech forward will turn 37
“The guy’s a true pro,” Trocheck said. “He’s a class act, the way he handled everything this year was phenomenal. He’s a great guy. You can’t really say anything negative about the guy. He’s had a phenomenal career, over 1,000 games, 16 seasons. It’s nice to have him in our last [home] game.”
Vrbata said his retirement was planned since the beginning of the season. His three sons are getting older and he wanted to return to the Czech Republic in time to reacclimate his nineyear-old son to the language and school system.
On the ice, Vrbata felt the effect of time on his game. He can no longer keep up with the speed of the evolving NHL, with younger players usurping his spot in the lineup and picking up his minutes.
“When you’re playing the games, you realize how years old this summer. fast the game is going and that you need to let the young guys play,” Vrbata said. “I remember when I was 20 and I saw guys who were over 30 and I was kind of pushing them out. I get what the coaching staff was doing and I was supporting them to play the young guys. There’s lots of promise in this team. I wish them all the best.”
Vrbata almost had the distinction of ending his career in the penalty box. He took a delay of game penalty with 44 seconds remaining in the third period. But Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly scored with 16 seconds left and Vrbata was released from the box.
“That’s it,” Vrbata said. “This is it. I made up my mind, with everything how it turned out today, I’m glad that I got to play this one and that I got this chance. I’ll be just a fan.”
mdefranks@sun-sentinel .com, Twitter @MDeFranks