Thomas Vanek

It was also Vanek's fourth consecutive natural hat-Trick, matching an NHL record set by Cy Denneny between 1923 and 1924 with the old Ottawa Senators.

Later that week, on 7 February, Vanek took a slapshot from Anton Volchenkov of the Ottawa Senators, fracturing his jaw.

He underwent surgery the next day and was announced to be out of the lineup for three-to-four weeks.

At the time of the injury, Vanek was third in the league goal-scoring.

He was the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Mike Antonovich in 1969–70.

His 31 goals also led all NCAA freshmen in goal scoring, and was fourth in the entire country.

Vanek was born in Baden bei Wien, Austria, to Slovak mother Jarmila and Czech father Zdeněk, who emigrated from the Czechoslovakia to Austria in 1982.

He grew up in Zell am See (Salzburg) and in Graz (Styria), where his father played professional ice hockey.

Thomas Vanek (born 19 January 1984) is an Austrian former professional ice hockey left winger who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, and Vancouver Canucks.

As a youth, he played in the 1997 and 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a team from Austria.

In 1998, at the age of 14, he moved to Canada.

After playing junior hockey for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League (USHL), Vanek joined the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, leading the team in goals (31), assists (31) and points (62) in the 2002–03 season.

Vanek was drafted by the Sabres fifth overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest-drafted Austrian player in NHL history along with David Reinbacher in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

In part due to his prolific scoring touch, the Golden Gophers won the 2003 NCAA National Championship.

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.

He was also named Minnesota's team MVP for 2003, becoming the first freshman to receive the honor.

He scored the most points by a Golden Gopher freshman in 2003 since Aaron Broten who scored 72 total points in 1979–80.

He was also the 2003 WCHA Rookie of the Year, the third Golden Gopher to win the award.

Vanek was a member of the Austrian national team in the 2004 IIHF World Championships, where he collected seven points in six games (two goals and five assists).

Vanek led the Golden Gophers in goals (26) and points (51) for the second-straight season and finished fifth in points among Division I leaders with 51.

Vanek was the Twin Cities Best College Athlete for 2004.

Vanek spent 2004–05 with the Sabres' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans, recording 68 points in 74 games and helped Rochester to the best record in the AHL.

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.

He 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.

Vanek signed a three-year deal with Buffalo on 3 September 2004, and began playing for the Sabres in 2005–06 after a season with their AHL affiliate.

He had a promising rookie season with 25 goals and 48 points in 81 games for the Sabres.

His performance tailed off in the playoffs, managing two goals in ten games.

Vanek recorded his best statistical season, the following year in 2006–07.

He played in all 82 regular season games for the Sabres, scoring 43 goals, tied for fifth in the league, and 41 assists.

He also finished an NHL best +47, earning the NHL Plus-Minus Award.

Upon the expiration of his entry-level contract during the 2007 off-season, Vanek signed a seven-year, $50 million offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers.

Despite his lucrative new contract, Vanek's production dipped to 64 points in 2007–08.

Earlier in the season, on 13 December 2008, Vanek helped the Sabres reach a milestone by scoring the 10,000th goal in franchise history.

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Vanek would score a total of 40 goals with 24 assists, totaling 64 points.

He led the NHL in powerplay goals with 20.

In the midst of a more productive year, however, Vanek was named to his first NHL All-Star Game in 2009 in Montreal.

He helped the East to a 12–11 shootout victory over the West.

Following the All-Star Game, on 4 February 2009, Vanek made NHL history by becoming only the second player to score four consecutive natural hat-Trick.

He recorded his fourth natural hat Trick, and fifth overall, in a 5–0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in HSBC Arena.

The Sabres, having lost Chris Drury and Daniel Brière as free agents that off-season, immediately matched the offer sheet, thus keeping Vanek under contract until at least the end of the 2013–14 season.