Thomas Vanek was born on 19 January 1984 and is an Austrian former professional ice hockey left winger.
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28 Facts About Thomas Vanek
2.
Thomas Vanek played fourteen years in the National Hockey League for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets.
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3.
Thomas Vanek was born in Baden bei Wien, Austria, to Slovak mother Jarmila and Czech father Zdenek, who emigrated from the Czechoslovakia to Austria in 1982.
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4.
Thomas Vanek grew up in Zell am See and in Graz, where his father played professional ice hockey.
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5.
Thomas Vanek was named MVP of the Frozen Four tournament, scoring the game-winning goals in both the semifinal against Michigan in overtime and in the final against New Hampshire.
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6.
Thomas Vanek was named Minnesota's team MVP for 2003, becoming the first freshman to receive the honor.
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7.
Thomas Vanek was the 2003 WCHA Rookie of the Year, the third Golden Gopher to win the award.
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8.
Thomas Vanek was a member of the Austrian national team in the 2004 IIHF World Championships, where he collected seven points in six games.
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9.
Thomas Vanek led the Golden Gophers in goals and points for the second-straight season and finished fifth in points among Division I leaders with 51.
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10.
Thomas Vanek finished second on the team in points, 11 points behind Chris Taylor, but led the team in goals with 42 and in power play goals with 25.
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11.
Thomas Vanek finished second among rookies in points and led all rookies in goals scored, the latter of which was second in the league among all players.
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12.
Thomas Vanek had a promising rookie season with 25 goals and 48 points in 81 games for the Sabres.
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13.
Thomas Vanek played in all 82 regular season games for the Sabres, scoring 43 goals, tied for fifth in the league, and 41 assists.
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15.
Thomas Vanek underwent surgery the next day and was announced to be out of the lineup for three-to-four weeks.
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16.
Thomas Vanek had scored three goals in four games up to that point.
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17.
On 27 October 2013, Thomas Vanek was traded to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson, a conditional 2014 first-round draft pick and a 2015 second-round draft pick.
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18.
Thomas Vanek immediately joined the team's top line alongside John Tavares and Kyle Okposo, which Vanek said later was the best line he ever played on.
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19.
On 4 February 2014, Thomas Vanek confirmed that he had turned down a contract extension offer from the Islanders.
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20.
The contract was reportedly for seven years and $50 million, with Thomas Vanek stating that the Islanders move to Barclays Center was one of his primary reasons for leaving the team.
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21.
On 5 March 2014, Thomas Vanek was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Sebastian Collberg and a second-round draft pick.
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22.
However, Thomas Vanek was noted for his lackluster performance during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, including scoring just five even-strength points over 17 games.
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23.
Thomas Vanek recorded 10 points in 20 games with Florida, but ultimately the Panthers did not qualify for the post-season.
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24.
On 1 September 2017 Thomas Vanek signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks.
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25.
On 20 December 2017, Thomas Vanek recorded his 10th career hat trick in a loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
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26.
On 26 February 2018, the day of the trade deadline, Thomas Vanek was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jussi Jokinen and Tyler Motte.
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27.
Thomas Vanek recorded his 11th career hat trick in the same season on 27 March 2018, in a game against the Edmonton Oilers.
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28.
On 1 July 2018, Thomas Vanek signed a one-year, $3 million contract for a second stint with the Red Wings.
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