| Darius Kasparaitis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Kasparaitis with theHartford Wolf Pack in 2006 | |||
| Born | (1972-10-16)October 16, 1972 (age 53) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Dynamo Moscow New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins Colorado Avalanche New York Rangers Ak Bars Kazan SKA Saint Petersburg Hockey Punks Vilnius | ||
| National team |  Soviet Union, Unified Team, Russia and Lithuania | ||
| NHL draft | 5th overall,1992 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 1988–2009 2013–2018 | ||
Darius Kasparaitis (born October 16, 1972) is aLithuanian–American former professionalice hockey player. He played as adefenceman in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theNew York Islanders,Pittsburgh Penguins,Colorado Avalanche, andNew York Rangers. He is a four-time Olympian and three-time medalist, winning one gold medal, one silver medal, and one bronze medal. He received the title ofHonoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1992 and was inducted into theRussian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016. His 28 career Olympic games is a record among Russian national team players.[1]
Kasparaitis leftLithuanian SSR forRussian SFSR at age 14 after training withAleksey Nikiforov to playice hockey at a higher level. Kasparaitis played his first game forDynamo Moscow, one of the premier teams in theSoviet 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 theNew York Islanders with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the1992 NHL entry draft. Kasparaitis played for theNew York Islanders,Pittsburgh Penguins,Colorado Avalanche, andNew York Rangers.
Kasparaitis was known for his aggressive physical playing style and led his teams in hits[citation needed] several times, including his rookie season, in1992–93 NHL season with theNew York Islanders. On November 17, 1996, Kasparaitis was traded to thePittsburgh Penguins.[2] While playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1998[3] Kasparaitis made a hard hit onEric Lindros[4][5] that knocked Lindros out of action for 18 games. On March 19, 2002, he was traded to theColorado Avalanche at the trade deadline, where he spent the remainder of the2001–02 NHL season.[6] Kasparaitis eventually wound up with theNew York Rangers when he was signed on July 2, 2002.[7] During the 2005–06 season, he served as analternate captain of the Rangers, along withJaromír Jágr andSteve Rucchin, as the Rangers had no captain.
Because the Lithuanian national ice hockey team was relatively weak and had not ever played in major competitions, Kasparaitis chose to representRussia in official events. In December 2005, Kasparaitis was chosen to represent Russia in the2006 Winter Olympics. At the start of the2006–07 season, Kasparaitis was replaced as an alternate captain with the Rangers by newly acquiredBrendan Shanahan. He was waived by theNew York Rangers on January 24, 2007 and subsequently demoted to the Rangers' affiliate inHartford.
Kasparaitis was once again waived by the Rangers prior to the2007–08 season.[8] On November 3, 2007, the Rangers announced that Kasparaitis had been loaned toSKA St. Petersburg of the then-Russian Superleague (RSL), now the KHL. The deal was made possible due to a lack of a transfer agreement between Russia andNorth America at the time. However, the Rangers retained his NHL rights.[citation needed]
Kasparaitis left an enduring impression with Ranger fans with the team salute that he created. After every Rangers home win, Kasparaitis would direct the players to center ice and have the whole team follow in saluting the fans by raising their sticks in the air before departing the ice. The tradition is still carried on by the Rangers for every home win.[9] He continued to play for SKA Saint Petersburg in the2008–09 season. In 26 games, he contributed a single assist.
In the2009–10 season, he did not play due to an injury and eventually announced his retirement at the conclusion of the season.[10] Since his retirement he has attempted to become eligible to represent Lithuania internationally,[11] which he finally did in 2018, playing for the team in theWorld Ice Hockey Championships Division 1B.
Kasparaitis first had international experience at the1990 European Junior Championships. He contributed to the gold medal-winning team by recordings six points (including one goal). The following year, he competed in the1991 World Junior Championships. He recorded seven points (including one goal) as the Soviet junior team won the gold medal. In August 1991, he joined theSoviet Union senior team and played in two exhibition games againstSweden.[12][13]
Kasparaitis won a gold medal at the1992 Winter Olympics as a member of theUnited Team, and after the Olympics, he played for theRussian national team. He made his first appearance for Russia on 12 April 1992 in a friendly match against Sweden.[citation needed] In the same year, Kasparaitis participated in the1992 World Championships and the Russian national team finished in fifth place. In 1996, he competed in two international competitions, the1996 World Championships and the1996 World Cup of Hockey, finishing fourth in both. In 1998, he participated in the1998 Winter Olympics, where he reached the final and won a silver medal.
