Peter Bondra was the leading goal-scorer in the history of the Washington Capitals until Alex Ovechkin came along. Bondra scored the first 472 of his 503 NHL goals with the Capitals, including getting 52 goals in a season twice. That's a lot more production than the Capitals could have expected from a player they selected in the eighth round (No. 156) of the 1990 NHL Draft.
Though he was born in Lutsk, Ukraine (then a part of the Soviet Union), Bondra and his family moved to Czechoslovakia when he was 3 years old. He was playing in that country's top league when he was 18 years old and was one of the top scorers when the Capitals drafted him four years later.
Peter Bondra was the leading goal-scorer in the history of the Washington Capitals until Alex Ovechkin came along. Bondra scored the first 472 of his 503 NHL goals with the Capitals, including getting 52 goals in a season twice. That's a lot more production than the Capitals could have expected from a player they selected in the eighth round (No. 156) of the 1990 NHL Draft.
Though he was born in Lutsk, Ukraine (then a part of the Soviet Union), Bondra and his family moved to Czechoslovakia when he was 3 years old. He was playing in that country's top league when he was 18 years old and was one of the top scorers when the Capitals drafted him four years later.
After scoring 12 goals in 54 games as a rookie in 1990-91, Bondra scored 28 and 37 goals, respectively, in the following two seasons. In the lockout shortened season in 1994-95, he led the NHL with 34 goals in 47 games before scoring 52 in 1995-96.
He scored 52 goals again in 1997-98, tying Teemu Selanne of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for the NHL lead, then scored seven in 17 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, helping the Capitals advance to the Cup Final for the first time since entering the NHL in 1974 (where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings).
Bondra would dip to 31 and 21 goals in each of the following two season before rebounding with 45 goals and 81 points in 2000-01. After three more seasons in Washington, the rebuilding Capitals traded him to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 18, 2004.
Bondra scored 21 goals in 60 games with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005-06, but he struggled to score in his final NHL season with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2006-07, getting five goals in 37 games.
Bondra announced his retirement on Sept. 29, 2007, with 892 points (503 goals, 389 assists) in 1,081 regular-season games, and 56 points (30 goals, 26 assists) in 80 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)
- Traded to Ottawa by Washington for Brooks Laich and Ottawa's 2nd round pick (later traded to Colorado - Colorado selected Chris Durand) in 2005 NHL Draft, February 18, 2004.
- Signed as a free agent by Poprad (Slovakia), January 17, 2005.
- Signed as a free agent by Atlanta, September 18, 2005.
- Signed as a free agent by Chicago, December 10, 2006.
- Officially announced his retirement, October 29, 2007.
