Jiří Crha, known to his Czech teammates as George, was a goaltender who spent his entire early European career (1967-79) with Tesla Pardubice. In 1979 he was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in 69 NHL games with the Leafs from 1979-81, but also bounced around North American playing for various minor league clubs, including the New Brunswick Hawks and St. Catharines’ Saints of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Cincinnati Tigers of the Central Hockey League (CHL). In 1983 Crha returned to Europe, playing one season with SV Bayreuth in Germany, but then retired. However, that was short-lived, as he returned to the German leagues in 1985, and played eight more years with EHC Freiburg.
Internationally, in addition to his 1976 Olympic appearance, in which he won a silver medal primarily as a back-up goalie to Jiří Holeček, Crha played for Czechoslovakia at the European Junior Championships in 1968-69, and at the World Championships in 1973-75 and 1978-79. At the Worlds he won silver medals in 1974-75 and 1978-79 and a bronze medal in 1973. In the 1978-79 season he also played for the Czechoslovakian All-Stars that played a limited schedule in the World Hockey Association (WHA). After his playing career ended he became a player-agent primarily represent Czech and Slovakian hockey players.
Czechoslovakia
Czechia