Four years later, Kasparaitis played in his third Olympics at the2002 Winter Olympics. He scored a goal in the bronze medal match againstBelarus to help Russia win the bronze medal. Two years later, he competed in the2004 World Cup of Hockey and recorded two assists in eight games. In 2006, he competed in his last Olympics, the2006 Winter Olympics, and had two assists in eight games, while the Russian team finished in fourth place.
In 2018, Kasparaitis played forLithuania national team in the2018 IIHF World Championship Division I.
"I don't worry whether someone hates me if they are from Pittsburgh. I want people to like me on Long Island. If I'm traded to Pittsburgh, I want them to like me there. It's business."
Kasparaitis played the game in the mold of a hard-hitting stay-at-home defenceman, a playing style which in Kasparaitis's case also included a substantial amount of agitation.[15] In his rookie season in the NHL in 1992–93, he had already earned a reputation as a pesky player; one hockey pundit at the time wrote that he "shows an unusual lack of respect and deference for established NHL stars." One such star was Pittsburgh Penguins captainMario Lemieux; in Game 6 of thePatrick Division finals during the1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, Kasparaitis was "in Lemieux's face" for much of the game, at one point giving him a glove to the face and eventually earning a 2-minute elbowing penalty.[14]
During the 1997–98 season, while a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kasparaitis deckedPhiladelphia Flyers captain Eric Lindros along the boards with a hard and straight hit to the chest, a hit which left Lindros with a concussion and held him out of the game for over a month. The two players later became teammates and friends when Kasparaitis signed with the New York Rangers for the 2002–03 season, with Lindros himself helping to pitch the Rangers as the right destination for Kasparaitis by calling him at midnight on July 1, 2002.[16]
"It’s the other teams that get upset. The other teams may say they don’t respect me, but I’m not a dirty player; I just play hard. I hit people without telling them I’m going to hit them, and I don’t think they like that."
During the 2005–06 NHL season, while playing for the New York Rangers, Kasparaitis had run-ins withNew Jersey Devils right wingerGrant Marshall, with Kasparaitis delivering a shoulder to the head of Marshall which concussed the New Jersey winger on January 22, and Marshall retaliating on March 4 by sucker-punching Kasparaitis in the head. Marshall stated he had "zero respect" for Kasparaitis. Kasparaitis on the other hand said he was in complete control of his emotions, and that he would not allow his game to become a distraction to his own team.[17]
On June 19, 2010, Kasparaitis signed as the assistantcoach forSKA Saint Petersburg of theKontinental Hockey League (KHL).[18] The contract expired on December 22, 2010.[citation needed]
In early 2015, Kasparaitis co-founded the Verzasca Group, a Florida-based real estate development company, of which he holds the title as president.[19][20] The company is named after theVerzasca river inSwitzerland, because of the "transparency that the firm strives to bring to both its investors and its development partners."[21] Later in the year, the company had gained approval on two residential projects in the Miami area.[22]
Kasparaitis holds dualLithuanian andUnited States citizenship.[22] He is the father of six children. He has a daughter by his first wife, Irina. Kasparaitis's current wife, Lisa, is a Swedish designer based inStockholm andMiami. From 2009 to 2011, he lived inSweden.[23] They have twin daughters, who were born in Sweden, and three sons.[24]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988–89 | Dynamo Moscow | USSR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Dynamo Moscow | USSR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Dynamo Moscow | USSR | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Dynamo–2 Moscow | USSR-3 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Dynamo Moscow | CIS | 24 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | Dynamo–2 Moscow | CIS-3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Dynamo Moscow | IHL | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | New York Islanders | NHL | 79 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 166 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 31 | ||
| 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 | Ak 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | SKA Saint Petersburg | RSL | 33 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 83 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 49 | ||
| 2008–09 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Hockey Punks Vilnius | LTU | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Hockey Punks Vilnius | LTU | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Hockey Punks Vilnius | LTU | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Hockey Punks Vilnius | LTU | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Energija Elektrėnai | LTU | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| RSL/KHL totals | 146 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 267 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 55 | ||||
| NHL totals | 863 | 27 | 136 | 163 | 1379 | 83 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 107 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Soviet Union | EJC | 6 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 12 | |
| 1991 | Soviet Union | WJC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | |
| 1992 | CIS | WJC | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | |
| 1992 | Unified Team | 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 | |
| 2018 | Lithuania | WC D1B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 19 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 36 | |||
| Senior totals | 51 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 50 | |||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York Islanders first round draft pick 1992 | Succeeded by |
