Hasek started playing hockey at the age of six in his native Czechoslovakia. As he explains: They held a tryout for 5-year-old boys and my father took me there. I didn't even have real skates. I had those blades that you screwed onto the soles of your shoes, but I was tall, and the 9-year-olds didn't have a goalie, so they put me in with them and thats where I fell in love with the game of hockey.

After his contract with the Red Wings expired, Hasek announced his intention to play for a Stanley Cup contender, and specifically named the Ottawa Senators as a possibility. On July 6, 2004, after trading Patrick Lalime to the St. Louis Blues, the Senators signed Hasek to a one-year deal.  During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Hasek toured with the Primus Worldstars. Similar to the tour Wayne Gretzky and IMG formed during the 1994-95 NHL lockout, the Primus Worldstars Tour ran December 7-23, playing in seven different countries (Riga, Latvia; Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia; Bratislava, Slovakia; Bern, Switzerland; Karlstad, Jonkoping and Linkoping, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; Katowice, Poland) in ten scheduled games. The tour competed against all-star teams or club teams of each country.  Hasek played increasingly well for the Senators up until the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. During the season, he reached 300 career wins, and his GAA and save percentage were the second-best in the league. Upon departure to Turin, Hasek's equipment was accidentally left behind in Ottawa. This caused Hasek to miss a number of practices with the Czech national team. At the Winter Olympics, he injured his right adductor muscle while making a save in the first qualifying match against Germany, forcing him to leave the game after only 9 minutes and 25 seconds. Hasek's injury caused him to miss the rest of the regular season and post-season, despite several rumours that he would return in time for the playoffs. He said that if he were to be re-signed, he would play for a base salary of $500,000 with bonuses.  After the Senators were eliminated in the second round, they opted not to re-sign Hasek.

what happened in 2005?
During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Hasek toured with the Primus Worldstars.