Dainius Zubrus

Dainius Zubrus
Born June 16, 1978
Elektrėnai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 224 lb (102 kg; 16 st 0 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams 		New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Montreal Canadiens
Washington Capitals
Buffalo Sabres
National team  Lithuania
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 currently playing for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the first Lithuanian to have played 1000 games in the National Hockey League.

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

Zubrus in 2010.

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]/g

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, Dainius 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]

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.

Career statistics

Zubrus with the Washington Capitals
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 — — — — —
NHL totals 1243 225 359 584 771 92 11 24 35 72

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://druzhba78.com/info/
  2. ↑ "Capitals acquire Linden, Zubrus, Marshall". usatoday.com. 2001-03-13. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  3. ↑ Cohn, Linda (2006-11-10). "Ovechkin, Zubrus work well on, off the ice". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  4. ↑ Brady, Erik (2007-02-30). "Zubrus checks in with Sabres". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2009-06-29. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ↑ "Devils sign free agents Zubrus, Rachunek". usatoday.com. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  6. ↑ D.Zubrus - geriausias NHL lygos dienos žaidėjas. retrieved on 2008-11-24

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dainius Zubrus.
Preceded by
Brian Boucher		 Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick
1996 		Succeeded by
Simon Gagne