Ed Jovanovski has done a lot of things in his NHL career.
He played in almost 1,000 regular season games. Jovanovski helped the John Vanbiesbrouck-led Florida Panthers make a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals. He made five All-Star teams and was a big part of the Todd Bertuzzi-Markus Naslund era for the Vancouver Canucks. Most importantly, he earned the puntastic nickname “Jovocop.”
Yet he accomplished something for the first time on Wednesday night: the talented but aging defenseman scored his first career hat trick against Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators. While I don’t think the goals were Goal of the Night-worthy, they seem worthy of recognition.
Oh, and not for nothing, but “Jovocop” is having one of the best starts of his career, with three goals and six assists for nine points in 10 games. Curiously enough, he’s in the final season of his contract. Just saying, folks. Just saying.