Selected in the first round (No. 17) by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2005 Draft, Hanzal debuted in the NHL in the 2007-08 season and made a quick impact. He finished sixth on the Coyotes with 35 points in 72 games and second with 470 face-off wins.
Hanzal got an assist in his NHL debut Oct. 4, 2007, against the St. Louis Blues, and his first NHL goal was the game-winner against the Nashville Predators one week later.
Selected in the first round (No. 17) by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2005 Draft, Hanzal debuted in the NHL in the 2007-08 season and made a quick impact. He finished sixth on the Coyotes with 35 points in 72 games and second with 470 face-off wins.
Hanzal got an assist in his NHL debut Oct. 4, 2007, against the St. Louis Blues, and his first NHL goal was the game-winner against the Nashville Predators one week later.
The following season, Hanzal led the Coyotes in face-off attempts (1,066) and face-off wins (516), and tied for the team lead with two shorthanded goals. He got his first NHL hat trick Dec. 4, 2008, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. At the time it was the fastest from the start of a game (20:27) in franchise history.
Hanzal got his first Stanley Cup Playoff point with an assist April 16, 2010, against the Detroit Red Wings. In 2010-11, he had 16 goals and four multipoint games, and led Coyotes forwards in average time on ice per game (19:30). His first Stanley Cup Playoff goal came April 20, 2011, against Detroit.
Named an alternate captain in 2011-12, Hanzal led the Coyotes in hits (239). In 2012-13, Hanzal again led Coyotes forwards in time on ice per game (18:32) and was second in power-play goals (four), second in hits (100) and tied for second in takeaways (24). The next season, he had 40 points and led the Coyotes with 200 hits.
Hanzal scored a natural hat trick, the sixth in Coyotes history, Nov. 14, 2014, against the Vancouver Canucks. He played his 500th NHL game Oct. 22, 2015, against the New York Rangers.
After finishing fourth on the Coyotes in assists (28) and fifth in points (41) in 64 games in 2015-16, Hanzal was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 26, 2017. He signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent July 1, 2017, but a back injury limited him to 38 games in 2017-18 and seven in 2018-19.
Before reaching the NHL, Hanzal played for HC Ceske Budejovice in his native Czech Republic, Omaha of the United States Hockey League and Red Deer of the Western Hockey League. In 2006-07, he led WHL rookies with 85 points, led Red Deer with nine playoff points and was named to the Eastern Conference Second All-Star Team.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- WHL East Second All-Star Team (2007)
- Signed as a free agent by Ceske Budejovice (Czech Rep.), October 28, 2012.
- Traded to Minnesota by Arizona with Ryan White and Arizona's 4th round pick (Mason Shaw) in 2017 NHL Draft for Grayson Downing, Minnesota's 1st round pick (Pierre-Olivier Joseph) in 2017 NHL Draft, Minnesoa's 2nd round pick in 2018 NHL Draft and Minnesota's 4th round pick in 2019 NHL Draft, February 26, 2017.
- Signed as a free agent by Dallas, July 1, 2017.