Sergei Zubov

Infobox Ice Hockey Player

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image_size = 255px
team = Dallas Stars
former_teams = New York Rangers
Pittsburgh Penguins
league = NHL
position = Defence
shoots = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 1
weight_lb = 198
nationality = Russia
birth_date = birth date and age|1970|7|22
birth_place = Moscow, USSR
draft = 85th overall
draft_year = 1990
draft_team = New York Rangers
career_start = 1988

Sergei Ivanovich Zubov ( _ru. Сергей Иванович Зубов) (born July 22, 1970, in Moscow, USSR) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain currently with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. He has also played for the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Zubov has won two Stanley Cups, one with the Rangers in 1994 and one with the Stars in 1999.

Playing career

He is considered one of the better offensive defensemen in NHL history. He played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1998, 1999, and 2000. He has also won two Stanley Cups, one with the New York Rangers in 1994, and the other with Dallas in 1999. In 1992, Zubov won a gold medal at the Olympic Games, playing for the CIS. He is also the NHL's all-time leading scorer among Russian defensemen.

Zubov was drafted in the fifth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. Prior to this, he played for the Red Army's hockey team, CSKA Moscow, in Russia. He continued to play for the Red Army until 1992, after the fall of the USSR. Although Sergei spent some of his rookie season with New York's AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers, he played forty-nine games as a rookie for the Rangers, scoring 31 points, considered then to be above-average for a defenceman. Zubov's high-scoring ways continued, as he scored 12 goals and earned 77 assists during the 1993–94 season, and contributed 19 points to the Rangers' playoff campaign.

Zubov continued to play well for the Rangers, but on August 31, 1995, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Petr Nedved for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille. Zubov only spent one season in Pittsburgh, as he was traded to the Dallas Stars on June 22, 1996 for Kevin Hatcher.

Although Zubov had never again reached the scoring height of his 93–94 season with the Rangers, due to a combination of Dallas's more defensive system and decreased scoring in general, he has earned all three of his trips to the All-Star game with the Stars. He never has again reached an 80+ point total, but he is currently the only active defenceman to have 10 consecutive years of 40+ point seasons.

As with many offensive defensemen, Zubov's attempts to score sometimes cause a scoring chance for the opposition. However, his offensive gifts - which include his tremendous vision and passing abilities as well as his smooth,deceptively fast skating - has led him to consistently put up points. Also, in the "New NHL" rules instituted as of the 2005–06 season, Zubov's offensive style has prospered. Not only can he dance with the puck around forwards, but he also has a powerful shot that he uses from the point that often leads to goals and he is also known for his ability to freeze the goalie up in breakaways and shootouts.

He is also excellent defensively and while he has a well-sized body, he is known more for his positioning and puck-dislodging abilities out of corners rather than powerfully hitting opponents. He has been a mainstay on the penalty killing squad for several years now and has only recorded a negative plus/minus four times in his career, with two of them within his first three years in the leagues

Zubov has always played a solid game, but for years went under the radar and did not garner any nominations for the NHL awards. However, in the 2005–06 regular season, Zubov posted 71 points for his highest outing in over a decade - and also received his first Norris Trophy nomination.

Zubov and his wife Irina have two kids, a son name Pavel and a daughter named Anastasia.

Zubov missed nearly half of the 2007–08 NHL season with a sports hernia injury.

Awards

*NHL All-Star in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2006
*2006 Norris Trophy finalist
*Stanley Cup winner in 1994 and 1999

Career statistics

ee also

*List of NHL players with 1000 games played
*List of NHL statistical leaders by country

External links

*TSN-NHL-profile|432
*nhlprofile|8458494
*hockeydb|5872
*eurohockey|10510