Background
Kozlov, Viktor was born on February 14, 1975 in Togliatti, Russia.
Kozlov, Viktor was born on February 14, 1975 in Togliatti, Russia.
Kozlov was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the first round as the sixth overall selection in the 1993 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Kozlov scored his first career goal for the Sharks against Editor Belfour and the Chicago Blackhawks on 21 March 1995 in a 7–3 Sharks loss. He would play a few seasons in San Jose before being traded to the Florida Panthers on 13 November 1997.
lieutenant would be in Florida, playing with Pavel Bure, that Kozlov would have his best years.
His best season was during the 1999–2000 season when he set career highs in assists and points. He played with the Panthers until 1 March 2004, when he was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Christian Berglund and Victor Uchevatov.
During the National Hockey League lockout that wiped out the 2004-2005 National Hockey League season, Kozlov played for Lada Togliatti in the Russian Superleague (RSL). However, he returned to the Devils when the National Hockey League started up again.
Kozlov was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders in 2006.
On December 3, 2006, he recorded his second career hat trick and first career four-goal game. The four goals gave him a total of six in a 24-hour period — he had scored twice the previous night in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. On 1 July 2007, Kozlov signed a two-year contract with the Washington Capitals.
On 9 June 2009, Salavat Yulaev Ufa signed Kozlov to a three-year contract, signifying the end of his successful National Hockey League career.
In each season with Salavat, Kozlov helped the club qualify for the post-season and was part of the leadership group, Captaining for one year. Kozlov opted to sign as a free agent on a two-year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl from the 2012-2013 season.
In scoring just 1 goal in 21 games, Kozlov was traded to fellow KHL club, The Human Context CSKA Moscow on January 9, 2013. Plagued by injury throughout his tenure with CSKA, Kozlov missed the entire 2013-2014 campaign.
On June 19, 2014, Kozlov signalled a return to health in signing a one-year contract to provide a veteran presence with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
On 15 April 2009, after 15 National Hockey League seasons Kozlov scored his first playoff goal as a member of the Capitals.
