Jiri Crha
Encyclopedia
Jiří Crha is a retired Czech
professional
ice hockey
goaltender
who played two seasons in the National Hockey League
for the Toronto Maple Leafs
.
Jiří Crha had a full career in his homeland that included nine seasons in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, four World Championships and one Olympic Games before he crossed the ocean to pursue a career in the National Hockey League. Crha signed a free agent contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 4, 1980 and after seven games in the minors, he was playing at the NHL level.
Crha, who was known to teammates as "George" suited up for 15 games with Toronto and managed to win 8 of them. Crha impressed the Leaf brass enough for them to deal away long time starter Mike Palmateer
and hand the reins to him. With Palmateer in Washington, Crha played 54 games in 1980–81 and managed an even record of 20–20–11 despite the fact the team was nine games under .500 on the season.
Despite his success with the struggling Maple Leafs Crha played just three more games in North America after the 1980–81 season, and they were all in the minors.
By 1983 Crha had headed to Germany to continue his playing career. In all Crha would play eight seasons in Germany before retiring in 1991.
With his playing days behind him Crha stayed involved with the game by becoming a player agent with players from the Czech Republic making up his client base.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
who played two seasons in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
Jiří Crha had a full career in his homeland that included nine seasons in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, four World Championships and one Olympic Games before he crossed the ocean to pursue a career in the National Hockey League. Crha signed a free agent contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 4, 1980 and after seven games in the minors, he was playing at the NHL level.
Crha, who was known to teammates as "George" suited up for 15 games with Toronto and managed to win 8 of them. Crha impressed the Leaf brass enough for them to deal away long time starter Mike Palmateer
Mike Palmateer
Michael Scott Palmateer is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goalie. He played in the NHL from 1976 to 1984 for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals.-Playing career:...
and hand the reins to him. With Palmateer in Washington, Crha played 54 games in 1980–81 and managed an even record of 20–20–11 despite the fact the team was nine games under .500 on the season.
Despite his success with the struggling Maple Leafs Crha played just three more games in North America after the 1980–81 season, and they were all in the minors.
By 1983 Crha had headed to Germany to continue his playing career. In all Crha would play eight seasons in Germany before retiring in 1991.
With his playing days behind him Crha stayed involved with the game by becoming a player agent with players from the Czech Republic making up his client base.
Career statistics
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, SO = Shutouts, GAA =Goals Against Average| YEAR | TEAM | GP | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3.61 |
| 1980–81 | Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
54 | 20 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 4.07 |
| NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
Regular Season Totals | 69 | 28 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 3.84 |