Gaborik has a seemingly unlimited skill set that helped make him the Minnesota Wild's first-round pick (No. 3) in the 2000 NHL Draft: speed, soft hands, superior puck-handling and a potent, quick-release shot.
In his NHL debut at age 18, Gaborik scored the first goal in Wild history on Oct. 6, 2000, against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, as they were then known. Gaborik had his first two-goal game in the NHL, including the winning goal, in a 6-5 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 18, 2000, the first victory in Wild history. Among NHL rookies in 2000-01, he was fifth in the NHL with 18 goals and tied for fifth with 36 points.
Gaborik has a seemingly unlimited skill set that helped make him the Minnesota Wild's first-round pick (No. 3) in the 2000 NHL Draft: speed, soft hands, superior puck-handling and a potent, quick-release shot.
In his NHL debut at age 18, Gaborik scored the first goal in Wild history on Oct. 6, 2000, against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, as they were then known. Gaborik had his first two-goal game in the NHL, including the winning goal, in a 6-5 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 18, 2000, the first victory in Wild history. Among NHL rookies in 2000-01, he was fifth in the NHL with 18 goals and tied for fifth with 36 points.
A participant in the NHL YoungStars Game in 2002 and the Wild's first NHL All-Star Game selection in 2003, Gaborik led the Wild with 30 goals in both the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. He tied for the League lead with three hat tricks in 2002-03 and became the fourth NHL player to have five hat tricks before his 21st birthday.
In 2003 Gaborik helped lead Minnesota to its first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance. He finished third in playoff scoring with 17 points (nine goals) as the Wild reached the Western Conference Final.
On Dec. 20, 2007, Gaborik became the first NHL player since 1996 to score five goals in a game, as part of a six-point night in a 6-3 win against the New York Rangers. Gaborik made his second NHL All-Star Game appearance with the Wild in 2008 and finished seventh in the League with 42 goals. Over his final four seasons with the Wild, he averaged more than a point per game and left the team following the 2008-09 season as the franchise's all-time leader goals (219), assists (218) and points (437).
Gaborik signed with the Rangers as a free agent July 1, 2009, and finished fifth in the NHL with 42 goals in 2009-10. He was MVP of the 2012 NHL All-Star Game (three goals, one assist) and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team that season.
The Rangers traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 3, 2013, with Blake Parlett and Steven Delisile for Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard, John Moore and a sixth-round draft pick in 2014.
The Blue Jackets traded Gaborik to the Los Angeles Kings on March 5, 2014, for Matt Frattin, a second-round draft pick and a conditional third-round pick. He led the NHL with 14 playoff goals in 2014 to help the Kings win the Stanley Cup.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- NHL Second All-Star Team (2012)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2003, 2008, 2012)
- Signed as a free agent by Trencin (Slovakia), July 5, 2004.
- Signed as a free agent by Farjestad (Sweden), December 21, 2004.
- Signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, July 1, 2009.
- Traded to Columbus by NY Rangers with Blake Parlett and Steven Delisle for Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard, John Moore and Columbus' 6th round pick (later traded to Minnesota -- Minnesota selected Chase Lang) in 2014 NHL Draft, April 3, 2013.
- Traded to Los Angeles by Columbus for Matt Frattin, Los Angeles' 3rd round pick (later traded to Detroit -- Detroit selected Dominic Turgeon) in 2014 NHL Draft and Toronto's 2nd round pick (previously acquired, later traded back to Toronto -- Toronto selected Travis Dermott) in 2015 NHL Draft, March 5, 2014.
- Traded to Ottawa by Los Angeles with Nick Shore for Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson, February 13, 2018.
- Traded to Tampa Bay by Ottawa with Anders Nilsson for Braydon Coburn, Cedric Paquette and a 2nd-round pick in 2022 NHL Draft, December 27, 2020.
