Ziggy Palffy scored 40 or more goals in three straight seasons for the New York Islanders and averaged more than a point per game over 684 NHL games. In January 2006, halfway through his only season in Pittsburgh, he left the NHL. He went home to the small town where he grew up, and he has stayed there.
What happened to Ziggy Palffy?
Ziggy Palffy left professional hockey for good in 2013 and lives a quiet, largely private life in his hometown of Skalica, in western Slovakia. “For me, home is only Skalica,” he told SME Sportnet in a 50th birthday interview in May 2022. He described mornings spent training for himself and afternoons free, often working in the garden around his house. He said he hadn’t been to the local rink in a long time and felt no pull to get back on the ice.
| Ziggy Palffy: then and now | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Three straight 40-goal seasons with the Islanders, 2002 World Championship gold with Slovakia |
| Position | Right wing, shoots left |
| Born | 5 May 1972, Skalica, Czechoslovakia |
| Drafted | 1991, second round, 26th overall, New York Islanders |
| NHL career | 12 seasons, 684 games, 329 goals, three teams |
| Last pro season | 2012-13, HK 36 Skalica, Slovak Extraliga |
| Current role | Private life in Skalica, per SME Sportnet in May 2022 |
| Public roles after hockey | Skalica city councillor (elected 2018), Slovak hockey federation executive committee (2019 to 2022) |
| Slovak name | Žigmund Pálffy |
His quiet life followed a few years in public office. In November 2018 he won a seat on the Skalica city council by one vote over the next candidate in his district, Pravda reported, saying the priority was for Skalica to work well. He was also honorary president of the town’s youth hockey club. In June 2019, delegates elected him to the executive committee of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation in a secret ballot, SITA reported, where he promised to vote for good proposals and against bad ones. He was not among the members elected at the federation’s congress in May 2022.
He still watches. As of May 2025, he followed Slovak hockey as a spectator and criticized the standard, telling SME Sportnet’s podcast that some players look as if they cannot skate.
Why did Ziggy Palffy leave the NHL?
Ziggy Palffy retired midway through the 2005-06 season, 42 games into his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, citing a shoulder injury, according to his IIHF Hall of Fame biography. He had 42 points in those 42 games.
READ MORE: How to watch the New York Islanders
It was not the end of his playing career. After a year away, he returned to his hometown club, Skalica, and dominated the Slovak Extraliga. In 2008-09 he scored 64 goals and 126 points, both league records, according to the federation. He won the league scoring title again in 2012-13, his last professional season, and announced his final retirement on 31 July 2013, CBS Sports reported.
Is Zigmund Palffy in the Hall of Fame?
Yes, but not the one in Toronto. Zigmund Palffy was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in Bratislava on 26 May 2019, alongside Slovak teammate Miroslav Satan, Mike Modano and Hayley Wickenheiser. In 2022, he was inducted into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame. He has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, which did not include him in the 2026 class.
His international record is central to the case. He led the 1994 Olympic tournament in scoring, set up Peter Bondra’s winning goal in the 2002 World Championship final against Russia, and carried the Slovak flag at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Ziggy Palffy’s draft, his Islanders peak and the trade to the Kings
The Islanders drafted Palffy in the second round, 26th overall, in 1991. His scoring peak came between 1995-96 and 1997-98, when he scored 43, 48 and 45 goals. A contract dispute followed, and in June 1999 the Islanders traded him to Los Angeles with Bryan Smolinski for Olli Jokinen, Josh Green, Mathieu Biron and a first-round pick, CBS News reported. He spent five seasons with the Kings and scored 150 goals.
READ MORE: How to watch the Los Angeles Kings
Ziggy Palffy’s NHL stats
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | NY Islanders | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994-95 | NY Islanders | 33 | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 1995-96 | NY Islanders | 81 | 43 | 44 | 87 |
| 1996-97 | NY Islanders | 80 | 48 | 42 | 90 |
| 1997-98 | NY Islanders | 82 | 45 | 42 | 87 |
| 1998-99 | NY Islanders | 50 | 22 | 28 | 50 |
| 1999-00 | Los Angeles | 64 | 27 | 39 | 66 |
| 2000-01 | Los Angeles | 73 | 38 | 51 | 89 |
| 2001-02 | Los Angeles | 63 | 32 | 27 | 59 |
| 2002-03 | Los Angeles | 76 | 37 | 48 | 85 |
| 2003-04 | Los Angeles | 35 | 16 | 25 | 41 |
| 2005-06 | Pittsburgh | 42 | 11 | 31 | 42 |
| Total | 684 | 329 | 384 | 713 |
Figures are from Hockey-Reference.
Ziggy Palffy scored 136 of his 329 NHL goals, 41 percent, in the three seasons from 1995-96 to 1997-98. Those three years were a quarter of his NHL career, and he became a 40-goal scorer on a team that missed the playoffs every one of those springs.
Read more:
