Portal:Chicago/Selected biography/8
Dominik Hašek is a professional ice hockey goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. In his 15-season NHL career, he has also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, and the Ottawa Senators. During his years in Buffalo, he became one of the league's finest goaltenders, earning him the nickname "The Dominator." His strong play has been credited with establishing European goaltenders in a league widely dominated by North Americans. Hašek has been one of the league's most successful goaltenders of the 1990s and early 2000s. From 1993 to 2001 he won six Vezina Trophies, and in 1998 he became the first goaltender to win consecutive Hart Trophies. During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he led the Czech national ice hockey team to its first and only Olympic gold medal. The feat made him a popular figure in his home country and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him "the best player in the game." While with the Red Wings in 2002, Hašek became the first European starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup. In the process, he set a record for shutouts in a playoff year.