Darius Kasparaitis
| Darius Kasparaitis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Born |
October 16, 1972 Elektrėnai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
USSR Dynamo Moscow NHL New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins Colorado Avalanche New York Rangers RSL/KHL Ak Bars Kazan SKA Saint Petersburg |
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| National team |
 Soviet Union  Unified Team & Russia
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| NHL Draft | 5th overall, 1992 New York Islanders |
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| Playing career | 1988–2009 | ||
Darius Kasparaitis (born October 16, 1972) is a Lithuanian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He mainly played in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kasparaitis left Lithuania for Russia at age 14 after training with Aleksey Nikiforov to play ice hockey at a higher level. Kasparaitis played his first game for 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 fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Kasparaitis played for the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers.
Kasparaitis was known for his aggressive physical playing style and led his teams in hits several times, including his rookie season, in 1992–93 NHL season with the New York Islanders. On November 17, 1996, Kasparaitis was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. While playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1998 Kasparaitis' made a hard hit on Eric Lindros that knocked Lindros out of action for 18 games. On March 19, 2002, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline in 2002, where he spent the remainder of the 2001–02 NHL season. Kasparaitis eventually wound up with the New York Rangers when he was signed on July 2, 2002. During the 2005–06 season, he served as an alternate captain of the Rangers, along with Jaromír Jágr and Steve Rucchin, as the Rangers had no captain.
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