For years the Stastny brothers, Marian, Peter, and Anton were the folk heroes of Czechoslovakia in hockey. That was until shortly after the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980 when both Peter and Anton defected to play for the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League.
It was in that inaugural campaign that Peter Stastny set the hockey world on fire, becoming the first rookie to rack up 100 points while setting a record for assists by a first-year player with 70. The Czechoslovakian sensation wasn’t a flash in the pan, either; he finished second to Wayne Gretzky in total points scored in the 80’s with 1,048and remained productive throughout a career which included time with the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 with 1,239 points over the course of his career.