Darius Kasparaitis
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname(s) | Kaspar |
| Height Weight |
ft in
( m) 215 lb (98 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
New York Rangers Colorado Avalanche Pittsburgh Penguins New York Islanders |
| Nationality |  Russia & United States |
| Born | October 16 1972 , Lithuanian SSR, SU |
| NHL Draft | 5th overall, 1992 New York Islanders |
| Pro Career | 1988 – present |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Ice hockey | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1992 Albertville | Ice hockey | |
| Silver | 1998 Nagano | Ice hockey | |
| Bronze | 2002 Salt Lake City | Ice hockey | |
Darius Kasparaitis (born October 16, 1972 in Elektrėnai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union) is an ethnic Lithuanian-Russian professional ice hockey defenceman, also known by the nickname "Kaspar". He has Russian citizenship and plays for the Russian national hockey team.
Playing career
Kasparaitis left Lithuania for Russia at 14 years of age after training with Aleksey Nikiforov to play ice hockey at a higher level. Kasparaitis played his first game for HC Dynamo Moscow, one of the premier teams in the Soviet Union at the age of 16 during the 1988-89 season, and won the Soviet League championship with them in 1992.
He was drafted by the New York Islanders with the 5th overall pick in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Darius has played for the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers.
Kasparaitis is known for his aggressive physical playing style - including the famous hipcheck - and has led his teams in hits several times, including his rookie season, in 1992-93 NHL season with the New York Islanders. One of the players that he seemed to single out during that season was Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux. Lemieux had to play with his Lithuanian antagonist when Kasparaitis was traded to the Penguins, a trade that did not only demonstrate Kasparaitis' harsh side but also his scoring talents. Kasparaitis' biggest moments in Pittsburgh were a devastating hit on Eric Lindros in 1998[1][2] that knocked Lindros out of action for 18 games and made Kasparaitis a near folk-hero in Pittsburgh, and scoring a game seven overtime goal vs. Buffalo in 2001. Kasparaitis eventually wound up back in the Empire State, being signed to the New York Rangers. It was widely speculated that his contract was going to be bought out prior to the 2005-2006 season. However, the Rangers chose to keep him for leadership purposes. During the 2005-06 season, he served as an alternate captain of the Rangers, along with Jaromir Jagr and Steve Rucchin, as the Rangers had no captain.
Due to the fact that Lithuanian ice hockey team was relatively weak and hadn't ever played in major competitions, Kasparaitis chose to represent Russia in official events. In December of 2005, Kasparaitis was chosen to represent Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
At the start of the 2006-07 season, Kasparaitis was replaced as an alternate captain with the Rangers by newly acquired Brendan Shanahan. He was waived by the New York Rangers on January 24, 2007 and subsequently demoted to the Rangers' affiliate in Hartford, as the coaching staff perceived him to be not in top game shape. Despite working hard towards a return to the NHL, Kasparaitis was once again waived by the Rangers prior to the 2007-08 season.
Transactions
- June 20, 1992- New York Islanders 1st round pick, 5th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.
- November 17, 1996- Traded by the New York Islanders, along with Andreas Johansson, to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Bryan Smolinski.
- March 19, 2002- Traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Rick Berry and Ville Nieminen.
- July 2, 2002- Signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers.
Awards
- European Junior Championship All-Star Team - 1990
- World Junior Championships Best Defenceman - 1992
Family
Kasparaitis is now a naturalized American citizen. He and his first wife Irina (b. 1965 in Russia) have a daughter named Elizabeth. After they divorced, Kasparaitis married again to a Swedish real estate agent named Ingela. Kasparaitis and his second wife divorced the summer of 2006.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988-89 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989-90 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 24 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | New York Islanders | NHL | 79 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 166 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 31 | ||
| 1992-93 | Dynamo Moscow | RSL | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | New York Islanders | NHL | 76 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 142 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1994-95 | New York Islanders | NHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | New York Islanders | NHL | 46 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 93 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | New York Islanders | NHL | 18 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 57 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 84 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1997-98 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 81 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 127 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1998-99 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 48 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 70 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 73 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 146 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2000-01 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 77 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 111 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 | ||
| 2001-02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 69 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 123 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 2002-03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 85 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | New York Rangers | NHL | 44 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Aq Bars Kazan | RSL | 28 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 118 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2005-06 | New York Rangers | NHL | 67 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 97 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006-07 | New York Rangers | NHL | 24 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2006-07 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| RSL totals | 79 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 144 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| NHL totals | 863 | 27 | 136 | 163 | 1379 | 83 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 107 | ||||
International play
Played for the Soviet Union in:
- 1990 European Junior Championships (silver medal)
- 1991 World Junior Championships (silver medal)
Played for CIS/Unified Team in:
- 1992 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
- 1992 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
Played for Russia in:
- 1992 World Championships
- 1996 World Championships
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey
- 1998 Winter Olympics (silver medal)
- 2002 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2006 Winter Olympics (alternate captain)
International statistics
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | CIS | Oly | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1992 | Russia | WC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 1996 | Russia | WC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1996 | Russia | WCH | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 1998 | Russia | Oly | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2002 | Russia | Oly | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2004 | Russia | WCH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 2006 | Russia | Oly | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
External links
- Darius Kasparaitis's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Coach's Corner clip of 1998 hit on Lindros
Harris • Potvin • Gillies • Price • McKendry • Bossy • Tambellini • D. Sutter • B. Sutter • Boutilier • Flatley • LaFontaine • Diduck • MacPherson • Dalgarno • King • Fitzgerald • Chynoweth • Cheveldayoff • Chyzowski • Scissons • Lachance • Kasparaitis • Bertuzzi • Lindros • Redden • Dumont • Luongo • Brewer • Rupp • Connolly • Pyatt • Mezei • Kudroc • DiPietro • Torres • Bergenheim • Nilsson • Nokelainen • O'Marra • Okposo
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