(Glenn James/National Hockey League/Getty)
For the first 13 seasons of his 16-year NHL career, defenseman Andrej Sekera never had an opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup Final until he signed with the Dallas Stars at 33 years old.
Sekera began his NHL career with the Sabres playing 2 games in the 2006-07 season, but wouldn’t play in the 2007 Playoffs. The Sabres reached the Playoffs in 2010 and 2011 with Sekera, but wouldn’t make it past the first round. In 8 career Playoff games with the Sabres, Sekera recorded 1 goal.
In June 2013, Sekera’s tenure with the Sabres was over after the Sabres traded Sekera to the Hurricanes. In his first season with the Hurricanes, Sekera posted a career-high 11 goals, 33 assists and 44 points.
In February 2015, Sekera was traded again this time to the Kings. After Sekera finished the 2014-15 season with the Kings, he signed a six-year, $33 million contract with the Oilers.
Sekera’s best season with the Oilers came in the 2016-17 season with him recording 35 points (8G, 27A) as the Oilers made the Playoffs for the first time since 2006. The Ducks eliminated the Oilers in Game 7 of the second round of the 2017 Playoffs.
After the Oilers missed the Playoffs in 2018 and 2019, the Oilers bought Sekera out of his contract with two years remaining. On July 1, 2019, Sekera signed a one-year contract with the Stars.
Sekera scored his first Stars goal in the 2020 Winter Classic to put the Stars up 4-2 in the third period. It was the Stars third goal of the period in a 5:37 span.
Sekera finished his first season in Dallas with 8 points (2G, 6A) in 57 games played before the NHL suspended the 2019-20 season due to COVID-19. When the Stars began the 2020 Playoffs in August, most experts didn’t expect the Stars to go far after going 0-4-2 in their last six games before the season’s suspension.
The Stars would make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Lightning in six games. Sekera played in all 27 of the Stars Playoff games. Sekera recorded only 1 assist in the Playoffs.
After the season concluded, Sekera re-signed with Dallas with a two-year, $3 million contract where he would finish his NHL career. The Stars missed the Playoffs in 2021.
The 2021-22 season would be Sekera’s last. He recorded 4 points (1G, 3A) in 32 games and would play his final NHL game on April 18, 2022.
In July 2022, Sekera retired from the NHL at 36 years old. In his Stars tenure, Sekera recorded 17 points (6G, 11A) in 135 games. In his NHL career, Sekera recorded 253 points (51G, 202A) in 82 games.
(Gerry Broome/AP Photo)
Leave a Reply