Born	October 16, 1972 (1972-10-16) (age 37), Elektrėnai, Lithuanian SSR, USSR
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
KHL team F. teams	SKA Saint Petersburg New York Rangers Colorado Avalanche Pittsburgh Penguins New York Islanders Dynamo Moscow Ak Bars Kazan
Ntl. team	Russia & Unified Team
NHL Draft	5th overall, 1992 New York Islanders
Pro career	1988 – present

Darius Kasparaitis (Russian: Дарюс Каспарайтис; born October 16, 1972) is a Lithuanian-Russian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He is also known by the nickname "Kaspar", has dual citizenship of US and Russian Federation and plays for the Russian national ice hockey team.

[edit] Playing career

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 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 hip check - 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, as he repeatedly knocked Mario out of his game during the Patrick Division finals, as the Islanders upset the Penguins in 7. 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 Jaromír Jágr 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 2005, Kasparaitis was chosen to represent Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, 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.

On November 3, 2007 the Rangers announced that Kasparaitis had been loaned to SKA St. Petersburg of the Russian Superleague (RSL). The deal is made possible due to a lack of a transfer agreement between Russia and North America, however the Rangers will retain his NHL rights.

[edit] 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.
• November 3, 2007: Loaned to SKA St. Petersburg.

[edit] Awards

• 1990: European Junior Championship All-Star Team
• 1992: World Junior Championships Best Defenceman

[edit] Family

Kasparaitis is now a naturalized American citizen. He and his first wife Irina (born 1965 in Russia) have a daughter named Elizabeth. After they divorced, Kasparaitis married a Swedish real estate agent named Ingela. Kasparaitis and his second wife divorced the summer of 2006. Now he and his girlfriend Lisa Carrol have twin daughters named Liv and Lilly born in Sweden, September 3, 2008.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] 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)

[edit] International statistics

Year	Team	Event	Place		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991	Soviet Union	WJC	2 		6	1	3	4	16
1992	CIS	WJC	1 		7	1	5	6	8
1992	Unified Team	Oly	1 		8	0	2	2	2
1992	CIS	WC	5th		6	2	1	3	4
1996	Russia	WC	4th		8	0	2	2	2
1996	Russia	WCH	SF		5	0	2	2	14
1998	Russia	Oly	2 		6	0	2	2	6
2002	Russia	Oly	3 		6	1	0	1	4
2004	Russia	WCH	5th		4	0	1	1	8
2006	Russia	Oly	4th		8	0	2	2	8
Senior Int'l Totals					51	3	12	15	50

[edit] References

1. ^ Eric Lindros timeline
2. ^ Eric Lindros' concussion history

[edit] External links

• Darius Kasparaitis's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Darius Kasparaitis's NHL player profile
• Darius Kasparaitis – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
• "Dinosaur On Ice", New York Magazine article