games, helping the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals, where they eventually lost in five games to the Detroit Red Wings. Vašíček had an injury-plagued 2002–03 season, missing 25 games due to injuries. In 57 games played, he had ten goals and 20 points as Carolina failed to make the 2003 playoffs. On January 22, 2003, Vašíček recorded his first multi-goal game in the NHL, scoring twice against Olaf Kölzig of the Washington Capitals in a 5–3 loss. Vašíček had his best NHL season with the Hurricanes in 2003–04, appearing in all 82 games and scoring 19 goals and 45 points to lead the team in scoring. He recorded his first NHL hat-trick on October 28, 2003, against Vesa Toskala of the San Jose Sharks in a 3–0 victory. Despite the personal success, however, the Hurricanes struggled and missed-out the playoffs for the second-straight season. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Vašíček returned to the Czech Republic to play for Slavia Prague, where he scored 20 goals and 43 points in 52 games to lead the team in scoring. Additionally, in seven playoff games, he scored one goal and six assists. When the NHL resumed play in 2005–06, Vašíček returned to play for Carolina. In a game on November 11, 2005, against Florida Panthers, he suffered a major knee injury that forced him out of the Hurricanes lineup until April 3, 2006. In his first game back, Vašíček scored two goals and four points in a 6–5 win over Washington. At the end of the regular season, he appeared in 23 games, scoring four goals and nine points. In eight playoff games, Vašíček recorded no points, although the Hurricanes still won the Stanley Cup in the Finals over the Edmonton Oilers. On July 18, 2006, the Hurricanes traded Vašíček to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Scott Walker. Vašíček began his 2006–07 season on his Predators debut on October 5, 2006, marking the occasion by scoring a goal against Nikolai Khabibulin of the Chicago Blackhawks in an 8–6 loss. Vašíček, however, struggled with the Predators — in 38 games, he had just four goals and 13 points, prompting Nashville, on February 9, 2007, to trade him back to Carolina in exchange for Éric Bélanger. In his first game back with the Hurricanes, on February 10, Vašíček was held pointless in a 5–4 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Three nights later,