Robert Lang (born December 19, 1970) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. Selected by the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the fifth round, 133rd overall, of the 1990 NHL entry draft, Lang made his NHL debut with the team in the 1992–93 season. He has also played for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Phoenix Coyotes, with whom he retired with in 2010.
Internationally, Lang played for both the Czechoslovak and Czech national teams, competing in four Winter Olympics (winning gold in 1998), three Ice Hockey World Championships and two World Cups.
Playing career
A native of Czechoslovakia, Lang began his career in the Czechoslovak Extraliga as an eighteen-year-old with HC Litvínov. After scoring 15 points in 32 games in 1989–90, his second season with HC Litvínov, he was drafted 133rd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1990 NHL entry draft.
Lang returned to play another two seasons in the Extraliga before debuting with the Kings in 1992–93. He played the majority of his first two seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Kings' minor league affiliate, the Phoenix Roadrunners.
Due to the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Lang returned to HC Litvínov (now of the Czech Extraliga) for 16 games, scoring 23 points. When NHL play resumed, he landed a full-time roster spot with the Kings. He tallied 22 points in 68 games in 1995–96 before returning to the Czech Extraliga to play for Sparta Praha.
After a brief hiatus from the NHL, Lang returned after one season in Europe, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent on September 2, 1997. He was subsequently bounced back and forth between the Penguins and Boston Bruins for a couple of months before he stuck with the Penguins.
Lang remained with the Penguins, joining fellow Czech Jaromír Jágr and increasing his points total in each of his first four seasons with the team. In 2000–01, he scored a career-high 32 goals, 48 assists and 80 points in 82 games. That season, the Penguins reached the Eastern Conference Finals, but were defeated in five games by the New Jersey Devils. Lang added eight points in 16 playoff games.
After the 2001–02 season, Lang became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Washington Capitals.
During the 2003–04 season, Lang was enjoying another career year and recorded his first career hat-trick on November 12, 2003. He was leading the NHL in scoring when he was traded to the Stanley Cup-contending Detroit Red Wings for prospect Tomáš Fleischmann, a first-round draft pick (Mike Green) in 2004 and a fourth-round pick in 2006. This marked the first time in NHL history that a player was traded while leading the NHL in points. Shortly after the trade, he was sidelined with a broken rib on March 8. Missing 13 games, he surrendered the NHL scoring lead to the Tampa Bay Lightning's Martin St. Louis and finished with 79 points in 69 games, one point shy of his career-high set in 2000–01 and ninth overall in the League. (Lang's points-per-game of 1.14 was identical to St. Louis'.) Lang returned to the Red Wings in time for the 2004 playoffs, but the team was eliminated by the Calgary Flames in the second round. He recorded a career-high nine points in 12 playoff games.
In addition to Lang's ninth-place finish in NHL scoring, he had participated in his first NHL All-Star in 2004 and was also awarded the Golden Hockey Stick as the top Czech hockey player at the end of the season.
Lang remained with the Red Wings until the end of the 2006–07 season, but his production dipped each of his remaining campaign in Detroit. Before signing a two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks as an unrestricted free agent in the off-season, Lang embarked on another playoff run with the Red Wings in 2007, but they were halted by the eventual Stanley Cup champions Anaheim Ducks in the semifinals. Lang recorded eight points in 18 playoff games.
In Chicago, Lang recorded 54 points playing behind rookie standouts Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane; Lang finished fourth in team scoring. After just one season with the Blackhawks, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for a second-round draft pick in 2010 (previously acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs) on September 12, 2008.
Lang recorded a natural hat-trick, the second three-goal effort of his career, in his first season with the Canadiens, against the New York Rangers on January 7, 2009, in a 6–3 win. He scored his three goals on the power play, even-strength and short-handed in an empty net.
Lang resides in San Diego, California, with his wife Jennifer. The couple have two sons, Kelly and Brooks.
Awards and achievements
- NHL All-Star Game – 2004
- Golden Hockey Stick (best Czech hockey player) – 2004
- Lang was inducted into the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame on December 17, 2015.
Transactions
- June 16, 1990 – Drafted 133rd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1990 NHL entry draft.
- September 2, 1997 – Signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- September 28, 1997 – Claimed by the Boston Bruins from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1997 NHL Waiver Draft.
- October 25, 1997 – Claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Boston Bruins.
- July 1, 2002 – Signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals.
