Thomas Vanek

Austria's greatest hockey player — 437 goals in the NHL and a $50 million contract.

Thomas Vanek was born in Baden bei Wien, Austria in 1984. Buffalo Sabres selected him fifth overall in the 2003 NHL Draft. His career produced 437 goals and 379 assists for 816 career points — the most goals by an Austrian-born player in NHL history. He was selected to two All-Star games. He scored 43 goals for Buffalo in 2006-07 and signed an offer sheet with Edmonton that was matched by Buffalo — a seven-year, $50 million contract that was among the most controversial in that era. He represents Austria internationally and is the most celebrated Austrian athlete in hockey history. He scored 40 or more goals three times in his career. His departure from Buffalo and subsequent journey through seven franchises reflected a combination of personal preferences and the reality of roster construction around his scoring rather than his defensive ability. He retired in 2019 as the greatest goal-scorer in Austrian hockey history.

Vanek was an elite pure goal scorer with exceptional shot accuracy and release. He possessed excellent hockey sense and positioning, often finding open ice in scoring areas. His wrist shot was particularly deadly, and he excelled on the power play with his ability to one-time pucks from various angles.

Vanek established himself as one of Austria's greatest hockey players and helped raise the profile of Austrian hockey internationally.

• All-Star 2x
• Austrian national team cornerstone
• 437 career goals

Team Career

Team	Period	GP	Goals
Buffalo Sabres	2005–2014	664	254
Minnesota Wild	2014–2016	109	43
New York Islanders	2013–2015	104	39
Detroit Red Wings	2016–2018	134	36
Florida Panthers	2018–2019	52	16
Columbus Blue Jackets	2019–2021	78	18
Austria	—	78	24