Dainius Zubrus
| Dainius Zubrus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Zubrus in 2014. | |||
| Born |
June 16, 1978 Elektrėnai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing / Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Free agent Philadelphia Flyers Montreal Canadiens Washington Capitals Buffalo Sabres New Jersey Devils San Jose Sharks | ||
| National team |
 Lithuania  Russia | ||
| NHL Draft |
15th overall, 1996 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Playing career | 1996–present | ||
Dainius Gintas Zubrus (born June 16, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional ice hockey right winger and center who last played for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the first Lithuanian to have played 1000 games in the NHL.
Playing career
Early career
In the summer of 1989, Zubrus moved to Kharkiv, Ukraine to train under Ivan Pravilov on the Druzhba-78 squad. He continued to develop his play there until the end of 1995.[1] Like Darius Kasparaitis, Dainius trained with Aleksey Nikiforov.
Professional
Dainius Zubrus was drafted 15th overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers from the Caledon Canadians of the Metro Junior A Hockey League. As of the 2006 draft, Zubrus was the highest drafted Tier II Junior "A" player since the Canadian Junior A Hockey League's 1993 inception (since surpassed by Kyle Turris at 2007 NHL Entry Draft). Prior to being traded to Caledon, Zubrus played for the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the Central Junior A Hockey League. He made his NHL debut on October 5, 1996, scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers. In his rookie season, he helped the Flyers reach the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers traded him to the Montreal Canadiens on March 10, 1998 with a pair of draft picks for Mark Recchi. He registered his first career hat-trick on October 14, 2000, against the Chicago Blackhawks, and was traded by the Canadiens to the Washington Capitals along with Trevor Linden for Richard Zedník and Jan Bulis on March 13, 2001.[2]
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Zubrus decided to play abroad with Washington Capitals teammate Alexander Semin. He played 42 regular season games for HC Lada Togliatti, tallying 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists. He also appeared in ten playoff games while in the former Russian Superleague (RSL), scoring three goals and one assist.
Zubrus returned to the Capitals the following 2005–06 season and posted a career-high 57 points playing alongside star rookie Alexander Ovechkin.[3] In the 2006–07 season, Zubrus continued his impressive form posting 52 points in 60 games before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, along with Timo Helbling, for Jiří Novotný and a first round draft pick on February 27, 2007.[4]
On July 3, 2007, as a free agent, Zubrus signed a six-year, $20.4 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.[5]
On November 23, 2008, Zubrus had one of the best offensive games in Devils history. Zubrus tied a team record with four goals to help New Jersey win its season-high fourth straight game, 7–3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning.[6] Four years later, Zubrus got to his second Stanley Cup decision, losing the 2012 finals to the Los Angeles Kings.[7]
On July 29, 2015, after 8 seasons with the Devils, he was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating the final year of his contract.[8][9][10]
On October 27, 2015, it was announced that Zubrus was invited to Professional Tryout (PTO) with the St. Louis Blues.[11][12] However, on November 6, 2015, Zubrus was released from his Professional Tryout after Blues decided to sign Martin Havlat to a one-year deal.[13]
On November 16, 2015, Zubrus was invited to a professional tryout by the San Jose Sharks.[14][15] Eight days later, he signed a contract with the Sharks, reuniting with former Devils coach Peter DeBoer.[16][17] Zubrus got to his third Stanley Cup final, which the Sharks lost.[7]
International play
Originally, Zubrus had suited up for the Russian national team during the World Cup of Hockey in 2004. But since then, he has played internationally for Lithuania, most notably in the 2005 World Championships. He had told the press that, "Lithuania needs me more than Russia." Because of the existence of the Soviet Union, players born during its time as a nation were able to choose to play for any of the newly formed countries after the breakup, and even considered representing Ukraine due to his training there. He now plans to represent Lithuania in all of his future international hockey appearances.
Personal life
He is married to Canadian model Nathalie Sanschagrin. They have a son, Thomas and a daughter, Emma.[18]
Zubrus holds dual nationality and is a citizen of Lithuania and the United States.[19][20]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | Pembroke Lumber Kings | CJHL | 28 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Caledon Canadians | MTJHL | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 4 | ||
| 1996–97 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 68 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 1997–98 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 63 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 49 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 71 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 63 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 43 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 54 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Lada Togliatti | RSL | 42 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 85 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | ||
| 2005–06 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 71 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 60 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 19 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 82 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 82 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 69 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2009–10 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 51 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 79 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 82 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 34 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 18 | ||
| 2012–13 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 22 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 82 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 74 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 50 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 20 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 1293 | 228 | 363 | 591 | 791 | 106 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 78 | ||||
See also
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dainius Zubrus. |
- ↑ "Dainius Zubrus biography". drazhba78.com. 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
- ↑ "Capitals acquire Linden, Zubrus, Marshall". usatoday.com. 2001-03-13. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ↑ Cohn, Linda (2006-11-10). "Ovechkin, Zubrus work well on, off the ice". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- ↑ Brady, Erik (2007-02-28). "Zubrus checks in with Sabres". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ↑ "Devils sign free agents Zubrus, Rachunek". usatoday.com. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ↑ D.Zubrus - geriausias NHL lygos dienos žaidėjas. retrieved on 2008-11-24
- 1 2 Gilmore, Eric (May 28, 2016). "Sharks' Zubrus hopes third time's the charm". NHL.com. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Devils place forward Zubrus on unconditional waivers". NHL.com. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ↑ "Zubrus placed on unconditional waivers". NHL.com. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ↑ "Dainius Zubrus leaves Devils with no bitterness". NJ.com. 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
- ↑ "Blues invite forwards Havlat, Zubrus for tryouts". NHL.com. October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ↑ "Zubrus, Havlat Invited to Pro Tryouts". NHL.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ↑ "Blues Sign Havlat to One-Year Deal". NHL.com. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Former Devils forward Dainius Zubrus gets tryout with Pete DeBoer's San Jose Sharks". NJ.com. November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Still with Sharks, Zubrus never lost will to keep playing". Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Sharks Sign Forward Dainius Zubrus to a Two-Way Contract". NHL.com. November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Sharks sign Zubrus to two-way contract". NHL.com. November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ↑ "L'ancien Canadien Dainius Zubrus n'écarte pas un retour à Montréal". nhl.com. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
- ↑ "Devils get into USA-Canada spirit with shootout showdown; Clowe feels "fine"". North Jersey. February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ↑ "D. Zubrus – apie JAV pilietybę, KHL klubo viliones ir baimę dėl draugų gyvybių" (in Lithuanian). Delfi. April 18, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database, or TSN.ca
- Q & A with Dainius Zubrus at The Hockey Writers
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brian Boucher |
Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick 1996 |
Succeeded by Simon Gagne |