- February 27, 2004 – Traded to the Detroit Red Wings from the Washington Capitals for Tomáš Fleischmann, a first-round draft choice (Mike Green) in 2004 and a fourth-round draft choice (Luke Lynes) in 2006.
- July 2, 2007 – Signed to a two-year contract by the Chicago Blackhawks.
- September 12, 2008 – Traded to the Montreal Canadiens by the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2010 (previously acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs).
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1988–89
| TJ CHZ Litvínov
| CSSR
| 7 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1989–90
| TJ CHZ Litvínov
| CSSR
| 32 || 8 || 7 || 15 || —
| 8 || 3 || 3 || 6 || 0
|-
| 1990–91
| TJ CHZ Litvínov
| CSSR
| 56 || 26 || 26 || 52 || 38
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1991–92
| HC Chemopetrol Litvínov
| CSSR
| 43 || 12 || 31 || 43 || 34
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1992–93
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 11 || 0 || 5 || 5 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1992–93
| Phoenix Roadrunners
| IHL
| 38 || 9 || 21 || 30 || 20
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1993–94
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 32 || 9 || 10 || 19 || 10
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1993–94
| Phoenix Roadrunners
| IHL
| 44 || 11 || 24 || 35 || 34
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1994–95
| HC Chemopetrol Litvínov
| CZE
| 16 || 4 || 19 || 23 || 28
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994–95
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 36 || 4 || 8 || 12 || 4
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1995–96
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 68 || 6 || 16 || 22 || 10
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996–97
| HC Sparta Praha
| CZE
| 38 || 14 || 27 || 41 || 30
| 5 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4
|-
| 1997–98
| Boston Bruins
| NHL
| 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1997–98
| Pittsburgh Penguins
| NHL
| 51 || 9 || 13 || 22 || 14
| 6 || 0 || 3 || 3 || 2
|-
| 1997–98
| Houston Aeros
| IHL
| 9 || 1 || 7 || 8 || 4
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1998–99
| Pittsburgh Penguins
| NHL
| 72 || 21 || 23 || 44 || 24
| 12 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0
|-
| 1999–00
| Pittsburgh Penguins
| NHL
| 78 || 23 || 42 || 65 || 14
| 11 || 3 || 3 || 6 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2000–01
| Pittsburgh Penguins
| NHL
| 82 || 32 || 48 || 80 || 28
| 16 || 4 || 4 || 8 || 4
|-
| 2001–02
| Pittsburgh Penguins
| NHL
| 62 || 18 || 32 || 50 || 16
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2002–03
| Washington Capitals
| NHL
| 82 || 22 || 47 || 69 || 22
| 6 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 2
|-
| 2003–04
| Washington Capitals
| NHL
| 63 || 29 || 45 || 74 || 24
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2003–04
| Detroit Red Wings
| NHL
| 6 || 1 || 4 || 5 || 0
| 12 || 4 || 5 || 9 || 6
|-
| 2005–06
| Detroit Red Wings
| NHL
| 72 || 20 || 42 || 62 || 72
| 6 || 3 || 3 || 6 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2006–07
| Detroit Red Wings
| NHL
| 81 || 19 || 33 || 52 || 66
| 18 || 2 || 6 || 8 || 8
|-
| 2007–08
| Chicago Blackhawks
| NHL
| 76 || 21 || 33 || 54 || 50
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2008–09
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 50 || 18 || 21 || 39 || 36
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2009–10
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 62 || 9 || 20 || 29 || 28
| 4 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | CSSR totals
! 138 !! 49 !! 66 !! 115
! 72 !! 8 !! 3 !! 3 !! 6 !! 0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 987 !! 261 !! 442 !! 703 !! 422
! 91 !! 18 !! 28 !! 46 !! 24
|}
International
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:50em"
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| 1992
| Czechoslovakia
| OLY
| 8
| 5
| 8
| 13
| 8
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1992
| Czechoslovakia
| WC
| 8
| 2
| 2
| 4
| 2
|-
| 1996
| Czech Republic
| WC
| 8
| 5
| 4
| 9
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996
| Czech Republic
| WCH
| 3
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 2
|-
| 1997
| Czech Republic
| WC
| 8
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 25
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1998
| Czech Republic
| OLY
| 6
| 0
| 3
| 3
| 0
|-
|-
| 2002
| Czech Republic
| OLY
| 4
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2006
| Czech Republic
| OLY
| 8
| 0
| 4
| 4
| 4
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan=3 | Senior totals
! 53
! 14
! 24
! 38
! 43
|}